The goddess Demeter is renewing nature for the spring. The Chocolate Goddess loves her purple multi-layered tulips!
Cotton Candy Cupcakes
What fun cotton candy cupcakes will be for the spring and summer! These cupcakes are great for barbecues, children’s birthdays and every day celebrations. Cotton candy is that sweet and whimsical treat that takes everyone back to their childhood.
Cotton candy or fair floss doesn’t take much sugar to create. The sugar is spun into fine fibers. Before making these cupcakes I purchased several colors of cotton candy.
I started with some vanilla cupcakes. I took plain vanilla frosting and colored it to match the cotton candy. I used Hampton Kotton Kandy® and Bernod’s Spun City Cotton Candy® because it’s natural and organic, and I loved the colors it came in.
Duncan Hines® makes frosting to which you can add their flavor packets. One in fact does come in a cotton candy flavor and turns the icing a blue color. I chose to make my icings in small batches to match each color of the cotton candy.
Top your cupcakes with a pillowy mound of cotton candy just before serving to assure the colorful clouds aren’t affected by any moisture in the air.
BE Goddess!
Fashion and Food Design
Whether you are designing dresses and accessories or desserts and food, the creative process is at work. While my grandmother was an inspiration for my passion to cook and bake, my grandfather was one who fostered creativeness and inventiveness for the artistry of presentation of the sweets and savories.
It is he who taught me to find creative variations and solutions to everything I did and this I applied to my chocolate recipes. His influence instilled in me the importance of artistically accessorizing the chocolate compositions for presentation in order to make the layout and photographic process for the cookbook easier for my talented design team at KayWaal Creative.
While composing my recipe and still life composition of chocolate cupcakes with mocha buttercream for this week’s entry for the cookbook, I kept thinking of my grandfather who designed and made pocketbooks at the Fashion Design House of Nettie Rosenstein for a major part of the nineteenth century. After her retirement he continued on working for Sol Klein who took over Nettie’s design house and focused on accessories.
Nettie Rosenstein was the originator of the little black dress that would go from daywear to eveningwear. She had her fashion house in Manhattan and she designed fabulous gowns, dresses, jewelry, and accessories for prominent people. She was considered to be one of the premier American designers.
Pictured above a purse that my grandfather designed and made me from a scrap of leftover cutting of the green brocade for a clutch bag made for Queen Elizabeth. My sister Pamela has a pink purse that matched the Nettie Rosenstein clutch bag that he made Mamie Eisenhower. He would collaborate with Nettie and actually carry out the work, he loved to craft many of the items himself. Every pocketbook, clutch bag or purse he made, whether material or leather, was often stitched by hand by himself and his team.
Also above is a picture of a cylindrically shaped coin purse he designed and hand-stitched from a tiny piece of material. He hand stitched a bit of soft leather surrounding a tiny zipper he fashioned to fit the pieces. No scrap went to waste with Pambi as we called him, as brought home leftover cuttings from the design floor. He made us beautiful little treasures so we too could feel like queens and first ladies.
Sometimes when they were under deadlines for department store order my grandfather would help the staff and even brought the work home. I remember him placing the leather over a block of lead and then tapping tiny holes into it with needle-like instruments. He would be able to apply the tiniest stitches imaginable so they would go unnoticed in the piece. He would work in the frame with special glue and reinforced it again with the little stitches in matching colors.
I can now see the creative process blossom at an astonishing level in my nephew Colin Vitale. Colin is a student at Parson’s The New School for Design. His future and fame as a great designer in the world of fashion is unquestionable and The Chocolate Goddess is so proud to see him develop his extraordinary talent. Like other exceptional designers his fashions and art works know how to capture an audience for he creates glamour, mood, and attention with even the smallest and most unique material scraps just like his great-grandfather. Like Colin always says he “takes his fantasies and turns them into wearable pieces of art”.
Everyone has a creative side that they can use to make the world a more beautiful place. Tap into yours today and BE Goddess!
Truffle Frosted Cupcakes
Truffle frosted cupcakes are the most delicious cupcakes you can imagine. They will appear in the Chocolate Goddess cookbook in a few months. The cupcake is light and moist and light chocolate to contrast with the dense rich ganache frosting. Until then, the goddess suggests you try out the frosting. Take any chocolate cupcake recipe and make this truffle frosting. It is easier than you think, it just requires a tiny bit of patience.
Ingredients
16 ounces of good quality semisweet chocolate (not morsels)
16 ounces of heavy cream
That’s it! Chop the chocolate (I like the food processor you can get it very fine). Then place it in a bowl.
Heat the heavy cream on a medium heat in a saucepan. Stir frequently so it doesn’t develop a skin. As it begins to boil, remove it from the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit 2 minutes and then stir until all the cream is incorporated. Do not beat it.
