Valentine Fun in the Kitchen with the Kids

 

The kids treated me this morning with breakfast in bed.  How awesome is that??  They made it all by themselves.  As such they then hit me with the reason for the buttering up of Mom.  “Can I make cupcakes?” from one “Can I make lollipops?” from another.

So.  My day was set.  We started with a little trek to my favorite baking store as I needed a few things to get this started.

So here we are.  Sprinkles, molds, cupcake cups, baggies ready to go.  Got a little lazy and going with box cakes.  I do however change the way I make them so they actually don’t taste boxed.  To adjust the recipe instead of using water, substitute buttermilk (plus a smidgeon more), add a package of Vanilla instant pudding, and whole eggs instead of egg whites.  It gives the cake more substance.  Use oil as directed.
The cupcakes turned out great!!  The candy??  Not so much.  Discovered after two attempts and burnt candy that my candy thermometer is not exactly accurate.  Once we got that sorted out we successfully made both watermelon and grape varieties of lollipops.  I also skipped the “kit” stuff and used.
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
To make the hard candy.  Combine the sugar and cream of tartar.  Pour corn syrup, sugar mixture and water into a medium saucepan.  DO NOT stir once it has boiled.  If you get crystals on the sides of the pan, use a wet pastry brush (natural bristles only) to wipe the edges.   let boil on medium low until the temp reaches 285-300 degrees.  Test your candy for hardness by scooping out a little bit and dropping it into ice cold water. 
Add your colouring and flavour after you’ve removed the mixture from heat and it’s stopped bubbling.   Pour into molds.
Photos from our adventure today.
DD making the cupcakes.



Mama’s girl for sure!!!
Now onto the Candy.