LONG WEEKEND PAINTING: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

happy victoria day long weekend! this weekend we decided to tackle a project after lots of debating: painting an accent wall in the condo. we knew we wanted to do a grey wall as the entire condo is white. white floors, white cupboards, white walls.. you get the point, too much white. after picking out fifty different shades of grey (hehe) we decided on the perfect tone ['cement the deal' by beauti-tone if you're curious] & we couldn't be happier with the results. the weekend was also filled with birthday celebrations, shopping, baking, a trip home and oh so much eating. check back this week for all the fun things i baked! hint hint: it's sweet and involves bacon :|

xo

CONFETTI CAKE

CONFETTI CAKE! this month my sister is celebrating her 27th birthday, so she deserves a sprinkle cake. growing up funfetti cake mix was our all time favourite boxed cake, with rainbow bit vanilla frosting. thanks to molly yeh i was able to recreate it with a cake made from scratch, sorry betty. i like to call this a more grown up version of a boxed funfetti cake! is that such a thing? an adult sprinkle cake?! it is now. the recipe has been adapted from food52, where i aimed to make it slightly less artificial tasting, switching in pure vanilla extract and raw sugar. oh and what is that black dog like creature making an appearamce in my ingredient shot? that is my chihuahua pomeranian buddy holly, stealing the spotlight.

ingredients (makes two nine inch cakes)

for the cake

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
• 4 egg whites (you can use the whole egg, but the cake won't be pure white)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

for the frosting

• 1.5 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar (if you like it really sweet, add more!)
• 1 tsp vanilla

directions

• preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• in the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.
• add the eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
• mix in vanilla and oil until combined.
• in a separate bowl sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. gradually add to stand mixer at low speed.
• once flour is JUST combined into the wet ingredients, add the heavy cream.
• fold in the sprinkles and pour batter evenly into two well-greased cake pans.
• bake until lightly golden brown on top, about 20-25 minutes.
• let cakes cool completely before flipping onto a cooling rack.
• for the frosting add all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until light and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes.
• decorate as desired.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

every summer growing up my mom and i would go to the local farmers market on a weekly basis. if i were lucky, i mean REAL lucky, she would let me pick up one of my favourite desserts from the bakery; strawberry shortcake. now this wasn't a typical strawberry shortcake made with a vanilla biscuit, oh no. it was thin layers of moist vanilla chiffon cake, fresh strawberry jam and whipped cream. it is still one of the best shortcakes i've ever had. i have yet to be able to recreate it in its entirety, but i have made a lot of strawberry shortcakes since and this one is pretty damn good. i decided to make one for my mom for mother's day this year, for memories sake and because my mom loves strawberry shortcake too.. like mother like daughter.

ingredients

for the cake

• 1.5 cups pastry flour
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 2/3 tablespoon baking powder
• 2/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 egg yolks
• 5 egg whites

for the whipped cream

• 1.5 cups cold whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 pints strawberries, sliced thin.

directions

• preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• in a mixing bowl sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• in a separate bowl beat milk, oil, vanilla, and egg yolks.
• add flour mixture to wet ingredients until combined.
• in the bowl of a stand mixer whip egg whites to medium peaks. fold whipped egg whites in gently to cake batter (do not deflate the whites too much)
• evenly separate batter into two greased 8 inch baking dishes. bake for 20-25 minutes.
• once the cakes have fully cooled, flip them out of the baking dish and carefully slice them in half.
• make your whipping cream by beating cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
• assemble shortcake starting with a layer of cake, whipped cream and strawberry slices, repeat 4 times.