Are you watching Smash on NBC? I am hooked. I started watching it simply to see how Katharine McPhee would fair as an actress and it turns out she's part of a pretty fabulous cast and story line. I was simply expecting it to be another Glee of sorts, but it's really a show all its own. It's one of my new favorites and I will be crushed if it doesn't get renewed for a second season. If it gets cancelled, it's gonna be Mercy for me all over again. I'm still not over that one, NBC.
What does Smash have to do with royal icing flowers or cupcakes? Not a thing. I have been stuck in the house for three days with a very sick little Baby Mac and I just needed some adult conversation. Ah...feels good to talk about a TV show other than Caillou. My poor baby has been so sick, we have done nothing but sit in the recliner and watch Caillou constantly.
It's getting to the point where I just dissect the show now.
Today, Caillou opened his dresser to pick out a shirt for the day. Guess what? He picked the one he wears EVERY SINGLE DAY.
And Rosie's laugh is starting to get to me. She is supposed to be what? Maybe a year and a half old? Her vocabulary is just way to broad for her age and when she laughs she sounds like a 10 year old.
Why is Caillou bald? This is never addressed. Should we be worried for him?
And Mommy never carries a purse or a diaper bag. But her clothes are super baggy so maybe she has a cargo pants/shirt thing going on. In fact, her look has had me questioning whether Caillou has another sibling on the way. Mommy and Daddy are pretty affectionate so who knows?
Needless to say, I have been dying to bake and decorate something. The next things on my list to try were royal icing and drop flowers so last night after Baby Mac was in bed I decided to give it a shot.
Royal icing is very simple ingredient-wise. It is made with egg whites or meringue powder, water and powdered sugar. I used meringue powder since it's easier than separating eggs and safer than raw eggs. Plus, it keeps in the pantry for a while. You can find it at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Amazon or even Wal-Mart in their craft section.
The trick with royal icing is you have to mix it to just the right consistency in order for it to do its thing. Bridget at Bake at 350 has a great tutorial for royal icing. It includes pictures that help you to know when your icing has reached that perfect texture. Her recipe calls for corn syrup, but don't worry if you don't have any. Because she uses her icing for cookie decorating, it helps if the icing has a little shine and the corn syrup does just that. For drop flowers, it's not really needed.
Drop flowers are simple embellishments but they add such a delicate touch. I scour You Tube for instructional videos on cake decorating and this video is a great short and sweet tutorial on how to make drop flowers. Just pipe the flowers onto wax paper, use a different color for the dot in the middle and let them dry. It takes hardly any time to make them.
The last thing I want to tell you about are these beautiful StayBrite cupcake papers by Reynolds. They don't fade once they are baked in the oven like most liners. They are a bit expensive ($3.59 for 36 of them), but I have tried a few other "grease-proof" liners that I ordered online and had no success with them. They either didn't hold their shape or they peeled away from the cakes. The Reynolds liners performed perfectly and the packaging even says you can use them on a cookie sheet instead of a muffin tin because they hold their shape so well. The only downside is that the selection of patterns is very limited. I would love to see them in solid colors.
So, to sum up:
1. Check out Bridget's royal icing tutorial here.
2. See the video tutorial on drop flowers here.
3. Find Reynolds StayBrite Baking cups at your local grocery.
Happy Decorating!
2 comments:
These look yummy! I love those cupcake cups.
You're tempting my chocolate cravings , not to mention how cute they are.
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