Calli Cake

                This week I am a cupcake that makes up the colors of my cat. It sound so weird but my cat looks like a chocolate cupcake with heath pieces in it. She is adorable and I have always wanted to make this cupcake and it is call the Calli Cake, because her name is Calli and it is a cupcake that was inspired by my cat.

                Chocolate Cupcake                                                    Whip Cream Frosting

2 cups of all-purpose flour                                          1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 ½ cups of sugar                                                         4 tablespoons of powder sugar

2/3 cups of Cocoa powder                                         2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder                                      *add any favor with a tablespoons

½ teaspoons salt                                                          * mix till pecks form

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cups shortening

2 eggs

2/3 cups milk

½ cup hot water

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large mixer bowl stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add shortening, eggs, milk, water and vanilla. Beat on low speed with electric mixer for 1 minute. Spoon in dry ingredients and mix till all is mixed together. Fill the cup liners about half full bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy

-Half Pint

TBT!

                Everyone talks about their favorite Holidays and what makes it their favorite. Mine has to be Christmas. My favorite part of Christmas was before the day a few weeks before. My mom makes homemade Chex mixes every year to give away as gifts. I always remember helping her make it. When I was too young to use the stove my mom would melt down the butter with species and some other things that go in to the sauce. As unboxed the different Chex, pretzels, and peanuts that make up the mix. Then but it into a big container and mix it together before the sauce went on top. Once the sauce was ready my mom would put it on top and mix it all together. As she mixed it together some would fall out of the container and we would eat it. The best ones were the rice Chex that were just cover in sauce. Once my mom mixed it up and we would bake it. It didn’t take very long to bake but once it was done baking you could smell it though the house and it was amazing and that smell meant that Christmas wasn’t too far away. Once it was cool my mom would have to hind it away, so no one would find it and eat it. My brother always knew where she would hind it. She gave up one year trying to hind it after a while, because we would eat before Christmas anyway. It is the only time we get it, so eat it till it is gone and get excited once my mom makes it again. Most kids say Christmas is their favorite Holiday, because of the gifts they get or the time off from school, but I loved it for the food and the time I got to spend helping my family make the food. It is something that I hope to one day share with my children and past on to them.

-Half Pint

Cupcake Friday!

This will be the first of many cupcake Fridays. The first cupcake I named this first one after my childhood best friend Anna Banana. Anna is my dog. She was always there for me when I need her and I was there for her when she needed someone to pet her. To go along with the banana theme I made a banana cupcake with mini chocolate chips in it, with a chocolate butter cream and a candied banana on top.

It is a simple banana cake recipe, I add the chocolate chips in mini ones because the normal size ones are to much for the cupcakes. Then I used a easy butter cream recipe that you can find on the back of the bag and add a 1/2 cup of Hershey coco power to the butter cream to make it chocolate. 

To candy bananas slice the banana in quarter sized pieces and than round them in granulated sugar. Than cook them in a non-stick pan till the turn golden and are ready to come off the pan. Be careful, because it is hot sugar that is around the banana and can give bad burns if the touch you. Once everything has cooled down than put everything together and you have an Anna Banana Cupcake! :)

I like making different cupcake favors for everyone in my life and I like to come up with them myself. Each one has a story behind why I picked the favors I did. Check in every Friday to see what cupcakes I come up with next.

-Half Pint   

The Journey Begins With Chocolate

I grew up in a family that spent a lot of time around food. Like most children I was up early on Saturday, but I didn't watch Saturday morning cartoons I was watching the Food Network with my father before I would have to go to my bowling league. My favorite show was about a man who would work with chocolate. He would make pieces of art out the melted chocolate and it was beautiful. At the point I knew that was something that I wanted to do. When you heard people on TV talk about that moment they just knew it was something they were meant to do it is kind of true.  As I got older the passion really came from watching my dad in the kitchen. Watching him cook and I would be right next to him helping out as much as I could and learning from him. My father was just a home cook who loved to make food for his family and I knew I would want to do the same.

I remember when my father started working with chocolate. I was at the age I could help and I did every step of the way.  He would melt down the chocolate in to a velvety texture; it looked like a bowl of soup that I wanted to drink. As we began filling the different molds with chocolate and start to add different filling like peanut butter, cherries, and mousse.  It was an art form it had to be just right for the chocolates to come out the perfect way. I also remember my father and I name our little chocolate business after my guinea pig. We called it Speedy’s Chocolate we didn't make any money, but that wasn't the point of it. It was something that made me fall more in love with chocolate making and the world of pastry.  

    -Half Pint :)

Me In A Nutshell!

Hi!

I am Half Pint of course that is not my real name it is Sara. I have been looking for away to get myself out on the internet for awhile now. First is this blog and maybe some YouTube-ing. I am 5 foot even and I am one of the shortest people I know who isn't a child. I got the nickname Half Pint when I was working at a Boy Scout day camp and I was the shortest one on staff, so that's how I got the name.

A little more about who I am. I am person who is into a lot of different things like beauty and fashion, shooting sports, working with kids, and gaming. Now none of these seem to go together very well and I understand that. That is why I named my blog Half Pint's World it is pretty much a walk though my life as it happens each week. Sometimes as in life it will get a little boring, but if you keep on following I will a sure you things will become very interesting; just wait till you meet my family and friends they are something else. Oh and my animals I have two cats with big personalities.

-Half Pint :)