Cupcake Tuesday : Vanilla Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

This is one of those ideas that just sits in the back of your mind for a while, before you ever get around to doing anything about it. These little gems are vanilla cake, topped off with a subtle orange creamy buttercream and then kicked up a notch with some orange zested sanding sugar. I really love adding zest to sugars. It just totally adds that kick of intense flavor you get in a few bites of  cupcake. I do it with lemon, lime and orange all the time. I hope to try grapefruit some time as well.

Till next Tuesday.

Refrigerator dill pickles. SO EASY!

 Since our backyard isn't quite ready to put a garden in yet, we decided to be a part of csa this year. It's  really local and we love what they stand for.

 So this week I got about 3lbs of little cucumbers in our share and thought they would be perfect for pickling. I'd been wanting to try this recipe I found for a while now. It turned out to be so simple ( once I found and purchased all the spices). They turned out even better than expected. Crunchy with a nice garlic bite! It's really the perfect pickle! Go make some!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water
2 pounds kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1) Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl. Add hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. Cool to room temperature.
2) Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks. Yield: 1 quart.

Fire Truck Cake!

Someone recently asked me what are my favorite cakes to make? Without hesitation, I'd say kid's cakes! Maybe because sometimes I still feel like a kid, so this helps me live out my imagination, or that they are just really fun and colorful and allow you to be super creative, or maybe it's the way kid's light up when they see their cake, or because I have a kid now. Yup, it's probably all of those reasons combined.

Here's a firetruck I did for our neighbor's son's birthday! I especially like the the hose spraying out water! So much fun!

 

Can't believe I'll be working on Liam's first birthday cake soon!

Stay tuned!

Cupcake Tuesday. German Chocolate

It's Wednesday you say, well Tuesday got away from me with a play date and errands.

 So I bring you another cupcake I made recently! German chocolate! Yum. While I realize this may not be everyone's idea of a yummy cupcake, it definitely is ours, here at the Rittenhouse home. Jason was a little upset when he didn't get to try one right away. 

So here it is:

Chocolate cupcake meets a scoop of gooey coconut, pecan, caramel goodness and the frosted with  rich chocolate frosting!

Shooting my Best Friend's Wedding

 This dear lady, is a close friend since childhood. She got married to a wonderful man back in May! Jason and I were asked to shoot her wedding. We were a little nervous because we are far from professional photographers, but we made the most of it and I think they turned out just fine. The wedding was at her parents house. A casual family and close friends affair. They walked in with both of their parents on their arms as the guests sat in a circle around them. After the couple greeted each other, the parents shared a sweet sentiment and then they opened up for the guests in the circle to share a meaningful word, memory, blessing or story about the couple. It was such an intimate affair. Probably one of the most beautiful weddings I've been to. And being behind the camera lens I noticed a lot more of the little details that I normally would at a wedding. Here's a few pictures from the day!

Kid's Cakes

 In the spirit of catching up. Here are a few cakes I did this spring for kiddos.

The first was a construction theme. I had a lot of fun playing in the "dirt" with this one. The number 1 was even made out of dirt (cookie crumbs).

The second, a rocket-ship cake! In keeping with the flying up to the sky theme I added some constellations and puffy cloud borders!

Third, a basketball theme cake with a the basketball just about ready to fly through the hoop. I used royal icing  for the hoop and basket!

I'm working on a firetruck cake this weekend. Keep an eye out for it, this coming week on the blog!

summertime at the pool

When were not working, you can either find us outside at our kiddy pool or over at my aunts house in the big pool! Liam was a little intimidated of the big pool at first, but he warmed up as the day went by. Hope to get there again this week!

Cupcake Tuesday

Here we are! It's Tuesday and as promised I'm going to be sharing different cupcakes I've been working on. These two were ones I'd been making for Main St. Java  a little while ago. They rotate their flavors every 2-3 weeks so they aren't currently there right now. 

I had seen a recipe for peanut butter cookie frosting and thought why not make the icing look like a peanut butter cookie instead. It is peanut butter frosting and it is delicious, reminiscent of peanut butter fudge!

Another favorite is cookies and cream. Crushed up oreo's in buttercream frosting, dipped in chocolate cookie crumbs and topped off with an oreo, of course!

I'll be back next Tuesday with more cupcake tales.

Liam is 11 months

 11 months:

• This 11 month picture is a miracle, let me tell you. Liam doesn't sit still anymore, period. Jason and I were both jumping up and down with silly faces because he thought that was amusing for the 3 seconds I needed to snap one last laying down on the sheepskin for Momma pictures. He's going to have a birthday next month and chances are he'll be standing proudly on the sheep!
• He's already pulling himself up on a regular basis now!
• He LOVES chips our cat! We even got to snap a few shots of the two friends. Chips came around when Liam stopped pulling his hair out.
• Our neighbors gave us a kiddy pool just in time for the hot weather. He's my little fish. He loves the water.
• Liam really loves anything outside, he has since he was very young. Once your outside he's so happy just to sit in the grass, look around and pick stuff up around him.
• We celebrated Jason's first father's day! Don't those boys look too cute in their hats?!
• We took a trip up north for Emily's graduation. One of the highlights was that he got take his first tractor ride up front with Daddy! He smiled the whole way.
• Liam really loves building and stacking his blocks and rings. It will keep his attention for quite some time!
• Love you little one! So glad I get to be your Momma!

Cupcake Tuesday? Blueberry with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 I've been extra busy these last couple of months and have tons of new cakes to share with you all. So to catch up a bit I'm going to feature a different cupcake I've done on Tuesdays for a little while!

This week is a blueberry cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting. I love lemon and blueberries. They are really a perfect pair. Lemon cream cheese is just rich and a little sweet and a little tangy. Paired with the blueberry cupcake it tastes like blueberry cheesecake!

 So perfect for summer!