The Beginners Guide to Cupcakes - Seven Tips to Get You Started By Lynette Bell

Cupcakes have been around for a number of years but recently have become fashionable with a certain dedicated following. There are many reasons that cupcakes are popular not least of all the individual nature of each one. They are less messy than a full size cake and can be designed to appeal to a variety of personalities and tastes. Here are seven tips to help those new to cupcake decorating -- or some ideas to add to your own repertoire of tips.

1. Cupcakes are usually one and a half inches to two inches in diameter which means that if buying ready made toppers they need to be about the same size.

2. When traveling with cupcakes, it is best to use pre-chilled frosting which will hold its shape longer.

3. Cupcakes can be kept in the freezer for two to three days but are best eaten on the same day they are made as the icing can change and the cupcakes may look less appetizing. If you need to freeze them it is best to do so without the decoration.

4. One of the easiest ways to decorate wedding cupcakes with your own special theme is to use chocolate candy molds. Candy molds come in the shape of almost anything you can think of. This is quick and easy when doing big quantities.

5. Design the theme of your cupcake decoration to the celebration or event. For example, at Christmas use the colors of the season -- green, white, or red frosting or sprinkles, Halloween means creepy decorations -- spiders and so on.

6. For parties start with an array of colored frosting, create a gift-wrapped cupcake by icing the top and then making bows. Bows can be made using red or even other colors of licorice; sprinkles or other small candies can be used sparingly.

7. Make sure you follow the baking instructions on the recipe, so that you don't end up with burnt, undercooked or loop-sided cakes. Misshapen cupcakes look unappetizing but if this does happen to you trim the overflow and ice immediately to prevent the cupcake from drying. You can do a little camouflage if you are new to baking and decorating as long as it's not for a special occasion. Your friends won't mind.

When decorating cupcakes all you need are your imagination and some edible ingredients. There are many wonderful books and websites to give you plenty of ideas.

Lynette is a member of the Cupcake Decorations Club where you can get more tips and ideas on cupcakes and decorating.

Cherry-Orange Dessert Sauce - An Easy and Delicious Way to Try Mace By Harriet Hodgson

I love nutmeg and mace. When I am making custard, pie, cream sauces, or barbecue sauces, I often add a these spices. You may have had eggnog with nutmeg sprinkled on top. Nutmeg, and its outer skin, mace, have a long history.

Peggy Trowbridge Filippone gives some background on mace in "Nutmeg and Mace History," published on the Home Cooking Website. Nutmeg was known in Roman times, according to Filippone, and its popularity grew over the centuries. It became so popular the Dutch went to war "just to control nutmeg production in the East Indies."

Nutmeg fruit is about the same size as peaches. The mature fruit bursts open and reveals the seed inside. This seed has an outer covering called "aril." After this covering is removed and dried it becomes mace. Filippone says mace is dried for as long as two months. It is sold ground or in strips.

Sylvia Windle Humphrey, author of "A Matter of Taste," describes mace as nutmeg's step-child, but says it has its own character. Nutmeg skin is a vivid red when it is removed from the seed. The skin turns light orange after it has been dried. Mace adds flavor to meat casseroles, soup, marinade, fruit, and cake. Humphrey's book contains recipes for old-fashioned pound cake, a carrot-potato side dish, lamb tongues (of all things), and cherry flan -- all flavored with mace.

Chicago "Sun-Times" staff reporter Lisa Donovan also writes about mace in an article titled, "Mace has a Sweet, Mild flavor of its Own." She thinks mace is a "wonderful multitasker in the kitchen" and says it is used in cream sauces, soup, muffins, and even lasagna. You may have eaten at a restaurant, tasted the food and asked yourself, "What is the secret ingredient?" Maybe it was mace.

You have to be careful with mace, however. Just like nutmeg, too much can be overpowering. If you have not used mace before, this recipe for Cherry-Orange Dessert Sauce is the perfect "test drive." You can make the sauce in minutes and use it many ways. Serve it over vanilla ice cream, angel food cake, pound cake, plain chocolate or vanilla cake, garnished with whipped cream. The sauce also adds color and flavor to trifles. Dig in!

Ingredients

1 16-ounce can pitted, dark cherries
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (approximate)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon ground mace

Method

Grate the zest from the orange and then squeeze it. Drain liquid from canned cherries into a 2-cup measuring cup and set cherries aside. Add enough orange juice to make one cup. Combine cherry-orange liquid, orange zest, sugar, corn starch and ground mace in a small saucepan. Whisk over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Gently fold in cherries. Use warm or chilled. Makes 4-5 servings.

Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30 years. Before she became health and wellness writer she was a food writer for a local magazine. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from Amazon.

Centering Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska has published her 26th book, "Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life." The company has also published a companion resource, the "Writing to Recover Journal," which contains 100 writing prompts. Please visit Harriet's Website and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.

Savoring the Sweet Memories of Youth By Billings Farnsworth

Sweet yummy goopy fudge is a confection that is sold by the pound and even though it is often very rich and can only be eaten in small amounts it never seems to last very long. Enjoyable anytime fudge is especially popular as a gift giving item around the holidays. Memories of eating and enjoying the sweet confection that is fudge bring back a flood of happy childhood times spent with family and good friends.

Whenever they would travel on vacation my parents would manage to find a local confectionery store and inevitably purchase a half pound of fudge that was shared with family members. Sometimes there were two or three flavored fudge varieties that were eagerly passed around and everyone was watching one another to make sure that each piece of fudge that was taken was similar in size to the piece of fudge that the previous person had taken.

