Blog backgrounds & Pictures

Bonjour my dear blog followers!

I hope you are having a great Tuesday as you read this. As you can see, I have updated my blog page! When I first started blogging I had no idea how to create a more unique background. I finally had enough and googled "free blog backgrounds". I was surprised to see how many cute ones they have! Here is the link to the "blog background" website:

http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/free/free-backgrounds.html

Feel free to take a look at some other backgrounds and suggest one for me to use! Once you are at the website, scroll down and on the right hand side of the page will be a list of different categories. All of the blog backgrounds are very easy to change. You just copy and paste the "code" into a text box and hit the save button!

I apologize for not blogging sooner... my weekend has been crazy. Unfortunately, I can't post the recipe I had planned to show you. I want to take step by step pictures/video for you to see. If I can't post the recipe later today, I will post it in a few short days.

Wednesday afternoon, I have to go down to my work and sign some paperwork and take a tour of the hotel. Then, I start my first day of training at the hotel this Thursday evening....

Check out one of the delicious desserts I had when I went on my trip to France in 2008. (If you would like, click on all of the pictures I post to make the image larger).

Chocolate, Vanilla, & Cookie dough sundae!!!!

Enjoy the rest of your day :)

bisou bisou,

Kelene

Candy Shoppes, Ice Hockey, & Frosting

Yesterday, Thursday January 14th, 2010, was a wonderful day. My sister and I met my mom for lunch at Le Boulanger, one of my favorite lunch restaurants. After lunch we walked to Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Los Gatos. This is one of the cutest candy stores in town; they have almost any candy you can imagine!

I wanted to go there because that night I was going to the Boston Bruins - San Jose Sharks hockey game. Boston was in town and I used to babysit for one of their players, Marco Sturm. Marco was on the San Jose Sharks but got traded to Boston on November 30th 2005. My dad, two sisters and I had tickets to the game and Marco was giving us passes to see him after the game. Since I haven't seen the Sturm kids for a few years, I wanted to send the kids a little bag of goodies from Powell's!

Last night the Bruins beat the Sharks 2-1 in a Shoot Out. Both teams played great but I was happy Boston won. After the game we went underneath the arena and waited for Marco to come out of the locker room. It was nice to visit with him again and catch up. I got to see pictures of the kids, they are growing up so fast!! I was happy to hear his family was doing well. The team was heading to LA to play the Kings. We hugged him goodbye and wished him good luck!


Me, Marco, Aimee, Phil, Natalie


As promised, I am going to show you the tools and equipment you will need to frost and decorate cakes and cupcakes.

In order to make the frosting, you will need an electric mixer. With this mixer, it can make frosting in just a few short minutes and you don't have to worry about mixing the frosting by hand.


This is a KitchenAid Red 600 Mixer. This mixer features a powerful 575-watt motor and heavy-duty 10-speed transmission. The mixer has a 6-qt. metal bowl which is a good size for basic baking. I have this mixer in a gold color. You can find these mixers on sale at stores such as Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma.

Once you have your cake(s) cooled and the frosting made, you then need a pastry bag to decorate with.


The above picture shows a decorating bag. This bag is made of thick cotton felt coated with polyurethane to make it leak-proof and flexible. These bags are available in multiple sizes: 14", 16", 18", 20", and 24".


Above are decorating bags that are plastic, heavy duty, and disposable which makes clean-up a breeze, just throw it away!

After you have the decorating bags, you will need to buy decorating tips. You can buy each one separately or in a set. I recommend buying a set because it comes in a nice organizing case. The tips make decorating a cake fun and they are easy to wash.





Once you fill the decorating bags with frosting, you can then get to work and decorate your cake. The possibilities are endless!



Go ahead. Make a batch of cupcakes and try out the frosting recipe. Then pick up some decorating tips at the store and get creative! Check back soon for a simple and delicious dessert recipe that no one can resist!

bisou bisou,

Kelene

Butter Cream Frosting

It is hard to find a good frosting recipe that you can use on cakes and cupcakes. It took me a long time to find this recipe. Most of the frosting/icing recipes that I was finding would call for Crisco. I was trying to stay away from using that in my recipes. I finally found this recipe for Butter Cream Frosting that is very quick and easy to make!

