Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Bitesize Treats iPhone app: a review




It's no secret that I'm into cute. Frills, flounces, buttons and bows, if it's pink and dainty, I find it irresistible.

Same goes for small versions of things - babies, kittens, miniature ornaments and cocktail food. Why have a slice of quiche when you can have a mini-quiche with a baby tomato on top? WHY?

When asked to review this adorable app, I said yes in about negative 2.3 seconds. For many reasons.

1. Bitesize Treats. Treats. Bitesize. Sold!

2. It is based on the Hardie Grant bestselling book Bitesize: 50 Macarons, Cakepops and Cute Things. (Cute Things... #winning)

3. I had just upgraded to an iPhone 4 and I was interested to see how this would work.

4. I am an iPhone app freak. I have pages and pages of them which I refuse to put into folders, because I love them all and want to look at them. They're organised in groups, but I won't hide them. The icons themselves are cute! 

5. I am a cooking app conoisseur. The flour stuck in my earpiece and random greasy butter smears all over my phone are testament to my new-found addiction to recipes on-the-go.

6. I love reading. It's a rare day indeed that I do a straight review, but I am happy to promote books, reading and cooking. To anyone. Anytime.

Macarons! Cake Pops! Cupcakes, oh my!
I have to say, I wanted to make just about everything as soon as I opened the app. That right there is a good sign.





The photography and food styling is gorgeous... everything looked so enticing.



Ok, back up - what? Blueberry mojito? In popsicle form? Genius. When the weather is warmer these will be the first on my to-do list. Mama needs a summer treat. Anyone wanna join me?



I've never made churros before - I suck at piping and I don't deep-fry anything, really. Except pickles. Everyone should make an exception for deep-fried pickles. And anyhow, I cheat and shallow-fry, which I'm fairly sure can't be done with churros. However - chili chocolate sauce should never be overlooked in such a manner. And I like that I can favourite this recipe and make the sauce for something else.


The ingredients tab of each recipe are helpfully accompanied by a plus sign, which when clicked, will add the ingredient to the shopping list section of the app. 


The method tab also has boxes for you to check when you have completed a step. When I was younger, I read a tip that if you put all your ingredients on the left side of your bench, when you're done with it you move it to the right side, so you always know where you're up to. Being able to check off as I go, even though the recipe is on my phone, is incredibly handy for me as I've now got to abandon recipes partway through to prop up a slumping Veggie Baby, or stop the cat trying to sit on her head, or collect her if she's woken early from her nap. I'm likely to forget my own name these days, so having this as an option is a winner.

The shopping list function is exceedingly useful, as I take my phone everywhere, including the supermarket. I love that its organised either by aisle (dried herbs and spices/packaged goods etc) or by recipe. Once you have put the item into your cart, you check the box and the item moves to the bottom of the list. No more confusion and getting home to find you missed the ginger because it was sandwiched in between the celery and vanilla extract on your list and once you collected them you stopped looking at that section.

 And if that wasn't enough, there is even an oven timer, which is great for busy and/or forgetful people like me. Who cook by instinct and only remember something in the oven because all of a sudden it kinda smells like chocolate brownies with a tinge of burning.

The app is available from iTunes, and is priced at $4.49. For more information, you can go here.

If you want a blueberry mojito popsicle, you can come to my house.

*I was given a free app to review. That's all, folks!




Thursday, April 8, 2010

Easter baby chick cupcakes!

Probably more a post for the ladies here... or the more nimble - fingered of you.


naw, cute, right?

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 cup milk

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

FROSTING:

2 cups icing sugar

cream

yellow food colouring

2 cups coconut

Brown and orange M&Ms


Method:

1. Heat oven to 180 C.  Put paper cases in 24 muffin tins (or halve the recipe and do 12, or bake 12 at a time).

2. In a medium bowl, beat flour, sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, salt, vanilla and egg. Either beat 3 minutes with a mixer, or get that baking bicep out and mix by hand for a few minutes. fill paper cases half full.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack.

FROSTING:

This is the fun part! add tablespoonsful of cream to the two cups of icing in a bowl, until it gets to the desired stage. Some people like runny, I prefer it a little stiff.

2. Add a few drops of yellow food colouring and mix. Here's one I prepared earlier...


Now for your chick feathers... add 2 cups coconut to a ziplock bag, drop in some food colouring, seal it up and rub it all with your fingers to dye the coconut. Fun!


When cupcakes are completely cool, ice with yellow frosting. Put the coconut in a small bowl, and dip the cupcakes icing-side down into it to completely cover.

Add brown M&Ms for eyes, sticking on with a little frosting for glue. Poke orange M&Ms in for the beak... total cuteness.

Happy Easter barbecue customer...



Recipe from Betty Crocker.