Tag Archives: baking

Holiday Hosting: Festive, Floral Holiday Pies

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Dress up your dessert.

You heard me.

What’s a super simple and cheap way to dress up your festive holiday pies? FLOWERS!!

Festive, floral holiday pies!

Here is my sour cream apple pie – not so beautiful on its own – that I topped with some holiday red gerber a daisies for Thanksgiving dinner. Instant americana beauty!

I’ve found that just buying a few extra bunches of flowers can come in handy when dressing up desserts or sad looking pies. Try it yourself this holiday season!

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: What pies will you and your family bake up this holiday season? 

My Current Crush: Mini Cupcakes in Anthropologie Egg Cartons

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Valentine’s Day is coming quickly upon us! So if you need a little inspiration, here you go!
Hope you love My Current Crush as much as I do..

My favorite way to display mini cupcakes for Valentine’s Day, other holidays and parties?

My Current Crush: Displaying my mini cupcakes in an Anthropologie ceramic egg carton!

 

In egg cartons from Anthropologie! So cute!
And so multi-purpose! When I’m not using my Anthro ceramic egg cartons to display cupcakes, I use them for – well – eggs!

 

xoxo,
BF

In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Jaqua Pink Buttercream Frosting Shower Crème

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What else would you expect for In-My-Tub-Tuesday the week of my birthday but something delicious, sweet and frosting-themed?

Here’s the thing. My favorite food on THE PLANET is birthday cake. I have loved it with abandon since I was a tiny tot while my waistline has, at times, not loved it as much as I have. But when your blog is called BeautyFrosting, listen, there’s no shortage of frosting around.

Lucky for me, my favorite taste/scent and color are all packaged together prettily in my In-My-Tub-Tuesday pick today: Jaqua Pink Buttercream Frosting Shower Creme ($18).

In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Jaqua Buttercream Shower Creme

 

This week, to celebrate my birthday all week long (as I’m prone to do), I’ll light some candles, add in some buttercream bubbles to my bath, pour a glass of bubbly and reflect on the year behind me and dream of the year to come.

Light the candles, pour in the bubbles and pour a glass of bubbly for my birthday week!

So, Jaqua, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1) Let’s start with the scent, itself. Bathe or shower yourself in the rich, creamy, buttery vanilla bean scent with a hint of banana and warm florals and go to sleep smelling like cupcakes and dreaming of sugarplums.

2) Lavish your skin with super-skin-quenching moisture. With nourishing ingredients, such as Fruit & Aloe extracts, macadamia, evening primrose oils and vitamins B5, A & E, you’ll always step out of your bathing experience with skin that feels as delicious as it smells.

3) Um, put simply, Jaqua just has the cutest packaging around. Girls of EVERY age love the chocolate damask print and it coordinates so well with the pink of the gel. And, let’s be honest – we’re girls! We like pretty things. There, I said it.

So, now you know what I’ll be bathing in all week long while celebrating my birthday…

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What’s your birthday bath product of choice? 

Recipe Box: Dawn’s Comforting Egg Custard

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Comfort Food. It’s the food from our childhood that soothed us, nurtured us, healed the hurt, made us well when we were sick, mended our broken hearts and made us happy when we were sad. These heart-and-tummy-filling foods are the ones we’ll turn to for the rest of our lives.

 

My ultimate comfort food: Dawn's Comforting Egg Custard

 

One of these for me is my mom’s egg custard that she used to make for me. I got chronic sore throats growing up and this was both tasty and soothing going down. It felt like a hug for my throat. I know, I know. That sounded, um, weird.

Nevertheless, it’s the oh-so-comforting dessert recipe I always go to when a friend has their wisdom teeth taken out, has a baby or just needs a little pick-me-up.
I hope you – and your loved ones – find as much comfort in it as me and mine have.

p.s. Serving the custards in cute-shaped dishes, such as hearts, is totally optional but I highly suggest it!

The Chantal heart dishes are optional...but highly recommended

 

Dawn’s Comforting Egg Custard

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

*Makes approximately 6 individual servings

6 Slightly beaten eggs

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 c Scalded whole milk

2 c Scalded Heaving Whipping Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

 

Heat the milk and cream just until scalded (very hot) – not boiling. Take off stove and let cool.

Combine eggs, sugar and salt.

Slowly stir in milk and vanilla.

Fill six-ounce oven-safe custard cups, ramekins or bowls. Set in shallow baking pan on oven rack.

Pour hot water into pan 1 inch deep.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm (for a creamy crème brulee-taste) or chilled for a straight-up, comforting custard.

