The Season of Giving - Giveaway Time!

This was my Christmas gift last year. Despite my love of decorating baked goods, I must have been living under a rock because I had never heard of cake pops or Bakerella (http://www.bakerella.com/). I paged through the book that night about 10 times over in complete wonder at the creativity within the pages.

"I expect you to make them," my cousin said. Outloud I said of course but inside, I was saying, "Me? Make these? Are you kidding me, I can't make these?! I'm not that talented!"

With Bakerella's easy to follow steps and my extreme patience and practice, I was able to teach myself how to make cake pops. Ever since I started making them, they are the number one baked item request I have from friends, family, and random people who want to order them for events or just because. Here are a few of my holiday ones from this Christmas.

Snowball, snowmen, and candy cane cake pops

You can see more of the cake pops I have made on my Facebook page. I'm no where close to being as talented and creative as Bakerella but one can aspire to do so, right? We'll I'm going to help you out. I know Christmas has come and gone but I'm going to continue the spirit of giving. I too want to give someone one of the coolest gifts I've ever received. I'm giving away all the things you will need to make one of my favorite basic cake pops, chocolate chocolate caramel crunch. I made these over and over again until I got better at rolling and dipping until I got confident enough to make more detailed designs. Here's what I'm giving away:

Bakerella's "Cake Pops" book

1-package of 60 sticks (sounds like a lot but you'll have quite a few rejects before you master the technique!)

1-package of Wilton chocolate candy melts

1-5 oz jar of turtle crunch sprinkles

1-spool of ribbon

1-package of wrappers (to make your cakepops look pretty!)

1-box of devils food cake mix

1-16 oz container of frosting

Your late Christmas gift. Unfortunately the book I'm giving away is not
 signed by Bakerella but it's still pretty awesome!

How to enter to win this kit

1) Leave a comment below letting me know what is the best Christmas gift you have ever received

Want more chances to win? Do one or all of the following and leave another comment for each in the comments section.

1) Like Lil Ms Sueshine on Facebook HERE

2) Follow @LilMsSueshine on Twitter HERE

3) Tweet this giveaway with a link like this: I heart #cakepops Enter to win cakepop supplies and Bakerella's book from @LilMsSueshine http://goo.gl/6F7VU

4) Go to BAKERELLA'S website and let me know which of her cakepops is your favorite!


The winner will be selected using random.org on Thursday, January 5th at 7:00PST. I will announce the winner on Friday, January 6th. Leave a way for me to contact you whether its your email, Twitter handle, or your Facebook name (sorry...I'll find a better comment widget for the next giveaway :( ). You have [3] three days to respond to me or I will pick a new winner. The giveaway is limited to residents of the United States (sorry to my international peeps!). Good luck everyone!



This giveaway is sponsored by Lil Ms Sueshine. All items in the giveaway have been paid out of my own pocket for the love of the products and my readers :)

Taste N' Tinis 2011 - Eat, Drink, & Shop!

I was long overdue for another food tour of my fine city. I was also long overdue to get some Christmas shopping done. When I heard about Taste N' Tini's, I was all for it. I mean, how could you really go wrong with food, martinis, and some shopping in Hillcrest? I messaged my friend Ashley (the creator of my lovely Lil Ms Sueshine logo!) and asked her if she wanted to join me. Very few people understand my obesession about breaking out my camera right in the middle of a meal. Ashley does because she's usually right there doing the same thing. I had a great time and I'm glad I was able to try out a few new places. I'll definitely be going back try more menus. My favorite of the night: Snooze, an AM Eatery. I LOVE breakfast and that's pretty much their whole menu. I'll take one of everything please! 

I highly encourage people to explore their cities and these tasting events are a great way to do it. Enjoy the little video I put together!

Caramel Asian Pear Bread Pudding

A lot of baked items that I write about and make on this blog have a memory attached to them. Unfortunately, I can't remember the first time or the first place that I had bread pudding. It couldn't have been that memorable then. I do know that I like bread pudding and I do know I've never made it before. So when I saw a recipe for it on Diabetic Living Online, I thought I'd try something new. But it felt weird to be making something that I had no real connection to. The recipe called for red pears and and I thought I'd change it up a little.

I do have memories attached to Asian pears. Usually fairly expensive (local grocery stores here in San Diego can charge up to $2.00 per pear), my mom, knowing they were one of my favorite fruits, would buy me one as a treat. I often remember carrying the round, slightly rough-skinned, yellow fruit in my hands in the special spongy wrap while my mom finished her grocery shopping, trying my best to resist biting into it. I was finally allowed to eat it when we got home because often times I would make a mess as I bit into it, getting the juice all over myself. That didn't stop me from munching happily away at the crunchy flesh. If you've never had an Asian pear, it's exactly what you would think a pear and apple would be like if they had kids.

Caramel Asian Pear Bread Pudding

3 large day old or dried bagels of your choice

3 tbsps margarine, melted

2 Asian pear (peel, core, and cube 1 pear into small pieces)

2 cups fat-free milk

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup sugar-free caramel ice cream topping

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1) Preheat oven to 300F. Cut bagels into cubes. If using fresh bagels, place on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes or until slightly crispy.
2) Turn oven up to 350F. Spray 5-6 large ramekins with cooking spray. Place bagel cubes into a bowl and pour melted margarine over cubes. Mix until completely coated. Mix in the cubed pears. Place bagel pieces into the ramekins.
3) In a bowl, mix milk, eggs, caramel, and cinnamon together. Pour over the bagel mixture to slightly below the edge of the dish. Let the bagels soak in the liquid for approximately 5 minutes. Press down on the mixture gently with the back of a spoon.
4) Bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
5) Garnish with extra pear slices and caramel topping.

Inspired by recipe on DiabeticLivingOnline.com

Sueshine notes about this recipe

Experiment with your bagels. Since it's fall, I used a seasonal bagel (cranberry walnut) from a local bagel shop. If a similar bagel is not available, you can always add dried cranberries or nuts into the bread/pear mixture for texture.

If you do not have access to Asian pears, you can always use regular pears. The original recipe called for red pears but I would pick a pear variety that is firm and crunchy so it can stand up to the baking.

Let the bagel soak in the liquid mixture. If you do not, you may end up with bread pudding with a side of scrambled eggs, especially if you are using a larger dish rather than ramekins.



I wasn't too sure how my first attempt at bread pudding would turn out. I'm actually very picky about my bread pudding,. I am not a fan of super eggy (Is that a word? You know what I mean though) bread pudding or when it's nothing but a bowl of mush. The bagels added a softness on the inside but a slight chewiness outside. The nuts and pears add a little crunch. The caramel adds the right amount of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth and contrast to the tartness of the cranberries. Best part about it? It was a lot easier than I thought it would be to make. I'm very pleased with how it turned and I think I created another new baking memory.