Cakes and music ❤️

Last weekend was the confirmation of a friend's daughter, and since she is a very eager singer and pianoplayer, the theme for the party was music and notes. 

A nice challenge❤️

I made some vanilla cupcakes with the amazing Vanilla Bean Frosting on top...

From sugarpaste, I cut out notes with a sharp knife and let them dry overnight. 

Perfect:-)

French macarons were on the order, so these pink pretties were decorated with a little treble clef, to fit with the musical theme...

The place settings and the cakes.....A perfect match 

❤️ Live - Laugh - Love ❤️

Passion for baking...❤️

Two confirmations and two birthday parties, spread across the last 4 weeks, kind of set the agenda for how to spend my weekends this last month....

Don't get me wrong, I really love baking, but I must admit that even a passionate amateurbaker as myself has had enough of all the sugar and frosting by now.... :-)

I'll try not to overload you with cakes and stuff, so I'll portion it out on several posts, and in a few days I hope I will get back to my wool and crochet....I really miss my needles and yarn...so much better on the thighs, too......he, he!

Anyway, today, I'll show you what I made for the confirmation of "the boy next door"....

These goodies in soft blue/aqua/creme tones were made for our neighbours son's confirmation a few weeks ago. Inspired by the colourtheme for the tablearrangements, I made some sweet merengue roses.... 

....and a yummy Oreocake covered in roses, made of cream cheese frosting. 

Oreocake really never fails! There wasn't  a crumb left of this cake after the party....

The flower decorations on the table. So pretty! ❤️

Time to relax....until next weekend with another confirmation....

❤️ 

Live - Laugh - Love 

❤️

Pretty in pink❤️

Little Missy turned 8 years old this weekend. It is so strange seeing your little babies grow up. It happens way too fast for my liking. I mean, of course I want them to grow up, but the days and years go by so fast! The fact that it is 8 years ago since that this little bundle of joy came into our family is hard to believe. It feels like yesterday. 

From the day she was born, she has been a happy ray of sunshine in our lives. Always smiling, always positive, always caring for others. Twisting her two older brothers (and her father) around her little finger....she gives them "that look", and she gets her way....❤️

She's a real sweettooth, so her wishlist for her birthday always include lots of cakes....

 I really love to bake, so I usually do my best to accomodate her cake wishes. 

This year the list included french macarons and cupcakes. Pink.....

French macarons with lemon and raspberry filling ❤️❤️

Vanilla cupcakes with whipped vanilla bean frosting ❤️ 

This frosting is very similar to swiss merengue. It is wonderful to work with, and the taste is really yummy! I'm not too fond of trafitional buttercream  - I find the taste of butter a little too heavy.....

This frosting, however, is light and sweet, and melts in your mouth❤️  On the cake, however, there is no melting. The frosting stays in place, and looks great even after a day or two...if there's still any cake left by then...

I usually put the decorated cupcakes in the oven for 1-2 minutes under the grill, so the surface stiffens a bit. Just make  sure you watch it - do not let it in there too long!  It is only supposed to have a thin, invisible crust. This makes it easier to transport the cakes without messing up the beautiful piping.

You can find a great recipe and step-by-step tutorial for this wonderful frosting in the amazing blog Passion for Baking

A very happy birthdaygirl❤️❤️

All set for a "pretty in pink"  gardenparty ❤️

❤️Live - Laugh - Love❤️

Coffee love❤️

Summer is over, the kids are back in school and our usual daily chaos and logistic challenges have hit us again with full force...

Work, school, after-school activities, after-work activities, housework (laundry - the never-ending laundry! )

I need coffee! Lots of it!

It has been an amazing summer in this country! The best we've had in 100 years, according to the statistics...

We still enjoy nice weather, and the late afternoon coffee on the porch is the best moment of the day 

But the afternoons are cooler now, and autumn is knocking at the door...

I therefore decided that my beloved French Press coffee pot needed a nice and warm jacket for that autumn chill. 

I'm in love with stripes at the moment, so I made a simple stripey version of plain single crochet stiches. 

I went a little overboard with all the buttons, and can't really decide whether it is too much or just enough :-)

I really love these pretty Tilda buttons ❤️

Coffee for two is served! Hot and delicious ❤️

"The perfect cup of coffee should be 

black as the devil,

 hot as hell, pure as an angel 

and sweet as love."

                    Charles Maurice de Talleyrand 1754-1838

❤️Live - Laugh  - Love❤️