Snickers cupcakes

Yesterday I descided to try out a new ingredient, Bebogeen. My friend from stoca.nl pointed this product out to me. This product is an excellent substitute for dulce de leche in other recipes.

I have been craving a cupcake that has that lovely combination of savory peanuts and chocolate, brought together by the warmth of caramel. This cupcake definately hits that spot!

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The sauce is devine by the way, it is easy to make and so glossy! It would be great over vanilla ice cream, topped with some peanuts.

Snickers cupcakes (12 pcs)

  • 100 gr butter
  • 60 gr bebogeen ( or dulce de leche)
  • 100 gr sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150 gr flour
  • 70 gr pure chocolate, chips or in smallish chunks
  • 70 gr (salted) peanuts
  • Sauce:
    • 40 gr butter
    • 40 gr bebogeen
    • 70 gr pure chocolate
  • Cupcake tin and 12 cupcake liners

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  1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C.
  2. Mix your butter, bebogeen, sugar, salt and vanilla essence until well combined.
  3. One by one, add your eggs. Wait till each egg is incorporated before adding the next one.
  4. Gently fold in your flour, chocolate chips and peanuts.
  5. Devide your cupcake mix into your cupcakeliners, I like to use an ice cream scoop for this job.
  6. Bake your cupcakes in the centre of your oven for 25 minutes or untill the centre is warm.
  7. Let your cupcakes cool while you prepare the sauce.
  8. In a pan, melt the butter and bebogeen on a low heat. Keep stirring
  9. When the butter and bebogeen are combined, turn off your heat and immidiately add your chocolate.
  10. While gently stirring, your chocolate will melt and you will greate a glossy sauce for on your cupcakes. It will not set and become hard, making it an extra delicious cupcake topping.
  11. You could decorate your cupcakes with hearts, chocolate chips or even chunky seasalt.

Find more baking inspiration here!

Great birthday treats

My son recently celebrated his birthday. He handed out these lovely creatures for some festive fun. We just combined these googly eyes from Flying tiger and simple carrots. This made for a healthy snack and a fun simple trinket for the kids to take home.

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Last time I made these beautiful cars, but my son really enjoyed being able to join in this year. This made all it feel extra special for a toddler in the “I wanna be independent” fase!

Bookmarks made with love

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My sweet mother bought me a laminating machine the other day (thank you mum!). And I must say I have been feeling very inspired! I used this machine to create a beautiful gift for my son’s daycare lady’s. They are like second mothers to him, which makes them extra special!

I drew 3 bookmarks with a black marker. One with a lucky theme with clover fours, one with a love theme with hearts and one book marker with a party theme with balloons. After this I went crazy with the coloring pencils. Of course I wrote a personal message on the back of the book marks and I added a foto of my toddler. To preserve the book marks I laminated them first, after which I cut them out. I attached ribbons with a bead that can stick out the book they read.

BookMark2

I attached each marker to a beautiful bouquet for a festive surprise. Of course you could also let your toddler do the coloring for a personal touch too.

Flowers

In Holland we are spoiled for choice. We have flower shops full of beautiful and affordable flowers. Still, I think your own picked bouquet is a more personal gift.

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This bouquet contained daisies, chive flowers, snapdragons and some plants I couldn’t name if I tried. There are some important attention points when you pick flowers:

  • Ask permission first, or pick from your own garden
  • Make sure you wipe of any bugs or little creatures
  • Cut the flowers at an angle
  • Cut flowers before their prime, so they open in the vase
  • Take the leaves off the part of the stem that will be submerged in water
  • Keep the stems moist
  • Use greens to bulk up your bouquet
  • Contrasts make wild flower bouquets beautiful, look for different textures, colors, smells and use different lengths.

Don’t forget to enjoy the process, I know I did!

My favorite high tea recipes

For my birthday this year I organised a high tea. I received many compliments for the entire spread. It did take me a whole day to prepare for it, but it was delicious! This is a list of the food I made, and some tips.

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  1. Omelet rolls: Mix up eggs, finely sliced chives and some cream to make the egg mix. Fry thin omelets. Let the omelets cool and spread out cream cheese, cover with ham. Roll the omelet up. Wrap your omelet roll in cling film. You can make the rolls 1 to 2 days in advance. For serving, slice and serve these lovely pinwheels.
  2. Fruit punch: Peel and slice your favorite fruits. Make sure you have various colors. Add some fruit juice. Cool your punch and serve it in dainty glasses.
  3. Mini chocolate mousse: Make your favorite mousse recipe and serve in shot glasses or little jam jars. I garnished them with dried cranberries.
  4. Small cups of vichyssoise soup: This simple cold soup is made with potato, onion and leek. I served it in small glasses with a teaspoon of greek yoghurt and some chives.
  5. Scones: My most important tips: don’t knead your dough, rub to combine the flower, sugar and butter, then stir to combine using milk or buttermilk. Wrap your dough in cling film and let it cool for up to 24 hours (in your fridge). This way you can work ahead. Take your dough from the fridge and cut your scone shape quickly then bake right away. Cooling and resting your dough gives you the lightest scones you ever had!
    For those who don’t live in the UK: use mascarpone instead of clotted cream.
  6. Savory pies: Using puff pastry line a muffin mold. Fill each cup with ham, peas, cheese. Fill the cups up with eggs and cream. Bake for 20 mins at 220 degrees C.
  7. Pizza squares: Make a large pizza a day before. Warm it up in a 160 degrees C oven for 20 minutes. Cut your pizza into squares and serve.
  8. Cut candy bars into bite size chunks for inexpensive little treats.
  9. Serve with tea, coffee and white wine

For a relaxed party:

  • Make sure you prepare well in advance and make lists.
  • Find recipes you can prepare 1 or 2 days in advance that take little assembling.
  • Ballance hot, cold, sweet and savory dishes.
  • Don’t try complicated recipes for the first time.
  • Make sure you have enough refridgerator space.
  • Make sure you have enough oven space.
  • Make sure you have enough china. Buy teacups and saucers at your local thrift shop or lend them from friends and family.
  • Use some disposable plates and cups, for less washing up.

