Eliminate....everything you love

As all of you know, I am a new Mom. And when my little man joined the world I decided to go with what I have been hearing: Breast is best. Now, I'm sure that some women give birth and instantly can breast feed. Not for me. I had to wait and wait for my tatas to get cranking. After that ordeal was over and everything was "flowing" nicely, my little on started to show signs of food allergies. I had never thought that babies could react to their own mother's milk. But as I learned, they certainly can. So my pediatrician started asking me to eliminate food groups from my diet in order to stop the react my little one was experiencing. The first to go was dairy. So no butter, milk, yogurt, cheese (that one was tough) and cream. That didn't do it. So then he took out wheat and anything with gluten. So there went bread, pasta, muffins, crackers, cereals and my beloved cupcakes. You would think that that would of done it. Nope. Next came eggs. This was by far the hardest thing to give up as I use eggs as a protein for breakfast. Then he stripped out peanuts, soy and any nut that grows on a tree. And yet, with all those foods out of my diet, my little man still had issues. So they finally took out corn (corn syrup too...which by the way, is in everything!!!) and shellfish. And yes, my baby still showed allergy symptoms. So they decided to test him. I kind of wished they would of done that at the beginning instead of stripping me of pretty much everything I enjoyed.

The only benefit to all these eliminations is that I'm only 15 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Yoohoo! But man oh man do I miss my cupcakes.

I decided not to be a victim about the whole thing. I became so determined to figure out how to make things I loved to eat without all the products I couldn't have. Atleast until we get the test results back.

My first item was my favorite breakfast dish: PANCAKES.

It took me a couple of tries. But I now make absolutely delicious dairy-free, egg-free, wheat-free and gluten-free pancakes. I thought I would share my recipe because I know that there are many women going through elimination diets because their infant has allergies and that there are kids out there that have severe food sensitivities.

Next will be a dairy-free, egg-free, wheat-free, gluten-free cupcake recipe.

PANCAKES:

1 cup Wheat Free/Gluten-Free Pancake mix (available at Whole Foods)

1 tablespoon Canola Oil

1 teaspoon Ener-G (egg substitute found at health food stores)

1 cup Rice Dream Milk Substitute ( I use the Vanilla one)

3/4 cup cooked Quinoa (gives the pancakes a tender texture and adds protein for a balanced breakfast)

Mix everything except Quinoa in a bowl. The batter should resemble cake batter, thick but not too thick. Add more Rice Dream Milk Substitute if your batter looks too thick or add more pancake mix if it looks too loose.

Add the Quinoa and incorporate.

Pour about 1/3 cup onto a griddle or a hot non-stick pan (I sometimes use a canola spray to ensure nothing sticks). Flip over once the pancake is covered in small bubbles and the edges are dry.

Serve with maple syrup. Image above shows the pancakes with some butter on top. However if you are not eating dairy, obviously do not add the butter.

Delicious!!!

Bottoms Up

Wow, it's been forever since I posted. I feel so guilty for not attending to my blog. But I had absolutely no idea how consuming having a baby would be. I found myself chin deep in poopy diapers, washing onesies everyday and spending a ton of time trying to get burps out. But finally last week I made my first batch of cupcakes after giving birth. I made them for my pediatrician's office as they have been so wonderful (I call them a lot). It was a great way to warm up my skills in the kitchen. This week I decided to try to make a cupcake for my brother. He has just been promoted at work and he is a huge fan of my cupcakes. He also loves and I mean loves beer. I had heard of buttercream infused with beer but cake too? I didn't want to make a chocolate beer cake as that is fairly common, so I went the other route. The only thing was I had to make a lowfat cupcake. I hate to use the word lowfat and cupcake in the same sentence, it's just wrong. But this was a requirement for my brother's beer cupcake as he has been really watching his weight. So, below is the recipe I tried. It came out better than I thought. The cake was nice and light. The two tablespoons of butter was just enough to make it moist. I usually use a ton of butter so 2 tablespoons was as lowfat as I was going to get. I wasn't about to make cupcakes that tasted lowfat! The buttercream could of used more beer. I used Guiness as it is dark and rich. But any beer would do (except Coors Light or Bud Light...choose a real beer!).

Ingredients:

1 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoons baking powder

pinch teaspoon salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup Guiness Dark Ale Beer

Buttercream:

2 eggs

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Guiness Dark Ale Beer

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees if using a regular oven, 350 degrees if you are using a convection oven

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl

In a medium to large bowl whip eggs until light in color (using a handheld mixer). Add sugar 1/4 of a cup at a time to eggs and keep on whipping at high speed. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture.

In a small sauce pan combine beer with butter, warm the combo up until bubbles form on the outer rim. Pour beer mix into batter and combine.

Pour batter into cupcake baking cups and into the oven they go for about 15+ minutes. Check the cupcakes with a toothpick and when the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready! Let them cool completely. But eat one cause there is nothing more divine than a warm cupcake...even without buttercream

Buttercream:

In a Bain Marie (double boiler), stir eggs and sugar until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Pour mixture into a mixer fitted with the whipping piece (not the paddle). Whip until cool, add butter bit by bit until you get a fabulous looking buttercream. If you make this recipe in temperature warmer than 68 degrees, it may take a while to get a smooth buttercream. Email me if this becomes a problem, I have tricks to make the buttercream come together faster.

