11
Jan 12

It’s Coming!

Are you ready? We are! Already baking up giant hearts for the love of your life (or those you’re trying to hit with Cupid’s arrow ;) These are chewy sugar cookies with a light lemon icing- a sure way to win a heart!

 

Valentine's Day cookies


28
Dec 11

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

What’s better than snowflakes on Christmas? Snowflakes that you can eat! I was asked to create something beautiful (my choice!) for a Christmas Eve party, so I whipped up some brown butter molasses cookies with a light citrus glaze. With a touch of sparkle using sanding sugar, I believe these snowflakes came out just as pretty as the real thing… and much more tasty!

snowflake cookies
snowflake cookies
snowflake cookies
snowflake cookies
snowflake cookies


19
Dec 11

Bryce and Dianne Wedding

Bryce and Dianne booked me for their wedding this weekend before they even had a chance to sample flavors from the bakery, since I was on The Most Epic Trip until two weeks before their wedding. That’s some confidence! Bryce has always been very involved with earth stewardship, so I attributed at least a portion of this decision to Sugared Magnolia’s commitment to organic, fair-trade and local ingredients.

The couple is not a fan of fondant- and who is when the kind most people taste comes from an industrial bucket and is filled with artificial flavors and chemicals? (Sugared Magnolia’s handmade fondant tastes dreamy!)- so they wanted to stick with buttercream frosting. They had a few ideas in mind- beautiful layers of ruffles or whippy mounds of buttercream. They emailed photo ideas to me and based off those, I created a buttercream frosting that would resemble petals. They wanted a mid-tier riser that was stuffed with dahlias and lemon leaves (courtesy of Megan at Persimmon Floral), so that was integrated in to give the cake more height without adding to the serving amount. The cake was topped with two fragrant gardenias and a spray of lemon leaves to offset it. The base was one of Sugared Magnolias custom built cake stands wrapped in ribbon mirrored in the bouquets of the bridal party. And the flavors? Dark chocolate as the bottom tier and the top two tiers being lemon with lemon curd filling: a tangy bite of real lemon, softened by a custard base.

Here’s the final outcome!

Bryce & Dianne Wedding

Bryce & Dianne Wedding

Bryce & Dianne Wedding

Bryce & Dianne Wedding


26
Sep 11

Food Vignette

Very charming work. Someone’s mom didn’t discourage playing at the dinner table…

 


08
Sep 11

Chipotle Commercial

I want to say so much here, but I feel it would detract from the story in this video if I tried to add anything here before you watched it. Just watch, please, and share.

 


12
Apr 11

Something Good is About to Bake Up

Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Hints: It has a brioche dough, plenty of spices in the filling and it’s going to make the Sugared Magnolia kitchen smell like Christmas (good anytime of year!)…

Have you guessed it yet?


11
Apr 11

Snowmen Cupcakes

The snowy landscape hides the chocolatey goodness underneath!

This was one of my favorite little cupcake projects… I made these snowy fellas for a kindergarten class. The mother who brought them in said the kids were so excited about the marshmallow men that she hardly opened the box before all the snowmen were snatched away!

 

Well… that’s what they were created for- little mouths to enjoy!


25
Mar 11

Warming Up Park City Mountain Resort with Citrus Cupcakes

I had the opportunity to deliver the goodies to the winner of the Office Hero contest: Eric at Park City Mountain Resort. I figured after having a season of great snow, a little sunshine was in order (though I’m having a hard time letting go of winter myself). I hoped to achieve that with a sampling of citrus. Here are the results- hopefully like they were enjoyed!

 


23
Mar 11

Cupcakes & Muffins, Plums & Preserves

Lemon-Ginger Cakes with Cream Lemon Glaze; Homemade Plum Preserve Muffins with Maple Plum Glaze. That’s what was baking early this morning in the Sugared Magnolia kitchen!


21
Mar 11

Making Lavender Sugar

Lavender Sugar

Lavender Sugar - Homemade Version

Today I’m embarking on a new adventure: creating homemade flavored sugar. I’m intrigued by the idea of taking a staple, like sugar, a making it a little more gourmet. The store-bought kinds can run a pretty penny… homemade to the rescue! I purchased lavender in bulk from the new market down the street and added it to the organic sugar we use here at Sugared Magnolia. After two weeks the end result should be a subtly flavored sugar, gifting some of Sugared Magnolia’s baked goods with a light and unique flavor.

Want to try this at home? Let’s go!

Lavender Sugar:

2 T dried lavender flowers – organic*

1 cup sugar**

A tight sealing jar

Piece of muslin to wrap lavender in, if desired

If you would like- for ease of later use- bundle up the lavender in muslin and secure with string. If you don’t have muslin, you can mix the sugar & loose lavender together, you may just want to strain the lavender out when you use the sugar.

Make sure your jar has been cleaned and dried thoroughly and that the seal is tight. You want only the lavender fragrance in there and you don’t want any escaping! Combine the sugar & lavender- stirring loose lavender with the sugar to get it evenly distributed or dropping the lavender bundle in the middle of the sugar.  Seal the jar and shake or stir every few days. After two weeks begin testing to see if it is ready for use… you’ll know it’s ready when it smells fragrant!

We’d love to hear what experiments you are working on in the kitchen or how you plan to use your flavored sugar. Let us know and enjoy!

* Make sure the lavender you use is intended for culinary purposes otherwise it could contain scented oils and chemicals. We’re not making potpurri!

** We use Fair-Trade Organic Evaporated Cane Juice sugar. We suggest avoiding sugars with heavy molasses content as that may overpower the delicate lavender fragrance – but go ahead and experiment; you may have a winner!