Candied Tangelo Buttercake w/Black Tea Buttercream

The first foodie post in our new home was inspired by a fellow blogger (honeyandjam.com, please go check out her beautiful blog for this recipe).
Her gorgeous cake was adorned with candied lemons...had I some lemons, so would mine.
Alas, lemonless, but determined nonetheless...I pressed on with the tangy tangelo.
Hello tangelo...

To candy the citrus, all you do is submerge them in a simmering syrup blend of:

2 c. water

2 c. sugar

Now, Martha Stewart says to place a round of parchment on top of the slices you've submerged in a saucepan and place a small cake pan on top of them to keep them under the simmering syrup.

My smarty pants daughter thought of a much simpler solution...if you have an old-school steamer insert, that is.



Genius, I tell ya.

Wish I'd thought of it.

Oh well, someone had to get the brains in the family.

An hour later, you get these....

Martha says to let them cool off and dry...meh, Martha Smartha.

So burning my fingers, I went ahead and used them on the cake.

The difference between my cake and the one featured on the other blog is that I just used a buttercream instead of a seven minute frosting.

Either way, its an impressive presentation that I think would "wow" any guests.

[insert "wow" here]

Then my daughter asked if I was done photographing the cake and as I was, this is what I came back to.

Utter sprinkle desecration, I say!



Hello, my foodie friends!

I apologize for my absence.  We've just moved into our new (to us) house and have been trying to get settled in.  If I took photos of food now, you'd just see stacks of boxes and crumpled newspaper littered all around.  Not pretty.

But....mes amis, soon there will be a post, so epic you'll have to hold onto your socks with both hands while crossing your ankles and scrunching your toes.

Just a little info, the home we bought was build in the 50's and the gentleman that lived here before us was the one and only owner, so it goes without saying that even though this house is the most solidly built house Ive ever lived in, it does need some updating.
Case in point...the blue kitchen....

Dont get me wrong, the sink totally rocks my socks, its staying.
The 60 yr. old formica, brass knobs and bright blue paint...not so much.
The window, on the other hand, is amazing.  The light in this house is a photographer's dream!

See my fireplace?  While its very cool, the brick is pinkish, not so cool.
It will be changed ASAP!  OOOhhhh....AAhhhhh...I know you're all jealous of my brass and fake wood ceiling fan.  Don't deny it, its okay, you can have it.  Really, its yours. 
But, see that huge window?  *sigh.....*

Okay, so I'll stop boring you with my house pics. 
I will get some food on the table pronto.
Thank you all for sticking around ;)