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Cupcake Travels

Chicago Cupcake Tour Day 2

Chicago Cupcake Tour Day 1

Chicago Cupcake Tour Day 4

May 11, 2017May 23, 2017

Chicago Cupcakes Tour Day 3

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. John Wesley

Copyright © 2017 © 2018 Grace Cakes LLC

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Salted honey mini-pie, yes indeed. ❤️ I need to do mini-pies. They are the right amount, they can be sweet or savory, and many flavors freeze well. Not for my friend’s coffee shop if you’re following that journey, just for me. . Deerpark Restaurant on Biltmore property offers everything you want out of a southern themed Sunday brunch buffet down to fresh carved meat stations, a build-your-own bloody mary bar, and more mimosas than you can drink! . I do recommend the hibiscus. . That last picture is simply for my own reference. I’d love to figure out how and where to incorporate a water feature in my home. Sounds so lovely. . The live musician was singing “Michelle” by the Beatles when we walked in the restaurant. I’ll take that as the kiss from God I know it was. . His love is everywhere personalized just for you if you go looking. Which I do. And He is always able to surprise me! . Happy Sunday! . Be blessed, Michelle . #biltmore #biltmorechristmas #brunch #honeypie #mimosas #sunshine #sundayafternoon #vibes #beblessed

I’m at The Bistro in Antler Village on Biltmore property. I tell ya. Biltmore chefs are 🔥. . Pear and sage sorbet. 🤯 😍 . I only ordered the walnut galette with pear and sage sorbet because they sounded strange and that’s my thing. I’m not really even really a fan of pears! . Let me indulge a reminisce. . Last time we visited we arrived late in the evening. I ordered crème brûlée as a late-night dessert in the library at The Inn where we were staying. I didn’t even think twice of it, but when it arrived it came with the most amazing passion fruit drizzle that was like a revelation! . I went home and made a delicious passion fruit curd and NOW I must translate this pear and sage into something but I suspect a sorbet is exactly what it wants to be. So light and refreshing! . What a crazy awesome flavor combo! And I already know how to make the crunchy topping it was served on, that too was a brilliant component. . I KNEW knowing how to bake crunchy topping would come in handy. . What do Biltmore chefs have in store for me tomorrow??? Can’t wait! . Be blessed! Michelle . #biltmoreestate #biltmorechristmas #dessertfirst #pear #sorbet #weekendgetaway #anniversarytrip

Cheers to 23 years! . And from the creative chefs at The Inn, some kind of pumpkin dessert and treats to go with our coffee. So delicious!!! . Be blessed! Michelle . #anniversarytrip #weekendgetaway #biltmorechristmas #biltmoreestate

A continuation of my 2019 British Christmas Cake experiment! (Follow #gracecakeslivebcc to see the rest) . First of all I wanted to bake the cakes within 24-48-ish hours of soaking the fruit in the rum. . I put 6 1/2 cups of varying diced fruit in The Kraken black spiced rum and planned to bake Sunday or Monday. . If you swipe left you’ll see, a cheerleading competition changed all my plans. Their scores over the weekend were so high that we were invited to attend a live reveal Monday night to see if her team got invited to compete at Varsity’s “The Summit” competition at ESPN in Walt Disney World. All star cheer olympics at their level. Not only do they get to go, they are getting paid to do so! . So now my fruit has been soaking for about 6 days and although it drained beautifully and still felt firm, the rum wasn’t as sweet as I remember and the cake tasted boozier without even a feeding. . That could be correct, I’ve only made this once before. . My recipe filled 3 Fat Daddio’s 4”x 8” loaf pans perfectly. Dividing the batter into loaf pans eliminated the need to wrap the pans in newspaper to slow baking on the outside. The toothpick came out clean in 1 hour 15 minutes. They are very moist. . Now these are supposed to sit and mature but I wanted to slice into one so I glazed it with an Amaretto butter glaze. The first time I made it I I felt like it was too boozy for my liking. But that was after the traditional 2 months “feeding” (brushing with more alcohol every 2 weeks.) I am not feeding these, they are going in the freezer until I have time to cover with almond paste and fondant. . So more to come! . Tomorrow I leave for The Biltmore so we shall see what holiday sweets and candies they have on the menu! I will share for sure. . Be blessed! Michelle . #british #christmascake #holidaybaking #fruitcake #traditions

I used to have a huge canvas of my children above this mantle. There wasn’t even a television on the first floor of my house. . Until my children’s lives became so busy as budding young adults with jobs, college, high school and whatnot to watch all of the Christmas movies with me every year. . Yes, all of them. . Enter the huge flatscreen and a blu-ray player with a “repeat” function. That IS the only reason we bought this TV, we don’t even sit around watching it! 😂 . So NOW on any given day there will be a holiday movie playing on a loop in the background of their lives in December. . Or today as I prepare for Thanksgiving. . #magicalchristmasmemoriesdontjusthappen . Be blessed! Michelle . PS I know the swag is off center, life’s too short to worry about perfection. 😉🎄🎄🎄 . #crazychristmasmom #lovechristmas #whateverittakes

In continuing this year’s journey to my family’s British Christmas Cakes I had to get the spices just right. (Follow #gracecakeslivebcc if you like) . Verdict on the addition of mace which I only use in this cake to DIY (British) mixed spice? Not the flavor compliment I’m going for and prepared mixed spice ships Prime, so done. . The DIY (British) mixed spice recipe I found at thespruceeats.com ~ and like our American pumpkin spice I’m sure there are as many blends as there are bakers ~ does not at all smell or taste (dry) like the Schwartz brand. The DIY blend is the darker blend. . I do prefer the Schwartz version. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and I will say, the mace is quite strong and takes the mixed spice in a completely different direction than the Schwartz brand which included ground caraway. . Smelling coriander and caraway together with cinnamon? 😍😍😍 . The nutmeg was there and not prominent, no allspice, and the cloves did not stand out. . And here is my untested stab at a DIY blend based on the Schwartz: . 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds 2 teaspoons ground caraway seeds 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves . I looked up other recipes and also commercially prepared products, the recipe from The Spruce is great and close to one from bbcgoodfood.com but the Schwartz combination was also popular. . I’m going to come up with other ways to use this but for now the rum plus extra cinnamon and nutmeg in my cake recipe would be better complimented with this citrus twist on classic Christmas spices. . Next up? Bake the actual cakes! . Be blessed! Michelle . #diy #british #mixedspice #citrus #christmas #christmascake #holidaybaking #customblends #madewithlove #christmastreats #lovelandohio #cincinnati