Delicately Sweet Confections

St. Patrick's Day Irish Soda Bread

2016-03-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating St. Patrick's day. As a kid, I would always look forward to wearing my green to school (in hopes to not get pinched!). I loved the special meal my mom would make for us that included corned beef, cabbage and potatoes. I still look forward to this meal all year long! But I also LOVE the Irish Soda Bread that my mom made growing up that goes along with the meal. This is a very simple bread that takes just under an hour total to make.

First, put all the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk together. Add the butter in chunks and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into little pea sizes.

Mix together the egg and buttermilk and and add along with the currents, to the dry ingredients. Then take it to a floured surface to knead for 3 minutes. Once the dough is no longer sticky, cut the dough in half.

Form them into two round loaves. Cut a cross in the center. If you want your bread to have a nice browned top, paint buttermilk over the top with a pastry brush. Place in a preheated oven set to 375 and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let me know how you liked it! Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups flour

1 t. salt

1 T. baking powder

1 t. soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 cups currents (or raisins)

1 egg

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Valentine's Day LOVE Notes

2016-02-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

I usually dread this holiday as another year that has passed where I am alone... wishing I would have flowers waiting for me at home or a special night out to look forward to. This year, for some reason, I'm not feeling those same feelings.

I'm not sure why exactly. I do know that God is definitely working on me to be content with where my life is at in the present. And to be thankful for how He has blessed me. I'm realizing more and more that life is short. That I am called to live a purposeful life; using the gifts He has given me. And to love those who He has brought into my life.

For years, my family has been creating and exchanging Valentine cards with one another and I haven't really thought much about it. As I've grown older, I see how special that really is. It's not that there is something particularly special about this day but, that it serves as a good reminder to us that we are called to LOVE one another. This has become a small way that we can share how much each other means. A handwritten message says so much more that a cutesy card just can't.

I would encourage you to take the time this week to tell someone you love them... in handwritten words, gifts, or actions.

Valentine's Day can be so much more than the commercialized romantic holiday that it is portrayed as.

"Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

LOVE never fails."

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas Danish Puff

2015-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

Sharing our families favorite Christmas morning breakfast. This has been our tradition for as long as I can remember and we look forward to it every year!

Danish Puff

(recipe adapted from Betty Crocker 1969)

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoon water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all purpose flour

3 eggs

Sliced Almonds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the 1/2 cup butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle 2 T water over mixture and mix. Round into ball and divide in half. On an ungreased baking sheet, pat each half into a strip 12x3 inches. They should be about 3 inches apart.

Heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once, until smooth and glossy.

Divide in half, spread each half evenly over each strip. Bake about 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and brown. Cool. Frost with glaze (below) and sprinkle generously with nuts.

Glaze
Mix 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons butter (softened), 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons warm water until smooth.

Enjoy!

A Merry Little Christmas Photo Shoot

2015-12-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

This past week we did a fun little Holiday Photo shoot with my dad's '53 Ford red pick up truck and my good friend Kelly of Kelamelia Photography. For the sweets we had chocolate sugar cookie sandwich cookies filled with buttercream and chocolate cupcakes with candied cranberries. The cake was a tall tiered rustic cake with gold embellishment.

We hope you all had a very blessed Christmas with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas from Delicately Sweet Confections!

Christmas Cookie Boxes

2015-11-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Cookie Boxes are now on sale till December 18th! Let Delicately Sweet Confections bake for you this Holiday Season. These boxes are perfect for your next holiday gathering or can be a great gift idea. Each large box includes two dozen cookies. 6 Cranberry Orange Coconut Chews, 6 Ginger Molasses cookies, 6 Sugar Cookie sandwiches and 6 mini Dark Chocolate Pecan tarts. We also offer a small box which holds one dozen cookies. Each box is tied with a festive ribbon and comes with a to/from tag for easy gift giving.

Email us at delicatelysweet@gmail.com to pre-order yours today!

