Sweet Escapes - DIY Cake/Cupcake Stand Projects

Hello old friends!

I say old since it has been over a week since my last post, but I have been moving myself into my new off-campus college apartment (Woo!). So this will have to be a short post as well, since there is still so much to do. But I couldn't leave you without your Weekly Sweet Escape. A bit more to the point than usual, but here is a little collection of DIY Projects I have found about making your own designer cake/cupcake stands. Each project is super cost-effective, and results in a fabulous stand that is both functional and fashionable. I know, more alliteration. I'm sorry I'm sorry I am working on it ;) 

1. CensationalGirl

2. Decorganize Crafts (this was the most intriguing - using stove top burners!)

3. EatDrinkPretty

4. Shelterness

As Always - hope you enjoyed this week's short, but nonetheless sweet escape. Keep an eye out for a post on Red Velvet Brownies later this week! :D

Sweet Escapes - Soapopotamus

Hello all!

So for this week's Sweet Escape, we will journey to my absolute favorite online marketplace - Etsy.

Now for those of you who are not familiar with it, Etsy is home to a ton of little internet "storefronts" for anything and everything handmade. I actually found out about Etsy when my boyfriend and I ran a little handmade clothing company out of his garage in high school. As you can imagine, we were thrifty entrepreneurs, and so we discovered Etsy because of its economical advantages. It's a great place for a start up if you're low on funds, or if you are looking for a market of buyers who love handmade items. The way Etsy works is that there is no fee to register or hold a storefront, just to list an item and a small percentage of your profit on each listed item. Definitely cheaper than owning a physical storefront, it is home to a veritable pantheon of fun, irresistible, handmade goodies.

Now, let's take a look at a shop who's entire inventory is on my wishlist: Soapopotamus.

Cinnamon Roll 6 Pack - $8

Yes, these are soap. Goat's milk soap to be exact, which I have heard fantastic reviews about. I have really sensitive skin, and almost all of her soaps are goat's milk, which is supposed to be uber gentle, and uber nourishing. What better way to wake up in the morning with a nice hot shower and a cinnamon bun?!

Carrot Cake Bar - $5.50

I am seriously stumped as to how she made the cake look so realistic. I'm always on the hunt for nice Fall scents (if I could I'd live in perpetual autumn) so I would love this to go with the cozy feeling of the chilly season.

Blueberry Muffin - $5.50

Not only is this the size of an actual muffin - she even made little blueberry soaps and suspended them throughout. So neat - and really shows dedication in my opinion on the part of the seller. Bravo.

Half Dozen Glazed Mini Donuts - $8

These little soaps are listed under her "Mini Food Guest Soap" section, and seriously, I would LOVE to be able to give a friend one of these to use while she stayed over. Just picture your friend's face when you pull out this little donut and go "and here's your soap!" Shocked and awed, I'm sure. And I would be perfectly content with smelling like a donut. (Maybe you think that's strange, and that's fine. No judgment. But I'm telling you, there are worse things to smell like than a glazed donut my friend.)

Rice Krispie Treat 4 Pack - $5

I saved the best for last. No joke - you have now just witnessed a rice krispie treat in soap form. You didn't think such an item existed did you? Well, now you can go and buy these and impress (or concern) your friends with your love for sweets. My roommates have already seen my fake food jewelry collection, so this probably wouldn't phase them much. Though, this would be in the shower, which might be a bit disconcerting. Or funny. Your pick. :D

Soapopatmus has plenty more where these came from. So if your prefer, oh, I don't know, chocolate cake, toast, or strawberry cupcakes, please make sure to check her out. I can't buy handmade all the time, but I like to do so when I can because you get your money's worth and your supporting small business; which, in my opinion, is always good. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's Sweet Escape! Be sure to check back next Monday for a look at more handmade treats for sweets - DIY Cakestand Designs.

Disclaimer: all photos featured are from the Soapopatmus Shop. Please link her and cite her shop appropriately if using these photos!

In Search of the Perfect Sugar Cookie

Hello again!

The weather has been so stormy lately, and being stuck inside the house means endless amounts of time to peruse Pinterest and find more recipes to bookmark. As I am scrolling through endless amounts of pins, wondering what to do with myself on such a rainy day, I see this post for "Thick, Soft Sugar Cookies". Intrigued are you? I was. So with the rain coming down in buckets, I resist the urge to just sleep/lounge all day and head to my kitchen.

Do you have one of those treats that just reminds you of the first time you baked with your mom or on your own? For me, it's sugar cookies. From those little ones with the printed image in the center that you slice and bake, to cut-out Christmas cookies, sugar cookies have always been my favorite. So I have quite the high expectations when it comes to finding recipes online. I want a cookie that is a) soft b) chewy and c) only slightly vanilla flavored. Sugar cookies shouldn't be vanilla cookies, they should be, well, sugar - flavored. You all know what I mean, right?

Right. So I find this recipe that appears to be a good match to what I'm searching for. Pretty straightforward recipe, though I was surprised to see sour cream as an ingredient. But I decided to have some fun and I split the dough in half and make some pink cookies too. Since, well, who doesn't like pink? I also wanted perfectly round cookies, and so I channeled my inner MacGyver and used the top of the PAM spray to cut out cookies. Super easy and no need to buy a cookie cutter.

Cute? Definitely. Sugar Cookie? Yes. But, my friends, it was not to be. The quest for the perfect sugar cookie continues.

Not that these were bad. No, actually my brother and his friends quite liked them. To me, though, they were a little bland and a little dry. In all fairness, Peppermint Plum did cover her cookies with a nice thick coating of frosting, and that probably did make them delicious and much richer. But for me, a really great sugar cookie doesn't need frosting. It's a cookie, not a cake. Maybe some rainbow sprinkles, I'll give you that, but like I said, I have really high expectations when it comes to these.

