Look what I made!

Guys, I've gotta be honest. This week's been a total bitch so far. And I just can't seem to get it together. And one quick look at what my friends are saying via the major social media outlets tells me that almost everyone I know is also having a crap week. It makes me wonder, is this what life is like in a post-Lost world? (Cue creepy trombones). 

If I could get it together, I've got lots of stuff to tell you about: a pilgrimage to Vegan Treats, another edition of Snackin' in Scranton, and a mango jam/filling I made that's all-caps DELICIOUS. 

But this took up three days of my time, and almost sent me over the edge. Remember that cake decorating class I talked about back in February and March? I had to make a tiered cake for the course I'm in now. So please, so that I don't feel like I wasted almost 3 whole days of my life, take a gander. I need to feel that my time was not spent in vain. 

The top tier is a vegan mango cake, the bottom tier is a vegan lime cake. Both tiers were filled with that mango jam I mentioned, and covered in vegan lime buttercream, then a homemade marshmallow fondant (which was not vegan; I need to research vegan cake decorating). The leaves are made out of fondant. 

It's not quite how I imagined it. There were supposed to be far less leaves, and they were supposed to be concentrated on one side of the cake, cascading down. But it was hot in my apartment, and I had some problems with too-thin buttercream, and covering the bottom tier, and the fondant tore off in big chunks on the sides. So I used the fondant leaves to cover all the holes and imperfections. The pictures make it look much nicer than it does in person. But I'm glad I finally finished it.

I swear, once I pull it together, you'll hear more about Vegan Treats and the like. Until then, I've got a pint of Coconut Sorbet and a bottle of rum with my name on it. Toodles!

Philadelphia Food Blogger Bake Sale- This Saturday!!

Hey guys! How was your Monday? Mine was filled with sunshine and baseball and a Phillies win. That's a pretty solid Monday if you ask me. But I'm already thinking about this weekend, because I'm participating in the National Food Bloggers Bake Sale in Philadelphia! All the proceeds from the sale go towards Share Our Strength, which is a pretty great organization working to eliminate child hunger. It's a serious problem, people! 

The Philly version will be happening at a Full Plate Cafe in Northern Liberties (1009 N. Bodine St, Philadelphia PA) this Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 10am to 3pm. I'll be donating some snacks (right now it looks like the Casbah cupcakes and the CARBOMB cupcakes), and volunteering for at least part of the day. So for those of you in Philadelphia, stop drooling on your keyboards and come grab some of those yummy treats you've been ogling for months. 

If you can't make it, you can still donate by going here: DONATE!

And if you're a Philly food blogger and would like to donate some baked goods, you can contact Julie over at Running Reckless. She's running the show, and doing a fabulous job so far! (Get it? Running? I crack myself up!)

I do hope I get to see some of your smiling faces on Saturday. Come drop some dough and fill your bellies for a great cause!

Also, I made these today for the home opener:

(Low-fat Vegan Vanilla cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream)

Yay Baseball!

Sugar Flowers and SUNSHINE

Oh hey guys. What's up? It's really warm and beautiful outside, and I've got the attention span of a gnat today. So I'm gonna keep this reeeeeaaaaaal short. 

Remember how I mentioned I was taking a cake decorating class? Well, I'm currently in course 2 and spent this morning making lots of sugar flowers. And later today I'll be at Citizen's Bank Park taking pictures of Phillies fans and watching pre-season baseball (and maybe see if I can convince Roy Halladay to go to the zoo with me too). Opening Day is so close I can taste it, and this excites me greatly. And at some point today, I've gotta make some Casbah Cupcakes to take home for Easter. So, all in all, not a bad little friday. 

And, like a first grader, I wanna show you what I made in class! (Notice that some of the handiwork seems about on par with a 6 year old... but I'm learning!)

We made some daffodils. Which were pretty difficult.

And some pansies. (Though don't call them pansies to their face. They don't take too kindly to it...)

and some shy little violets...

and some pretty little primroses...

and some daisies. Which are my favorite flowers in real life. But not my favorite to make out of sugar. Don't laugh, I'm working on it!

And of course, Victorian Roses. 

Now, Philadelphians and other northeasterners, GET OUTSIDE! And enjoy this beautiful holiday weekend!! And if you're anything like me, make sure you hunt for eggs with some kids, then eat too many peanut butter eggs and roasted asparagus and take a nap. You'll be glad you did. 

Sparkle-cakes and LOLcats

It was a dark, gray, rainy Monday. The kind of day that makes you want to stay in bed a little longer, laze around reading, and generally loaf. It's also the kind of day that sparkle-skinned vampires love. Not that I know any personally. But I hear tales. It's also a good day for seeing a movie with friends. And celebrating birthdays. 

The Trocadero, my favorite venue for ANYTHING in Philadelphia, shows movies on Mondays. It's 3 bucks to get in, but those 3 dollars come back to you in the form of a drink. And they have buckets of PBR and cheap popcorn and other kinds of awesomeness. On this particular Monday, they were showing a certain sequel to a very popular series about vampires. What's that? You're not sure what I'm talking about? Well, I think this will clear it up for you here. A Certain Friend (who shall remain nameless) thought it'd be the best birthday ever to get some ladies together (who shall also remain nameless) and one REALLY good sport of a dude, and go see this movie. With lots of buckets of PBR of course. Other dudes/boyfriends were asked to join, but said they'd "rather be punched in the face" than go. Their loss. 

