This past weekend, Tennessee was hit by a freak snowstorm! Murfreesboro got four inches of snow! We never get anything more than a dusting when it "snows." In my previous blog, you saw the beginning of the storm and my solution for comfort food, egg drop soup and Hot Cocoa cupcakes! With the snow continuing to fall, I decided to make the whole weekend full of comfort foods. After my Hot Cocoa cupcakes, I decided to work on my layer cake skills. I did my research and found out that if you freeze your cake before icing and putting on fondant, it makes everything soooooo much easier. I started by making a sheet cake and using my nifty cookie cutter to cut awesome layers to practice with. Once cooled, I iced them together and froze them. Once rock hard, I took them out and crumb coated the cake and put on my fondant! SOOOOOO much easier this way and it kept the moisture! To further decorate my cake, I used my pasta press to make stripes! See pic:
How cute!
After my mini cakes, I wanted to test out another cupcake idea! Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes! Don't be turned off just by reading the name, they are FABULOUS! I started by making a basic chiffon cupcake recipe. I then cooled the cakes on a baking rack. Once cooled, I filled a piping bag with grape jelly and piped it into the center of each cupcake. After I filled all the cupcakes, I made my homemade peanut butter icing! OMG, it is seriously the best thing ever! It is essentially peanut butter, margarine, confectioner's sugar, and milk! Easiest frosting ever and it totally made the cupcakes. I piped the icing on the cakes and made peanuts out of fondant. Here are my cupcakes:
I took them to my co-workers and peers at MTSU and they were a hit!
Today, I was discussing my new found love of sourdough with one of the advisors I work for, Sarah. I was trying to think of something that I could do today and it came to me! I should make a sourdough starter! (You can't make sourdough properly without a starter!) A starter is essentially yeast, water, and flour :D You have to let the starter ferment a few days and then you can bake the most amazing sourdough! The starter can last for decades, too! I saw an episode of Paula Deen's where a woman had kept the same starter for 50 years(I think)! You just have to keep feeding it, almost like a pet, lol. Since I now have a pet, you have to name it, so I have named it Sarah the Sourdough Starter, lol! Here is a pic of my starter:
It is hard to believe it has been a whole month and a day since I started this adventure! I have learned so much and still have much more to learn! I leave you with a pic from my fun in the snow! Until next time, have a good night and tomorrow!
Oh my God, those cupcakes look AMAZING.
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