*Note: If you’d like to make one large custard, bake in a 2-quart casserole dish or standard cake pan for 60 minutes.

 

You know how I love a good bath? Well, even my desserts sometimes love taking a long, hot bath.

Daily Delights: What’s Delighting me right now 8/13/13

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So what are daily delights? Daily delights are the little things that make life worth living. Things that inspire. Encourage. Make Me Smile. Make Me Laugh. Make Things Rosier.

The happy little things, people, events, products, places and pieces of art that make the world a happier place to live in.

Are these things mind-blowing? Earth-shattering? Life-changing. Not usually. But they’re things that make me smile and, thus, make me want to share with you.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed them.

(These are usually pictures I post on Instagram of things that I’m loving at that exact moment. So if you want to get my daily delights on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, follow me on Instagram at @beautyfrosting)

My Daily Delights 8/13/13

1) On Saturday, I was delighted to attend the show of my fellow Texans – Lyle Lovett & Willie Nelson – at The Hollywood Bowl. I had to pay proper homage by wearing my Papaw’s Stetson cowboy hat, of course!

BeautyFrosting, Dawn McCoy

"Dawning" my Papaw's Stetson cowboy hat for Willie Nelson at The Hollywood Bowl this past Saturday

 

And I was so excited to attend with my good neighbor-friends from “The Compound”! We call them “the compound” because they’re two families that own a duplex together. I’m  like “The Compund Plus+” since I live right across the street. Love these folks!

Southern meets SoCal: With my favorite neighbor-friends at Willie Nelson at The Hollywood Bowl

 

And we kept getting compliments on our picnic spread. We did it right!!! With market fresh salads, cheese, fruit, hummus, homemade southern pimento cheese spread and homemade brownies, we were set!

Our picnic at The Hollywood Bowl for Willie Nelson & Lyle Lovett

I have never seen either Lyle or Willie live and they were even better than I could have imagined. And I got to see my friend, Mickey Raphael rock his harmonica. It was a magical, memorable evening that I won’t soon forget!

 

2) Even though I featured all of the decadent – and delightful – details yesterday, I still have to mention my Mary Poppins Popcorn Pajama Party as one of my Daily Delights this week. It was beyond delightful. Check out yesterday’s post to find out how to have your own movie pj party!

3) Right after Easter, I always buy all of the Easter-themed, pastel M&Ms I can find. Why? Because, I can enjoy their delightful pastel hues throughout the year. Sweet, indeed!

Sweet Saturday - a daily delight, for sure, thanks to Easter M&Ms

4) This is how you know summertime is in full-effect in Los Angeles. My sunglass tray, by my front door, is well-stocked and ready to block the shine! The bottom 3 pairs are from my favorite sunglass line of the moment, Ivory+Mason.

Summertime is in full effect so my Sunnies Tray is fully stocked! Featuring Ivory Mason sunglasses

5) Every time I bake brownies, I think of my mom. Sneaking tastes. Licking the spoon. Baking with my mom. These are amongst some of my most cherished memories. So when I baked Judy Rainey’s Brownies this past Saturday, I thought of my mom as I licked the spoon and baked with love. Parents, be sure to bake with your kids!

6) What started out as two girlfriends getting together to surprise our friend, Garrett, at the bar he works out turned into a mini reunion of my old Chris Fields acting class buddies. So much fun!

Love impromptu reunion parties! At Big Bar...

7) I really enjoyed this quote this week. As we walk through this world, this is a good one to remember!

Love this quote

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What were your “Daily Delights” this week?

 

A Tasty Tradition: My Annual Classic Southern Easter Dinner

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Easter is my FAAAAAV-OOO-RIIIITE holiday! So every year I have a classic southern Easter dinner for my surrogate family of friends here in Los Angeles. It’s a wonderful way to remember my roots and to honor the legacy of ladylike entertaining that my Nanny and Mother have taught me.

The ultimate multi-tasker: Whipping up some whipped cream & sipping a glass of Primitivo

Friday was a busy day spent making lists, shopping and preparing the kitchen for a weekend of cooking and baking!

Making my list and checking it twice!

As a child, I was fascinated with a Bunny cake that my mother made for my brother years before I was born. I always felt like I missed out on it by being born 7 years later. I used to just stare at that picture. It’s probably one of the reasons I fell in love with baking so much.

I have been wanting to try to make it for years and decided that this was my chance!
I baked it on Saturday and was THRILLED with the results!

