In all the attention that comes with halloween let's not forget that October is also breast cancer awareness month. Let's take the time to think of the women affected, their families, and hope that they are all staying strong. One day there will be a cure.

"While not every lump is cancerous, your chances of getting breast cancer increase once you’re fifty." Going for a regular mammogram is important for early detection. Have you heard of the Thingamaboob?

My favourite breast cancer nfp is Rethink. Visit their site for some great information and ideas to show your support.

4 days away!

What am I excited about? I really shouldn't be. I am just going to sit there and eat 4 treats for every 1 given out. By the end of the night I will be thinking, I should start that diet, and by the next day I'll be baking some more cakes and eating more sweets. It's a vicious cycle, and not just because it's Halloween.

These are more photos from my Iron Cupcake Halloween challenge. The cupcake was marbled with a bright orange cake and chocolate. When I bake my marble cakes I love to have bold stripes through them rather than scattered spots. How I achieve this is just simply layering the cake batter when pouring in the cupcake pan. One dollop of chocolate, one of orange.
(I just wanted to use the word dollop).

Fake blood recipe
1 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp water
 2 Tbsp red food colouring
Add a drop green food coloring to deepen the colour.

This really cute bake shop on East Liberty street,  For the Love of Cake, is the organizer for Iron Cupcake Toronto. This month's theme was halloween. The second picture is the winner's display, my good friend Monica. Her creativity is beyond your imagination.

I made an orange striped marble cupcake with a coffee crisp candy buttercream. I found this cool wired tree at the goodwill and was going to use it for my earrings but thought it made a great spooky tree for my scene. The grave is made out of fondant, and the little bones you see in the last pic are bone sprinkles!

For more pics of the event, visit my events page.

Not your ordinary cupcake. I tried a special alcoholic treat yesterday, a vanilla cake with a shot of Tequila Rose (strawberry cream) in the middle, with a chocolate and vanilla buttercream. Let you know how it goes.
I also made my special cappuccino buttercream with some Baileys.

didyouknow? It is a myth that alcohol that you add to your dish evaporates during cooking. You actually have to cook something for a good three hours to get rid of all traces of alcohol.

Baked for another tasting for a bride to be. Pictured above is their choices of red & white, black & white, ciao, cake... and a few extra surprises. www.cupcakedesign.ca/menu.html

* Source: http://www.ochef.com/165.htm

Did you guess right? Now guess cookie monster's age. Nope, it's not "30". He was born in 1969, making him 41 years old.

The blue fur is buttercream icing piped with a Wilton tip that typically can create grass, and the eyes are made from fondant. The cookies were baked in the shape of 3 and 0, my first time doing that so it's not perfect but they formed a cute bubble letter shape.

This sculpture cake was so much fun to do. Can you guess who it will be? The answer posted on sunday.

your welcome

I'm blessed to have so many people encourage me and want to place orders. Thank you for the confidence boost! Sometimes I need it.

When occasions come around I bring dessert {surprise, surprise}. This year I'm putting a twist on the classics. My baking menu this weekend:

• traditional pumpkin pie with maple syrup whipping cream (this idea came from a great blog, www.theartofdoingstuff.com)
• chocolate apple cheesecake with pecans
• carrot cake with spiced cinnamon cream cheese frosting

It's also time to experiment for a cupcake challenge coming up that I will be participating in next week. Iron Cupcake in Toronto! See events for info...

You know what is exciting about entering a new season? The culinary flavours associated with the season. I love fall for the apple and pumpkin treats. More specifically, I am a huge fan of cinnamon. A friend told me the other day that cinnamon has many health benefits. I had to look into it further--any excuse, or reason I should say, why I use cinnamon in quantities equivalent to sugar in my cappuccino.

• Helps lower blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels*
• Contains antioxidants, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease*
• Energizing scent that helps increase alertness*
• Cures common cold and headaches
• Treats toothaches
• Eliminates bad breath

And... makes everything taste better.
didyouknow?  Cinnamon is one of the flavor components used in 'cola' soft drinks.

* Source: Womens Health Mag (the best fitness and nutrition mag out there) http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/the-benefits-of-cinnamon