Curls N Pearls

Category Archives: baking

Cake Pops. My Nemesis.

Well, let me clarify. These are not “official” cake pops. They are actually no-bake cake batter cake pops, inspired by this recipe, which has been making the rounds on Pinterest lately.

After my last fateful experience with cake pops, I was pretty much convinced that the cake pop pros of the world (read: Bakerella) were holding out the secret to non-lopsided cake pops on us mere mortals. When I came across this recipe it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take another shot at cake pops. I figured if things started to go awry I could abandon my pursuit of cute cake pops and settle for simple truffles as the recipe originally instructs.

The result? I’m still convinced that Bakerella is holding some secrets out on us, but who can blame her? It’s her schtick.

These cake pops certainly came out prettier than the monsters I made for Halloween, but pretty doesn’t always mean better. They were a little too sweet and did not taste as good as my ugly cake pops in general.

The most redeeming part of my second, and not completely, utterly tragic, cake pop experience is that I learned three things:

  • Don’t use Wilton Candy Melts. I blame them (mostly) for my ugly cake pops. The melts never melted to a thin enough consistency making it impossible to evenly coat the cake pops. I used Wilton Candy Dips this time, which melted considerably better and comes in a convenient microwavable package.
  • I tried to get cute, but I picked the absolute wrong sprinkles. The small colored sprinkles were okay, but the big pearlized sprinkles were difficult to bite into and ended up making the cake pops/truffles VERY messy to eat. I should have stuck with good old jimmies.
  • Who needs a fancy schmancy cake pop decorating stand? I flipped over my salad spinner and carefully arranged the decorated cake pops between the grooves. Not too shabby, huh?

 

Do you think the cake pop pros of the world are holding out on us? Have you had success? Please tell!

Smashbox Brow Tech To Go is Natural Looking and Purse-Friendly [REVIEW]

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I began using a Sephora eyebrow pencil to fill in my brows. We had a good run, but the time finally arrived for my grubby old eyebrow pencil to join the big makeup bag in the sky. A couple of you commented on the post for the Julep giveaway post that your brow pencil/filler was the beauty item you couldn’t live without. Since I’ve never experimented with anything other than the original pencil that seemingly lasted for years, I decided to roam the aisles of Sephora in search of an upgraded brow solution. After nearly 20 minutes of pacing, trying to decide between Urban Decays Brow Box and Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zing, Smashbox Brow Tech To Go ($26) caught my eye. Seemingly easy to use and certainly purse friendly, I was sold.

Having taken Brow Tech To Go for a spin over the past few days, I have been pleasantly surprised. And I’ve wondered why I settled for the mediocre pencil I was using for so long? The new brow pencil has a double-ended applicator. One side is an angled waterproof pencil while the other has a light-hold setting gel and brush applicator. As you can see, the result is a very natural looking, but polished brow. I went with the lighter taupe color and it was definitely the right choice (scroll down to see a swatch). The helpful sales person had warned me that the darker color, brunette, is quite dark — and she was right.

To steal the words of everyone’s favorite new mother, Beyonce, “Upgrade U,” and give the Smashbox Brow Tech To Go a try if you are in the market for an eyebrow product!

REMINDER: There is still time to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a fabulous prize from Julep! All you need to do is a leave a comment on this post to enter. Good luck everyone!

Bourbon-Pecan Tart(lets) with Chocolate Drizzle

Oh, how I love pecan pie. I am from Georgia after all. This pecan tart reminds me of childhood trips with my mom to Harry’s Farmers Market. Once in a while she’d pick up one of their delicious chocolate pecan pies for a treat, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

What is really great about this recipe is that it is quick and easy to prepare, and also happens to yield impressive results. The recipe is from Cooking Light, so as long as you don’t go overboard with the serving sizes one slice comes in at about 280 calories. I’ve made this recipe countless times over the years but yesterday I decided to change it up and prepared six mini tartlets (using these tart pans) instead of one big tart. I also used 1/2 cup of the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend in place of the one cup of dark brown sugar called for in the recipe, and it tastes exactly as is does when prepared as directed.