On a trip to Southern California it appeared that my parents were more interested in the fudge for sale at the general store than they were at wondering around the tourist filled ghost town that once played host to miners searching for gold in the hills surrounding the abandoned town. One of the favorite flavors of the sweet fudge was raspberry that was marbled into the dark chocolate richness of the fudge. It may have been years ago, but the memory of the delicious confection still makes me drool. No matter what the occasion, fudge adds to the joy and memories of any special day.

Calico Cottage, Inc. (http://calicocottage.com) is the world's largest supplier of fudge making equipment. Fudge ingredients and merchandising expertise of the staff is unparalleled. Billings Farnsworth is a freelance writer.

Remember the Cotton Candy Machine at the Fair? By Joel Brown

Older people in general feel that many of the basic foods have changed and no longer taste the same. Perhaps that's just a sign of old age, or it is because our foods are no longer as pure as they used to be? Do you remember the cotton candy machine at the fair? Do you still hear the soothing sounds of the carousel music when you think about it? Cotton candy has remained the same, you'll be glad to know, and it still tastes the same as you remember.

It still consists of pure 100% sugar that has been melted into a liquid form, and following that the machine expels the melted sugar through minuscule holes using centrifugal force that allows it to firm back up through cooling, and voila, you have cotton candy! From there, the exceptionally flavorsome sugar threads are then brought together on a stick or cone for you to enjoy.

The cotton candy machine was first patented in the early 1900's, and it was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair as "Candy Floss." It has also been known as "Fairy Floss," and "Fluffy Stuff."

The United States is so enamored with it that there is actually a National Cotton Candy Day celebrated on December 7th each year. Children especially love how it melts in your mouth to quickly and simply dissolve. Commonly it has been colored pink, through the use of food coloring, but any color can be attained.

Not only is it absolutely scrumptious but also it is undoubtedly filled with memories for everyone. People seem to "go back" into their childhood at the mere mention of it, and many remember what it was like to take their "beloved" to a faire, carnival, amusement park or the circus.

Imagine how surprised your kids would be if you could have a machine of their own? Actually a machine is affordable and easy to purchase on line, enabling you to make cheap cotton candy at home.

Often people use the entry-level commercial machines for scout meetings, little league ballparks, block parties, school booster clubs, neighborhood fairs, and so many other gatherings. It instantly becomes a hit, with young and old, the young being mesmerized by watching the creation of it, as well as the fascination of eating something so ethereal and flighty as cotton candy. Older people eat it and relish it due to the taste, of course, but also because of the nostalgia involved.

Interestingly enough a serving of it is not as nutritionally poor as many people consider, for it is shown that the average serving, made mostly of air, contains less sugar than a can of sugared pop! And compared to the pop, it has approximately 100 calories, but the pop will average approximately 130 to 170 calories! Many people who sell it have been known to put up signs informing potential buyers of the treat about these startling facts.

http://www.cottoncandycentral.com

When Baking Molds Become Essential in Creating Your Ideal Cakes By Chuck R Stewart

Cakes come in different types, themes, shapes and sizes. For you to be able to create a perfect one, you have to be able to have access of a few essential supplies like the baking molds and pans in your kitchen. If you are starting out your hobby of baking, then there is still a practical way of buying these essential baking pans and molds without hurting your budget.

Here is what baking experts suggest that you need to stock up in your kitchen if you want to do some baking like the pros do. For those with a limited budget, a beginning baker can start out with just the standard cake pans of different sizes and just a few sheet pans. One can do without the molds for the time being and special shapes of cakes can be achieved by simple cuttings done on the original shapes of cakes. Thus, if you want to have a specially shaped cake, then you can simply do some nice cuttings of the basic rectangular or round cake and create a cake with spectacular shape.

For instance, square cakes can be easily done from basic rectangular cakes by simply cutting them in half. There are also other shapes that can be created from the basic rectangular cakes. On the other hand, you can create a special half-moon cake from a basic round cake. This simple technique can be used when making your bunny cakes for your Easter celebration. This technique is done by cutting the round cake in two. The halved cake is stood on the flat edge to create the half moon shape. The stiff frosting or icing is used to fuse them together. Once the cake is firm and adhered to the cake plate with just the right amount of icing underneath the cake layers, the cakes goes through the final phase frosting. Finally, you can add some final touches to get the decorative enhancements that you want to have in your cake.

When investing on your bakeware, it is important that you buy the cake pans and sheets that are of highest quality. The non-stick cake pans need to be greased either by spraying or the normal greasing method. The stainless type of pans must be floured and sprayed with grease as well. You will need to have a higher level of skill in removing your cakes from this type of pans than in any other types of cake pans. However, the stainless pans are preferred by many because of its durability and for the fine and smooth finish of cakes baked on stainless steel cake pans.

Whether you are baking a cake intended for a big event or just a simple side dessert for your weekend family gathering, the use of the appropriate cake pans and molds are the basic essentials that will ensure that you get a perfectly baked cake. There are also some practical tips that you can consider in order to bake your cake just like the experts do.

While you are learning your way through with own baking activity, don't fail to preheat the oven at the prescribed temperature and follow exactly the detailed baking procedures. While these are simple and basic cooking guidelines, its effect on your baking is significant.

Chuck R. Stewart's wife recently purchased specialty baking molds and specialty baking pans online for their daughter's birthday party.