Everything still on hold, all parties canceled. Social Distance is necessary but we can not forget to celebrate our freedom. I will do it from my sofa staring at the tv or window waiting for the fireworks, cause I am sure the will come!!!! Cause we may have to stay away but we are still free at heart!!!!
Tips for Making These Watermelon Blueberry Skewers
Choosing the best watermelon: make sure to get a melon that is heavy for its size, has a yellow-ish circle on it (meaning it ripened in the field), and makes a hollow sound when thumped (under-ripe melons sound duller).
Make sure to use a very stable cutting board while you cut your watermelon into ‘plates’. If your cutting board is slipping around, put a dishcloth under it.
While I usually use a full-size watermelon for this recipe (they’re cheaper!), if you are making this recipe with kids, it might be fun to get them each their own small melon.
This recipe works best with seedless watermelons.
It’s easy to add other fruit to these skewers as well! Pineapple and melon both make great stars too.
Pour the white candy melts into the jelly roll pan and then drizzle the colored candy melts over the top. Here’s a picture of how I drizzled it for this pattern.
Then I used a small wooden skewer (the non-pointy end) to swirl in a figure 8 pattern.
Now just top it with your toppings (crushed oreo cookies, m&m’s, star sprinkles, and red white and blue jimmies) and refrigerate until it’s hard enough to break. That’s it!!
There are so many fun ideas for June’s birthday parties. June is not too hot and definitely not cold, at least by where I am, so we can have the option of planning a celebration indoor or out. It’s even hard to choose since my husband loves the outdoors let plan a camping party, we can do it on a real campground? So let’s take the campground to our backyard… zoom it with your friends, but keep on celebrating
Ingredients 1 box of French Vanilla cake mix 1 C whole milk 3 large eggs 1/2 C unsalted sweet cream butter 1 C graham cracker crumbs 1/4 C coco powder 1 bag of mini pretzel rods 1 bag of mini marshmallows 1 package of tooth picks
Frosting ingredients: 1 C unsalted sweet cream butter 2 C powder sugar 1 tsp vanilla 3-5 TBSP Heavy whipping cream yellow and orange gel food coloring 1 large piping bag fitted with a medium star tip
Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners In a standing mixer, combine cake mix, butter, milk and eggs and mix on medium speed until combined Scoop batter 3/4 of the way into the cupcake liners and bake for 21 minutes Once done, pull out and set aside to cool Using a standing mixer, combine the butter, powder sugar vanilla and heavy whipping cream.
Mix until stiff peaks form Scoop some frosting into 2 bowls, 1 for the yellow and 1 for the orange frosting, leaving some frosting in the main bowl to frost the base of the cupcakes Directions for decorating: In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crust and coco powder, mix until combined Add 2 mini marshmallows to each tooth pick (about 12) and set aside Using a butter knife, frost the top of the cupcake using frosting left from the main bowl
Once frosted, dip the cupcake into the coco and graham cracker mixture Using a spoon, scoop some yellow frosting into 1 side of the piping bag and scoop the orange frosting into the other side
In the middle of the cupcake pipe frosting to create your flame
Cut the mini pretzel sticks in half and place around the “fire” about 4-5 sticks Add your marshmallow sticks to the top and enjoy!
Recipe Marshmallows 1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips Graham cracker crumbs (or make your own) Lollipop sticks Wax Paper Styrofoam
Steps 1) First, insert the lollipop sticks into the marshmallows. Make sure not to go all the way through or the marshmallow will fall off into the chocolate when dipping.
2) Melt your chocolate – either in a microwave or a double boiler (a makeshift one in my case). Have your graham cracker crumbs in a bowl nearby.
3) Gently dip each marshmallow into the chocolate and rotate until all sides are covered then dip directly into the graham cracker crumbs while the chocolate is still wet.
4) Place on wax paper, or stick into your styrofoam, to let cool and dry. I placed my piece of styrofoam directly into the decorative box I was using to display them in, and covered it with crinkled paper to be more presentable.
You will need: For Campers Nutter Butter cookies Mini Nilla Wafers Fruit Roll Up Black Edible Marker Frosting For Campfire Oreo cookies Orange, Red & Yellow Gumdrops Pretzel Sticks Frosting Optional: Graham Crackers for tent
1. Draw face on Mini Nilla Wafer using a black edible marker.
2. Attach Mini Nilla Wafer to the top end of the Nutter Butter with frosting.
3. For the sleeping bag, cut any color Fruit Roll Up with kitchen shears to fit and wrap around the bottom end of the Nutter Butter cookie.