The recipe my Mom followed on the left & my cake - Bernie The Bunny - on the right

Easter Sunday started with a Make-it-Work moment! To accommodate seating for 15, my catering & part prep helper from TaskRabbit – Jennifer – and I brought in the table from outside. Once in, we realized that we needed to make the coffee table the same height as the other two garden tables. So improvise we must! And we did! With beautiful results!

Cookbooks, tabletop books and magazines under the legs made the tables equal height. Yay! Seating for 15!!

Make it work!

 

Easter-inspired floral arrangements were put together in a jiffy using the charming candies of Easter. Layering pastel M&Ms with pastel peeps and setting a smaller vase (or glass) inside a larger one created the perfect Easter centerpieces!

 

Peeps & pastel are the focal points!

 

So what was the finger-licking lineup for Easter dinner this year?

The finger-licking lineup!

 

*We had to start with a signature Easter cocktail, of course! This year – in continuing with the Blackberry theme for Easter – was The Blackberry Bunny! It was refreshing with champagne, cream of blackberry liqueur and Trader Joe’s Blackberry Crush juice topped off with a blackberry and sprig of mint!

 

 

I asked my friends to bring vegetables, salads, appetizers and wine since I had the starches and fats covered!

 

The fixins from my friends

So Hope tossed together a cheery Chicken Lentil Salad. Vanessa brought a scrumptious Strawberry & Avocado Kale Salad. Dave manned some beautiful Bacon-wrapped-Goat Cheese-stuffed-Dates. Jennie put together some primo Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus. Jose and Lindsey had us set on vino and Amy and Dave brought champagne. And my sweet friend Rebecca – in town from Chicago shooting a pilot – brought 3 bunches of BEAUTIFUL tulips!

Rebecca brought 3 beautiful bunches of tulips that matched my tulip dress from Anthropologie!

 

Here are the dishes I just had to have because no southern Easter dinner would be complete without ’em!

*Delightful Deviled Eggs (mayo, cream cheese, tabasco, lemon juice, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, sweet relish & cornichons)

Easter dinner, southern fare, southern food, homemade, southern cooking, Easter menu,

Delightful Deviled Eggs

 

*Southern Pea Salad (peas, sour cream, mayo, worcestershire sauce, cheddar and onions)

Southern Pea Salad

 

*Cowboy Creamed Corn (buttermilk, corn, diced chiles and cream cheese)

 

Cowboy Creamed Corn

 

*Cheddar Green Bean Casserole (green beans, cheddar, buttermilk, sour cream, mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup and French’s Fried Cheddar Onion Rings)

 

*Texas Ranch House Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes (buttermilk, Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning, cream cheese and sour cream)

My favorite dish had to be my Nanny’s Lime Green Jello Salad (lime jello, cream cheese, pineapple and pecans). I used her original jello mold to create it. It even still has her “HAYES” label on it from when she used to take it to church functions! I was thrilled when it came out perfectly. The mold has interchangeable designs that imprint into the mold depending on the holiday. Easter’s design is a tulip!

Nanny's Lime Green Jello Salad in her original jello mold!

 

And the Dessert Table reminded me of old church socials at my grandparents’ church in Albany, Oklahoma:

The dessert table!

 

*Chocolate Bunny Cream Pie with Homemade Salted Buttermilk Crust – there wasn’t a crumb left!

Chocolate Bunny Cream Pie - Good to the last bite!

 

*Nanny’s Favorite Pineapple Cream Meringue Pie with Salted Buttermilk Crust – my meringue came out beautifully but the inside was a little runny. Oh well! It still tasted divine!

Nanny's Pineapple Cream Meringue Pie

 

Sour Cream Chocolate Easter Basket Cupcakes with Sweet Cream Cup Frosting  – these are such an easy treat to make for Easter! I love making them for my friends, neighbors and agents!

Sour Cream Chocolate Easter Basket Cupcakes!

 

Bernie The Bunny Cake (coconut cream cake with coconut cream buttercream frosting)

Meet my co-host...Bernie The Bunny!

 

Bernie The Bunny and our little friends, Nora and Lucy!

And no southern affair would be complete without sweet tea!

These are the beautiful faces I got to look at all afternoon!

I went to bed with a belly - and heart - full of sugar, thanks to these sweet faces!

 

This was my favorite Easter yet! I couldn’t have picked a better group of friends to share this precious day with me. And as I gave the toast right before we dug in, I could feel my Nanny there with us! She would’ve been proud…well, except for the Pineapple cream pie.

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday, BeautyFrosting!

