I’ve decided to get my blog out there more by participating in more multi-blog giveaways. This just gives you guys MORE chances to win prizes and helps me get more readers. Win/win! If you’d like to get your blog on this blogger giveaway too, read the following information:
One lucky winner will recieve $200 prize of their choice. Kindles, Gift Cards, Toys, Cash, Anything They WANT up to $200! If they want it, and win this giveaway we will get it for them. (we are looking at adding 2 more winners, which will receive the same prize, just different amount. We are trying to work out all the details now.)
Bloggers get One FREE Link, additional links will be $3, co-host spots available
Giveaway will begin on February 15, 2013 and run an entire month.
Looking to offer an awesome cash value contest for your blog readers? Sign up now for the Amazon Gift Card Giveaway that starts on February 16th! The prize will be determined by how many bloggers participate with the goal of at least $100 to giveaway to one lucky winner. You have the option of one FREE link by either Twitter or Facebook, as well as paid options. There are also paid Host and Co-hosting options.
Prize: Anywhere from $100-$250 Amazon eGift Code.
Event Dates: Starts at 9am EST on Saturday, February 16, and ends on March 2 at 11:59 EST.
This event is open WORLDWIDE.
Extra links cost $3 each and will be used to cover the cost of the prize. There are no admin fees.
Requirements to join:
Must post an announcement post, or send $5 by Paypal.
Must promote 3x a week.
Sound good? Enroll here. Please say Shane’s Killer Cupcakes referred you.
I just realized that Facebook has added a new feature for Facebook pages. If you don’t want to miss a post from Shane’s Killer Cupcakes, subscribe to notifications from my page! It’s pretty easy to do too. Just hover your cursor over the “Like” button and click “Get Notifications.” That’s it! Next time I post on Facebook it will show up in your notifications at the top of the screen.
Measuring flour accurately can be difficult. When using measuring cups, the way in which you fill the cup can drastically change the amount of flour in it depending on if it’s sifted, packed down, scooped or spooned into the cup. This is why measuring flour by weight is the most accurate way to get the correct amount of flour for a recipe.
The scale is quite nice. I’ve tried the EatSmart basic kitchen scale, the Precision Pro, before but this scale has several improved features. The button surface is smooth with no gaps for crumbs to fall into and it has an easy to read screen.
It also has a large flat surface for measuring. This is helpful because you can put a large bowl on there and still be able to see the screen. Some excellent features that I liked about this scale are:
Easy to use tare feature and auto turn-off
Can weigh up to 15 lbs
Easy to clean stainless steel
Batteries are included!
It comes with a little calorie counting guide as well
For those of you with resolutions to lose weight this year, this scale would be fantastic for portion control and serving sizes. With the included calorie counting guide and such an easy-to-use scale, keeping your portions down should be a snap.
Now, how to measure flour. I whipped up this little video demonstrating how I measure flour. I scoured the internet trying to find out how much a standard US cup of all-purpose flour would weigh. The answers I found ranged from 4.25 oz-5oz and 120g-140g. I was a little confused. I wasn’t sure how I would figure it out. Finally I had the thought to look at the nutrition facts on the bag of flour I was using. It told me that 1/4 cup was equal to 30g. I decided to go with this information and measured out 120g of flour.
This same method can be used for confectioner’s sugar and many other dry ingredients.
**CORRECTIONS: In the video, I said that you could use the scale to weigh liquid ingredients, but that is not quite correct. I’m sure it would be possible, but it would require a lot of conversions. Measuring cups or a measuring beaker like this one are best for liquid ingredients. I should have done another video with corrections, but it took so many takes to get what you see above I decided to just correct myself in the post. The scale is great for all of your dry ingredients though.
Another thing I said in the video that needs clarifying is about sifted flour. If you use a scale to weigh the flour, you don’t have to sift it first, although it probably should be sifted before adding it to your recipe. When weighing, sifted or packed flour will still weigh the same. On the other hand, you can get a much better measurement with sifted flour if you are using a measuring cup.
If you would like to know more about EatSmart products, you may follow them through any of the ways below:
EatSmart has graciously offered to give one of my US readers a scale of their own! One reader will receive an EatSmart Precision Pro Multifunction Digital Kitchen Scale. This scale is just as handy as the Precision Elite.
The giveaway is open to those who are 18 and older and a resident of the US. I’m sorry if you are from another country. EatSmart is sending this scale directly to the winner and they will only ship within the US.
Giveaway ends 01/16/13 at 11:59pm EST.
You MUST answer the two mandatory options for any other entries to count.
UPDATE: I was informed that some of you may be having trouble leaving comments. If this is the case, feel free to email your comment to me through this contact form. Thanks.
As promised, I’ve added a small giveaway for my international readers. I’d love to give away more, but this one is coming out of my own pocket. Anyone may enter this giveaway as long as you can receive money via Paypal or an Amazon gift card.
If you’re having trouble leaving a comment, read the bolded message above.
It is a time for resolutions, new beginnings, and nursing your hangover from last night’s party! If you didn’t already have more than your share of champagne for the year, you’ve got to try out these fancy champagne cupcakes.
This endeavor was full of firsts for me. It was the first time making cupcakes with alcohol and the first time I measured all my dry ingredients using a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups. I’ve learned that measuring by weight is much more accurate. I’ll have a video explaining how to measure flour by weight up soon if you don’t already know how to do it.
I found the recipe for the cake and frosting at Gimme Some Oven last week and thought these cupcakes would be a great addition to the fancy pajama party my friends throw for New Year’s Eve each year. I followed the recipe from Gimme Some Oven exactly and they came out pretty good. The frosting is very sweet but the cakes are light and compliment it well. I wish the champagne flavor was more apparent in these cupcakes, but they still taste great regardless.
For decorating these babies, I wanted to do something elegant. I found a tutorial for making 4th of July sparkler cupcake picks from Two Shades of Pink and modified it for my New Year’s Eve theme. Instead of using wooden skewers (I had difficulty finding them), I used those little coffee stirrer straws. Color-wise the stirrers went with my color scheme better anyway. I found that I needed to use a little hot glue to shape them more because tying them in the middle with a string didn’t poof them into a bursting shape very well.
To make the champagne topper, I used some scrap card stock in green and red and a wrapper from a white chocolate Lindor truffle. I marked out a bottle shape on the green paper and then used bits and pieces of the candy wrapper for the foil accents and label. For a little extra touch I cut a little tiny band out of the red paper and glued it over the foil on the neck of the bottle.
To make these cupcakes really sparkle, I hot glued some rhinestone ribbon around the tops of the cupcake liners after they were done baking. One thing I learned from this is make sure to get all of the hot glue strings off of the cupcakes before you frost them. They are tricky to find.
Have a wonderful new year! Did you do anything fun for New Year’s Eve?