Butter Cream Frosting:

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or light cream (i like to use Silk Soy Milk)
Assorted food colors and extracts (if desired)

For the Frosting:

1. In an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended.
2. Add the vanilla extract.
3. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (takes about 3-4 minutes)
6. Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.
7. Tint the frosting with desired food coloring.

The above frosting recipe is amazing and tastes great. I have worked with this recipe for a few years now and I have tried many ways to make it more interesting. I have used different extracts to give it more flavor. Some of the extracts I like to use are: Raspberry, Strawberry, Lavender, and Almond. Once the frosting is already made, I usually put a capful of desired extract into the frosting. My favorite is dark chocolate cupcakes with a white butter cream frosting with raspberry extract. The chocolate and raspberry flavors really compliment each other. Another unique combination I like to make is vanilla cupcakes with violet/lavender colored butter cream frosting with lavender extract. I have made these cupcakes a few times and the hint of lavender gives a refreshing taste. Next, I want to try yellow cupcakes with lemon flavored butter cream frosting.

You can find most of these extracts at your local grocery store. I tend to shop at Safeway and they carry many different flavors. However, I couldn't find lavender extract at Safeway, so I tried Sur La Table in Santana Row. Sur La Table is my favorite cooking store and carries many unique bakeware and ingredients.


Sur La Table




Above is a picture of this frosting recipe I used for a bridal shower. I created vanilla cupcakes, vanilla butter cream frosting, sprinkled with clear decorative flakes and topped with a diamond ring.

So, now that you have your frosting recipe, you are maybe wondering how to decorate cakes and/or cupcakes. Check back soon for tools and equipment that you will need to decorate with. That's it for now. Hope you are having a great Wednesday night :)

bisou bisou,

Kelene

Bonjour!

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Kelene and I have a tremendous love for food, especially desserts! I started this blog so I can share my favorite recipes with you.

I love the fact that you can take a bunch of different ingredients and create something so sweet and delicious. It is the best feeling in the world to put so much love into a recipe and then share them with the people you love.

Ever since I can remember, I have always had a passion for baking cakes and cupcakes. There was just something about standing on the chair or stool (because I was too little to reach the counter top), putting on an apron, cracking eggs, adding ingredients, and whisking the batter in the bowl. Of course the best part was licking the spoon after putting the batter into the pan :) Then, with my nose pressed on the outside of the oven door, I would watch the cake rise in the oven, transforming the batter into a cake, almost like magic.

A few years ago, I had dreams of someday becoming a pastry chef and going to culinary school. I went to college at San Jose State University, majoring in Hospitality Management and minoring in Business. While attending SJSU, it was a requirement to complete two internships. For my first internship, I interned at a bakery called Sugar Butter Flour. The internship at the bakery lasted for about four months. While working in the kitchen, I learned many recipes from red velvet cupcakes and lemon tarts to chocolate molten cakes and individual hazelnut cakes. Even though I had a strong passion for baking, I had realized that being a pastry chef wasn't such a great career choice for me.

I completed my second and final internship at a hotel in Los Gatos called The Los Gatos Lodge. At the hotel I worked in the Sales and Catering department. My favorite part of my internship was working with weddings. While completing my internship at the Lodge, I knew right then that Hospitality was a perfect career industry for me.

With my dream of becoming a pastry chef gone, I still love to bake in my free time. Baking is my favorite hobby and I am always looking for new recipes to try. About two years ago, I created my very first wedding cake. In preparation for the wedding, it took many tries to perfect the cake. After about eight mini cake trials, the wedding cake was a success and I was pleased with the end result. I was so happy the bride and groom loved their cake and I was thrilled to see the guests enjoying their cake and cupcakes.

Well, that is enough about my baking background for now... in my next blog I will post a recipe for my favorite frosting. It is simple and very quick to make.

bisou bisou,

Kelene