Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Coming Soon... A Sweet Boutique

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

We have been busy, busy! So much excitement is in the air in Easley, South Carolina! But first--just a quick note to show you what we have been working on...

These are the Cottage Sugar Cookies my mother and I worked on for my father's clients. Aren't they too cute to eat?!



Here are the Gingerbread Sleighs I designed and created for a few clients. They came filled with 2 dozen cookies.


 Here are our yummy cookie trays. 

 Our newest recipe--
Lavender French Macarons filled with Lavender Vanilla Bean Cream. They taste like you died a went to heaven...


Now for the exciting news I mentioned before...
This is my brother working on a project that has nothing to do with sugar and flour. His ingredients include drywall and nails... 

Here's my hubby hard at work too...


Can you guess what they are working on???

YES! The sign is in the window and we are opening a store front bakery!

With Love & Confection ~ A Sweet Boutique

Please keep us in your prayers! 
As for the rest of the exiting news-- I will post about it in a few weeks! 

Thank you for stopping by and Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With Love & Confection,
Veronica

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Some of My Favorite Gingerbread Houses

"And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should'st have it to buy gingerbread." 
-William Shakespeare


I simply adore gingerbread.


Fairy Gingerbread Tree House designed and created by my daughter

I love the taste. I love the aroma. 
I love to use it to create edible art. 



I love to teach the art of gingerbread house making.
My daughter

Mother Gingerbread designed and created by my daughter

I love the history of gingerbread...


It is very romantic.


Gingerbread was originally given by knights to fair maidens as a love token before jousting events. The gingerbreads were shaped like shields or hearts. They believed the gingerbread warmed the blood and encouraged love. Here is a fascinating video on the history of gingerbread:

BBC- A Brief History of Gingerbread

I thought I would share some of my favorite gingerbread houses...



This adorable house by Mary E. was a finalist in 2010 This Old House Gingerbread House Contest. It is my absolute favorite!

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Well, maybe THIS is my favorite! I can't decide!
Looks like Hansel and Gretel live here!
This precious cottage is by Win on CakeCentral.com.


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I love this little rustic cottage from Sprinkle Bakes.

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I adore these darling gingerbread birdhouses by
Torie Jayne.
The colors are so yummy!

Torie Jayne

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This house is by Butter Hearts Sugar .


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Sassy Beautimus creates some of the most adorable gingerbread houses I have ever seen! 

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A stunning gingerbread window display by Peggy Porschen
Photography Copyright (c) 2011 Marianne Taylor

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A beautiful gluten-free gingerbread house by Carol Kicinski.
Visit Simply Gluten-free for the recipe and directions.

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I love this Christmas house and dessert table by
Frog Prince Paperie!

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Very simple and elegant gingerbread design by
MaryJane Robbins at King Arthur flour Blog.


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And another simple design by Fave Crafts.
I'm smitten.

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A darling Thanksgiving house by
YUMMY!


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Couldn't resist this Hello Kitty carousel from
The Kawaii Foods Blog


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The next three gingerbread house photos are designs by the very talented Natasha of Nevie Pie Cakes.


                                                 
                                               ~~~
I simply swoon over this white display by BHG.



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What a precious gingerbread house cookie by BHG! I love the color palette!

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Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen? www.dekoekenbakkers.com

There are no words to describe how cute this is!
www.dekoekenbakkers.com


Which one was your favorite? Don't forget to leave your comments below!


Here is a list of links to free recipes and
gingerbread house templates:
Botanical Paperworks
Torie Jayne Blog
Fave Crafts- Free downloadable e-book of recipes & template!
Celebrating Christmas- Church template
CIA Culinary Intelligence
Gingerbread House Heaven- amazing templates for sale



Hope this has inspired you to create your own gingerbread house this Christmas!


Please leave a comment!
I really appreciate it!


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

My Controversial Cake

 Never knew a cake could create such a controversy! 

Ever since I published the photo of my "Autumn Baskets" cake it has been the topic of controversy. It has been stolen and posted on other baker's websites. I've been told that I was "inspired by Susan Carberry" (whom, at the time, I had never heard of nor had I ever seen her amazing cakes) and that I needed to give her credit. Others have copied and posted this image to their facebook claiming that they created it and It's been the topic of mile long threads on facebook cake groups. Things like this have been happening for two years now. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that my cake would cause such a stir.



I'm floored and at the same time flattered! 



So there you have it...



My controversial cake!


I designed this cake for an autumn pig roast my family was invited to in Pumpkin Town, South Carolina. My good friend, Sandy Stutes helped me put some of it together.



So just for the record, this is an original cake designed by me, Veronica Arthur of
 With Love & Confection. 

:)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

White Chocolate Pumpkins Tutorial by With Love & Confection

Would you like to learn how to make my mini white chocolate pumpkins to decorate your cupcakes?

Here is how it's done!

First you will need to prepare your modeling chocolate and let it cool and stiffen at room temperature. Here's the recipe:


Veronica's White Modeling Chocolate

20 oz of white chocolate coating
1/2 cup light corn syrup

1. Place white chocolate coating in a microwave proof glass bowl. Make sure the bowl is completely dry. Any trace of water will cause your chocolate to seize up and it will be ruined.
2. Heat chocolate until completely melted. (approx 1-2 minutes)
3. Add the corn syrup and fold it into the chocolate with a dry rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed.
4. Scrape out the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap.
5. Let it cool slowly as you knead it every 1-2 minutes.

Helpful Hint:
Be careful not to let the separated fat cool completely without periodically kneading it back into the chocolate otherwise you will have chunks of solid fat throughout your modeling chocolate. If this happens you can try reheating it in the microwave.
The white chocolate that has always worked for me is Palmer's Candies Vanilla Almond Bark. It is sold at Ingle's grocery stores in SC. I haven't been able to find where to purchase it online. If you are reading this and know an online store that carries it, please share the link in the comments. Thanks!

You will also need:
1. Green gumpaste for the stems.
2. Basic gumpaste tools
3. X-acto knife or paring knife.
4. Paint brushes
5. Petal/luster dusts and silver highlighter.
These are the colors I used.
Bronze- Cake Supplies 4 U
Georgia Peach- CK Products
Silver Highlighter- Cakes by Design
Silver Foliage- CK Products

Maybe you know a website who carries all of these colors but I decided to provide the links of the sites where I found my colors. You may also choose to use gold instead of silver. The choice is up to you. This is just what I used.

Here's what the colors look like.



Start with a 1" ball of modeling chocolate.


Using your ball tool, press the center of your chocolate ball till it resembles the shape of a pumpkin.

Using the straight edge of one of your tools, lightly score the sections of your pumpkin. Set it aside.

For the stem, take a pea sized ball of green gumpaste.

Roll it between your fingers to form a skinny, elongated tear drop or tadpole shape.

Like this.

At the biggest part, press between your fingers to form sort of a golf tee shape.

Now pinch around the edges in 5 sections to form a star shape.

Now that you have the star shape, flatten it by pressing in the opposite direction.

Lay the stem down on your work surface and using your knife, score it all the way around to look like a natural vine.

Now twirl the vine into the desired shape and petal dust. I used the bronze and silver foliage as a base color then sprinkled a little silver highlighter.
Lightly wet the indentation of your pumpkin and nestle the stem  on top.
Last, lightly brush the lines in the pumpkin sections with georgia peach.

Now use these adorable pumpkins to decorate your cupcakes!





Please come back and leave a comment on how your pumpkins turn out and post a link to your creations! I would love to see them!

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

With Love & Confection,
Veronica