Crafts

Friday Flair Link Party /// Pink Mixer Edition

0 · Aug 9, 2012 · 27 Comments

Eeeeeek friends it’s {almost} FRIDAY… time for Friday Flair! This week has flown by. Is it just me or did someone press the fast forward button when summer started. Days are full of fun and craziness and it just seems to have been flying by. We had a fabulous time this last weekend with family and friends in town for Em’s baptism and the crepe cake turned out aaaaamazing! I posted about it yesterday, it was a Biscoff & Raspberry Crepe Cake… and it was delicious!

This weeks inspiration photo is one of those pictures that you either fall in love with or look at it and say… I don’t get it. I get it and I LOVE it. It comes from a restaurant in Detroit called Honor & Folly and I adore the black chalk painted walls, the soft pink mixer, the white tile and those lovely madeleine pans…

img source /// honor & folly: food & wine from design tripper

… You can just tell that is a happy and productive kitchen. I am dying to paint my walls like that in my next house. I’m still working on talking my sweetheart into it however. You all know what I’m talking about!

Biscoff & Raspberry Crepe Cake /// Recipe

18 · Aug 8, 2012 · 50 Comments

Raspberry Biscoff Crepe Cake // This my friends is the cake of my dreams… A Biscoff & Raspberry Crepe Cake.

I have been a crepe lover for as long as I can remember. My Mom would always make crepes on special occasions at our house growing up for breakfast. Sleepovers, birthdays, holidays or even Saturday was a great occasion for crepes. As I grew-up I became the crepe expert in the house. Give me two good crepe pans, a pitcher full of crepe batter and I could please a crowd!! My love affair has grown even stronger after a trip to Paris a few years ago. One of my favorite memories was sharing our first Nutella crepe bought from a street vender in Paris on our way to the Louvre. Ahhhh now that’s heaven! Here’s a picture of Hales or Lil’Whip as I’ve come to call her enjoying said crepe.

Needless to say, I’ve had a crepe obsession for many years. This last weekend we had family in town for Em’s baptism and I thought it would be a great time to see if I could make a crepe cake. I’ve seen many variations a few different places, I even featured one last week as the inspiration photo for Friday Flair. It was a Chocolate Amaretto Crepe Cake from Sprinkles Bakes and it looked divine! I decided my flavor profile for my first crepe cake should be…

What is Biscoff

Yep, you got it… Biscoff and raspberry. If you haven’t tried Biscoff Spread you need to find some. It’s a fabulous spread that is basically ground up Biscoff cookies mixed with some oil to give it a nice and creamy consistency. A Biscoff cookie is similar to a ginger snap but a little more delicate. They are from Sweden and they are delish. I found my Biscoff Spread at Cost Plus World Market. It’s not widely available quite yet so you may need to do a little searching or get it online. The lovely thing is that is goes very well with raspberries or even lemon. Basically anything that would go well with a gingersnap type cookie.

Now for the cake… You will need three basic elements. The crepes, a light and lovely Biscoff buttercream and a strong raspberry sauce that can hold up to the cake layers. Once you have those three elements you are good to go, you just need to start layering.

Biscoff & Raspberry Crepe Cake:

Crepe Recipe:

6 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of fresh nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups of AP flour

Biscoff Buttercream:

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup Biscoff

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

3-4 cups of powder sugar

1-2 tbsp. whole milk

Raspberry Sauce:

2 pints raspberries

1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar depending on the sweetness of the raspberries

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of fresh nutmeg

1 tbsp. cornstarch

This is my tried and true recipe that was passed down from my Great Uncle that I have used all my life. I have added a couple of ingredients that I just love to boost the flavor a bit, but for the most part it is a GREAT basic crepe recipe that makes about 20 crepes. For this cake I actually doubled this recipe and used all 40 of the crepes. However, make it in batches because a double recipe won’t fit into a blender. At least it won’t fit into mine.

Crack your eggs into a blender and add the salt, sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg. Cover the blender and start in the lowest setting. While the blender is on, alternately add small amounts of flour and milk, starting with flour and ending with milk. Make sure it is blended well. Let batter sit for a 1/2 an hour or so before you start to cook your crepes to let it rest.

