He Said/She Said: BeaterBlade+

BeaterBlade+

http://www.beaterblade.com/

KA-TH

S: We are trying out the KA-TH BeaterBlade+ which is specifically designed for our KitchenAid stand mixer. I took it out of the packaging, gave it a good wash and connected it to our KitchenAid. It was a perfect fit so I didn't even have to adjust the height!

H: I really like the design of the blade, it just makes common sense to me.

S: Well, we tested it out and made chocolate cupcakes. Some were frosted with peppermint and some were frosted with lime buttercream.

H: I don't usually bake, but I do make frosting occasionally.

S: Rarely.

H: I am the fondant master...

S: Anyhow, we tried out a new chocolate recipe and put the BeaterBlade+ to the test!

H: During the mixing process, you can see that the BeaterBlade+ is mixing everything. The sides of the bowl are scraped (leaving a pattern) and you can see this difference. This saved us time from turning the mixer on and off to scrape the sides.

S: As for making frosting, the BeaterBlade+ is incredible! It creams the butter so well!!! I watched in amazement as the butter transformed smoothly. It takes less time to mix the frosting because of the blade. Everything gravitated towards the middle of the bowl, but the frosting did not clump onto the blade! Which saved me from scraping the blade as well! Our frosting turned out so smooth and fluffy with less air bubbles and was a cinch to scoop and fill the piping bag. I am definitely not going back to the old paddle.

H: I was wondering if the green colour dye for the lime buttercream would discolour the rubber blade.

S: Well, it didn't and the blade was really easy to wash between mixing. The BeaterBlade+ is also dishwasher safe.

H: The only thing was the squeak. This only happens if you're not mixing a lot and the upper part of the rubber blade is rubbing against the bowl and squeaks due to friction. However, that is not really a major issue considering what the blade can accomplish!

S: Mixing Accomplished indeed! We would definitely recommend this product to bakers, please visit their website for more information or to find out which model you need for your stand mixer. This would make a great gift for any baker too! Enjoy the photos we took while trying out the BeaterBlade+!

H: I give it 5/5 "look, no hands!"

S: I also give it 5 blades out of 5!

You can see that the sides are being scraped, mixing everything!

Chocolate cupcakes fresh from the oven!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes
(Makes about 3-4 dozen cupcakes)

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add the oil and sour cream and mix to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Take them out and let them cool completely. These cupcakes are very soft, so use extra care!

Look, you can see that the BeaterBlade+ scrapes the sides of the bowl! It is keeping all the buttercream near the centre of the bowl, making it easier to scoop and fill our piping bags.

Lime Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon of fresh lime zest

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is nice and fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, continue to mix till smooth.
3. Wash the lime and using a zester, zest the whole lime.
4. Mix the lime zest with the buttercream.
5. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the lime juice.
6. Add the lime juice with the buttercream and mix well.
7. If you want, tint the buttercream lime green!

Peppermint Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure peppermint/mint extract
1/8 cup of heavy cream

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is nice and fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and heavy cream, continue to mix till smooth.
3. Add the peppermint extract and mix until everything is incorporated.
4. To do the striping technique, take a clean brush and dip it in the red dye. Simply draw or stripe a line from the bottom of your piping bag to about halfway.
5. Fill the piping bag with your frosting. As you squeeze out the frosting, the colour will automatically create a stripe.

Ta-da! Our finished products! Deliciously moist chocolate cake frosted with peppermint buttercream or lime buttercream. We also tried the striping technique for the peppermint buttercream, wanted to make it look like candy canes! Decorated with sprinkles!

Many thanks to Julia and Cheryl from New Metro Design LLC for sending us the BeaterBlade+ to test! This review is also categorized on the Reviews section of our website. Check out their page of Testimonials!

Vote for Iron Cupcake: Earth!

Hello and happy holidays!
As you may already know, we submitted our "Chocolate Fondue Cupcakes" for a contest, the 5th Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge, CHOCOLATE with a Twist!

VOTING is now open for December's Iron Cupcake: click HERE!

The voting poll is on the right-side column of this website.

Voting begins now and ends on January 2nd at 12 noon.

Each time you vote for us, we get an entry for the grand prize package draw.

To view our "Chocolate Fondue Cupcakes" entry again, click HERE.

Thank you! We look forward to the results of our first Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge! The winner will receive the following prize package:

• Artwork from Etsy artist BETTY TURBO
  
• Cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
• Artwork from Etsy artist CAKESPY by Jessie Oleson
• Cupcake pin cushions from SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY
• Head Chefs from FIESTA PRODUCTS
  
• HELLO, CUPCAKE, by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
• Apron from JESSIE STEELE APRONS
• The CUPCAKE COURIER
• Cookbook from TASTE OF HOME

Iron Cupcake: Earth is sponsored by 1-800-Flowers.

You can also join in on the fun yourself! Click here to learn more about Iron Cupcake: Earth.

Holiday Housewarming Cupcakes

Lastly, my aunt needed 3 dozen cupcakes for her in-law's holiday housewarming party today. We decided to make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with lime buttercream, chocolate ganache buttercream, and vanilla buttercream with a variety of decorations. I also got to try out my new piping tip to create these swirls!

Housewarming Cupcakes: Telephone, spoon, teapot, lamp, bed, key, armchair, outdoor lamp, and bathtub. These were made from fondant - except the outdoor lamp. That was just a cute cake decor we had from a Christmas cake. We could never make fondant look clear like glass! It is not pictured here, but we also made a wok, a house plant, and a small, red Monopoly house. There are always more individual photos on our facebook page.