2 dozen Cookie Box - $36

1 dozen Cookie Box - $18

Pick Up dates: 12/5, 12/12 and 12/19

Tis the Season of Gift Giving!

An Intimate Boat House Wedding

2015-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of creating the Cupcake Tower for Katie and Joe's intimate wedding on Lake Union this past August. What a beautiful setting it was! From the very beginning, Katie and Joe were so sweet to work with. After our initial tasting, they stopped by our markets to try out more of our cupcake flavors. In the end, they went with Red Velvet, Black and White, Coconut, Chocolate Peanut butter, Hummingbird and German Chocolate. Below are photos of their beautiful day documented by the talented Sasha of Sasha Reiko Photography.

Congratulations to you both!

Venue: The College Club on Lake Union

Floral Design: Elizabeth Designs

Desserts: Delicately Sweet Confections

Photography: Sasha Reiko Photography

A Summer of Weddings

2015-08-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of creating cakes for some very special couples this summer. Each and everyone of them represented the couples in very unique ways.

. . .

Katie and Joe love the outdoors so, their venue was perfect for them. The College Club Boathouse on Lake Union. They wanted a variety of flavors for their guests to choose from, so they went with a cupcake tower with cake flavors of Red Velvet, Hummingbird, Chocolate Peanut butter, German Chocolate and Coconut.

For Skylar and Jaren's backyard wedding they went with a Rustic buttercream cake with our Hummingbird, Pina Colada and Lemon Blueberry flavors. Along with the wedding cake we also created a dessert table display that had Mini Cupcakes, Leaf Sugar Cookies, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Oat Bars and our Mason Jar Fruit Crisps in Peach, Apple and Triple berry.

The cake table for Antoinette and Ryan's wedding was atop an antique dresser complete with vintage bridal ware and pictures of the bride and groom.

Under the Big Top ~ A Circus Inspired Birthday

2015-07-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore being an Auntie. This past weekend we celebrated my nephew and niece, August and Ashlynn, turning 4 and 6. This year for their combined party, they chose a Circus theme. My sister creatively designed 2 hours of FUN for these two and their friends. I hope you enjoy taking a peek at these pics and grab an idea or two. :)

When the guests arrived, they were directed to a circus themed craft, (easily found at your local craft store) an animal mask to paint.

Next, were the games. There was a Balloon Pop, Clown Bean Bag Toss and a Can Toss. At each game the kids could earn tickets for the Prize Tent under the 'Big Top'.

Once everyone had their prize bags full, tummies satisfied with snacks and presents were opened, it was time for cake and ice cream.

The sweets table was complete with Cotton Candy Pops, Snow Cone cupcakes and a Circus inspired cake!

Tickled Pink

2015-06-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

One of the sweetest privileges I get as a baker is to hold the secret of mom's and dad's-to-be as they find out the gender of their baby. This one was extra special because it was for my friend Ashley and her husband Bryan as they are soon-to-be parents to a... little girl! :)

Congratulations to you both!

Cupcake Decorating Party

2015-06-07T09:10:00.001-07:00

Last month, I had the privilege of hosting a photo shoot at my house with some very dear friends and their kids to promote my newest addition to my business - Cupcake Decorating Parties. It was such a blast! The plan was to have the party outside, and in Seattle, that's a little tricky to do in May. I prayed a lot! I wanted the color scheme to be multicolored, bright and fun since there would be boys and girls at the party. I hung streamers and paper fans on my front porch.

(My favorite was the screen door - I didn't want to take it down for a few days. ;) )

When the guests arrived, they received an apron to put on (I found these at Hobby Lobby).

Each place setting had a polkadot place mat, 2 cupcakes, a piping bag with buttercream

and bakery box with their name on it.

Let the decorating begin!

When everyone had finished their masterpieces, they choose their best one to pack away in the box and the other they got to enjoy with milk and juice.

If you think your child would love a Cupcake Decorating party for their birthday, check out our new tab on the top of the page for more details.

Photography by Kelamelia Photography.