4. Frost top of Oreo cookie.
5. Snap pretzel sticks into pieces and place on top of frosted Oreo to resemble campfire logs.
When making these pops, be sure to use a cake pop filling that holds it’s shape well, so that the pops will support the delicate layer of fondant on the exterior. Chill your cake pop bases well before adding your fondant layer, so that you have ample time to assemble each flower. Also, roll your fondant very thinly, although it may be a bit delicate to handle, the finished cake pop will have a better ratio of cake to icing if the fondant isn’t overwhelming the filling.close
Make these Rose Cake Pops for your Valentine and watch hearts swell and hugs and kisses ensue.
Cake Pop Filling (that holds it shape well) 6″ Long White Sucker Sticks White Candy Coating Pink Fondant Easy Rose 5 Petal Cutter Tulip Luster Dust Paintbrushes
Prepare your favorite cake pop mixture. Place the mixture in a bowl and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Using a scoop or a tablespoon, scoop out 1 level tablespoon of filling and roll into a tear drop shape with your hands. Continue with the rest of the filling and place the teardrops on a tray. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour or until very firm before adding the sticks.
Place some white candy coating in the microwave on half power and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted.
Remove one tear drop from the fridge. Using a sucker stick, pre poke a hole half way up, remove the stick, dip in melted coating and reinsert into the tear drop. Swipe away any dripping coating. Place back in the fridge and then continue, one-by-one, with remaining tear drops.
On a surface covered lightly with powdered sugar, roll out a small portion of hot pink fondant as thinly as possible. Use the rose cutter to cut out a flower shape.
Next, place the fondant flower in your palm with the center resting at the opening of your fingers. Brush the middle of the flower with a very light coating of water and poke the cake pop tear drop through the center of the fondant.
Next, referring to the numbers on the rose cutter, lift and stretch petal #1 up and around the teardrop.
Repeat the process with petal #2, making sure it cups and intertwines with petal #1 to cover the tear drop cake pop. Brush with a little water in spots to adhere as necessary.
Repeat the process again with petal #3, #4 and #5. Make sure to place these petal evenly around the outside of the bud, using a little water to adhere in places as necessary. When the petals are finished, use your fingers to curl and flair the edge of the petals for effect.
Prop the rose up in a glass to dry and start again, working on only one rose at a time.
Using a dry paintbrush, heavily dab the inside and edges of the rosebud with tulip red luster dust. Gently turn the cake pop upside down and brush off excess onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to catch the excess. Recoat in layers as desired.
For the ladyfingers: 1/2 cup (65 grams) cake flour 3 large eggs yolks 1/2 cup (1oo grams) sugar, divided 3 egg whites 1 teaspoon orange blossom water pinch of salt 1/2 cup to 3/4 grated coconut (both unsweet or sweet are fine)
– Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. – Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar until thick and pale yellow at high speed for about 5 minutes. Add the orange blossom water and give the mixer another quick whirl to combine. – Transfer the batter to a bowl, and sift the cake flour over it but do not fold it in yet.Wash your mixer’s bowl thoroughly before proceeding with the egg whites. – Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the pinch of salt and increase the speed and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and whip until stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture in three additions, mixing just until incorporated. Do not over fold or you will loose air and the cookies will turn flat. – Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitting with narrow tip (I used Ateco #807) and pipe the batter into 6 3 inch circles first, then continue with the remaining batter to make 4 inch long ladyfingers.keeping one inch space in between them. Feel free to draw circles and lines on the parchment paper and to invert it prior to baking (so you don’t get ink or pencil lines on your cookies) as a guide. – Sprinkle as little as 1/2 cup to as much as 3/4 cup of grated coconut, depending on your taste. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but only slightly browned and are spongy when pressed with a finger. – Remove them from the oven and let the baking sheets cool on wire rack for a few minutes. It will be easier to remove the cookies from the parchment paper if you do so when they are still a little warm. Once lifted from the paper, let the cookies cool completely on wire racks before using them.
