Tweed Squares

LOVE these squares! I remember my mom making them every Christmas. We'd help her by grating the chocolate.

I had to go searching for a recipe as I couldn't find my mom's. I've adapted one from HERE.

When I make mine, I usually split the bottom layer and make two pans, as I find it's almost too much "cake" for a square.

TWEED SQUARES

Bottom Layer:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 squares semi-sweet chocolate (grated)

Mix all ingredients well. In small bowl, beat 3 egg whites beaten stiff with 1/2 cup sugar. Add to mixture. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool thoroughly.

Middle Layer:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3 egg yolks

Mix and spread over cooled bottom layer.

Top Layer:
2 squares melted semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp butter

Melt in double boiler and spread over middle layer.

Refrigerate.

It's easier to cut these squares if you use a knife that is dipped in hot water, otherwise the top chocolate layer may crack.

WINNER....

for the blog hop is CHARITY!!

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Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for November is CHRISTMAS!!

My sister-in-law reminded me of these Cinnamon/Applesauce tree ornaments I made one year. I just love the smell of them, and usually put them on my kitchen Christmas tree.

There are lots of recipes on the internet, some a bit different. I used one like the following -- with applesauce, cinnamon and white glue. Got the recipe a number of years ago from a friend.

You'll need:

1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup white school glue

Also, rolling pin, cookie cutters and a straw.

Mix the cinnamon, applesauce, and glue in a bowl. The dough will be thick, and you can add a bit of water if required.

Knead it and let sit in a covered bowl for about half an hour. Roll until about 1/4 inch thick. You can roll between 2 pieces of waxed paper, or (like I did) sprinkle the rolling pin with a bit of cinnamon powder so the dough doesn't stick.

Using your cookie cutters, cut the shapes you like. Use the straw to poke a hole in the top, for hanging. Note: don't use a cutter that is too small, as the ornament will dry and shrink some.

Let dry on some waxed paper or on cookie sheet, keeping in mind that the ornaments will take 4-5 days to dry completely. They should be turned 2-3 times a day so that they don't curl up on the edges.

I've had a couple of ornaments break (because they weren't packed away properly) and the good thing is they are easily fixed with some white glue :-)

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This blog hop will run from today, November 27th until November 29th.
We will be drawing for winners on November 30th on the Lovebug Scrapbooking blog.

Leave a comment telling what your Christmas Eve meal is and I'll draw for a recipe magaine.

Follow along in our blog hop! Your next stop is Tanya!

Cakes for July

10 cakes for this month -- running total of 62 for 2010.

The cakes I don't have photos for are:

~ sweet 16th cake

~ 29th bday cake

~ wedding cake

~ 2 anniversary cakes

Cakes for June

14 cakes for June. Lots of family stuff going on this month so I didn't get a lot of pictures of them.

Other cakes were:

~ soccer ball

~ baby shower

~ 2 double cakes for Women's Walk for Empowerment

~ ballerina cake

~ "school's out" cake

May's cakes

Looks like I've been neglecting my cooking blog again :-(

I really want to keep this going, but it usually ends up way down on the priority list, kwim?

Anyway, I was keeping track of cake orders and I finished off posting the cakes for April, with a running total for 2010 at 29 cakes.

Here's what I did for MAY:

LOVE the colors in this one!


This was a double cake. I'm not sure now if I wrote anything on it or not. It was for a Sparks/Brownie group.


ballerina cake


A fun cake for a pool party!

I also did a Winnie the Pooh, a soccer ball, a cake for my Nan's 89th birthday, one with a "peace" sign, and a tractor cake.

So, 9 cakes for May -- total so far is 38.

Inspire Us! Blog Hop!

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops NORMALLY take place on the last Saturday of every month. This month we decided to go a week earlier, so you could get some Halloween inspiration before the holiday :-) Thanks so much for joining us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for October is HALLOWEEN!