In a small non-stick crepe pan add a small amount of canola oil and place the pan over medium high heat. Add about a 1/4 a cup of crepe batter and gently swirl the pan around so that the batter covers the pan. Let the crepe cook for a minute to a minute and a half or until the crepe is fully set. Then carefully turn the crepe over let cook in pan for another 20-30 seconds and then remove from the pan.

For this cake you need the crepes to be cooled completely so place the crepes on a bakers rack to cool and then stack with wax paper in between each crepe and place in a large Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days or up to two months in the freezer.

For the buttercream I just modified my Simple Vanilla Buttercream recipe a bit by adding the Biscoff and lowering the amount of vanilla extract. It’s a good classic and easy buttercream recipe.

In a bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, place softened butter and Biscoff. Cream the two together and add vanilla extract. Turn mixer off and add half of the powder sugar, carefully turn the mixer on low and mix the sugar in completely. Add the remaining sugar slowly until it creates a dough like consistency. Add 1 tbsp. of milk and mix on high. Check the consistency of the buttercream. If it’s too tight add more milk. Mix on high for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.

If needed store in a air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Take out of the fridge an hour or two before you want to use it to make sure that it is a room temperature when you need it.

Again, I took one of my favorite recipes, my Velvet Cherry Sauce and modified it for this cake by using raspberries instead of cherries.In a small sauce pan place all of the ingredients over medium heat and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Simmer on low heat for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain with a fine mesh strainer. Use the back of the spoon to get as much juice out of the berries as possible. Place the strained juice back into the small sauce pan and place over low heat. Remove a 1/4 a cup of the raspberry juice and place in a small container with a lid. Add the cornstarch, place the lid on the container and shake vigorously. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture into the raspberry juice and cool over low heat until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Place in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

How to Assemble the Crepe Cake

Now is when the fun begins… Place a small dab of buttercream onto your cake plate to hold your first crepe steady. Next, add a thin layer of buttercream onto the crepe. Add another crepe and add another thin layer of buttercream. Add one more crepe and this time add a thin layer of the raspberry sauce. Repeat that whole process until you have used all of your crepes. For the top of the cake I used a large closed star tip with a pastry bag and piped pretty little rosettes to decorate the top. I then placed fresh raspberries in the center of the rosette and dusted the whole cake with powder sugar.

Place the cake in the refrigerator for an hour or two until it sets up and then slice into it while all your friends are watching and soak in all the ooooohs and aaaaaahs.

The Dish /// A Great Tool for Bloggers

0 · Aug 7, 2012 · 72 Comments

When I started blogging two years ago the blogging world was in full swing, however there weren’t very many resources to help with my new endeavor. I went through months and months of trying to figure out this foreign world in which I had chosen to place myself. Where should I start, what should I write about, how do I find people to read my blog other than my Mom? As a food blogger, where do I go to find resources on the food world?

I have been recently introduced to a site called The Dish from ConAgra Foods. It’s a great site for bloggers of all types…

If you love to blog about food it has great articles to help you think ahead and plan your blogging calendar with recipes that fit the season. Like this article that I thought was great about, “What to Cook in August?” It gave great suggestions as to what fruits and veggies are in season in August so it was a great way to get my mind thinking about recipes to create for the month of August.

How great is that? Believe it or not, sometimes I wake up in the morning and have NOTHING to write about or create. It’s a total creative block, and this monthly article is a great way to get those creative juices flowing again.

Some other great articles that I just loved are the blogging articles. Here is a sample of some of the great work they have there…

Creating a blog business plan…genius! Why didn’t I think of that two years ago when I started WhipperBerry? Jodi Grundig, the blogger panelist, has some great tips and tricks when it comes to navigating the sometimes foggy world of blogging. The nice thing about Jodi’s articles is they are broken down into small bite-sized pieces. I know when I have done research about, let’s say SEO, I was immediately bogged down with the shear amount of information in the article. It was so daunting. Jodi has these little gems that help you digest the information and put it into practice without feeling overwhelmed.

Another great section of the site is First Look, First Taste. It's an exclusive area of the site for bloggers; you need to sign up with a blog URL for access. Once you're in, you have the opportunity to explore new food items and even request free samples of new products

Overall, I am very impressed with the wealth of information at The Dish and would highly recommend any blogger, regardless of experience or niche to check it out. As a matter of fact… head on over there right now, sign-up and become a member of The Dish yourself. You’ll find all kinds of little gems over there.

