Kat Johnston

Tag: cuppies

  • Sketch: Mmmm, cupcakes… with fondant!

    Kat Johnston Sketch: Mmmm… cuppies…

    First off, a sketch. I think we’ve all had enough of seeing things other than sketches here, don’t you? Good? Good. This site was made to keep me sketching, and obviously I’ve been neglecting that, so it is time to get things back on track.

    So that’s that.

    Kat Johnston Baking: chocolate cupcakes with delicious whipped buttercream and marshmallow fondant. The top one is also decorated with cachous!

    And this is more baking!

    Ok, so posting a sketch doesn’t negate the need to show you how absolutely divinely delicious my cupcakes turned out. They’re chocolate cupcakes, and the batter was further enriched with some gorgeous white chocolate, just to give it that little extra kick. Then they were decorated with freshly whipped buttercream and delicious marshmallow fondant. I think I’m getting a bit better with my piping even!

    Kat Johnston Baking: More cupcakes! This time they’re carrot cupcakes, with buttercream and sprinkles (or hundreds and thousands, as they are also known)

    And these ones needed no piping at all… just slather on the buttercream and liberally apply the hundreds and thousands. They’re carrot cupcakes, in case you were wondering.

    Annnnnnd that is all!

    If you’d like to see more of the cupcake photos, you can find them on my Flickr Baking/Cooking set.

    Ok… time for another cupcake… *trundles off to the kitchen*

  • Sanu in SL: You can’t wear a cupcake on your head… or can you?

    Kat Johnston/Sanu in SL: Tasty cuppies are utterly delicious. These are date-loaf cupcakes with a raspberry and wild hibiscus buttercream.Kat Johnston/Sanu in SL: Tasty cuppies are utterly delicious. These are date-loaf cupcakes with a raspberry and wild hibiscus buttercream.

    I’m posting a picture of a cupcake today, because I’d like to show how my everyday life ties into my creative pursuits. I baked those cupcakes last night – they’re a date-loaf cupcake with a liberal serving of raspberry and hibiscus buttercream.

    In case you were curious as to how I got the two-toned icing, I used a piece of parchment paper to divide the piping bag before scooping in the different colours – one to either side. Carefully remove the parchment and voila! Perfectly consistent two-toned icing in your piping bag. I love beautifully presented food, so I am trying a little harder to make even the common cupcake look wildly delicious.

    So how does this relate to Second Life, anyway?

    Kat Johnston/Sanu in SL: now for the Second Life translation… a cupcake on one’s head.

    The things that I enjoy in real life inform what I do in the second. I may not be able to eat as many cupcakes as I want or wear one on my head in the real world, but I’ll be darned if I can’t enjoy it in a virtual one, where something as simple as a food item can become a fashion statement in itself. You don’t get the joy of actually eating it, but luckily you get to dodge the calories too!

    The cupcake pictured is currently one of a whole heap currently available in the lucky cuppie at Sanu.

    Additional images of the real life cupcakes, including Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licensed photos can be found in my Baking/Cooking Flickr set.

  • Delicious Chocolate Ganache.

    Chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate ganache – seriously… is there anything more delicious than cuppies with ganche?

    Not a sketch. Not a digital image, something Sanu related, or even Second Life related. It isn’t really anything that can be considered art at all… But is it tasty? Hell yes it is!

    One of the things that I make a lot of in Second Life is cupcakes. Tasty, delicious, virtual cupcakes with all the visual perfection that comes of not actually picking up a piping bag to decorate, and without the temptation to lick your fingers clean of the extra buttercream.

    That said… they’re not quite as tasty – calorie-free or not.

    When my hubby decided that he simply must have a giant batch of home-made cupcakes to take into work, I leaped at the opportunity to make two dozen cupcakes, ganache, buttercream, and a right royal mess of the kitchen that somebody else would have to tidy up. Ok… that, and I was already watering at the mouth after looking at so many geeky goodies (and lately, many macaroons) over at Not So Humble Pie, one of my favourite cooking blogs. When the cakes were finished, I couldn’t resist taking a few photos, either!

    Kat Johnston Cooking – Carrot cupcake with lemon buttercream and a chocolate cupcake with dark chocolate ganache. Super tasty, and hard to keep around with thieving fingers close by!

    Two batches were made – carrot cupcakes with a lemon buttercream and chocolate cuppies with a delicious dark chocolate ganache which simply melted on the tongue. Honestly, it was hard to resist just grabbing out a spoon and partaking of that delicious bowl of blended chocolate and cream myself, leaving little or none for the cakes… self-control was tantamount. So was the ability to fend off sisters and a very curious husband looking over my shoulder going, “Can I have some yet? Can I have some yet?”

    Anyhow, that is it for today. Cupcakes: Real life style!