A Year in the Making

A year ago today, I decided to start this blog with a camera in one hand and a cupcake in the other. Food is something that is not only delicious, but brings people together. Through meeting your friend for lunch at your favorite restaurant or sharing your favorite recipe with your neighbor, food has the power to give joy to people of all walks of life. Food is something that helps makes my day a little bit brighter from baking chocolate chip cookies to trips to my favorite cupcake shop with friends. It is something so simple we do in everyday life, but something that can have so large of an impact on someone.

I created this blog to share my passions with all of you. No matter where you are from, I can bring you a small taste of my adventures. In turn, you have shared your thoughts with me on Facebook and Instagram. I am so happy to have your support and hope that I am sending a little sweetest your way through every post.

You have been along for the ride from the Gulf Coast all the way to the East Coast. This past year, I have been on so many great adventures and I am glad I get to share them with all of you. I kayaked for the first time in Boston, modeled on the runway, and donated my hair for a good cause. I have shared my style with you from my fall favorites to a classic country look and stylish stripes.

I hope you continue to follow along in my food and fashion adventures on Boutiques and Sweets, Instagram, and Twitter. I am so excited to see where my adventures take me in the future. I encourage you to share a recipe with a friend or invite someone to have pastries at your favorite cafe; you never know how much it could mean to them or make their day a little bit sweeter.

Got any sweet treats you would like to see on Boutiques and Sweets? Comment below! 

Stay sweet!

Red, White & Blueberries

When I think of Fourth of July, I think of childhood barbecues with cool whip and fruit by the pool. Cool whip was one of my all-time favorites as a kid, and I used to eat it straight out of the bowl with a spoon. This Fourth of July, I wanted to recreate that and put my own spin on it. This Red, White & Blueberry Parfait is a quick and easy treat, perfect for a Fourth of July picnic or party with friends.

It only requires three ingredients: blueberries, raspberries and whipped cream. You can use cool whip, but I made my whipped cream from scratch (recipe below). All you do is simply layer up the whipped cream, raspberries and blueberries to create a patriotic parfait. If you are doing to a big party, you can always leave the ingredients in separate bowls and allow people to make their own masterpiece. I built the parfaits in stemless wine glasses to give them a classy look. The glasses can be found at Bed Bath & Beyond or Wal-Mart. 

I adorned the parfaits with an American flag decoration for a little holiday spirit. I made the flags myself using a chop stick and an american flag picture I printed. Instead of using a chopstick, you can use a skewer or toothpick. They are super easy to make and can be added atop anything, from cupcakes to pies.  

Red, White & Blueberry Parfait

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 packages of raspberries (6oz packages)
2 packages of blueberries (1 pint packages)

Directions:
1. Add heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on high for one to one and a half minutes or until still peaks form. Time may vary depending on desired consistency. Be careful not to over-beat or it will have a butter-like consistency.
2. Scoop a dollop of whipped cream into the base of a glass. Add about ½ cup of blueberries on top of the whipped cream. Add a layer of whipped cream on top of the blueberries. Add a hand full of raspberries on top of the whipped cream.
3. Adorn with an american flag decoration. 

DIY American Flag Decoration

Supplies:
Chopsticks (toothpicks or skewers)
American flag print out
Glue

Directions:
1. Cut out American flag print out leaving an inch of paper on the left side of the flag print out. 
2. Place glue on the back side of the inch of paper on the flag. Place the chopstick on top of the glue, and fold over the inch of paper. Be sure to glue your flag upright, to avoid the flag being upside down.

What are some of your favorite Fourth of July recipes? 

 

Try out this recipe and let me know how it turns out! Got any sweet treats you would like to see on Boutiques and Sweets? Comment below!

Stay sweet! 

Head in the Clouds

Everyone loves cupcakes and this statement is no exception in my family. My dad loves coconut so I thought, why not combine the two to make an especially yummy Father's Day surprise. These coconut snowball cupcakes are sure to be a sweet treat that anyone will love. They were inspired by Georgetown Cupcake's coconut cupcake. Georgetown has a store front in Boston right on Newbury Street and their cupcakes are hard to resist! You'll have your head in the clouds with these fluffy treats.

Instead of making just standard-size cupcakes, I made mini cupcakes. This recipe, from The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes & Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake by Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne, yielded 48 mini cupcakes and then some so I used the remaining batter to make some standard-size cupcakes. My trick for perfect cupcakes is to use a cookie scoop to measure out the mini cupcakes, and to use an ice cream scoop for the standard-size cupcakes. The mini cupcakes are perfect for sharing and small enough for a snack without the guilt of a full slice of cake.

 

The frosting from this recipe is pretty good but tasted a little more powdery than I'd like. I have another recipe that is my go-to for cream cheese buttercream frosting so next time I'll use that recipe instead. Stay tuned! I'll post that recipe soon with another delicious cupcake recipe. Follow to get the latest news and posts from Boutiques and Sweets!

Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard cupcake pan with twelve paper baking cups, or grease the pan with butter if not using baking cups.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for three to five minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla to the milk in a separate bowl.
5. Add one third of the dry ingredients followed by one third of the milk mixture, and mix thoroughly. Repeat until all the ingredients are incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Mix thoroughly. Using a spatula, gently fold in the shredded coconut.
6. Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan using a standard-size ice-cream scoop until each cup is two-thirds full and bake for 16-18 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes), or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar in a mixer and whip together at high speed until light and airy, approximately three to five minutes.
2. Using a small spatula or piping bag, add a swirl of the vanilla cream cheese frosting on top of the cupcake and spread to the edges of the cupcake so that it is completely covered with frosting. Then sprinkle the shredded coconut on top of the frosting so that it forms a "cloud" of coconut on top of the cupcake, or dip the cupcake into a bowl of shredded coconut and roll the top of the cupcake in the shredded coconut in a circular motion as pictured above.

If someone's birthday is coming up or you're just dying to try a new recipe, make these cupcakes and let me know how they turn out! Got any sweet treats you'd like to see on Boutiques and Sweets? Comment below!

Stay sweet!