It will take about 2 hours for it to become truffle consistency. You may speed up things by putting it in the fridge but stir it every 15 minutes. If you leave it go too long it may get too hard.
Now spread it over your cupcakes. Reserve some to make truffles. Roll a dollop in your hands. You may roll these in cocoa, sprinkles or edible glitter, or just leave them plain.
Make them for your next dinner party or treat your coworkers and brighten their day – BE Goddess!
Spring Reminder!
For everyone to water their plants today! Bring your houseplants outside for some sunshine and a hose down. And take time to cut a few fresh stems from outdoor plants to bring indoors!
Comfort Cupcakes
We are all experiencing sorrow over the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. The Goddesses are saddened by the fact that such heinous event could harm innocent people and children.
After having been a teacher for many years, I can tell you that families are once again worried about their safety and well-being. It seems that even our humble communities are not safe from threats as of late.
It is up to us to bring them comfort and reassurance that home is a safe haven. The purpose of today’s blog is not to provide a recipe, but just to encourage you to bring the family together and present a fun dessert. The Chocolate Goddess believes nothing says fun, happiness and comfort as much as cupcakes – especially cupcakes decorated and displayed in a cheerful way.
Make your favorite cupcake recipe or just use a boxed mix – it doesn’t matter, the point is to bring joy. Make them with the children or surprise them. Decorate them with your favorite icings. No need to fret if you don’t have the time to make cakes and frostings from scratch, there are many good ready- made choices available on the market. Gather material, table cloths, plates, candy decorations and sugars. The purpose is to make to make it a feast for the eyes – presentation is everything.
Set up your cupcake dessert table ahead so your everyone can anticipate eating them after dinner. Order pizza or make their favorite comfort food for the main course. Bring comfort, love and joy – BE Goddess!
Could you use one of these today?
The sun is out and beginning to beat harder as Spring gets well underway. Here’s a recipe for an icy, sweet treat to cool you down if you’ve been hitting the dirt in the garden or walking the dog!
Glamor Goddess - And A Grandma Goddess!
I have taken the last two weeks off to help welcome my new Grandson into the world. He is cute as a button, a 6 pound 5 ounce bundle of joy with a cherubic face like Venus’ son Cupid. He is wide awake and alert and my heart is singing with sheer joy. The heavens shined down upon my family for he is healthy and strong.
I also had a special event with my husband Paul at the Waldorf that required some attention. We enjoyed hearing speaker Michael Strahan tell his motivational story of perseverance in teaching himself how to become a football player, sports announcer and most recently a chat show host.
Apparently he grew up in Germany, not knowing the game of football at all until he moved back to the states in his later years of high school. Like Pink says - try, try.
I will be back to completing The Chocolate Goddess cookbook next week! I have two cupcakes left and a few cakes and then it is on to self-publishing or finding just the right publisher. I will try, try to make next week’s cupcake absolutely delicious. It takes research, composition and then many experiments to make it absolutely perfect. Then I and the art team of KayWaal Creative Thinking + Solutions must find just the right plates, props and or materials to make the photo for the cookbook a feast for the eyes as well.
Remember whatever you are trying to accomplish this week, do your best and try, try - that is part of what it takes to BE Goddess!
Easter Baskets - Let’s Get Creative
The Easter basket gets another makeover from The Chocolate Goddess. Last year we made soda bottle baskets for Easter. They are great for your teenager who has outgrown the traditional basket. There are so many colorful sodas and containers you can use, from traditional like Coke®, and 7-UP® to the pastel soda colors Jones makes®
This year let’s get even more imaginative. What about an Easter Bonnet? Your little girl, your niece, your granddaughter – what girl wouldn’t love lots of Easter goodies and a hat! They can enjoy the treat and then they get to wear the bonnet out to Easter brunch!
Here I tried a little snack box. It has bubbles and tools that are different shaped bubble wands. For a little person, all you need are a few bits of candy. I also added a grow-a-dinosaur egg. Lunch boxes make great baskets too for girls and boys. Afterward they have a shiny new tote for school.
What about Mom or Aunt Pam? Purchase a pretty teapot and fill it with paper grass shred. Here I added a decorative bunny. You can even use a teacup and put in some chocolate foiled eggs or a coconut nest.
You don’t have to just use paper grass shed. What about filling the basket with petals or flowers? I first put some tissue and grass underneath so that I did not have to purchase lots of flowers and add expense. Michael’s had some great choices of flowers and vines.
I gathered chocolates from Godiva®, Bon Bon’s in Huntington, New York and Munson’s in Connecticut. Wrap them in cellophane and add a pretty bow. I like clear cello so you can see what is in them and taste with your eyes.
BE Goddess and make someone happy with a creative basket this Easter!
How Much Are Those Doggies in the Window - the ones with the waggly tails?
They are not for sale, I love them too much. They climbed up on their own from their bed, to a kitchen chair, to the bay window sill to see big dogs next door.
