Smiling Raspberry Millefeuille

Hope you all had a super Thanksgiving! Instead of a post this week, I decided I'd share this cute millefeuille recipe turned video featuring smiling raspberries and a mustached bottle of cream. I found it on one of my new favorite blogs: Griottes. Even if you don't read French, you should still check out both the video (which is adorable with catchy music) and the blog (which has lovely photography).



Video by Griottes {palette culinaire}. Hope you enjoy it! By the way, this totally inspires me to try my hand at making a video :).

Tailgate Football Cupcakes

Are you all familiar with Movember? It happens every November; many guys start growing a mo' (moustache = symbol of manliness) and keep it for the whole month in the name of prostate cancer.

In honor of Movember, C&C Cakery is holding The Manly Cupcake Challenge (and has started a donation team), to bring awareness of prostate cancer to the blogosphere. It's a great way for gals like myself to contribute, despite our inability to grow a mo'. The challenge: make a manly cupcake, in flavor or in decoration.

Here's how this cupcake is manly: 1) Beer (flavor), 2) Football, 3) BBQ Grill (meat!), 4) Lack of frilly liners, 5) Matcha (bitterness to tamper down on frosting sweetness), 6) Nature colors, and 7) Fire (the closest I could get to an explosion).

Cool right? I think the grill cookies would also be great for a BBQ or a 4th of July party. And, of course, these cupcakes would be great for the Superbowl, with the footballs decorated with your team's colors. So now that you're acquainted with Movember, if you have to time, read up more about it and donate.

The Manly Cupcake Contest Prize Sponsors: Blush Printables, Hello Hanna, Elise Steven’s Illustration and Design, Taraduff, Miss Kitty Creations, Bella Cupcake Couture, Drama Llama, & My Creative Side.

P.S. My friend mentioned that I should do something school spirit-y in this post, so I made some Cal football cake bites as well :) (see below).

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

It's pretty much a given that I'm baking something with pumpkin at this time of the year. For instance, last year around this time, I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Baked goods with pumpkin always turn out moist and delicious, with spices like cinnamon and ginger that really make the home smell like autumn.

Recently, I bought Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. As I was flipping through it, I saw a recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies, chubby little pumpkin cakes sandwiching a cream cheese filling; I knew had to make them. But as always, I knew a twist was needed. Instead of the typical round pies, I decided that I'd actually make them look like pumpkins. I piped the batter out: peach shaped blobs with stubby stems. After the pies were baked and cooled, I "painted" the stems with matcha white chocolate and piped on semisweet chocolate lines, thus making these pumpkin flavored pies literally look like pumpkins.

Happy (belated) Birthday!

As of today, Diamonds for Dessert is officially 1 year (+ 12 days) old! Considering that my first baking post here was a few days before Halloween, it'd be impossible to actually celebrate Diamond for Dessert's birthday on the actual date (too much Halloween baking to do). But I say, better late than never :D. Time for a celebration!

Today, I have a special recipe to share, a recipe for a wonderful strawberry cream cake. If you were to ask me what my favorite dessert EVER is, well, this is it. Really, if this weren't a birthday post, I'd name it "The Best Cake Ever." I've pretty much requested this cake from my mom for my own birthday every year since I was a little girl. It seems like such a basic cake with lightly sweetened whipped cream, a few layers of chiffon cake, and fresh strawberries, but don't be deceived; it tastes amazing. I decided to take a no frills approach to decorate this cake, no fondant, no sprinkles, only a piping bag of freshly whipped cream to prevent any distraction from the taste.

Even though it has only been a year since Diamonds for Dessert started, it feels like I've been blogging for much longer. Thank you to all of you out there who read my blog, new readers and old. Thanks to all of you who leave comments, from recipe questions to your results from trying these recipes; they really make my day. Happy Birthday Diamonds for Desserts; I hope for many more birthdays to come!

P.S. The recipe really isn't that long, just lots of notes throughout. By the way, doesn't this totally look like a cake in a manga? Haha :P.