Sep.
22

I know it’s been a while but I’m finally back :)  I upgraded to the latest version of WordPress and it unfortunately didn’t like my blog template.  That needed to be fixed… and it took a lot longer than I ever expected.  In the interim, I was afraid to try and publish any new content so I (im)patiently waited it out :)  But yes, I’m back and happy to bring you these super tasty vanilla cupcakes!   Recently I was contacted by Singing Dog Vanilla asking me to try their vanilla extract.  My first response was a resounding “sure thing!” and was even more pleased when they agreed to sponsor a giveaway for one of my blog readers!  A giveaway in which the winner will have a choice between two different Singing Dog Vanilla products!  A giveaway that will tap your creativity!  A giveaway that is not limited to “US Residents Only”… this time it’s open to those of you in Canada as well so this giveaway really is a good thing!

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Aug.
22

No matter how much I like something, it’s hard for me to make it twice… especially twice in the span of a single week.   The recipe has to be special… very special.  And it has to be good… very good.   And even so, there are bazilions of recipes for the same thing so why make one of them  multiple times?  Why not try other recipes for that same thing and perhaps find something {gasp!} even better?   One of the exceptions to this, of course, is Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake.  I’ve made that countless times… it’s THAT GOOD.  Truth be told, right now I’m pretty darn full from dinner but could easily eat a slice of it right now… it’s THAT GOOD.  But… I digress ;)  I’ve been making quite a few ice cream recipes lately and loving them all.  A couple of weeks ago I decided to try out a recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  I remembered how good things turned out when I used the David Lebovitz recipe for chocolate ice cream and searched his archives for a vanilla one.  No lie… David Lebovitz can make ice cream.  And I’m not talkin good ice cream… I’m talking fantastic, terrific, amazing, best-you-ever-had, jump-back-and-kiss-yourself, so-fabulous-that-you-make-it-two-weekends-in-a-row ice cream.  Ice cream that’s so good it moved me to post an open letter about it on Twitter… something dorky like “Dear David Lebovitz, your vanilla bean ice cream is amazing… Love, Em”.   Yeah, I toldja… dorky.  But what can I say?  This vanilla bean ice cream is so good I had no shame… I was moved to tweet about it!  It’s THAT GOOD!

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Jul.
30

My Wilton cake decorating course #3 has sadly come to an end and this was the final cake I made for class.  Hard to believe that barely a month ago I’d never worked with fondant before and now?  Well, all I can say is I just love doing fondant cakes!   I started doing cake decorating over ten years ago but it’s just now that I’ve learned fondant techniques.  I was so intimidated for sooooooooo long but quite honestly fondant is incredibly versatile,  pretty darn forgiving… and a whole lotta fun :)   It’s SO much fun that I’m doing my very first giveaway – all with the intended purpose of sharing the fun with one lucky reader!

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