So in honor of the Pacific-Northwest kind of weather we'll be having this week, and as a special birthday treat for our festivities, I made some vampire cakes. Sparkle-vampire cakes. Vegan red velvet cupcakes. Vegan Cream Cheese frosting. Really silly decorations. 

I started by making a handsome, sparkly-skinned, amber-eyed vampire that would make all the ladies swoon. Then I made a few more, because honestly, there's never enough good men to go around. 

But while I was busy decorating the others, something must have happened. One of the cupcakes got wounded. 

So I looked back over the army of dreamy, gentlemanly bloodsuckers I had created and realized one of them wasn't what he seemed at first. 

You know the only way to kill a vampire cupcake? You have to tear him apart and eat the pieces. It's the ONLY way. 

If I hadn't done it, who knows what could have happened? Vampire cupcakes could have taken over the city! You're welcome, Philadelphia...

I took the rest to the movies, and passed them out to friends. Then we proceeded to laugh for 2+ hours. Well, maybe less laughing and more cackling. And heckling. Lots of heckling. And we weren't the only ones. Have you ever gone to see a movie in Philadelphia? Have you ever gone to see a terrible movie in Philadelphia when everyone knows it's terrible and can heckle the entire time? Best three dollars I EVER SPENT. The cupcakes weren't bad either.

Lemony Almond Cake

I have to be upfront with you. There's no recipe attached to this post. It's not because I'm holding out on you. And it's not because I'm lazy (though that is always a possibility). It's because this cake is a work in progress. And I'm just not sure that I'm happy with it as it is. I mean, I like it. I might even like like it. But I'm certainly not in love with it. And I definitely would not marry this cake, nor would I have it's little cupcake babies. But with time and patience and some tweaking, I think this cake has potential to be great. After all, it's true that like like can lead to love. 

So why am I posting about it if it's not solid? Well, the pictures are pretty, and I know that's what a lot of you are here for anyway. (Does anyone actually read this stuff? pshhh...) And on Sunday while celebrating two very close friends that recently eloped (those crazy kids!), I managed to pawn off half of this cake on the fellow guests, and thought I'd give a forum for some feedback. I also brought some vegan chocolate peanut butter cups that seemed to be a hit, but we'll talk about that some other time. 

What I can tell you about this cake is that there are lemons in it, there are almonds in it, but there are no dairy or eggs in it. Maybe someday I'll share the recipe. But until then, behold the glory of my [novice attempts at] buttercream roses and marvel at my uneven elegant shell borders. And of course, make sure you always have a happy friday. 

Casbah Cupcakes

Previously on Sweet Swallows: Colleen bought a pretty little cakestand and decided to get over her cake prejudice to make a dessert that Ken declared, "the best thing she ever made." Anyone else who tried it, seemed to agree. Then she signed up for a cake decorating class, and suddenly, she had to make a cake a week. And that's what you might have missed.

Oh. Did I not mention I'm taking a cake decorating class? Classes were half-price at my local Mega-box Craft Store, and since I'm still underemployed, I figured 'What the hell?' and filed it under: Career Development. The classes are mostly thinly veiled infomercials for their product line. And I spend a lot of time thinking things like: You want me to use how much shortening? I'm going to pipe all of that icing to make a clown?? But when I stop being a whiny little know-it-all, I find myself saying things like, "Look how preeeeeeeeeeetty..." And I decided to take the second course, so, y'know, it can't be all that bad.

Anywho, when you're taking a cake decorating class, you actually need to bring in cakes. Shocking, I know. My brother got his dream skull-and-crossbones birthday cake out of the deal (Chocolate Cake with pudding filling). And when we had to bring in cupcakes, I knew it was time to pull out the BEST CAKE EVER, and turn it into adorable little snacks. Of course, the sweet older ladies were not impressed. I got blank stares when I told them they were pistachio cardamom cupcakes, and they all needed me to explain what vegan meant. I didn't even bother to tell them about the rosewater buttercream. But this cake, THIS CAKE, words cannot describe just how delicious it is. And now, it comes in adorable-size. I just might make these my signature treat. The decorations on the other hand... well, let's just say, I'm gonna keep practicing. 

Casbah Cupcakes 

(same recipe as the Vegan Pistachio Cardamom Cupcakes)

3/4 cup vanilla soy yogurt (I used one 60z container of whole soy & co)

1 cup soymilk

2/3 cup canola oil

1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1.5 cup + 2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp cornstarch

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

heaping 1/4 tsp salt

heaping 1/4 tsp cardamom

2/3 cup finely chopped pistachios (a few chunks are fine, and welcome in my opinion!)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Blend the dry mix into the wet mix, and mix together until the majority of lumps are gone (Do not use a mixer! Don't over mix!). Fold in pistachios. Pour evenly into cups (about 2/3-3/4 full). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until skewer in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for a few minutes, then cool completely on wire racks.

While your cakes are cooling, make the frosting.

Vegan Rosewater Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup earth balance margaring

3.5 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

4 tbsp soy creamer

2 tsp vanilla

3-4 tsp rosewater (depending on taste)

Using mixer, blend shortening and margarine until well mixed and fluffy. Sift sugar in 1 cup at a time and blend. Add creamer, vanilla and rosewater slowly and blend to desired flavor/consistency. Blend for several minutes to make light and fluffy.

*I tend to start 1 tsp/tbsp at a time with the last three ingredients, blending and tasting until it seems just right. If you add too much wet ingredients, remember you can always add more sugar to stiffen it up. I also added some pink icing gel coloring.

Once the cakes are cooled, pipe or spread with icing, then make sure you have friends to share them with and try not to eat them all.