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I would be posting my High-Low of the week but I can’t think of a low to report because…

It’s BeautyFrosting’s 1st birthday!!!

 

Happy Birthday, BF!

No need to blow out the candles though, today!
I’ve already got everything I could have wished for with readers like you!

We’ll have a big celebratory giveaway later this month – when we announce the winners of our 1st annual BeautyFrosting BFF Awards! So stay tuned…

But, for now, here are some of my favorite moments in this first year of BeautyFrosting!

 

The beauty…

 

A year of beauty & pampering...THANK YOU!!!

 

The baking…

 

A year of sweetness...THANK YOU!!!!

 

The being…

 

A year of "being", a.k.a. lifestyle...THANK YOU!

 

The celebrations…

 

A year of celebrations...THANK YOU!!!

 

And the friends who make this journey oh-so-sweet!

A year of friends...THANK YOU!!!!

I am so grateful for each and every one of you who has read the blog daily, written questions to “Dear Dawn”, watched our videos, entered ourcontests, told your friends about BeautyFrosting, sent us a product to try for BeautyFrosting, followed BF on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, on YouTube and for all of the praise, suggestions and support you have offered over this past year to me.

And I have LOTS more coming for you in this, our second year! Like what, you ask? How about Foodie Friday with food & restaurant reviews and A Southern Girl’s Guide to LA with spa & business recommendations.

How about that? It all starts THIS weekend! It’s just my way of saying –

THANK YOU for a SUPER SWEET 1st year!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you from my heart to yours! xoxo, Dawn (BF)

xoxo,
BF

***Special note: Why March 12th? I chose to debut BeautyFrosting last year on what would have been my beloved Nanny, Clara Margaret Hayes’s, 99th birthday. Every year that I celebrate a birthday, I am celebrating her and all of the lovely, ladylike things she stood for and taught my mom, my aunt, my cousins and me!

I miss you every day, Nanny…

BF Asks: What was your favorite BeautyFrosting moment this year?

BF’s Holiday Gorgeous Gift-Giving Guide: Haute Hostess Glam It Up LUXE aprons

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As I’m sure is the same with many of you out there, much of my life occurs in my kitchen. And more often than not, I greet my party guests at the door in my apron. I’m also notorious for dressing up my homebody attire with a girly apron when I’m relaxing at home and meditating as I do…by baking.

With Elizabeth Scokin’s Haute Hostess Glam It Up Luxe Apron in Rosalynn or Ashley ($350), my kitchen couture is taken to a whole new level.

Haute Hostess apron in Rosalynn ($350)

Haute Hostess apron in Ashley ($350)

Ever since I discovered them in Nashville, Haute Hostess Aprons have been on my wish list every year. So when I finally received one as a gift, I swooned.

Every time I see one of these luxe frocks in someone’s home, I get as giddy as a 13-year-old girl. The go-to glamorous gift for your favorite hostess with the mostest, the wearer will feel like a queen in the kitchen or a princess at the party.

These coquettish confections bring out the beautiful best in every woman! And not only are they fun to wear, but they are beautiful conversation pieces in the home.

The ultimate in kitchen couture, any girl will feel lucky to receive her Haute Hostess Apron just in time for the holidays.

I love all of the glamorous options and love, love, love that they have sizes for grown-up girls and little girls alike!

Haute Hostess apron in Ashley Little Lady ($75)

These are gorgeous gifts to unwrap for the holidays but also make perfect gifts for bridesmaids, bridal showers, graduations, rush, weddings, birthdays, hostesses and more.

Note to Santa and those following my wish list: I’d like to receive one for EVERY holiday!
A girl can never have too much glam in the kitchen!

And I find the more aprons I have, the better my baking gets!

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: Which Haute Hostess apron will make it on to your wish list?

 

Saturday Social Hour: Hometown Dallas Visit, Part 1

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I always have the best time when I go back to my hometown of Dallas.

Besides my family, friends and the fabulous FOOD (!!), it’s where my whole story began. The place where I fell in love with makeup, skincare, baking and antiques; in other words, all things BeautyFrosting!

In my multi-part Saturday Social Hour, I am detailing my visits, tastes and experiences while visiting my beloved hometown. It’ll also clue you in to some Dallas-based posts that I have coming up for you.  Yeehaw!

The week started out with a fun weekend with my family and my brother’s friends & families from college:

BF, Mom, brother David, old friends and some new little friends

BF, Mom, brother David, old friends and some new little friends. Notice we're all smiling after eating Mom's delish Fruit Pizza (see Mom's Fruit Pizza recipe here)

Next up was one of the main reasons for my trip – my dear friend, Jenny’s bridal shower (more details on that later):

BF, Bride-to-Be, Jenny & Allison: High School Best Friends *In the spirit of things, I wore green and pink because I wanted to honor her wedding colors!

