P90X

So I post a lot about baking, and not so much about making other things or just creating in general.
But, now I have a new exciting adventure to post about: creating a new, healthier me.

Yesterday I started P90X, a workout DVD system from "Beach Body."
They have 12 different workouts, and you follow a plan for 90 days including meals.

I'm really excited to be trying out this program. The workouts I have done so far have been fun, but really tough! I just finished the Plyometrics workout, which is jump training. I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Ok, not really, but it sure was a cardio workout. It's a lot of squats and jumping around, but sometimes I did the modified versions so I could catch my breath.

For the meals, I won't exactly be following the plan to a T, but I have incorporated some recipes from this plan and the "Insanity" plan. They both have basically high-protein diets.

I'm really excited about this! Let me know if any of you have been working on getting yourself in better shape. If you are, great! Let's do this journey together and keep each other motivated. :)

Have a great day!

~Jamie

Decorating Class

I drug my boyfriend into taking a cake decorating class with me ( the promo was buy 1, get 1 free) and it has been really fun! I'm taking the Wilton Decorating Basics at JoAnn's. It has cost me a lot more than I intended, because you have to make the cakes, cookies, and frosting every week, and I'm doing a double batch for the BF to use. Also, I find myself buying more products like a cake leveler, a turntable, etc, etc. I will definitely use these things in the future, but it's a lot to buy at once.

Overall it has been a lot of fun! I'm excited to see what we learn next and for the weeks to come. I'm excited to be able to incorporate these skills into my own decorating.

Homemade Marshmallow Fluff

How many of you thought that marshmallow fluff was made out of marshmallows like I did?
Well, much to my surprise, it's not! It's mostly corn syrup (that's good for you, right?) and powdered sugar.

Super easy to make, as long as you have an electric mixer. Or else your hand might fall off.

Here's the recipe (it's amazing what you can find on the internet!)

Ingredients:
1 and a half egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine egg whites, salt and corn syrup. Beat with wire whisk attachment on high speed for five minutes, or until the mixture has thickened and doubled. Make sure peaks form in it when you turn a utensil full of it upside down. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and powdered sugar. Stir them in until well blended. Store in fridge until ready to use, it will last for about 2 weeks.

And the best part is, now you can make Flutternutters! And if you don't have a fun time saying that, you're crazy ;)

I used mine instead of frosting atop these tiny vanilla cupcakes. Then I placed them to look like an American flag. 

Business

I never thought I'd have my own business, but I guess it just kind of happened! A couple of people from my church had asked me to make various cakes or cupcakes for them for upcoming events. I didn't really consider myself as having a service to offer, but then I started playing around with names for my "business." I came up with Jamie Cakes, because I just liked the way it sounds. So one night I was looking through my pictures of all of the cakes and cupcakes I had made, and I found this picture. I played around with it on Picmonkey, and I thought, 'Hey, this looks like a really cute business card!' Now I was curious. What would happen if I 'advertised' myself on facebook? I posted this picture on my Facebook, and within minutes I had someone asking me to make a cake for them.

So here I am, with a tiny business to do while I finish school. And maybe someday it will turn into something more. But if not, that's ok, because whatever I do with it I'll be having fun, doing what I love: baking!

Mother's Day/Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

I hope you all had a fantastic and wonderful mother's day. I will be continuing the celebration tonight with "Girl's Night In" with my mom. We'll be watching the original Footloose while snacking on popcorn and candy, and painting our toenails. Perfect!

My grandmother asked me to make some cupcakes for a little mother's day get-together at her church. I thought that lemon raspberry would be perfect for springtime and for a women's event. Also, that is one of my favorite flavor combinations ever.

I bought a standard Betty Crocker lemon cake mix and dressed it up with some freshly-squeezed lemon juice. I made the buttercream frosting from the Wilton website, except I made a few changes to make it more lemony. The result was phenomenal. I won't tell you my secret, so you'll just have to experiment for yourself. Tangy-sweet lemon icing that perfectly complimented the fresh raspberry atop the cupcake. I also filled the cupcakes with organic raspberry jam I had found at Food for Less. Mmmmm... it was delicious!

And you may notice the little label in the bottom corner, that's a logo for my new business! 

Mmm mmm good. :)

Chocolate-Fudge Soft Cookies

Hey all!

So tonight I was just itching to bake something. I got out my mom's "Most Loved Cookies" cookbook and flipped through it to see what I could make with what we have at the house. Oooh, there are some good recipes in this book! I decided to go with chocolate softies because I had all of the necessary ingredients, and you can never go wrong with chocolate, right?

Here's a link to the book on their website:
http://www.companyscoming.com/cookbooks/most-loved-recipe-collection/most-loved-cookies/8/MLCO/

They turned out really well: warm, gooey, soft, and the icing tastes like fudge! Mmmmm...

And once I took pictures of the cookies, I decided to have a little fun on picmonkey. A super-cool, easy to use picture editing website I learned about from Ruffled Sunshine.

If you use recipes from this book, let me know how it turns out! I'd love to hear from you.

Happy cupcaking! (Or cookie-ing, in this case)

~Jamie

Homage to America and Baking

For my art appreciation class we had to create a piece of artwork that represents some part of us. So, I decided to make an homage to america and baking. I love to decorate cakes, so I made a 3D styrofoam cake and covered it with patriotic fabrics. I found some cute decorations and a hot glue gun and voila! Art project completed. I also figured that, come July, it could double as a centerpiece for the kitchen table. Because who wants to make something that will never be used for anything practical? Not me. So, here it is!

I guess it's not really what some would consider "art," it's more of a crafty thing. But if it gets me a passing grade, I'm ok with it. :)

"Oh yeah"

Chocolate cupcakes with homemade peanut butter frosting. Oh yeah.

I guess what I like so much about baking is that even though it can be time consuming and a lot of work, the minute someone else enjoys it and you see that moment of "ohhhh yeahhhh" on their face it's all worth it.

Especially when your three-year-old niece comes bopping in and goes "ooooohhh!" as soon as she sees them.

She was so cute with the little bit of frosting on her face, I just had to take a picture.

She looks so grown-up!

Anyways, if you want to know how I made this fabulous treat, I just bought a box of "Triple Chocolate Fudge" cake mix. My mom got me a tin filled with cupcake recipes and the frosting was from the "Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes" recipe. It is sooooo delicious!

Peanut Butter Frosting:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk

Beat peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, beat at low speed 1 minute or until crumbly. Slowly add milk, beating at low speed until creamy.

I just guesstimated on the vanilla and used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup Crisco to make it fluffier. I also added the sugar 1 cup at a time.

Enjoy and happy cupcaking!

XOXO ~Jamie