Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Cherry Coke Float Cupcake

Discovered on passthesushi.com, adapted from Homemade By Holman

Ingredients:
For the Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour
6 T cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups Coke (don’t use diet)
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 can cherry pie filling

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 T Coke

For the Icing:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 T powdered sugar
1 teas Whip-It (optional*)
•Maraschino Cherries for garnish

Preparation:

For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each and scraping down the sides if needed. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, Coke and vanilla extract, making sure to let the foam calm down after you mix it in. Foam will do us no good here.

Beginning with the your flour mixture, add to the butter mixture, alternating with the Coke mixture in 4 parts. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops spring back when touched lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, use a paring knife to cut out a cone shape in the middle of each cupcake. Add a spoonful of cherry pie filling to each cupcake. You may want to try to chop the cherries up a bit. The whole cherries were a bit hard to fit in each cupcake. Strain and reserve the liquid, give the cherries a quick chop, and then toss them back in the liquid before filling each cupcake.

For the Glaze:

Mix together powdered sugar and coke with a whisk in a small bowl until no lumps remain adding more or less sugar if needed. You want a thicker constancy, one that will glaze the cupcake but not disappear down the sides or into the cupcake.

For the Icing:

Chill your mixing bowl for 10 to 15 minutes before you are ready to make your icing. Beat cream in a chilled bowl with whisk attachment or hand mixer on low speed. If using, add the Whip-it then begin to add the powdered sugar, 1 spoonful at a time, increasing speed as the cream comes together. Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Using your favorite tip, pipe the whipped cream onto cupcakes and top with maraschino cherries.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Christmas Clay Decorations Toy Soldier

These are very cute and found all over during the holidays in Arizona.
I do not know who created them but True Value hardware and every one has a copy of these darling door decorations.
The little ones are cute but the large ones about 6 feet tall are spectacular.
They used 16 inch pots to create them.
Some were even decorated with real buttons and thrift found hats.Painted eyes
The plans are created to James Carey and Morris Carey

Your Checklist of materials
5 five-inch flower pots
3 cans of spray paint (red, black and blue)
Blue painters tape
Masking paper
2 wood tongue depressors (Alternative: Paint stir sticks)
Masonry adhesive, hot glue gun or Velcro connections
Gold ribbon
Sticky-back felt
Regular felt
Brass ring
Gold-colored plastic “cabochons” (or regular buttons)
Gold-colored beads and gold sequin (Alternative: Gold-colored braid or rope)
Plastic eyes
Pipe cleaner (black or red)
Red-colored yarn tassel
 
Instructions
Creating a Toy Soldier from Clay Pots

by James Carey and Morris Carey

Add to your holiday decor with a handmade 18-inch tall “toy soldier” made from flower pots, spray paint, a few pieces of felt, ribbon and a few odds and ends.
This fun decoration is a great family project and adds a festive touch every year, especially if there are youngsters around to share the experience.
You will need five 5-inch flower pots and three cans of spray paint - red, black and blue. The rest is, in large part, up to you.
Our toy soldier can easily be converted to an angel, Santa, an elf or whatever else suits your fancy.
First, the clay pots should be spray painted. Two pots are painted blue, one black, one red and one is left unpainted.
Next, add a black stripe to the rim of the unpainted pot and to one of the blue pots. Use blue painters tape and masking paper to prevent paint from getting onto any surface other than the rim. Two wood tongue depressors should be spray painted red andset aside for use later. If tongue depressors aren't available, trimmed paint stir sticks will do the trick.
Permanent assembly can be achieved by using a masonry adhesive or a hot glue gun. However, if storage is a consideration, use Velcro connections instead. This will allow partial disassembly and the placing of some of the pots inside one another.
Assembly begins by placing the blue pot with the black rim, rim-side down, on the work surface. Next, connect the bases of the two blue pots, making sure to align them. You've now created black shoes and blue trousers. Next, attach the rim of the red pot to the rim of the blue pot. Then, connect the base of the unpainted pot to the base of the red pot. Finally, add the black pot to the top, rim down.
The next step is to add red stripes to the trousers, a white stripe and a black collar to the shirt, a black belt where the trousers and shirt meet, and a gold hatband to the hat.
We used gold ribbon for the hat band, sticky-back felt for the trouser and shirt stripes and regular felt for the collar and belt.
A simple brass ring was used for a belt buckle and, although regular buttons can be used, we used a package of gold-colored plastic "cabochons." The absence of a stitching protrusion on the back made them easy to attach with a hot glue gun.
Twenty or so small, gold-colored beads strung together with a gold sequin at each end can be used for the hat decoration.
Gold-colored braid or rope is an alternative.
The arms are made from the tongue depressors (paint sticks) that were painted red earlier in the project.
Now, it's time to add white gloves. Each consists of a pair of opposing pieces made from sticky-back felt. Red cuffs can be
added in the same manner. A sequin is used at each cuff for a button. And a short piece of gold ribbon is wrapped around the
top of the arm to simulate an epaulet. Now attach the arms to the body. The face can be painted. In our case, because we're not
artistic, we used plastic eyes and a felt mouth. A short piece of black or red pipe cleaner rolled into a ball can be used for the nose.
Finally, a store-bought red-colored yarn tassel should be added to the top of the hat. Or you can purchase the yarn and make your own tassel.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Quick Fire Starters

Fire Starters


Safe and economical,
these fire starters are a must for your next camping trip.

You need:
Small Candy Mold or
Star Candy Mold
Wax or Old Candles
Saw Dust from Untreated Wood
Disposable Container and Spoon
Broken Crayons (optional)
Instructions:

Melt candles or wax in a double burner on stove top. Add broken crayons for color if desired. Mix equal amounts of saw dust with melted wax in a disposable container. Pour into candy molds. Let harden. Pop out of of molds.
Light with a wooden match to start your camp fire or cooking fire.