Vintage Inspired Dessert Table

2015-05-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun dreaming up this lavender dessert table inspired by some of my favorite milk glass vintage pieces. The ruffled milk glass cake stand, has been in my family for as long as I can remember. It always came out to hold the cake for family birthday parties. Over the years, I've collected a few pieces of my own. For this shoot, I just decided to keep the colors very simplistic, and just added some hints of lavender.

For the desserts, we had vanilla mini cupcakes, mini peach crisps, salted caramel and chocolate oatmeal bars, sandwich cookies and chocolate vanilla cake with blueberry buttercream filling.

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did! For dessert table inquiries, email us at delicatelysweet@gmail.com

Tie-Dye Themed Birthday

2015-05-20T22:39:00.001-07:00

My niece turned 8 at the beginning of the month, and my sister put on a Tie-Dye themed party for her. Such a fun theme! In her invitations, she asked for the parents to let her know what size t-shirt their child would need. When the kids arrived, they got to choose what tie-dye design they wanted and then we helped them add the rubber bands to their shirts. We called the kids over a couple at a time to start the dyeing while the rest of the kids played in the yard. When all of them were finished, they were put into a plastic bag with instructions for the parents on how wash them when they got home. It was such a fun project for the kids and they all turned out so cool! And of course, we couldn't have a Tie-Dye themed party without a fun Ombre cake (inside and out)!

Irish Soda Bread

2015-03-15T09:39:00.001-07:00

What better way to spend this rainy Seattle day than inside baking. Last night was my friends theme dinner and naturally the theme was St. Patricks Day. I LOVE corned beef, cabbage and potatoes and look forward to this meal all year long. But I also LOVE the Irish Soda Bread that my mom made growing up that goes along with the meal. So after a busy day, I came home and whipped these two loaves up. This is a very simple bread that takes just under an hour total to make.

First, put all the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk together. Add the butter in chunks and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into little pea sizes.

Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 t. soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 cups currents (or raisins)
1 egg
1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Simplistic Elegance ~ Vintage Weddings

2015-01-20T19:38:00.002-08:00

This past weekend I had so much fun creating this shoot in my backyard! Inspired by some of my favorite vintage pieces; hobnail milk glass pitcher set and antique oak tea cart. This three tiered cake is frosted in a Rustic, Vintage buttercream design with just a touch of color in the pink satin ribbon.

"Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." ~ Coco Chanel

2014 ~ Year In Review

2014-12-30T20:24:00.001-08:00

As this December comes to a close I feel a nudge to look back on the year and reflect. I am not a big one for making New Years Resolutions. This year has not been an easy year by any means. It was full of ups and many deep pits. Over time I have learned that it is good to look back and remember the good parts even with the bad. It's a way to see how God's hand was there amidst even the hardest parts. I still have many unanswered questions, but I know that He walked with me through it all and continues to do so every day. One thing this reflection has helped me with is to truly see that I have many blessings to be thankful for. Even as I write this post, I still have many unfulfilled dreams but, I know that I can rest and trust in His perfect timing. I would really encourage doing your own Year in Review! :)

Highlights:

My 5 year old niece had heart surgery and has recovered fully. Praise God!
My parents and I completed another big house project of tearing down my fence and putting in a white picket fence in the front yard.
I took a two and half week Confectionary Arts course in Toronto and learned many new skills and met some wonderful people in the field.
Traveled for a month in Toronto, New York and Boston. I was stretched beyond my comfort zone, but am so thankful for the experience, opportunities and history I saw and learned.
I got the privilege of working with my cousin on my new branding design and logo.
I turned 32 with a fun Favorite Things party with my girlfriends and then had a relaxing day with my family watching the Hawks win!

Numbers:

We got to be a part of 27 different weddings, birthdays and events.
This summer we did 24 Farmers Markets and Shows.

Milestones:

In September, I have been in my house for 3 years.
My business has been up for 5 years and continues to grow!
I completed my 8^th year of Teaching.

My biggest blessing I am most grateful for.. my family!

Happy New Year!