Hey there Santa! Santa here was made from fondant using brown jimmies for the eyes.

Christmas wreath! This wreath was made from fondant using red, white, and green sprinkles as wreath ornaments.

Hey there red-nosed Roo! This reindeer was made from fondant, using brown jimmies for the eyes and antlers.

How about some frosting recipes as our gift to you? That way you can enjoy cupcake goodies this holiday!

Lime Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon of fresh lime zest

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is nice and fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, continue to mix till smooth.
3. Wash the lime and using a zester, zest the whole lime.
4. Mix the lime zest with the buttercream.
5. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the lime juice.
6. Add the lime juice with the buttercream and mix well.
7. If you want, tint the buttercream lime green!
   

Chocolate Ganache Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat the heavy cream over a double boiler until the edges begin to bubble.
2. With the chocolates in a heat proof container, pour the heated cream in. Let it sit for a minute and then whisk the chocolate and heavy cream together. Set aside to cool.
   
3. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth and fluffy.
4. Add the confectioner's sugar and continue mixing.
5. Finally, add the chocolate ganache mixture into the buttercream and mix until smooth.
   

Vanilla Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1/8 cup of heavy cream

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Add the heavy cream and continue mixing until the frosting is smooth.
   

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Definitely a white Christmas in the GTA!

Here are some Holiday Postcards we made and sent out this year:

Couple's Christmas Cupcakes

It is Christmas Eve!

We have a family friend who is currently in Korea for EPIK. Amy keeps a blog about her experiences there and takes some fabulous photography. Well, the LDR (long distance relationship) isn't keeping her from giving her boyfriend a Christmas surprise this year! So she creatively schemed up a plot that would leave him unsuspicious for his surprise. How could we not help? Tim likes fruits on his cakes, so we make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-orange buttercream sprinkled with candied orange zest. She mailed her Christmas card and I also picked up a gift card for her. Some stores are not available in Korea... hehe! Amy also sent me a recipe to make candied orange zest. This was my first time making them, I love how in some of the candies you can still see the texture of the orange!

Merry Xmas Tim! This is your surprise Christmas present from Amy!

Snowflake, holly, fondant message plaque, and candied orange zest!

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-orange buttercream decorated with a small fondant heart. These hearts were featured on foodgawker!

The happy snow couple holding hands. Watch out, the snow just might melt! The fondant heart and frosting is covering the view, but you can see the couple holding hands from above!

Candied Orange Zest

Adapted from RecipeTips

2 Oranges

1/3 cup of water

1/3 cup of sugar

1. Wash the oranges thoroughly. Peel the oranges and set the orange peels them in a sauce pan of cold water.
2. Cook until the water simmers for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the orange peels from the sauce pan, drain, and place them in cold water. This cools the orange peels so that you can work with it.
4. Using a melon baller, scrape the pith (the bitter white layers on the orange peels) off and then cut the orange zest into strips.
   
5. In the sauce pan, add the 1/3 cup of water and sugar. Put the orange zest strips in the sauce pan and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. The strips should turn translucent and the sugar water should thicken.
6. Remove the orange zest from the sauce pan and let it cool on a sheet of wax paper. Separate the candied orange zest before it cools (otherwise they'll stick together).
7. Then, if you prefer, roll the strips in sugar until they are well covered and allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. You can eat the candied orange zest as is, or use them as sprinkles over cupcakes!

Purkel Cupcakes

Here is another dozen cupcakes for Purkel Products Inc. It is a pretty cool company (I went there for Take Your Kid to Work Day... except my parents don't work there). We made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing topped with fondant fruit decorations.

Above image, starting top left going clockwise: Grapes, peach, strawberry, apple, cherries, lime, banana, pear, orange, lemon, and Purkel logo in the centre!

Strawberry!

Grapes!

Apple!

As always, become a fan on our facebook page for more photos, updates, and sneak peeks! You can also leave your reactions below each post!

CCBB Cupcakes

This next dozen is for my aunt's boss' wife, Linda, a breast cancer survivor and golf enthusiast. Linda also started up CCBB, which began as a hobby and soon became a successful business. Linda makes beautiful jewellery in which 50% of her profits are donated to York Region Breast Cancer Friends. Since January 2005, she has already donated more than $90,000! Please visit her website http://www.lindaccbb.com/ to see her breast cancer awareness jewellery.

CCBB and Hope plaques made from fondant!

Vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcakes!

Pink fondant breast cancer ribbon. We also made fondant decorations that resemble Linda's pretty bracelet charms. My aunt bought me the bracelet last Christmas!

Pink fondant rose on vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcake.

Rainbow of hope!

Pink fondant heart laying softly on vanilla buttercream.

Ribbon rose!

Green vanilla buttercream, yum!

We dedicated a third of the cupcakes to her love of golfing. We made a golf club, golf tee, golf ball, and golf green out of fondant. I finally got to try my grass tip (yay) with the green buttercream!

Santa's North Pole Cupcakes

My aunt decided that she will be giving everyone cupcakes this Christmas. She wasn't kidding and had me working like crazy all week. First, my aunt asked me to make two dozen cupcakes for two families who have young children. Sticking with the Christmas theme, we made chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream (snow) decorated with some cute penguins, polar bears, snowman, reindeers, and elves. Yes, we know that some of these animals don't happen to live in the same hemisphere, but for this magical time, we will go against our teachings.

Green sprinkles on vanilla buttercream and chocolate cupcake.

Red and Green sprinkles on vanilla buttercream on chocolate cupcakes.

Santa's little helper!

Penguin!

Polar bear!

Snowman

Polar bear!

Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Cute little polar bear!