Next, I drove out to Lancaster, Texas where my favorite bakery & baker, in the world, is – THE LOVIN’ OVEN! Stay tuned to a post about it coming up soon!

BF's Favorite Bakery since age 3: The Lovin' Oven in Lancaster, Texas

Lovin' Oven decadent delights!

BF & one of her baking fairy godmothers, Suzanne, owner of The Lovin' Oven

Next, I stopped by Neiman Marcus Northpark to see my first & favorite salesperson/beauty guru/friend/former coworker, Lori Nelson:

A Dallas institution: Lori Nelson at Neiman Marcus Northpark

Lori introduced me to my lifelong beauty love affair with Creme de La Mer. I am forever in her debt!

Next, I stopped by Snider Plaza to visit my favorite home deco shop, Uptown Country Home

Uptown Country Home in Snider Plaza (Dallas)

Owner/resident style expert/artist extraordinaire, Jenny Grumbles, always has the best finds! I always end up shipping my finds back to California because I can’t bear to be without them. My mom and I bought a coffee table but look at this super chic & snazzy custom headboard we saw there:

Super chic & fun custom headboard at Uptown County Home

Next, I headed back to Northpark Mall to Nordstrom to visit with Tres Brown – a renowned makeup artist for Burberry, Tom Ford and Christian Dior:

BF and Tres Brown - renowned makeup artist with Burberry, Tom Ford and Christian Dior

And no trip to Dallas would be complete without MULTIPLE visits to my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and home-away-from-home, Mi Cocina:

BF & my big brother at Mi Cocina

Along with the best margaritas in all the land:

Mi Cocina Margarita

Okay, beauties, that concludes Hometown Dallas Visit, Part 1. Hope you enjoyed it!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for places I should visit on my next trip home!

And tune in next week for Part 2 and see what delicious discoveries I had in Dallas.

 

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: Have you ever been to Dallas? 

Easter Dinner Recipe: BeautyFrosting’s Coconut Pina Colada Cake

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BeautyFrosting's Coconut Pina Colada Cake

This is always a HUUUUGE hit! And I refer to it as Vanessa’s cake as I first came up with the recipe in 2002 for my dear friend (and roommate at the time), Vanessa’s birthday celebration.
I was out of town for a wedding, in Dallas, and this was my attempt to make up for missing her shindig.
p.s. It worked! See below.

BeautyFrosting's Coconut Pina Colada Cake Recipe

Coconut Pina Colada Cake

Preheat oven to 350.
1 pkg Extra Moist White or Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 c Crisco Oil
3 eggs
1 c (8 oz) Sour Cream
1 tsp Almond extract
1 (8 1/2 oz) can Cream of Coconut  (in cocktail mixer aisle) – set aside 2 Tbsp for frosting
1 c Coconut
In a large bowl, combine cream of coconut, oil, sour cream, almond extract and eggs. Mix completely.
Add cake mix and mix until smooth.
Add coconut and mix until distributed evenly.
Pineapple-Rum Filling
1/2 tsp Salt
4 tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 c Sugar
1 (20 oz) can Crushed Pineapple, packed in juice
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 c  Malibu Coconut Rum
In saucepan, Combine salt, 3 tbsp cornstarch and sugar
Add pineapple (with juice) and mix.
Cook over med-high heat until mixture is boiling, constantly stirring
When boil is reached, stir constantly for approx. 5 minutes until mixture is thickened and looks creamy.
Reduce to low heat and add butter.
Add coconut rum.
Dissolve 1 tbsp. cornstarch in a little cold water until dissolved into creamy mixture.
Add to pineapple mixture.
Stir until smooth, dissolved and thickened.
Let mixture cool and store in fridge until ready to use!
(Also, great for pie filling, ice cream topping and more!)
Pina Colada Frosting
1 (8 oz) package Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 c Unsalted Butter, softened
4 c Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Cream of Coconut
1-2 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 c Angel Flake Coconut
Combine cream cheese, butter and salt in bowl. Mix well.
Add in vanilla and cream of coconut.
Add confectioners powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
Add in whipping cream to desired consistency.
Mix in coconut.
More coconut can be used for a thicker, less spreadable frosting.
Garnish with pineapple slices, cherries and umbrellas for a festive Pina Colada cake
OR
with jelly beans for the perfect Easter cake.