For the raspberry mousse: 250 ml (1 cup) milk 1/4 cup (55 grams) sugar 3 egg yolks 2 tsp Chambord 2 tsp powdered gelatin + 1/4 cup cold water 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed and mashed with a fork 3/4 cup heavy cream
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside to bloom. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until pale yellow. In the meantime time, in a medium saucepan, heat the milk to boiling point. Slowly pour some of the hot milk over the egg yolks to temper them. Add the remaining milk in one steady stream, whisking well. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan, and cook over medium low heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, add the Chambord, raspberries and gelatin and stir until the latter is completely dissolved. Let cool to room temperature. In a large bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to soft peaks. Incorporate the raspberry base in 2 additions into the cream. Use immediately.
To assemble the charlottes: Place 6 rings onto a parchment line baking sheet. Line 6 rings with parchment paper, place a disk of ladyfinger cookie at the bottom and line the inside with as many fingers as will fit in them. Divide the mousse evenly in between the rings. Refrigerate until completely set. When ready to serve, unmold the charlottes and top with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Mini Strawberry Trifle 1 box white cake mix 3 pints strawberries 1 small package cheesecake or vanilla flavored pudding 1 cup cool whip
Bake the white cake according to package directions. Let cool and cut into small, bite-sized squares. Mix pudding according to package directions. After it sets, mix in cool whip. Wash and slice strawberries.
When ready, layer bottom of Lil’ Mason with cake bites, then add a layer of pudding, then a layer of strawberries. Repeat until full, and top with a dollop of cool whip and a small strawberry. This recipe will make about six mini strawberry trifles.
I am sure some people could use some humor out of all the craziness we been living in 2020… everything is canceled!!! But I can still celebrate at home with my cat and walls lol
Since it seems like most smash cakes end up more smashed and smeared than eaten, a simple box cake is perfect. I used one box of cake mix, and one tub of white icing that I tinted blue with food coloring. You can use mini cake pans or Corningware dishes about the same size, then just prepare the cake according to box directions and bake.Since it seems like most smash cakes end up more smashed and smeared than eaten, a simple box cake is perfect. I used one box of cake mix, and one tub of white icing that I tinted blue with food coloring.
Once cooked and cooled, slice the rounded tops off with a sharp knife to give each cake a flat top. Originally I planned to make a three tiered cake, but once I had them all prepared, it just seemed too tall and decided on two tiers.
To finish, add a little frosting between each cake layer as you stack. Then just spread frosting over top! Usually, it’s preferred to spread a thin layer of frosting, called a crumb coat, and then go back over with a thicker coat of frosting. Whichever way you do it, just get some frosting on, it’ll all be smashed around soon enough anyway.
To garnish for a sky cake, I used sugar paper and cut out clouds… so easy!
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THE RAIN CLOUD CUPCAKE TOPPERS: Modeling Chocolate (you can use fondant, but I like modeling chocolate for this purpose because it doesn’t get as hard as fondant and kids like the taste.) If you need a good recipe for modeling chocolate go here. This is the recipe I use. Black, Yellow and Blue Gel Color Blue Edible Sparkle Dust (make sure all the dusts you use say edible…some are not and will just say nontoxic on them) Dark Edible Silver Dust Super Pearl Edible Dust Black Sparkle Edible Dust Lemon Extract Cornstarch/Powdered Sugar (just to keep the modeling chocolate from sticking to the board) Blossom Cutters (two sizes) (similar: here) Small Petal Cutters (two smallest sizes) I used two, but if I made these again, I’d just use the bigger of the two sizes. I also squeezed mine closed a little to give it more of that rain drop look. Small Fondant Roller Popsicle sticks (get the longer ones so there’s enough room for them to go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.) Brushes (of course, brushes you only use for cake decorating.) You want to have two colors of modeling chocolate, one blue and one a light gray. For gray I just mixed in a tiny bit of black. Tip: Wilton’s black gel color seems to have a purple tint and you might not always see it until the next day, so I add a TINY bit of yellow and it cancels it out.
Roll out your gray modeling chocolate. I used my pasta roller attachment on my KitchenAid, but you can use the small fondant roller for this. I used the notch bigger than the ‘1’ on my machine, which I guess would be a zero. You don’t want it to look too thick, but it needs a little thickness to adhere to the popsicle stick, so probably an 1/8 of an inch thick.
