Hi again,

One of the hardest things about making a cupcake (besides burning it) is learning how to pipe icing on top. I used to just get the premade icing and get a spoon and use the spoon to ice, but now that I make my own batter why not make my own icing as well (and pipe it on)

If you don’t know how to make a buttercream icing (here is the link to one, https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/buttercream-frosting/) and if you want to use the premade icing that’s fine, no judgements here.

When I pipe my icing on I use either a plastic bag with a little cut in the corner, or an actual piping bag, but I know some people don’t have that and don’t want to cause more trouble, but if you want to make a rose like the one above all you need is a 2D tip and either a plastic bag or a piping bag to put the tip in to decorate.

Here is a video to demonstrate to make a rose:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1e0TqmNmDg

Here is another video for a two toned rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFkj53rDPdU. (basically you save half of the plain icing and half of colored icing and put the white icing on one side and the colored on the other side and pipe normally

I had done little roses on a sheet of parchment paper to freeze to use as a topper on a cupcake and to give one to my nieces before serving the cupcakes.

Hi again,

The Christmas holidays mean so much to me and always involve my family. Due to my birthday falling on the 24th of December I always usually want a Christmas cake not a regular plain vanilla cake (I have a recipe that I love though for that) but on my birthday it is too special to waste a plain vanilla cake on.

I always make my birthday cake ever since I could bake. I would always make a gingerbread cake from a box, but one year I decided to bake one like the one shown at the top. I used a recipe from the five silver spoons website (here is the cake recipe:https://fivesilverspoons.com/gingerbread-cake-coffee-glaze/). When baking this cake I found I loved the smell of the molasses blending with the brown sugar. Just baking the cake smelled good enough to eat but the sticky coffee glaze on top really added an extra kick.

When thinking about Christmas I think about my birthday that falls right before. I love having a hint of Christmas in my birthday cake to get me ready for the holidays.

For my birthday on Christmas Eve my whole family gets together to celebrate with me, and it is so nice showing how much I appreciate them by giving them a slice of birthday cake made by yours truly.

Hi there,

My name is Madison Baumbach and I am in my second year of Office Administration Executive Program.

During my free time, I love to cook and bake. I get the love of baking/cooking from my nana who was a chef for most of her years at the Walker House in Southampton, ON. She worked hard to provide for her 8 children with cooking and cleaning at the house and then walking to work to cook and clean there. While working there she had trained my boss/Chef Bill at the Elk & Finch when he was a young boy, first week was teaching him her swear words, and then second week she said she taught him how to cook.

Years later when I started dishwashing at The Elk n Finch I would go on to learn some of the familiar words she had taught Bill, and some of his cooking techniques learnt from my nana.

Through my years working with bill, I would learn some of his signature dishes, and also working with my nana I would get taught how to roll out her pastry dough for her famous butter tarts to the perfect thickness, and how to perfect her Christmas trays she would make up (Pictured above a whole bunch of chocolate macaroons).

Although my nana is now going on 83 years old, I am so glad she had taught Bill her cooking techniques and she had taught me some of her baking tips.

Here is the link to my favorite restaurant in Southampton called The Elk & Finch. (http://www.elkandfinch.com/)

Through these blog posts I will show some of my favorite recipes and my food pics I have taken over the years.