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cakemeaway:

Homemade Glitter/Sanding Sugar

It’s always incredible to me that sanding sugar is sold for three dollars a container in the grocery store when it can be made at home for next to nothing. I never buy sanding sugar because it can be so easily made at home, and as a result of making it myself, I can make any color my heart desires. 

Materials:

• Sugar (Preferably coarse/non granulated, as each crystal is significantly larger than common kitchen sugar)
• Food Coloring (Preferably liquid/ non gel)
• Containers
• Oven, set to roughly 200 degrees (F)

Process:

1. Depending on the desired color, drop a few or many drops of food coloring into an enclosed container.
2. Spoon in sugar, as much as you’d like to make.
3. Close the lid-tight- and shake the sugar around so that the color evenly covers all of the sugar. If needed, use a spoon to incorporate the color into the sugar. 
4. Spread your color out onto a baking sheet, and bake in the oven until the sugar begins to sparkle. Be careful not to burn the sugar though. This may be 10 minutes, or more, depending on the amount you’re making. 
5. Remove the sugar by using a spatula to scrape it off of the pan (sanitary purposes- don’t use your hands. This is, after all, edible)

Making edible glitter is flexible, and very easy. Most of all, it’s fun!

Tips:

• You can bake more than one color at once by using parchment paper curled upwards. This way the colors don’t mix together, and each can be removed without getting burnt. 
• You can mix regular sugar or even darkened sugar (using black food coloring) into your colored sugar to lighten the overall coloring
• Black and Red food coloring are tricky to manage. Only one or one and a half drops of red food coloring is needed to achieve pink. But to get a nice red, you may be using a lot. The same goes for black/gray. 

I use this not only in baking, but also in crafts with my kids! They believe that this special glitter is a secret recipe made by elves, which makes it so sweet, and okay to eat. 

Get creative :)

beaubits:

Updates: DIY mask for dry skin/discoloration and Missha M BB Boomer  (Click to COMMENT…)

Three-week update for DIY mask:  I posted a DIY mask for skin discoloration three weeks ago and I am still loving it.  I tweaked it a bit to help add a little moisture to my skin and to help brighten, below are the added ingredients! 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 of a grapefruit
• 1 pinch of turmeric (Be careful when adding turmeric because adding too much will stain your skin yellow for a week  o_O  Turmeric is a spice and can be found in any supermarket, it has many amazing properties for the body. Some of the health benefits of turmeric are detoxifying the liver, natural pain killer, helps with depression, and it helps speed up the cellular process of skin repair (i.e.: improvement of skin conditions like aging/wrinkles, acne, eczema). Turmeric is also known for its whitening properties.)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Directions:

Put 1 egg white in a small bowl and gently mix/blend out lumps.  Add a tablespoon of honey, 1 small pinch of turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  Squeeze the grapefruit over the mixture and blend, it will foam a little and the turmeric will not completely mix in.  Apply the mixture all over your face and other areas that have discoloration.  Wait 15 to 20 minutes for the mask to dry.  Occasionally, I will put another layer of the mask on after it has dried and wait for that to dry.  The beauty of this mask is that you can put on as many layers as you want and it won’t dry out or leave the skin feeling damaged.  Rinse off the mask and cleanse with a mild cleanser.  

Two-week update for Missha M B.B Boomer primer: After one week of continued usage, I started to brake out on my forehead and on the sides of my face.  :(  It is actually very unusual for me to break out on my forehead.  I stopped using this primer after a week and a half.  My makeup definitely does not look as even and does not stay as long, but I rather look for something else than deal with skin problems.  I might try it again a little later or use it sparingly for special events or days I want to look especially nice.  The next primer I really would love to try is the Tarte primer, it is for sensitive skin and I have heard a lot of good things about it!  If you have tried  Tarte’s new primer, how do you like it??

Enjoy and hope to see you in the next post!  ^_^

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Skincare

recipecardbox:

S’mores Cupcakes

Source - http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/2012/4/9/smores-cupcakes.html
Inspired by Call Me Cupcake!

Yields 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Graham Cracker Base 
3 cups graham cracker crumbs 
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
10 tablespoons butter, melted 
Chocolate cupcake batter, enough to make 24 cupcakes (use your favorite homemade recipe or box mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line a cupcake pan with baking cups.

In a large bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until evenly coated. Place a tablespoon sized scoop of the mixture in the bottom of each baking cup. Using a glass or bottle the size of the base of the cupcake, press down the graham cracker crumbs until they form a solid crust.

Bake for 5 minutes to allow the base to harden. Cool for 5-10 minutes before filling with cupcake batter.

Fill the rest of the baking cups 2/3 full of cupcake batter. Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature before glazing and frosting.

Chocolate Glaze 
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 
4 tablespoons butter 
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

In a saucepan, melt together the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup over medium heat and stir until completely combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool in room temperature for about 30 minutes until chocolate thickens to a spreadable consistency. Stir occasionally.

Marshmallow Meringue 
4 egg whites 
1 cup granulated sugar

In a double boiler, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a medium mixing bowl, and beat the egg whites until they form stiff, shiny peaks, about 5-8 minutes.

To Assemble
Using a knife or off-set spatula, spread a thick layer of chocolate glaze on top of the cupcake, extending the chocolate to the edge of the cupcake. Let set for a few minutes.

Fill a pastry bag with the marshmallow meringue and pipe the meringue on top of the cupcake. Alternatively, you may fill a large sealable plastic bag with the meringue, snip off the corner, and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. Using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the marshmallow meringue to resemble a toasted marshmallow. Alternatively, if a kitchen torch is not available, turn the oven onto broil and place the cupcakes on a cookie sheet in the top shelf of the oven. It will only take a minute or two to get a nice toasty marshmallow look, so watch them very closely.

Yumm