For my project this month, I had my daughter make some Halloween cupcakes. She saw the idea in a magazine (not sure which one it was now). They were quite easy to make.


For this first one, a mummy, she used tip #104.

Basically, she just make random strips across the cupcake to resemble a mummy.

Finish it off with some eyes :-)

For the monster, use Tip #233.

This makes a nice "furry" look. I love it!

For the eyes, the tip is #12 for the white part and #4 for the smaller pupils.

Dip your finger in a bit of cornstarch and flatten the eyes if they are a bit too puffy.

Not too scary at all :-)

This blog hop will run from today, November 27th until November 29th.
We will be drawing for a winner on November 30th on the Lovebug blog.

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Butter Tarts for Thanksgiving

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops
take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining
us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking
place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't
want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for September is "THANKSGIVING".

Can't have Thanksgiving meal without some dessert! Here's one of hubby's favourites. It was something his mom would make, so that brings back fond memories for him. His mom would make her own pastry, but I usually buy the frozen tart shells. Much quicker :-)

BUTTER TARTS

1 egg
1 TBSP melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins
12 tart shells

Mix the egg, butter, brown sugar and syrup. Mix well. Add the vanilla and raisins.

Fill uncooked shells with mixture. Don't overfill. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.



This blog hop will run from today, September 25th until Tuesday, September 28th. We will be
drawing for winners on September 29th on the Lovebug blog.

You've reached the end of the hop. Head back to Lovebug's blog and leave a comment!

Cakes, and MORE cakes!

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops
take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining
us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking
place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't
want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for July is "HAPPY BIRTHDAY".

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I've been super busy (especially this weekend!) with cake orders. I thought I'd share some of my recent creations :-)

Thanks for looking!

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be entered in Lovebug's prize draw!

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This blog hop will run from today, July 31st until August 3rd. We will be
drawing for winners on August 4th on the Lovebug blog

Follow along in our blog hop! Your next stop is the lovely DEE!

Sweet treats for our GRADUATE :-)

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops
take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining
us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking
place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't
want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for May is "Graduation".

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I am planning a graduation ceremony for my son Luke for sometime in June. Actually, in our local homeschool group there are 2 graduates this year, so we may combine the event with another family.

I was doing a bit of research online for some sweet treats to make for the graduation. I decided to try these two neat ideas for making the mortarboard -- aka. the cap. Not sure yet which cupcake topper we'll use, but probably the chocolate one -- it tastes better :-)

For the chocolate cap, you'll need:

~square chocolate pieces (I found this yummy Lindt bar and they were the perfect size)

~small Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

~Sour string (not sure the name for it, but you'll need a strip of it)

~lollipop sticks

~either a handful of chocolate chips (to act as a glue) or you can melt a block of the bar

Cut a strip from the sour candy ribbon. I used the yellow strip. You'll need about 2-3 inches.

I snipped one end to make it look like a tassle.


I used a small, sharp knife to "pre-drill" a hole in the center of the Reese's cup. Put the lollipo stick in. and add a bit of melted chocolate to glue in place. You can set in fridge to set if wanted.

Spread a small amount of chocolate on the top and add the chocolate square.

Spread a line of melted chocolate and glue down the tassle. I bent it before sticking it down. Set in fridge for 15-20 minutes to set.

There you have it!

For this next one, I used some fondant, and some black and yellow food paste.

This is messy, but add some paste to fondant and mix well.

Roll some black fondant into a cylinder shape. Add lollipop stick.

For the top, I rolled some fondant out and cut a square shape. If you have a square cookie cutter, use that. Attack to the cyliner shape with a small drop of water.

NOTE: It might be a good idea to made a bunch of the squares and let them dry overnight. That way, they will be stiff and won't bend down on the corners.


Roll a thin piece of yellow fondant. Fringe the end.


Adhere to top of cap with small dab of water.

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This blog hop will run from today, May 29th until June 1st. Lovebug will be drawing for winners on June 2nd .

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