Fabulous five: magazine upcycling

I recently received such a well wrapped present from on of my friends! It inspired me to share with your my favorite ways of upcycling pages from a magazine.

  1. Fold a bow as a gift topper. You will find clear instructions here.

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    The lovely gift from my friend

  2. Wrap gifts in magazine pages or Make gift bags using the magazine pagesPicsArt_1382533912671
  3. Use them for making a scrapbook with your toddler.
  4. Make beautiful party decorations
  5. Create some envelopes for sweet messages

 

Happy Birthday me! My inspiration countdown

It’s official! I have made it to 34 and I feel balanced and strong thanks to the people around me and stories that inspire me. In honor of my own birthday I would like to share with you my personal top 5 most inspiring characters.

5. Pooh and friends – Children and their stories will always inspire me. The simplicity in which they approach life should inspire every grownup. Pooh loves and lives whole heartily. Whenever I join my son in watching Pooh movies I find myself smiling, sighing and shedding the occasional tear, so simple and so beautiful!

“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

What I learned from Pooh? Be in the moment and don’t worry to much.

4. Amélie – If you haven’t seen this movie, I recommend you watch it soon! In this French movie you see the modern fairy tail of the shy Amélie. I myself used to be shy as a kid. Sitting quietly in the corner I would observe and enjoy the world. This is why I always root for the shy ones.

“I like to look for things no one else catches. I hate the way drivers never watch the road in old American movies.”

Why Amélie inspires me? She reminds me to stay curious and to look at the whole world in wonder.

3. Nigella Lawson – This kitchen goddess showed me the beauty and simplicity of cooking and being a housewife. As an educated women I was always puzzled how to play all these rolls in my life: wife, friend, colleague, mother, daughter, sister…. As a perfectionist I want to be the perfect wife, friend….and in the mean time I wanted cozy family meals with home cooked food.

“I think cooking should be about fun and family. I’m not a trained chef. I don’t pretend to be and I think part of my appeal is that my approach to cooking is really relaxed and not rigid. There are no rules in my kitchen.”
Nigella Lawson

Nigella showed me that by simplifying, and with some shortcuts, you can cook a great meal, be a good hostess, and most of all, that in the mean time you need to enjoy all of these activities!

2. Parker Schnabel – In the reality show Gold Rush on Discovery channel you follow modern day gold miners on their quest to find gold. My favorite mining team is run by Parker Schnabel. He grew up helping his grandfather in the summers in his mine. From the age 16 he runs his own mining operations. For me it is awe inspiring how he just does all these complicated things, regardless of his age.

“The biggest thing I learned this summer was how to just go for it, not worry about the consequences of what could go wrong, just striking out and going for something, whether it has to do with going up to the Klondike or dealing with people.”

What I learned from Parker is that you should let no one tell you what you can or can’t accomplish, the sky is the limit!

1. Mothers – I have recently concluded that every women becomes a superhero when she becomes responsible for her own child. The things we endure, complicated medical procedures, giving birth, letting go when they go to school….the list never ends…it’s a job for life. I see it around me every day, women that excel at loving in their own unique way. Every mother inspires me. We should keep inspiring and encouraging each other, and not be afraid to admit where we could learn.

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
Abraham Lincoln

My mother showed me how you can overcome anything, if you keep loving.

My grandmother showed me the value of saying grace.

My colleague, also a mother, showed me how you can sell, buy, re-model your house and take care of your toddler in a few months!

My college friend, also a mother, showed me that you can bond and love your tiny newborn despite all stress and separation.

The list if inspiring mothers keeps growing. Thank you mothers for inspiring me!

 

Car garage birthday treat

Every year it’s a challenge, what will may toddler hand out at his day care. This year i made a garage full box full of car shaped treats.

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The cars

I made these cars by wrapping raisin boxes in colored paper. I glued some dutch “pepernoten” on the boxes using a thick icing made with icing sugar and some drops of egg white.

The garage

I upcycled a delivery box to make the garage.I first wrapped it, to hide the ugly box. I used strong black strips of card board. When my toddler starts playing, he can be a bit rough. This is why I connected all the strips with cello tape.

Birthday surprise

Painting ceramics is surprisingly easy! I made this birthday plate for my nephew in 20 minutes. You do have to bake your plate in order to harden the paint.

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I bought the plate from a thrift store and upcycled it in a few simple steps using:

  • permanent marker or sharpie pen
  • Decorfin Porcelain paint
  • Paint brushes

I drew my design with the permanent marker. I colored in my design using the Porcelain paint. I baked my plate in the oven for 45 minutes.

This plate can go in the dish washer. This way my nephew can eat of his birthday plate every year!

Try your own hand at making a personalized plate.

DecoBord

Paarse pracht

Ik heb laatst een vriendin verrast met een kleinigheidje, een zelfgemaakte ketting. Deze ketting heb ik zorgvuldig in bedrukt tissuepapier gevouwen. Dit pakketje heb ik in plastic folie ingepakt. Naast luxe lint heb ik een gepimpte knijper en lavendel gebruikt om het kado superluxe te maken. Mijn vriendin was er superblij mee!