Johanna's Favorite Things Party

2014-12-27T16:59:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, I celebrated my birthday with some of my girlfriends and a 'Favorite Things' party theme. Awhile back I had seen several 'Favorite Things' parties popping up on many different blogs. It sounded like such a fun idea that I knew I wanted to throw one myself. As my birthday started approaching I thought... Why not? This would be such a fun girls night! Now if you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the gist... you invite your girlfriends over and ask each one to think of one of their favorite things that they would want to share and bring 4 of them, unwrapped. Each girl would then go home with 4 new favorite things!

About a month ahead, I sent out these invitations. I included an idea sheet also to help them out with their gift idea.

I made bags with each girls name on them so, they would have a place to put their favorite things as they shopped throughout the evening.

When each girl arrived, they were instructed to fill out a card with their favorite thing and then their name. We displayed each one on cake plates on my farm table.

For food, I served light appetizers and drinks while the girls were arriving. Since this was my favorite things party, for desserts I served some of my favorites! Salted Caramel Coconut cake, a Chocolate, Vanilla, Raspberry White Chocolate cake, Sugar cookies, Peppermint Brownies and mini Coconut cupcakes.

At the end of the evening, I brought out one more tray of gifts. As I thanked each one for coming, I drew names and each girl could pick an item from the tray to take home.

This was such a fun party to plan! Here are a few more pics from the evening. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from Itsy and I!

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Mousse

2014-12-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

If you are in a pinch this holiday season and need a quick dessert, try this simple yet delicious Peppermint Dark Chocolate Mousse for your Christmas celebrations. It only has 5 ingredients! I have made this recipe over and over and every time my guests absolutely love it!

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Mousse

8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate (chips or chopped)
2 tablespoons cream or milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Place chopped chocolate, 2 tablespoons cream and peppermint into a bowl and place over simmering water. Once the water comes to a simmer, turn the heat off and let the chocolate melt slowly. Once the mixture is cool, beat the heavy cream with vanilla till soft peaks. Fold the chocolate, a little at a time, into the cream. Use the mousse right away or put into dessert cups and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature and top with crushed peppermint candies (optional).

Merry Christmas!

Pinwheel Sugar Cookies

2014-12-18T22:52:00.004-08:00

This week, I went to a cookie exchange. It was so much fun! For those of you who have not done one of these, basically you bake a lot of one kind of cookie (ours was 6 dozen packaged into 12 half dozens). Then you get a half dozen of each kind of cookie that your friends bring, which is A LOT of cookies! Now, I need to figure out what to do with all these cookies!! :)

I (of course) looked on Pinterest for inspiration. I found these cookies that looked fun. I just switched out the recipe for my own sugar cookie recipe that I love. They were a bit time consuming but, so worth it in the end. Look how festive they are! In case you have not done all of your baking for the season yet, I am posting the recipe below. :)

Pinwheel Sugar Cookies

454 g unsalted butter at room temperature

410 g sugar

5 ml salt

10 ml vanilla

2 large eggs

765 g all-purpose flour

15 ml baking powder

10 ml milk

5 ml lemon zest (optional)

Cream the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix the dry ingredients together and then add to the creamed butter and egg mixture. Add the 2 tsp. of milk and mix. Add lemon if desired. Mix dough until it comes together in a nice, smooth dough. Divide dough into three bowls. Mix in red food coloring to one, green to the other and leave the last one white. Form dough into 3 flat discs and wrap with Saran wrap. Let rest and chill for 2 hours. Roll each color of dough out onto parchment paper into a rectangle and layer on top of each other. Gently roll up the short end to form a log. Roll the log into sprinkles, covering completely. Cover and refrigerate till firm. Thinly slice logs into ¼ inch slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes a lot…. J

Happy baking and Merry Christmas!

