Happy New Decade

Happy New Year everyone!

2010!

I want to apologize for this late post. I had said January 1st and now it is the 3rd - but hear me out, I had a good reason! The first two days of 2010 were painful... I somehow caught a stomach virus! I'm feeling much better today, so here is my post:

We have entered into a new decade and my blog will be featuring some new changes. First, I will try to blog more! Yay! So expect more updates from me. The new aspect is that there will be more posts about things I want to share or talk about. Basically, not every post will be a new cupcake or cake creation. Don't worry, there won't be a drastic change. =)

Another resolution, I will try and do more recipe testing and tutorials - I have a feeling that you like them. *grin* Perhaps some more giveaways too... I have another AWESOME one lined up - so stay tuned!

Thank you for listening, that's all for now!

Oh wait...

Were you expecting another announcement? Say... perhaps the winners of the 100th Post Giveaway Contest? Pshhh, you probably already scrolled down and took a peak, as if you read anything I wrote above!

But I would like to say, I was blown away by the entries! After the first three entries, I knew it would become a random draw. I just can't believe that so many people know our creations so well and passed this scavenger hunt with flying colours! The answers were:

image #1
Totoro Dust Ball Cupcake
The cute little dust ball from the film, Totoro.
Everyone got this one correct!


image #2
Vanilla Milk Cake with Pink Cream Cheese Frosting
Delightful! The pretty cake during a frightfully cold winter day.
Everyone got this one correct!


image #3
Happy Groundhog Day
A small tribute to the groundhog in my life - Howard!
Only one person didn't find this one. =)


I hope you had fun and drum roll please!

The first random name for a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes is Suellen L!
The second random name for a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes is Avanika K!
The third random name for a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes is Christina M!

Congratulations to Suellen, Avanika, and Christina! I will be e-mailing you a confirmation and to get your mailing address. I hope you enjoy the prize - it will be mighty hard to keep any healthy resolutions you made. I am simply a bad influence! ;)

How: Stegosaurus Birthday Cake

My favourite little cousin was born on New Year's Eve and I asked him what kind of birthday cake he would want. My aunt was whispering and nudging for a chocolate cake, but Justin politely asked for a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, decorated with dinosaurs. Done and done!

I can tell that Justin will be a good baker when he grows up. Justin occasionally helps me out in the kitchen. He is very good at using the ice-cream scoop to evenly distribute cupcake batter, keeping an eye on the oven, and taste-testing. This year, he made a fondant snowman for one of his cupcakes.

Fondant Stegosaurus

Rolled fondant
Gel paste colours
Clean toothpicks
Water
Brown or black sprinkles/jimmies
A rolling pin
A knife

1. If you are lucky enough to have coloured fondant, then you can skip these steps! Unless you want white-coloured dinosaurs, you will have to dye your white fondant. Get the gel paste in the colours you want and use a clean toothpick to dab into the gel.
2. Transfer the gel from the toothpick onto the fondant. Knead and roll until the fondant is completely coloured. Please do not double-dip the toothpick, use a new one if you need more gel for a darker shade.
   
3. I prefer having the plates and spikes a different colour than the body, so I will dye two colours for each Stegosaurus!
4. To make the body of the Stegosaurus, roll out this hill shape: a pointy end for the tail, a round end for the head. The body should be thicker than the head and the tail. It kind of looks like a fat slug:
   
5. Roll out four square-like shapes for the front and back legs. Attach them onto the body.
   
6. Using the rolling pin, roll your fondant smooth and flat. It should be about 2-3mm thick. With your fondant cutter or knife, cut out a long rectangular shape. Trim it so that it is not longer than the Stegosaurus' body that you made.
   