Guess what…as added incentive, you can win a $50 Visa gift card for checking out The Dish from ConAgra Foods. Head on over to The Dish and then return to WhipperBerry and leave a comment about your favorite article. Here are the rules…

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion with hash tag #sweepstakes and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 8/8/2012-9/8/2012.

Be sure to visit ConAgra's brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Friday Flair Link Party /// Crepe Cake Edition

0 · Aug 2, 2012 · 33 Comments

Hey Friends… It’s {almost} FRIDAY!! This weekend I have family in town celebrating my spunky Em’s baptism on Saturday. Tomorrow I will be making a ton of crepes because I am working on making a crepe cake like this mouth watering one from Sprinkles Bakes…

img source /// chocolate amaretto crepe cake from sprinkles bakes

…for Emily’s baptism celebration lunch afterwards. Hopefully if it turns out I will share soon. With family in town, I’m going to unplug and enjoy my time with them and post the Friday Flair Features on Wednesday. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend…

10 Top Instagram Photo Apps

8 · Aug 1, 2012 · 80 Comments

If you’ve discovered the joy of Instagram already, beware… reading this post will blow your instagram lovin’ mind! If you’ve yet to discover one of the most popular photo apps on iPhone and Android this post may change your life…

design elements source /// rhonna designs insta lovin’ bundle 1 & 2

I have been bitten by the Instagram bug pretty hard. I love the idea of capturing life in fun little photos randomly throughout the day. You can do as much or as little as you want. There are no rules.

Some people participate in fun photo a day challenges like the Photo a Day challenge from Fat Mum Slim. Or smaller challenges like the one I’m doing right now called Project Lipstick from Fresh Mommy Blog by Tabitha Blue. This challenge is only for a week. I tend to have commitment issues, so the week long challenge is a little better for me.

What I’ve really fallen in love with is the creative side of Instagram. There are hundreds of other photo apps that help you enhance your photos above what you can already do with Instagram. Some apps even have a bit of a digital scrapbook feel which I like. I have people asking me all the time what apps I use, so I thought I would list my 10 favorite. I’m going to start with #10 and then work my way up to the ones I use the most, all they way up to my all time favorite #1.

Now keep in mind… I use an iPhone so all of the apps are from the Apple App Store. I’m not sure of the availability in other formats.

Cuptakes /// $.99

Cuptakes is actually an app that has a library of wallpapers for your iphone. What I have done with Cuptakes is create a screen shot of all the wallpapers that I like and then keep it in a separate album in my photo section. Then when I need a fun background for a photo collage I can find one there. Here is a screen shot from my album…

Pros /// Fun colorful designs that are updated monthly.

Cons /// You can’t directly use in a photo app.

Label Box /// Free*

Label Box is a fun way to add a “washi tape” effect to your Instagram photos. I use it a bit, when I have a picture that I would like to add a little flair to.

Pros /// Label Box has some super cute labels that you can dress your pictures up with.

Cons /// You have to *pay for premium labels {which of course are the ones you want} and it’s $.99 for a set of four. I ended up paying $3.00 for mine. I’m not in love with the fonts selection that they have so I generally leave the tapes blank and add the lettering in another app.

Here is a sample of what you can create with Label Box…

Picfx /// $1.99

Picfx is a fun and easy to use app where you can play with all kinds of effects with you photos. You can change the colors, create a vintage look, black & white… My favorite effects are all the fun effects that play with light in your photo called bokeh effects. Picfx has some that are fabulous and not too intrusive to the photo.

Pros /// Several different effects for adding that creative touch to your photos. I especially love the Light Set. This app is easy to use and easy to understand. Even beginners can pick this one up.

Cons /// Can’t really think of any, love it.

Here is a shot that I enhanced with the Light Set from Picfx. It was enhanced with a couple of other apps, but it shows off the bokeh that I was talking about…

Cuptakes Frames /// $1.99

Cuptakes Frames is created by the same crew that created Cuptakes. This app however, let’s you place one of your photos from your camera roll with in the frames that they have created to use as your wallpaper on your phone.

Pros /// Fun and stylish frames that are updated every month with several new frame options.

Cons /// The frames are lovely, but you can’t do anything else with the photo and you have no ability to change the photo window size.

Here is a photo that I inserted into a Cuptakes Frame. The collage aspect is from another app…

Lens Light /// $.99

Lens Light is another fun way to play with light in your photos. You can add that ever popular bokeh, or fun light leaks, stars or hearts to your photos. You could sit and play with this fun app for quite awhile.