Add beer and whip for about 2 minutes or until the beer has been completely incorporated.

Frost the cupcakes and voila!

To store cupcakes, you can freeze them in an airtight container. You can also refrigerate them in an airtight container. NEVER refrigerate cupcakes uncovered. They will dry out and taste horrible.

Wedding Archive

I just found this image of a wedding I did over the summer and thought I would share it with you. The tower measured 5 feet+. The bride wanted a tower that would make a statement. She got what she wanted!

A Spot Of Tea

Okay friends, here it is. My way of making a tea cup to hold a cupcake. You can also make these to decorate a cake. Before I start, I have to warn you, these beauties take time to make. It's like making them out of clay, you have to wait for them to dry before you can decorate them.

Here are the things you will need: Gumpaste (you can also do this with Fondant), Rolling pin, Cornstarch, Box cutter (or very sharp knife), Scissors, Gum glue, Edible paint and a tea cup.

Step 1:

Start with Gumpaste, dye it the color you want (using edible paint, I use AmeriColor) or leave it white. Work the Gumpaste until it's soft. Roll it out using your rolling pin on a surface that has been sprinkled with cornstarch. Dusting your rolling pan with cornstarch is also a good idea. If you are using Fondant, replace cornstarch with confectioner's sugar. Roll out Gumpaste until it's thin, like 3 mm or less. Cut a u shape similar to the image above.

Step 2:

Place gumpaste in a tea cup. Using gumpaste glue, glue the seams and start molding the gumpaste to snuggly fit the tea cup. You can use any cup you want.

Step 3:

Using a knife, cut off the excess gumpaste from the edge and smooth the edge a bit.

Step 4:

Then tug at the Gumpaste a bit to make sure it is not sticking to the cup. But leave it in there, it needs to dry. You will also notice that at the bottom the cup is not covered. No worries, we will fix that later. Set cup aside overnight or until dry.

Step 5:

Remove gumpaste and you will notice that there is a hole at the bottom.

Step 6:

Cut out a flat circle of gumpaste and with the gumpaste glue, glue on the circle to the bottom of the outside of the gumpaste tea cup.

Step 6:

Put the gumpaste tea cup back in the tea cup and using your fingers press down along the bottom to mold. Be careful not to press to hard or you will crack the gumpaste. You can also do this when the gumpaste tea cup is still a bit soft to avoid it cracking. Let it dry completely.

Step 7:

The handle is made by rolling out the Gumpaste to a long worm like shape. Cut the Gumpaste so you are left with about 3 inches. Curve the Gumpaste to look like and S, but reversed. Cut the part that will stick to the cup so it's straight. Let the handle dry overnight or until dry.

Step 8:

Glue on handle using gumpaste glue and let it dry completely. Then you are ready to paint your new tea cup! I use AmeriColor Edible paint. You can find it at www.CakeDeco.com

Step 9 (optional):

If you want to create a dish to go with the tea cup. Roll out more gumpaste and use a small dish to cut out a round circle using a knife. Mold inside the dish so that you get all the indentations. Leave the gumpaste there overnight or until dry. Then paint!

Here We Go

Well, the business has been sold. Sad but I'm a bit relieved as now I can focus on creating without the stress of running a business and most importantly, I can focus on my new roll as a mom.

As for my upcoming posts and demonstrations, my goal is to have videos on the site. But until my wonderful mother and sidekick returns to the US, I am going to have to start with step-by-step images. I know it's not the best way to demonstrate, but please bare with me.

I took some time to figure out a good outline and where I should begin. I tossed some ideas and spent countless hours figuring out exactly what I should start with. And honestly, I just got frustrated. I want to cover everything....and now!

So this is my plan: I don't have one. I am going to just create as ideas come to me and pepper in recipes and tricks I've learned along the way. My first show and tell is going to revolve around my Baby Shower as that is coming up. The theme for the shower is Sunday High Tea. I will devote the next several posts to the items I will be having at the shower. Here are the posts planned for the next few weeks:

Gumpaste Tea Cups: Individual tea cups made from gumpaste. Each cup will contain a cupcake topped with buttercream and will be placed in individual boxes. These are going to be my favors to give out to guests.

Baby Cookies: Baby item shaped cookies to serve during the shower. Decorated with sugar and dragees.

Baby Alphabet Cakes: I saw these on Martha Stewart and just fell in love with them. I will be making these to serve to guests during the shower. Kinda like a cupcake but square!

Tea Sandwiches: I know, I'm all about cupcakes and sweets. But I thought adding a bit on tea sandwiches would be great. Especially if any of you are going to host a high tea for a baby shower, bridal shower or just because.

