Saturday 6 February 2010

New ATMs

The two new ATMs I added are both books on advertising, recommended by my new boss, at my ATM favorite job-working as a copywriter.

Both books are written by Ogilvy- an advertising genius. I love his writing style- its very honest, very personal and still manages to convey a lot of interesting information.

There is a lot of overlap in the books, so you might want to read just one. I can probably recommend one after I finish them both.

Our Way

Due to a long history of disagreements and abuses from my family, as well as a recent falling out, Mr. Groom and I have decided we're taking matters into our own hands. When I move to South Korea to be with him and work, we'll get married at the consulate and after a few years of work and saving we'll plan and pay for our own "renewal of vows" celebration-possibly in the Grand Canyon with a party after or a church ceremony with a party after. Wish us luck!

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Recent Baking

Monday I made two different baked treats. One I can't reveal yet because I made them for my bridesmaids to be, and not all of them have recieved them. The second treat was at the request of the best friend's boyfriend who we shall call "CIT" for Comedian-In-Training. Anyway, they were coca-cola cupcakes (yuck!). So far the two people, besides me, who have tried them have liked them. I'll let you know what CIT and the rest of the crew think later.

Here's the recipe from cupcakerecipes.com and my suggestions:


Ingredients


Part One

• 1 cup coca cola or other cola drink

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup powdered cocoa

• 22 large marshmallows

 

Part two

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 2 large eggs, beaten



Coca Cola Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  These cupcakes work best with the silver metallic liners.

Part one

In a small saucepan mix cola, butter, vegetable oil and cocoa.  Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add marshmallows.  Place lid on saucepan and leave until marshmallows begin to melt.  Stir well.

Part two

Mix flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.  Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix well.

Combine Part One and Part Two in the mixing bowl.  Spoon cupcake batter into cupcake pan liners until they are 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes completely before frosting with Coca Cola frosting.
 
Frosting:
Ingredients


• 1/4 cup powdered cocoa

• 6 tablespoons coca cola or other cola

• 1/2 cup butter

• 3 and 3/4 cup powdered sugar (one 1 lb box)

• 1 cup chopped pecans

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Coca Cola Frosting Directions

In a medium saucepan, mix together cocoa, cola, and butter.  Heat over medium heat until melted then bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, pecans and vanilla.  Stir until blended well.

Let frosting cool until stiff enough to frost cupcakes.  !


Suggestions: The marshmallows in the batter make the  cupcakes spineless and unable to stand on thier  own. So the heavy duty aluminum liners are a must! I skipped on the pecans in the icing and topped the cupcakes with peanuts instead. I did this for two reasons. One- I knew some of the people who I'd beg to try the cupcakes are "no nut people'. This way they can flick off the nuts. And two, I'd always heard that coke and peanuts went well together. So far, so good. Oh- and don't let the frosting sit too long or it will be too hard to frost with!