7. Again, using a fondant cutter or knife, cut out small triangles. This will create the back plates:
   
8. Carefully lift the plates and using a tiny dab of water, adhere it to the back of the Stegosaurus:
   
9. Create 3-4 fondant spikes or use long sprinkles for the spikes on the tail.
   
10. Lastly, take two sprinkles or jimmies to make eyes. You can also make a mouth using a thin knife:
    

Bonus! Fondant Water Creature

Rolled fondant
Gel paste colours
Clean toothpicks
Water
Brown or black sprinkles/jimmies
A rolling pin
A knife

1. It is basically the same concept as the Stegosaurus above - except you do three parts. You will need to make the tail, body, and long neck separately:
   
2. Make sure you make the tail and long neck longer than it needs to be. Why? Because they will need be submerged in the cake.
   
3. After making these parts, leave it out to dry for at least an hour so that the fondant hardens. This will help keep the tail and neck standing in the cake (or 3 cupcakes).
   

Ta-da! Some kind of water creature slash dinosaur!
I'm sure it is related to the Stegosaurus...

What? Stegosaurus and water relative can have birthday cake too!
Happy Birthday Justin!!!

Looking Back: 2009

It is almost New Year's Eve!

Don't you love lists? Well, it is that time of year again as we look back to our top 2009 favourites and some of yours!

The Top 3 Posts of 2009: (This was compiled by Google Analytics)

1. Invader Zim Cupcakes
2. Dinosaur Birthday Cupcakes
3. Ghosts of Cupcakes Past

Most Viewed and Faved Photos on Flickr:

1. Dinosaur Birthday Cupcakes
2. Dinosaur Birthday Cupcakes
3. How: Hedgehog Cupcake Set

Howard's Top 4 Favourites: (Yes, he couldn't narrow it down to 3!!!)

1. Squishy - I can't help wanting to squish this cute creation!
2. Pig - Very cute version of a pig.
3. Baby Ghost - Clean, cute, and looks great and yet so easy to make, great idea for a quick cupcake decor.
4. Triceratops - I guess they were my fav dinos when I was a kid, I liked this stubby version of it.

Sylvia's Top 3 Favourites:

1. Domo Birthday Cupcakes - Domo-kun! Just one look and Domo always makes me smile.
2. Humming Scooters -It is fun making things for other baking bloggers. =)
3. Summer Berries - This was by far my favourite tasting cupcake this year. Pineapple-strawberry upside-down cupcakes with ice cream makes a delicious treat!

Click here for the 2008 version. Do you have a favourite that isn't listed here? Let us know!

Join in our Reindeer Games

Yummy! Here are some chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate ganache glaze and a swirl of raspberry buttercream.

Let's play some reindeer games! We have three judges today: Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Frosty the Snowman. First game, can anyone (without cheating) name all of Santa's reindeers?

Hint: Rudolph is the easiest to spot first.

Next, we have a very simple mix-and-match game here. To make all the reindeers looks different, I used my handy letters, numbers, and punctuation cutters. Draw the line from the cutter to the matching reindeer antler.

F, 1, and !

Here's another one:

3, L, and Y

Finally, according to the lyrics of Frosty the Snowman, what is Frosty made of?

We hope you had fun!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
from Sylvia and Howard

Winter Party Cupcakes 2

Here are my second winter-themed cupcakes! The first one can be seen by clicking here. These cupcakes are vanilla with raspberry filling and topped with chocolate buttercream. I hope you enjoy the decorations, I made these little figures from fondant:

"...they keep falling..
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me..."

Do you prefer snowfakes or raindrops falling on your head?

Skates! I did the two, Howard's on the left and mine on the right.

Mom and Pop!

Brother and Sister!

A rare blog comment from Howard: The subtle/cute smile reminded me if a clip I saw somewhere where someone personified a cherry tomatoe by cutting a slit in it for a mouth then made a skit of it being sick and vomitting out "its guts" by squeezing it? So now for some reason I want to do the same thing but on this fondant snowgirl.
Nooo... not the little snowgirl! And this is why I mainly do the blogging.

Inspired by the Buffalo plaids that I've seen at Roots lately.
Some warm wooly mittens and a trapper hat!

The full album of photos can be viewed on our facebook page. They were posted early as a sneak preview for our fans. =)