Roses and Hydrangeas Bridal Shower Cupcakes

Someone is getting married!

No, still not us.

Hmmm, so we're guessing that you're just wondering what this post could be about. After all, the post title gives nothing away. Well, wonder no more! We made cupcakes for a friend's bridal shower and decorated them with roses and hydrangeas! Soft pastel colours on yummy vanilla buttercream and hazelnut cupcakes.

Roses, sweet (fondant) roses!

Lightly dusted hydrangeas!

A bundle of sugar flowers for the soon-to-be bride!

Hola Cuba!

Gosh it was hot!

Where? In Varadero, Cuba!

We stayed at the lovely Iberostar Varadero for a week of sizzling sun, fun, food, drinks, beach, pool, and star friends. Here's a brief tour of where we stayed:

View of the lobby (click on the image to enlarge).

The hallway beside the lobby.

The iconic Iberostar Varadero gazebo.

Pool-side bar, jacuzzi, pool volley-ball (early in the morning before the area gets populated).

Map of Iberostar Varadero. We stayed in villa #13! Can you spot where we took the photo?

Oh beach, how we miss thee!

Photos of some of the food we had. There was so much - buffet everyday! Except we forgot to weigh ourselves before the trip, so we can't say if we've gained any weight. I think that it is best not to know!

Top left going clockwise: Delicious chocolate mousse cake; FBI - Fried Banana Ice Cream, or a Flaming Banana in this case; Pretty and yummy pink cake; Closest dessert we found to a cupcake. Chocolate drizzled with icing. It was really hard.

Main image: Heart of teppanyaki vegetables at the Japanese à-la-carte.
Top left to bottom right: Plates waiting for the entrees at the Cuban à-la-carte; Seafood pasta at the Mediterranean à-la-carte; Curry chicken and fried potatoes with rice from Hotel Florida in Havana; Vegetable rolls at the Japanese à-la-carte; Fried Rice at the Japanese à-la-carte.

Photos from our day trip to Havana:

Inside Hotel Florida, we stopped to have lunch here.

The famous Hotel Ambos Mundos! Does anyone know why? It has to do with an author...

Beautiful architecture in the city of Havana.

Sadly, not all the buildings are maintained, but I sort of like the washed-out colours.

-20%!!! your taxi ride!

A flash of yellow drives by us.

Sigh. It was a great trip, but now we'll nurse our sunburns, mosquito bites, and play catch-up with everything we missed. That's all for now, it is time to get back-to-work!

Why Nut?

The beginning of autumn (yes I said autumn - Costco is already selling the Christmas decorations) is going to be quite hectic and busy. So before all that begins, we are going on vacation!!! But before we go, we will leave you with a delicious hazelnut cupcake with chocolate frosting - a part of a balanced breakfast!


Hazelnut Cupcakes
Recipe from The Whimsical Bakehouse
(Makes about 24 cupcakes)

1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/4 cup of sour cream
2/3 cups of finely chopped toasted hazelnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners and pans ready.
2. Have shelled hazelnuts on an ungreased sheet pan. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12-18 minutes or until the skins crack and the nuts are golden in colour.
3. Have the hazelnuts cool and rub them in a towel to remove the skin.
4. Using a food blender/chopper, have the hazelnuts finely chopped.
5. Then, using an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add in the 2 eggs until mixed.
7. Sift together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
8. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the sour cream into the butter/brown sugar/egg mixture.
9. Stir in by hand the finely chopped toasted hazelnuts.
10. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

In the spirit of "why nut?/why not?" we decided to spike!

Chocolate Frosting
(Makes enough for 12 cupcakes)

1 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups of confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of chocolate hazelnut spread (aka Nutella)
1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup of soy milk

1. Heat the soy milk over a double boiler until it bubbles.
2. Remove from heat, pour heated soy milk over the chopped chocolate.
3. Let the mixture sit for about a minute and then whisk until smooth.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and confectioner's sugar until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract.
5. Slowly add in chocolate/soy milk mixture.
6. Mix until smooth and put into a piping bag.

These hazelnut cupcakes were delicious!!! And don't worry, we will be home before you know it and we are sure to post photos from our trip when we get back!

Year One

Year One Giveaway Contest

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to Mike! For his entry, he said that his favourite baked creation was the nursery rhyme cupcakes.

Thank you to Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes], vandana slathia, and The Scootabaker for the comments! Thank you to our readers for entering! Finally, we must thank Anna from Hachette Book Group for Confetti Cakes for Kids and Jessica from Random House of Canada for Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes and The Whimsical Bakehouse. Our previous reviews can be found here.

Year One

Happy 1 year birthday lil blog!

Wow, time just flies.
^time^
See what we mean? Time is just soaring away in those tiny wings.

*cue montage music*
It started out as a fun weekend at our nearest Michael's store (which was not in the city we live in). We had a fantastic Wilton instructor, Antonella, who taught us all three levels of Cake Decorating. And we learned a lot about cakes, buttercream, royal icing, colour flow icing, gumpaste, and fondant. We would highly recommend taking these courses if you want to try your hand at cake decorating.

We're glad that we started this blog and we hope that you have enjoyed our baked creations! Thank you to our followers, everyone who became a fan on facebook, followed us on twitter, and added us as a contact on flickr. Most of all, thank you for all the comments and conversations! Finally, a huge thank you to all our families and friends for their support and inspirations.

Okay, we're getting the signal to end our speech... so let's move onto the fun stuff: Giveaway time! We hope you love cake/decorating cookbooks, because we're giving this awesome set away!

Bookish Treats:
Confetti Cakes for Kids
Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes
The Whimsical Bakehouse

To enter the Year One Giveaway Contest:

1. Under this post's comments, please leave your: Name, E-mail (or some kind of reliable contact), and tell us your favourite creation from our blog or your favourite books! Easy stuff!
2. This contest is available to residents of Canada and the U.S.A. only - sorry International cupcake lovers! =(
3. The Year One Giveaway Contest contest is open on August 18th 2009 until August 28th 2009. Comments posted after 12 midnight EST on August 28th will not be considered.
4. The winner will be randomly chosen on August 30th 2009 and then announced on August 31st 2009 on our blog.
5. Don't forget, you are allowed 1 entry by commenting (any more than that and they will not be considered or deleted) and please leave your correct contact information! Best of luck!