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Saturday, July 30, 2011

A Weekend Treat: Mini Ruffles . . .


Now I know I never post on Saturdays, but I get so many inquiries about those gorgeous Ruffle Cakes we featured a while back, that I simply had to share these marvelous mini-versions that the amazingly talented Rose from Sweetapolita created for a sweet little backyard tea party.

If you have been dreaming of trying out one of these beauties then a mini-cake is the perfect way to go.  You can bake as many as you need and practice until they are perfect!


Perhaps you can just start with the edge . . .


And use your leftover buttercream for a cupcake in a cup?





 A few words from Rose: "Since you have the open star pastry tip already out and ready to go from your buttercream roses, perhaps baking a batch of raspberry rose meringues would be a nice addition to the tea-time menu? 

Sweet and crunchy baked meringue is the loveliest (and simplest) of treats, however, I don’t see them offered as much as I wish they were. These have some freeze-dried raspberries and a quick and easy (and possibly unexpected) raspberry ingredient that gives them their bright pink hue."


RASBERRY MERINGUE ROSETTES HOW-TO:

(yields 28 2″ meringues)

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites, room temperature

pinch of salt

1 package (3 ounces) Raspberry Jell-O

1/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries (optional)

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°F (94°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Grind the sugar and freeze-dried raspberries in a food processor until it reaches a powdery consistency. (If not using freeze-dried raspberries, omit this step and add sugar on its own in step 3.)

3. Place the room temperature egg whites and salt in a grease-free bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the Jell-O and sugar mixture into the mixing bowl in a steady stream, and turn the mixer speed to med-high, beating until meringue is stiff, thick, and glossy — about 5 minutes.

4. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

5. Place the meringue into a large pastry bag (such as 14″) fitted with 1M pastry tip (or other desired open star tip) and pipe the roses onto the baking sheets. Begin in the middle and, moving outwards, pipe 2 complete circles. Keep roses about 1 1/2″ apart.

6. Bake for 2 hours, then turn off the oven and keep the trays in the oven overnight.

*Store in airtight containers or Ziploc-style bags at room temperature and away from moisture.


Vanilla cupcakes with simple buttercream rose swirls . . .


Now back to those ruffles . . .



MINI RUFFLE CAKE HOW-TO (from Rose herself):

1. Bake and cool your favourite cake recipe in 4′ round cake pans. I used Devil’s Food Layer Cake, from this post. Keeping with the “petite” cake, I used only 2 layers per cake.

2. Make a batch of Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

3. Trim first cake layer so the top is nice and flat (if necessary) and place face up on a 6″ round cake board, or plate. Place 1/2 cup of Swiss Meringue Buttercream(or filling of choice) on top of layer and smoothwith a small offset palette knife. Trim the second layer, and place face down on the cake.

4. Apply a thin layer of Swiss Meringue Buttercream (I don’t recomment using sugary buttercream, but Italian or French Meringue Buttercreamswork nicely as well) over the cake, smoothing top and sides with a small offset palette knife (as you can see, I use this all of the time!) to seal in crumbs and to give the buttercream ruffles something to adhere to.

5. Using the a petal decorating tip of your choice (they come in different sizes, but I use the larger size Wilton #123 or sometimes a smaller size, such as Wilton #104) use the buttercream ruffling technique found HERE, complete the cake and serve!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!! Photobucket

Friday, July 29, 2011

Backyard Beautiful: Entertaining Under the Stars . . . Part 1

Just because we are approaching the final month of summer (now, don't despair, we have all sorts of fall fun ahead of us) I thought it would be the perfect time to continue our outdoor dining inspiration in a new five part 'Entertaining Under the Stars' series to take us through the rest of August.

Let's start with a Moroccan Picnic . . .




Or keep it simple with a quaint conversation in the shade of an Elm tree . . .

Perhaps you'd like a treat on the terrace . . .


Or a picnic behind the garage . . .


And if all else fails, make like the fireflies and twinkle up the night sky.  Works magic every time . . .


Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy that summer sunshine while you can!
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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Champagne Tasting Bridal Shower Invitations & Labels

I am so very excited to debut the latest line from Juneberry Lane . . . a fancy set of paper party goods that will have you all set for your next Champagne Tasting Bridal Shower, Birthday Party, or whatever event you are celebrating.

Don't forget, this or any of our invitations/labels/etc can be personally tailored to whatever color or event you need, and Juneberry Lane is always available to do custom orders, in case you haven't found the theme you are after in our shop!

Now, back to the tasting!  The invitations . . .



And of course, the champagne/wine bottle cover-ups.  You can use them to cover the actual labels . . .


Or go traditional tasting and place your bottles inside paper bags, then attach your custom label on the front . . .




And you'll always need a few food labels . . .


I am just so absolutely smitten with these pale pink rosette cupcakes, that I had to design a cupcake circle or two to go on top . . .




What's a Champagne tasting without taking notes?  And this custom designed flowery number sure beats your average three ring binder notebook paper, no?




The suite in its entirety:) 


And I can never resist a few last minute inspirations . . .


Pink & black anemones . . .





Now go pour yourself a cold glass of bubbly and stay tuned for this new line to debut in our Etsy shop!  
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Champagne/Rosé Tasting Party

Why don't we just continue on with this whole wine thing and move on to our next inspiration . . . a lovely Bridal Shower Champagne or Rosé tasting, whichever the Bride-to-Be prefers!  I am so excited to show you the amazing party boards below (and even more excited to debut a new Bridal Shower line in our Etsy shop, in honor of this fun-filled theme!)

So here you have it, a perfectly pink & pretty as a picture, taste to your heart's content mish mash of Tasting Bridal Showers . . .









A few simple decorating options to save on the budget without sacrificing style: elegant & tall taper candles . . .


And a plethora of paper streamers  . . .


Tempting your Taste Buds on a Rooftop (via Celebrations at Home) . . .













A few Inspiration Boards to get those creative wheels a-turning . . .



And one of my favorite things about throwing a Wine Tasting Bridal Shower, is that you can ask each of your guests to bring their favorite bottle (be it Rosé, Champagne, Moscato, or you name it!) and without the full load of the alcohol tab, you will have SO much more $$$ to spend on decorations, of course!

And here are a few tips on how to throw the most fabulous tasting party, courtesy of The Savvy Event:


~ Select 4-6 bottles of champagne from different regions with varying levels of sweetness/dryness. Check out BevMo for some ridiculously low prices on champagne.

~ For a blind tasting, wrap each bottle in paper and write a number on it.

~ Make a tasting card for each guest, allowing them to describe the champagne, the sweetness, and their overall opinion of it.

~ Include some snacks for between tastes-brie cheese, baguette, strawberries, grapes, apples.

~ You can include a "spit bucket" but if your friends are anything like mine, no champagne will go to waste.

~ Make cards for each champagne to highlight the information/price/style-this way your guests can really find out what they like.


And wouldn't you just know that Juneberry Lane would be there to help you out with all of your Invitations, Champagne Bottle Covers, Wine Description Paper, & Party Labels?  Stay tuned for our Bridal Shower Tasting Line of Party Printables, coming soon! Photobucket