Busy Birthday Cupcakes.

So if you live in Canada and not in Quebec, then you just had a long weekend. For what? Nobody really knows. Actually, let's Google that! Result: Nobody the heck knows, even within our country we don't know what it's for. But it's there and I'm not complaining about a day off work, if indeed I could get a day off (more on this later, if you care). 

Epic Baking Weekend Item 2: Manly Meat Pie!

After trying out a few pie crusts, some with success and many with failure and at the request of dearest I decided to try a savoury pie. Actually, the meat pie was made because I wanted to make a lard crust. I learned that lard made the flakiest pie crust but then I read that it was best used for savoury pies so meat pie it was. Maybe I'll try it in a sweet pie one day though. Who knows? It might turn out, they put cheddar cheese in apple pies after all. In comparison, it doesn't seem like a very big risk.

Epic Baking Weekend Item 1: Blueberry Track Tarts!

Not in order of how I made them that weekend, because there was no really order of how I made things, let's start off with my Blueberry Track Tarts.

All this pie making has got me eager to get pie/tart crusts perfect! This is also in my support of pie domination. I should really call these cup pies or cuppies or maybe not really since they are indeed tarts. Cuptarts?

I already had one success and one failure for pie crusts, so I thought I'd give tart crusts a try as I had found a nice recipe for blueberry tarts and I had lovely blueberries from St. Lawrence Market. Now is the beginning of the blueberry season by the way. That means they are the sweetest and cheapest! So pick some up to snack on or cook with. Nerdism: Blueberries are also great for their anti-oxidant properties. That means they fight against cancer and aging. They're one of those super foods that taste delicious, not like.... erm... Milk Thistle. (I dunno I had to Google superfoods to find a weird one.)

An Introduction to My Epic Baking Weekend+ Sleeping Tips

First of all, I apologize for such a late post. There are no good excuses but the reason was because, as I posted on my twitter, I planned a weekend of epic baking. Not only was I making 8 recipes for 5 items, I had a weekend filled with outings with friends and the dearest. I had just taken on more than I could bake. I didn't even have enough time to update my twitter (which may as well be a good thing as apparently I have a tweeting problem)

Strawberry Festival @ St. Lawrence Market

Hello Everyone,

So this week, I attempted to make Strawberry Pie and as usual, the first try was a disaster. That's okay though. As stressful as it is trying to fix something you've messed up real bad, I get to learn a lot. On the up-side my dough was nice and flakey but it shrunk and I over baked the second batch...I'll try again tonight and hopefully it'll work out. I have to tell you about my trip to St. Lawrence Market. It was my first time there and it was AMAZING!

Apple and Pear Pie!

Why do Cakes get to reign over all the celebrations? Birthdays, Weddings, Retirement (?) Parties, Anniversaries, random holidays/events. Why don't any of the other baked goods get any of the glory? Aren't they just as good? Just as versatile? Hmm.. Maybe not, but I'm ready for the challenge. I challenge you, Cake, with Pie. One day I'll make pie versions of all your variations. Watch out!

Snakes, Piggies and Settlers

My friend, K, loves snakes; she's got 3! They're named Lumpy, Lemon and Pumpkin. She also has a cute little yellow gecko who jumps at the sight of her. He still needs to get used to his new home. She also loves these little piggies, they're all over her house, in a subtle way though. So for her birthday I decided to combine the two. What do you think?

I know it looks a little sad, poor little piggy, but no animals were injured in the making of this cake =)

Advertising

I packaged up some of the chocolate chip cookies I made and decided to do a little advertising for this blog. Thanks to K for helping me prepare them and J for the pictures.

I brought them to the Sigma Racing Time Attack Series' first event. We were all there to support bdon22, he's featured on the front page! It turned out to be a beautiful day and I got a nice surprise, an old university friend was there. OH and I got to ride in a race car. Super Fun. This could mean trouble though, I might be a little more okay about my dear F getting mods on his new car. Maybe.

Racing aside, the cookies were a hit and were gone in less than 10 minutes. =D I didn't think racing dudes would check out my blog (I tried to go to groups were there were girls) but surprisingly enough someone did! One is enough to make me happy but I really want to get a lot of feedback. That means more baked treats at track days and weekend outings. I may have to dump random pies and cookies and such at my Baking Fairy God-Sister's house too. Look out!

The Classic Cookie

What's the first cookie you think of when you think cookie?

Was it a buttery shortbread cookie? A sandwich cookie like Oreos? Peanut butter cookies? Oatmeal raisin? (I'll get around to making all of those sooner of later.)

No, I bet it was Chocolate Chip. Am I right? If you searched cookie in Google surprisingly, This is what comes up (What!?). But right after that is this (That's more like it). And what kind of cookie is displayed? That's right, Chocolate Chip Mmm Mmm.

The comfort cookie, raw or cooked; the cookie in milk and cookies. The cookie of choice for Cookie Monster (credible source ya?). Why wouldn't it be? They're soft and gooey, with partially melted chocolate chips right after they come out of the oven. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

So of course I had to write a blog about chocolate chip cookies, this couldn't truly be a baking blog without it. So here it is: Chocolate Chip Cookies from scratch.

Cupcakes, Meringues and Mother's Day!

Mothers! Happy Mothers Day! Super Happy Mothers Day, especially since so many of my cousins are having babies recently; from the Abbotsford, B.C. to Edmonton, AB, to Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC.

Now I'm not gonna lie, Mother drives me nuts sometimes and I probably drive her nuts sometimes too. If it weren't for Mommy though, I couldn't be elbow deep in flour, sugar, eggs and dough. So thank you Mommy for birthing me err... bringing me into this world.

So my present to her this year, I accepted my offer to attend school for Respiratory Therapy. Might not really sound like a gift to HER but trust me, it was. Oh and I made her some cupcakes or more like I made some cupcakes inspired by Mother's day cause Mother doesn't much like sweets so I made a very small batch. She didn't even try them. ='(

Anyway I present to you my Blueberry Buttercream Cupcakes with Meringue Kisses.

Welcome

Hello all and thanks for visiting my blog!

I've found my calling in life, and it calls to me from pre-heated oven.

Too long has my love affair with baking been hidden, It's time to announce it to the world. It's invigorating, exciting and terrifying but my decision has been made and baking is in my future. Lots of it, more than I could possibly consume on my own; I call on family on friends, lest I be left to "suffer" in gluttony on my own.

Was that dramatic enough for you? Have I peaked your interest? Or am I just some crazy person who's publicly declared their secret love affair for baking?