Tea, coffee, Hot Cocoa and Flavored Simple Syrups: A post dedicated to the beverages. There are so many things one can do to be creative with beverages. For now I am just going to focus on tea, coffee, hot cocoa and the simple syrups. I may venture into creating a champagne drink for my guests.

Thoughts anyone? If you have ideas, I'm all ears!

Bye Bye Blushing Bakeshop

Hello my dear followers! Well again...TONS of changes. As you all know, I am expecting my little bundle of joy in January. I thought I would be able to bake but unfortunately I was told no more. The lifting and the being constantly on my feet was too much. So I have sold the business!

Honestly, the decision to sell was not a difficult one because I thought it would be hard to sell in this economy. And I probably could pick it back up next year. So I put the listing on Craigslist and within a week I got calls and emails. Some people wanted my recipes while others just wanted the brand and logo. But I just couldn't break-up my company into pieces like that. It's my baby, so to speak.

Then I got a call from this lovely young lady. After chatting with her for a while I knew she was the right person to own my little company. She is equally as passionate about cupcakes as I am. I really never thought I would find someone that lived and breathed them like I did. She came up to visit and we settled over the weekend. The coolest part about this situation is that she is planning to open a store very soon. So my dream is coming true. There will be a fabulous cupcake shop selling delicious cupcakes with the name The Blushing Bakeshop. The new owner plans on opening in South Carolina. She will also have a blog on the website. So you all must follow her journey. I know I will be paying very close attention.

So what am I going to do. Oh, no worries. I am going to continue with my blog. But it will be more of an instructional blog. I am going to do what I love to do. Create unique recipes and designs. But instead of using them to sell cupcakes, I am going to be sharing them with you.

My blog's website for now will be cupcake-goddess.blogspot.com. But that may change to something easier to remember. I hope that all of you will still follow me as I transition out of the cupcake selling business and into a show-and-tell blog.

Hope all of you are doing well.

Happy baking!

Oh How Life Can Change

It's been what? Forever since I have written? I feel like a big goober for not updating my little blog. But so much and I mean so much has happened. I feel like my life has been and is a walking sitcom. I have made myself a pot of mint tea and am ready to put all out there. So grab a mug and read on.

Last I wrote I was trying to raise money to open a little bakeshop. I had brought on a friend to help me raise the money as I have a huge problem asking people for money. Well we were working on it having little events and presenting my brilliant Business Plan. All was going well. My business kept multiplying and soon I found myself booked until August. Well, the end of May came and I was running around like a chicken without a head. One wedding after another and another. I was on a roll! But something felt odd. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just felt like something was missing. Then one day I fainted. Yup, landed on my carpet to awake to my dog licking my face. Being the hypochondriac that I am I called my doctor. He thought it was my iron levels as I have always had low iron. The next day I went to see my doctor and as he drew blood and said he would call me in a few days. Well, a few days flew by and the nurse called. She said my iron levels were down and that I should go have a burger or two. This was something I could totally handle. However she said that the doctor also wanted to chat with me and if I could hold. This I could not handle. In those 3 minutes I thought I had cancer, a brain tumor or maybe some freaky diseases. But nothing like that, oh no, just a little something called pregnancy. I didn't say a word. I was shocked as I was taking EVERY precaution that a normal couple can take to prevent this. But God had a different plan for us....obviously. I demanded a re-test. It had to be wrong. Got blood drawn again and the nurse called again with the same news. But this time she said, and I quote " you are extremely pregnant". I'm not sure what the difference is between pregnant and extremely pregnant, but the conclusion is the same. I am with child. Although this was not planned I fell in love with my little cupcake immediately.

Life picked up the following week but by the end of June I was exhausted. I just couldn't get out of bed. I was pooped and I looked pooped. I felt like I had ran a marathon every day. I called my doctor and of course, the cupcake was the cause. Guess the first trimester is a brutal one. But I had all booked weddings to fulfill and raising money and well, everything else. With help I managed to wrap up my wedding orders and at the end of July I decided to close up shop for the month and travel. This was going to be the last time I would be able to go on vacation and visit family for a while, so as painful as it was to leave my business for a month. I did. And I am so glad I did.

So where am I now. Well, I look like a balloon and have a little somebody twisting and turning inside me. I pretty much live in the bathroom as the only alternative is to buy Depends. Which I refuse to do. It's a pride thing. Under doctor's orders I cannot bake as much as the volume I was doing is too physically hard. So sadly I have stopped pursuing the raise and have cut down on my orders. Instead I am taking the business in a different direction for now. Don't get me wrong, one day I will open a shop. But for now I'm going to use my expertise in marketing and creativity to take The Blushing Bakeshop into another direction.

What direction is that? Well, I will be sharing everything. All my recipes, creative decorations and ideas. My e-shop will be evolving. And oh boy, it is going to be awesome!!!! I want to inspire others who want to open a shop and will share everything I learned through my journey from the business plan to pricing and marketing. Like the saying goes, if you can't do...teach!

So stay tuned and follow along as my little blog will have a lot of juicy stuff for anyone who loves to bake and entertain.

Of course, I will keep you updated on my little cupcake as be pregnant has it's amusing moments.