Kitchen Update

I promised a kitchen update about a month ago!   I'm happy to say that things are progressing and the end is in sight!

Our project, which involved much more than just the kitchen, is just a few short weeks away from completion.

The stress, the worrying, the sleepless nights, the decisions that were looming and seemed so huge... it's all going away and being replaced by excitement and anticipation!

There is still a lot to do, but here's what's done:

The floor was installed and finished (this is actually part of the new family room)



The drywall went up

And the walls were finished - goodbye rusty orange!!

 The walls and trim were painted, the cabinets were installed

The recessed lights were put in and the soapstone was placed - aack!  So exciting!

It's all coming together and I've been told I'll be able to move into the kitchen in a couple of weeks.  Still to do - seal the brick, and install appliances, stainless countertops, sinks, faucets, cabinet hardware and tile backsplash.  How I wish I were on the Property Brothers timeline.  Our entire project would've been completed months ago!  Someone please tell me how they complete a major renovation from start to finish in 5 weeks!

Pittsburgh Penguins Cake

Hockey is back in Pittsburgh!

And what's better for a hockey fan's birthday than the team's logo on a traditional yellow cake with chocolate icing?

I decided to use the royal icing transfer method to make the decorations on the cake.  The advantage is that the design can be made ahead of time so you don't have to worry about decorating at the last minute.

It's just like decorating a cookie with royal icing, except you are piping directly onto waxed paper instead of onto a cookie.  The design can be printed out on paper and placed under the waxed paper so you know exactly where to pipe.

Outlines of the design need to be piped with stiff-consistency icing, allowed to dry, and then the spaces are "flooded" with 10-second icing.   10-second icing is stiff icing to which water has been added a few drops at a time until a spoon can be drawn through the icing and the icing becomes completely smooth in 10 seconds.  A good video for learning how to get the right consistency for flooding can be found here.

Let's Go Pens!

Cute Monster Party Brownie Pops

I made these cute monster brownie pops for a little boy's birthday party.  I love the way they turned out!  If you want to try these yourself, I have listed the supplies I used to make them below.

Note:  Have all the decorations ready because they need to be applied while the dipped brownie pop is still wet.  Use water and a small paint brush to attach the fondant teeth to the fondant mouth.

Red Monster - red candy melts for coating, upside down confetti hearts for horns, nonpareils, candy eyes (purchased from a baking supply store), fondant mouth and teeth
Green Monster - green candy melts for coating, green decorating sugar, candy eyes and fondant mouth/teeth
Yellow Monster - yellow candy melts for coating (use a toothpick to make him furry), red string licorice for horns, candy eyes, fondant mouth/teeth
Blue Monster - blue candy melts for coating (use a toothpick to make him furry), candy eye, fondant mouth/teeth

Happy Baking!