Pros /// So many different options for light play with you photos, I LOVE it!!

Cons /// It’s a little more advanced that the Picfx but easy enough to learn. You just have to play around with it a bit before you find your groove. Totally worth it though.

Here is a photo that I used the Lens Light app with. The lettering is from another app…

Bubble Frame /// $.99

Bubble Frame is one of my favorites! It’s relatively new to the photo app game, but has become super popular pretty fast. This app allows you to create photo bubbles, if you will. You create a fun background and then create bubbles for your photos. I use this app a ton and I ADORE it!!

Pros /// So many fun, creative options with you photos… I LOVE this app!!

Cons /// It’s early in the life of the app so the selection is a little small, but they are working hard to build their design options. The release that will be coming out soon has some fabulous designs from Miss Whippy Cake herself!!

I am going to give you two different photos of mine that I have used Bubble Frame with, just so I can show the versatility…

Camera+ /// $.99

Camera+ is hands down the first place I go to enhance my photos. This is the app that helps you to brighten your photos and help to crisp them up a bit. Plus they have some photo effect options. I don’t really use the camera part of the app, just the light room portion mostly. I’m just used to the regular camera that came with my phone. This is one of those apps that can take a ho-hum pic and create a stunning photo.

Pros /// This is a powerful app that can help enhance your photo library. Totally worth the money, love this app!

Cons /// It’s a little more challenging and will take some time to get the hang of, but totally worth it!!

Here are two versions of the same photo, the one on the left is enhanced with only the Clarity function in Camera+. It can take the dull photo on the right and make it amazing!!

Insta Lovin’ /// Starts at $6.00

Here we are getting down to my absolute FAVORITES!!! Here is another newbie to the block, but I know will make some MAJOR waves in the Instagram world.

InstaLovin’ from Rhonna Designs is the bread to my butter. This is not an app that you would buy on your phone. It is a series of digital design kits that you purchase on your computer and then add them to your phone through iTunes and the Photo app. This my friends is going to change the face of Instagram as we know it.

Pros /// You can create some of the most stunning pieces of digital art, just on your phone. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these digital kits. I can’t say it enough.

Cons /// It does take a bit to load onto your phone, but you can figure it out with some great video tutorials that you receive when you purchase the kit. They are a little pricier, but worth the money.

I’m going to show off four of my favorite pics that I have used Rhonna’s Insta Lovin’ designs on. Also, all of the design elements on this post are from the Insta Lovin’ bundles… Isn’t that cool, you can use them with all of your digital designs, not just on your phone. Almost all of the images come in a png format, and brush format {for use in PSE or PS} and a TTF {True Type Font or ding bat} the TTF is what you will use on your phone.

As with most of my photos, I’ve used several different apps so for this example you are just looking at the digital design elements, not the backgrounds or bubbles and such…

Phonto /// Free

Phonto is another super fav…The minute saw someone put writing on one of their Instagram pics, I knew I needed to figure out how. Phonto is by far my favorite typography app, plus you can use the Insta Lovin’ digital designs with it. You can easily add text to any of your photos.

Pros /// SUPER easy to use and a fabulous library of fonts to choose from, plus you can add your own True Type Fonts if you would like. LOVE it!!

Cons /// I don’t really have any at all!!

You’ve seen some of my photos already with text added to it, but here’s one more just for good measure…

Fuzel Pro /// $1.99

Fuzel Pro is I think hands down my favorite app right now for use with Instagram. This app takes the idea of creating photo collages and bumps it up SEVERAL notches. You can use their collages, or you have a cutting tool that you can cut and slice away to create a piece of Instagram art out of your photos.

Pros /// The app is so well designed, the user interface is clean, stylish and easy to navigate. You have so many options with this app, you never feel like your hands are tied. I ADORE this app, and will never need to look for another frame app ever again. This one is too powerful to even waste my time or money.

Cons /// I don’t really have any, I LOVE it!!

Here are some examples of what I’ve created with Fuzel Pro…

So there you have it… My top ten favorite apps for Instagram. What are some of yours? I would LOVE to follow you guys on Instagram. Leave a comment here with your user name and I will look ya up… You can follow me at WhipperBerry or just click here to follow me via Followgram.