But hey, even though they weren't my favorite, it still gave me another chance to play around with the camera and try to improve my photography skills. It also kept me from sitting on my bum all day watching tv, so in the grand scheme, it actually was a pretty successful baking experience.

I've included the link to the recipe here, with some more photos as I continue to practice my food styling. As I continue to fight with lighting issues I don't quite know how to amend without professional lighting, and my own lack of creativity when it comes to setup, I remind myself - practice makes perfect (or better at least). One day though, I will have picturesque setups with my desserts on beautiful cake stands and adorable accessories and backdrops. One day.

Please feel free to leave suggestions in the comment box if you have any ideas for cute ways to set up my photos! :D I'm always up for hearing from fellow bloggers on ways to improve. Happy Baking!

Sweet Escapes - FredFlare.Com

So I must confess, before blogging about my baking adventures here on Blogger, I ran a little blog on Tumbr dedicated to "Sweet Escapes", which was pretty much anything I could find on the internet that was inspired by dessert/candy etc. I happen to have quite the obsession with food-inspired jewelry, and it was the perfect outlet to share that obsession with the world.

Until Now.

I've decided; once a week, I will post about "Sweet Escapes" I find all across the web and wherever else my obsession with sweets takes me. I just miss it too much not to do so.

And this week, to start it off, I introduce FredFlare.Com

This site is one of my absolute biggest guilty pleasures. They have the neatest array of kitschy-cute accessories for your wardrobe and your home. I haven't really been able to save up enough to splurge on all my favorites (yet) but my birthday is coming up in October so...it's always good to plan ahead with a wishlist. :D

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Pouch ($9)

Now tell me you wouldn't love to whip this little cutie out of your purse when you need some spare change! So adorable. Too bad it's not available yet. It's arriving soon, so be sure to add yourself to the waitlist!

2. Cupcake Floss ($9)

Cupcake-flavored floss you say? I say - must have. Tastes and smells just like a cupcake, but without the sugar-inducing cavities or the calories. This would be a perfect stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift for the cupcake addict in your group of friends (or for yourself, no one's judging here).

3. Ice Cream Cone Lamp ($50)

Another one that's "arriving soon", this would make such a statement in your bed room (or in my case, my college apartment. Though I don't know if my less food-obsessed roomies would agree.)

4. Sweet Dreams Cupcake Pillow ($30)

Okay, so if the cupcake floss is the stocking stuffer - here's the one to stick under the tree (unwrapped) for your cupcake-lover. Seriously, who wouldn't want this pillow? The sprinkles are adorable and I am loving the realism with the paper wrapper. A little bit pricier than your average pillow; sure. But worth it? I think so.

5. Delicious Dessert Keychains ($6)

This was the first item I saw that actually made me think to blog about FredFlare and all its neat goodies. It's a blind assortment so you have no idea what you'll get (which is exciting for some, and frustrating for others) but at only $6, I might just buy 2 sets to increase my chances of getting that Samoa keychain!

And this is just the tip of the iceberg my friends. At FredFlare you can find all of these and others, including (but not limited to):

• Cupcake Soap Dispenser ($12)
• Cupcake Kitchen Timer ($9)
• Ice Cream Kitchen Timer ($10)
• Donut Puzzle ($16)
  

The list just goes on and on. Not into dessert? No problem. The site also is home to multitudes of other fun items, like a sushi pillow, bacon soap, and even an EtchASketch Ipad Case, just to name a few. 

This has been this week's Sweet Escape. Next week I'll take a look at one of Etsy's many kawaii-inspired Faux Dessert Jewelry Shops (not sure which yet, there are so many contenders!) so keep an eye out for more sweetly inspired treats to come!

Donut Photo Shoot

Hello all!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I must confess I felt quite uninspired this week. Well, no, that's not true. I felt inspired to try out BrownEyedBaker's Salted Caramel Brownies...which, when attempted by yours truly, were then aptly renamed Disappointing Burnt Butter Brownies >_< . Not good my friends, not good.

To add to my frustrations, I received yet another photo reject from FoodGawker (FG). I have been trying feverishly to get just one of my photos from my posts up on there, unfortunately to no avail. My composition is always too tight or my lighting is off. Rawr I say. I've seen plenty on that site with tighter compositions than mine.

So what is a girl to do? I go and check out some of my favorite baking blogs, and I just start to daydream about having oh, I don't know, 500 followers? Having a whole gallery on FG? Having recipes that other bakers drool over?

Alas, it is not to be. Well, not yet anyway. I know it takes time, but seriously, it can get frustrating. All of you out there who are like me, trying to gain a following either here on Blogger, or with FoodBuzz or FG, with no success, you know what I mean. It gets better though; I think. I hope.

After telling myself to pull it together, I decided that I would do a post that gives me some more practice with my food-styling. Although I am a writer, the photo-taking aspect of blogging is still new for me, which sort of explains the rejections from FG.

So the new motto for me (and my blog) is practice! practice! practice! Failure is not bad; it just means I learned a whole new way not to do something.

And what else should I dedicate an entire photo shoot to but one of my favorite little treats - mini donuts!

There's a recipe via PinchofYum at the end of the post after the photos. Hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed decorating and photographing! Enjoy!

Vanilla Mini Donuts with Chocolate Frosting (Slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum)

1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

1. Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add vanilla, buttermilk, egg and melted butter all at once and stir until just combined.
3. Bake 4-6 minutes in Donut Maker. Let cool then dip in Chocolate Frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Via Food.com


1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4-6 tbsp hot water
4 oz milk chocolate chips

1. Melt butter and chocolate chips in 15 second intervals in microwave.
2. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
3. Add enough hot water to achieve smooth consistency.