Sad news:(



Louis “Cheddar” Barron I

Cheddar passed away earlier this evening. He was very sick, but even though he was suffering he never stopped being sweet to me and to his companion Oreo.

Cheddar was purchased as a feed rat for our snake Gumby, but that night Gumby granted Cheddar a pardon, and he was free to live as a happy pet rat. Though we don’t know for sure how long he lived, we do know that his short life was a happy one.

I never knew how sweet rats were until I held Cheddar in my hands for the first time. I was a little bit afraid he was going to bite me, but to my surprise, he licked my hand! Ever since that moment I was absolutely in love with him.

He was only sick for a couple of days, and he didn’t suffer for long. He just hit a rapid downward spiral this afternoon. He spent his last moments in my hands, and he died shortly after in the soft bedding of his home. 

We buried our beloved Cheddar in our flower garden, and said some kind words of remembrance.

Cheddar, I will not forget you.

SURPRISE!

So... remember how I said I was making curtains?

 Well here is how they turned out..

It was terrible!

So, I decided to put the fabric to good use.

Here is what I made:

I actually really like it.

And here is something else I did:

Ta-da! This lamp was hot pink and I had glued a feather boa around the bottom of the shade for my little sister's room when she visited this summer.. Now it perfectly matches the color scheme in my office!

Now to go figure out how to make curatins the right way!

Love, Saira!

Food Find!

Hey guys!

Look what I found at the store:

They are individual cupcake holders, for when you want to take someone a cupcake and dont want the mess of using tupperware. They cost 2.00 a piece at Walmart.

Enjoy!

Saira



Cake Pops!

Hello Loves!!

I am going to visit my best friend on tuesday, and I wanted to do something nice for her, so...

I made Cake Pops! (and they are beautiful!)

 They are Strawberry cake and frosting with pink and white vanilla candy coating. Hubby loves them!

P.S. I made wayyyyy too many!

Love, Saira

Hello Everyone!

Whew!

It's good to be back! I am so sorry for my absence, but life has been crazy right now!

BUT

I'm currently making cake pops, and working on a surprise non-food related post!

Be back soon!!

Love, Saira

Questions? Comments? Ideas?

Okay Y'all,

I've posted quite a few cupcakes, but that's not all I can do!

So if you have any thing in mind that you'd like to see, or if you have a favorite dessert that you'd like to see me try, please feel free to comment and tell me all about it!

I love you guys!

Saira

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes:)

Good Afternoon Y'all!

Today I'm introducing the Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcake.

This Cupcake is very very simple to make, and has a couple variations.

For example:

You can either make a chocolate base cake,

a white cake with ground chocolate chips,

or you can use hot cocoa mix in your cake batter to give it an authentic taste,

Also,

You may use a cream cheese or buttercream base for the icing.

All you have to do is add melted peppermint bark, and three drops of peppermint extract.

Another variation you can try is marshmallows.

I put four mini marshmallows into my cake batter before I baked them.

You can put them in after by digging out a hole in the cupcake while they're still warm,

or you can pipe some marshmallow creme into the center when it has cooled.

I also used a silicone candy/fondant mold to make the rose on top out of melted peppermint bark.

Enjoy!
Love, Saira

Happy Monday:)

Hey guys,

Sorry I've been scarce this weekend, Hubby and I went out to an off road park close to where we live in our Jeep Wranglers. It was very fun, and a bit challenging. I got my Wrangler stuck in some nasty mud, and it took a while to get me out, Luckily my wonderful husband pulled me out with his winch. Overall, we had a very good time and can't wait to go back!

Enjoy the pictures!

Love, Saira

This is Big Mama, my Jeep. I love driving through the mud and woods!



This is Big Daddy, my husband's Jeep. It is one bad mamma jamma!

I was leaned over to the left. Very uncomfortable!



Cupcake of the Day

The Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake!

Very simple cupcake, (just chocolate cake and peanut butter icing) but so delicious!!

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth. In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.

Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Makes about 5 cups

Ingredients:

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

Directions

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Try this recipe at home, it's a true crowd pleaser!

Enjoy!

Love, Saira

By The Way...

Hello Loves,

did you know you can find me on Facebook?

just click the link below and it will take you to Pink Paisley's Facebook page!

Be sure click the 'Like' button when you get there!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pink-Paisley-Creations/277058522348941

Thanks guys!

Love, Saira

Happy Thursday!

Last night I made the S'mores Cupcake and the Cinnamon Toast Cupcake.

Today I present...

The Lemonade Cupcake!

 

This is a recipe I came up with myself.

I used a basic white cake recipe and added lemon curd jam and lemonade mix along with a dash of lemon extract in both the cake and the cream cheese icing. 

It tastes heavenly and smells amazing.

 

Here is my recipe:

 

Lemonade Cake

 

Ingredients:

6 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 1/2 sifted flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp milk

1 tbsp lemonade mix

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Sift all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl combine egg whites, butter, lemon extract, and milk.

Stir mixture in to the dry ingredients.

Fill a dozen muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

 

Let cool completely before frosting.

 

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

 

Ingredients:

2 packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp lemon curd

1/2 tsp lemonade mix

 

Direstions:

Beat butter and cream cheese together until mixed well.

Blend in all ingredients except the sugar, mix well.

Beat in sugar gradually, until you have used it all.

 

Frost cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Love, Saira

Cinnamon Toast Cupcake (S'mores Variation)

This is the Cinnamon Toast Cupcake, which is a variation of my S'mores Cupcake. I used the same cake as the S'mores Cupcakes, but I topped it off with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing.

Here are the recipes for the cake and icing:

Cinnamon Toast Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp cinnamon extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin cups well or line with paper cups.

Sift flour and other dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon extract. Stir into the flour mixture.

Fill muffin tins with batter to about 3/4 full.

Bake in oven until a toothpick insterted in the center comes out clean.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

2 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Beat cream cheese and butter together until well blended.

Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until mixed well.

Add cinnamon extract and ground cinnamon, mix well.

Top cupcakes with icing after cupcakes have cooled completely, or icing will run.

Enjoy!

Love, Saira

S'mores Cupcakes!

Final Product!

Well here is my very first recpie: The S'mores Cupcake. It's white cake (that I made myself!) with cinnamon, and there are some milk chocolate chips between the cupcake and the frosting. The marshmallow frosting didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but it's still yummy! I tasted the cupake, and it is really good!
Hope y'all enjoy this,
Up Next: Lemon Cupackes!
Love, Saira

Hi Everyone!

This is my very first post on Pink Paisley Creations! I'm so excited. I decided to make this blog because I LOVE to make things. I came up with nine cupcake ideas last week and I want to try them out, but instead of just making them and then eating them, I wanted to share the final product with you!

My first recipe will be S'mores Cupcakes!

See y'all later!

Love, Saira