Use your bigger blossom cutter and cut out as many as you have cupcakes for. Then do the same for the small ones. You want a big blossom and a small one for each cupcake.
Now cut both sizes, but not in half exactly. Cut about the bottom 1/3 off and cut them at weird angles. Save the bottoms that you cut off (from the bigger blossoms)…we’ll use them later. Turn your bigger blossoms face side down. Paint some water on the back where the popsicle stick will go and a little around it. Place a popsicle stick there. Push it down just a little. Place a little folded up paper towel under the sticks so they’re level. Place one of the mini clouds you cut from the smaller blossom cutter, over the back of the popsicle stick…it acts like a bandage to keep the stick stuck onto the modeling chocolate. Now, leave them face down and set them aside to adhere fully. I let them sit over night because it was late and I was tired, but you don’t have to let them sit that long. An hour is plenty of time.
Next, use your petal cutter (I used an inch size petal cutter) and cut out two for each cupcake. I cut out the smaller size too, but next time I would just use my bigger cutter for the front and the back.
Take your blue edible sparkle dust and mix it with a little lemon extract. Paint it onto all of the raindrops…you don’t have to paint both sides. It’s not gonna look pretty at this point…just wait for it. Let the extract evaporate a little. Then take your DRY blue sparkle dust and ‘pounce’ it onto the front of each raindrop. I used quite a bit because I love me some sparkly. They should look like the bottom left picture at this point. Next, take a small brush and use a little dry super pearl dust and dust a little in a crescent shape to add a little highlighting to your raindrop…bottom right picture. Oooo pretty.
Now, back to the rainclouds. Turn your popsicle sticks back over and you want to now take those bottom pieces from the bigger blossoms that you cut off and attach them to the bottom of your cloud. You saved them right? Note to self, don’t let my fingernails grow this long, or I’ll end up stabbing the modeling chocolate as you can see in the left cloud.
Now the fun part! Mix together the dark edible silver dust and the black sparkle dust. Take a brush and go along the edges of the cloud…the main one and the little one. You want to brush it on the edges and then draw it in just a bit, but not all the way to the middle. Take a little empty squirt bottle and use it to blow air onto your cloud to get off all the leftover dust sitting on it. Then take your brush and use a swirling motion to blend the dust, just make sure you leave the middle of each cloud fairly light.
You can dust the backs too, if you want.
With your clouds and the big raindrop facing down, add a little water to the middle of the back of the raindrop and attach the popsicle stick to it. Then use the other raindrop, glitter side up, over the back to seal it. (See, I used a smaller petal cutter, but I think a large one would work even better, but, this is the back of the topper, so it’s your choice. Let it sit for a bit to attach very well…maybe 30 minutes. When you pick it up and turn it over to the front side, it’ll look like the bottom right.
Now all you have to do is stick these babies into your cupcakes!
Ingredients 3 egg whites ¼ tsp cream of tartar ¾ cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together 3 egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and mix until soft peaks form. With the mixer of high speed, gradually add the sugar, one tbsp at a time, making up the sugar is completely dissolved before each consecutive spoonful. The egg whites will slowly turn glossy and bright white. Add vanilla extract and mix to incorporate. To test your meringue, rub some batter between your thumb and index finger. You want the sugar to be completely dissolved. If you can still feel the grains of sugar, continue mixing for another minute. Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe cloud shapes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 1½ hours. At that point you should be able to lift the cookies off the parchment paper easily. At that point, turn off the oven and leave your cookies in overnight to dry out.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together 3 egg whites on medium speed until frothy:
Add cream of tartar and mix until soft peaks form:
With the mixer of high speed, gradually add the sugar, one tbsp at a time, making up the sugar is completely dissolved before each consecutive spoonful. The egg whites will slowly turn glossy and bright white:
Add vanilla extract and mix to incorporate. To test your meringue, rub some batter between your thumb and index finger. You want the sugar to be completely dissolved. If you can still feel the grains of sugar, continue mixing for another minute. Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe cloud shapes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet:
To get the right shape, pipe 3 dots at the bottom and then 2 dots on top. Add a little swirl here and there… Bake for 1 1/2 hours. At that point you should be able to lift the cookies off the parchment paper easily. At that point, turn off the oven and leave your cookies in overnight to dry out.
USA American Independence Colored MINI 0.5 Inch Gumballs 2 Pounds-4th Of July Candy