Apples Say Everything About Fall

2014-10-23T21:42:00.002-07:00

What says Fall better than apples, cinnamon and cloves??? Growing up, my mom would make our family this recipe of Applesauce Spice cake when the apples started ripening up outside (we had 9 apple trees in our yard). This is a very simple and moist cake for any celebration or just to serve your family on a cool, rainy weekend. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! :)

Applesauce Spice Cake
makes 17 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups applesauce (no sugar added)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda

In a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and applesauce. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and soda. Add to the applesauce mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan or into lined cupcake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool and top with my favorite creamy vanilla frosting (recipe below).

Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting - adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 cups confectioners sugar

In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sour cream and vanilla together. Gradually mix in sugar. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

Enjoy!

Let's Dance! - 5th Birthday Party

2014-09-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Everything is SO adorable about this little ballerina birthday. From the pink tutus, ballerina shoes, little girls dancing and sweets. This past August, I had the privilege of making the sweets for the beautiful dessert table. What fun it is to see it all come together! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. :)

photo credit: KCB photography

desserts by Delicately Sweet Confections

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - First Birthday!

2014-07-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

I have had the privilege of doing cakes for this sweet family many times now. Their newest addition just turned one. Check out this sweet little First Birthday dessert table they put together for little Bradley with the theme, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". SO adorable!

Ruffle cake and cupcakes by Delicately Sweet Confections

July Market Dates

2014-06-25T22:15:00.001-07:00

Upcoming July Dates!

We are Next month we are excited to be at the Edmonds Farmers Market on July 5th!

Here are our July dates:

July 2nd - Mukilteo Market 3-7

July 5th - Edmonds Market 10-3

July 9th - Mukilteo Market 3-7

July12th - Shoreline Market 10-3

July 16th - Mukilteo Market 3-7

Up and Coming Market Season!

2014-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

I am so excited for this summer! New markets, confectionary classes and traveling. As I'm writing this though, I'm getting a little nervous just thinking about all that I need to do to get ready... This is definitely list making time!

First, I want to keep you all up to date about the Markets we will be at this summer. We will continue to be at Mukilteo Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Shoreline Farmers Market on Saturdays. In addition to those, we will be popping up at the Edmonds Farmers Market and Lynnwood Farmers Market a few times throughout the summer. We are so excited for these new market opportunities!

Later this Summer, the end of the July through August, I will be taking a break from markets to be a part of Bonnie Gordon School of Confectionary Arts Decorating Essentials program in Toronto. I am SO excited for this opportunity to increase my skills in confectionary design! Bear in mind that during this time we will not be able to take orders.

Funky Junk Vintage Market ~ June 20th and 21st
If you like vintage, DIY creative projects or shabby chic then this is the place for you! The market is held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds Friday night and Saturday all day. This will be my fourth time being a vendor at this market and I LOVE it every time! Stop by for some delicious sweets as you shop! Check out the link for ticket information and times.

Upcoming June Dates!

June 4th - Mukilteo Market 3-7
June 1lth - Mukilteo Market 3-7
June 14th - Shoreline Market 10-3
June 18th - Mukilteo Market 3-7
June 20-21st - Funky Junk Vintage Market
June 25th - Mukilteo Market 3-7
June 26th - Lynnwood Market 3-7
June 28th - Shoreline Market 10-3

Looking forward to seeing all of your faces this summer! :)

Tea Time!

2014-05-08T21:58:00.002-07:00

I hosted a Garden Tea Party for my girlfriends this past weekend. All went perfectly except for the weather... I had a vision to be outside under white tents surrounded by the beauty blooming in my yard right now but, instead we had Seattle monsoons all weekend long... We had a great time despite the downpour. :)

It was so much fun to treat my friends to a delicious High Tea. The menu included Orange Citrus Scones with Devonshire Cream, Cucumber and Herb cream cheese tea sandwiches, Cream filled Strawberries, and Chocolate Mousse. I can't wait to do this again 'just because'! :)

Triplets = 3 Times the Fun!

2014-05-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of doing the cakes for my friend's triplets First Birthday party. Here are the pictures of the cake smash and aftermath... How cute are they?!? This is one truly BLESSED family!