outfit post: sometimes simple is best

Sometimes simple is best.

I feel like this outfit is a combo of my absolute favorite basics in my closet right now.  There's my insanely comfy and soft chambray shirt, a cream lace top, and my fave skinnies at the moment.  And of course a pair of oxfords.  Kind of in love with them.

Also, if you think you see a bit of a sunburn on my chest...the answer is yes.  Our pumpkin and apple farm is crazy busy during the Fall, and I'm working outside everyday.  I'm learning the hard way that you can get burned even when on a cloudy, coolish day!  Blurgh.

 chambray, lace top, skinnies: aeo // bracelet: handmade by a friend // birdcage necklace: diy by me // oxfords: spring

Also, it's raining in these photos.  I know you can't really tell, except that's what those little flecks in my hair are (not dandruff...haha).  Hello Fall in the Fraser Valley I guess?  We've been alternating hot sunny days (today hit 24 degrees!), with overcast drizzly days....and it will likely just get colder and wetter as the weeks go by.  One nice thing about it is the lighting is nice all day!  Look on the brightside, right?

Hope you all had wonderful weeks!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey 

tasty tuesday: best chocolate (cup)cakes

The recipe I'm about to share with you is very near and dear to my heart.  I discovered it many years ago when I was just starting to really get into baking more, and made it mostly due to the name..."Wacky Cake".  Weird, right?

Well, that turned out to be one of my best decisions I've ever made.  Wacky Cake is now our go to chocolate cake recipe, and hasn't ever failed us yet!  It's moist and fluffy and rich, and completely no-fuss, which I love.  One interesting thing about this cake is that it doesn't contain any eggs....so, as long as you use vegan margarine (oil works well too), this recipe can be vegan.  I have a couple of friends that are vegans (or can't eat eggs!), and I love having such a good recipe that works for them too!

Chocolate Cake

(adapted from Our Treasured Recipes by Central Heights MB Church)

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2/3 cup Cocoa

1 TBSP Vanilla

2 TBSP Vinegar

3/4 cup Margarine (melted)

2 cups Warm Water

Instructions:

1) Mix together all dry ingredients; then pour all wet ingredients over top and mix until moist.

2) Pour batter into 9x13 pan /or 2 round pans /or cupcake tins (makes about 24-30 cupcakes)

3) Bake at 350: for 35-40 minutes for cake [or until a toothpick comes out clean] OR:  for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes.

The original recipe says to make three wells in your dry ingredients, and then fill each of them with vanilla, the melted margarine, and the vinegar.  Then, you pour the warm water over top, and mix together.  While I'm assuming this is the "wacky" part of the cake recipe, it doesn't matter if you just mix it all together. 

However, I still kind of like making the wells....

Your batter will be really runny....so don't freak out!  That means you did it right!

Jordyn and I usually use an ice cream scoop to make scooping the batter into the cupcakes tins easier, but you can also fill a large glass measuring cup and pour the batter in!

We like pretty tall cupcakes, so we usually fill our tins about 3/4 of the way full.  If you'd like slightly smaller cupcakes you don't have to add as much...just keep an eye on them in the oven, as they'll bake a bit faster!

Once the cupcakes had COMPLETELY cooled, I whipped up some basic butter cream icing, tinted it pink with a little bit of pink gel food colouring!  I finished them off with the most darling gold stars that I got for Christmas from my mom....she knows me so well!

This is such a quick recipe to whip up, so give it a try, and let us know how it goes!

Cupcake days are the best kind of days.

-kelsey

back to basics: buttercream icing

Today we're going to talk about buttercream.  The funny thing is, a few years ago I sucked big time at making icing!  {Clara can attest to that...haha.}  But Jordyn is the absolute master of buttercream, and has been teaching me her tricks, so I thought I'd share them with all of you!

One of the things that scares people about buttercream is that there is no "perfect" recipe.  It's going to be different EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  This is due to varying temperatures of butter, how much you pack your icing sugar how hot it is in your house, etc. etc.  Soooo for those of us with OCD tendencies (*cough cough...ME!) this can be a bit difficult to handle.

First we'll start with the basic recipe.  This is what Jordyn and I use as our starting point...and then go from there, tasting as we go, until we're satisfied!

Buttercream

Ingredients

1/2 cup Butter (or margarine) {MUST be at room temperature or you can very carefully warm up cold butter...but you don't want it to be liquidy at all!!}

3 cups Icing Sugar

1 tsp *Vanilla

2-5 TBSP Cream

*Feel free to substitute any other flavors instead of vanilla!  We often switch it out for coconut, almond, and sometimes caramel!

Directions

1)  Begin by beating your butter on medium-high until well mixed.

2)  Add icing sugar, vanilla, and a couple tablespoons of cream.

3)  Beat on medium until combined.

4) Here's the tricky part: use a spatula to test the consistency, and stick your finger a spoon in to do a taste test.  Adjust the taste and consistency by adding any of the above ingredients!

To be honest, we're not to fussy about using butter as opposed to margarine unless it's for something special.  Margarine's a lot cheaper, and so far none of our friends have complained!

Mix butter to ensure a smoother icing.  This is especially helpful if your butter is a bit too hard or soft!

Then, add in your icing sugar, vanilla and a bit of cream.

Adjust the taste and consistency to your liking, and you're done!

Jordyn and I have put together a few common problems that we've run into when making buttercream, and we hope it helps!

Problem: too runny

Causes: -your butter was too soft

              -your kitchen is too warm

              -you added too much cream

Solution(s): -add a bit more icing sugar

              -pop it in the fridge for a bit (*this is good for those times when you melt your butter too much or your kitchen's a bit warm.  otherwise your icing might start to taste like icing sugar if you add too much!)

Problem: too stiff

Causes: -butter was too cold/hard

              -too much icing sugar

              -not enough cream

Solution(s): -VERY CAREFULLY warm up the icing in the microwave.  watch it like a hawk, and stir often. it won't need more than a few seconds.

              -add a bit more cream

Problem: tastes like icing sugar

Causes: -adding too much icing sugar....hah!

              -butter was too soft...and therefore you added too much icing sugar

              -not enough vanilla or cream

Solution(s): -add a bit more butter

                    -add a bit of cream

                    -add a pinch more vanilla 

You might encounter the above problems individually, or as a combo!

Just remember, the more you practice, the better you'll get!

That means you should probably make more cupcakes...

Please let us know if you have any other questions about buttercream! We'd love to try and answer them for you!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey & jordyn