"Peanut Brittle"

There are many different kinds of brittle that can be made. In our foods class, we made peanut brittle.

What seemed to be a fairly quick and simple recipe turned out to be a bit trickier than expected. The sugar mixture had to be left in the microwave for the perfect amount of time until it changed to the right shade of amber. But if you can pass that test, then your peanut brittle will turn out just right. Our peanut brittle turned out quite delicious and I can't wait to try other types of brittle such as peppermint brittle.

"Cupcake Mosaics"

This cupcake mosaic was made to appear as a large tree that had lost its leaves in the fall. The sunset in the background was there to add more color and help make the picture more interesting. My partner and I drew inspiration from the weather in Vancouver and nature that we saw around us. We used 24 mini yellow cupcakes and iced them with different colors of buttercream icing. At first, I wasn't sure about how well this idea would work out, but once we started adding the different colors, it began to resemble our vision. We began with the grass, using an icing tip that looked like clovers, and then we moved on to the sunset. To integrate the red and yellow-orange colors, we tried to blend them together in the centre. Then we started the tree. To create the look of bark, we used an icing tip that had a rough edge on one side. After, we used two different sized tips to make the branches. Once we finished icing our cupcakes and took a step back to look at them, we were pleased with the outcome. It was difficult and it was time-consuming to pay attention to all the details, however it was worth it in the end because our cupcake mosaic turned out great. It truly does resemble a tree with a sunset in the background.

"Gingerbread Houses"

Our next class assignment was to design and create a gingerbread house that would potentially end up being a part of a large gingerbread village with a Winter Wonderland theme. When I found out what the theme was, my first idea was to make Santa's Workshop. This was my first time making a gingerbread house so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Making the gingerbread and the icing and buying the candy were the easy parts; assembling it was tricky.

Santa's Workshop

Once I was able to assemble the house, I started adding the details. I began with adding icicles to the edges of the roof and then I placed the candy. My color scheme was red, green and white to represent Christmas and Santa Claus. Also, I placed a sign on the side of the house so that the idea behind the house was clear. I was proud to see the work of art that I had created and in the end I was impressed with my finished product. I will hopefully be making more gingerbread houses during the holidays to come.

"Pumpkin Carving and Pumpkin Seeds"

Pumpkin seeds are the perfect snack at Halloween because they're easily accessible while you're carving your pumpkin! Simply scrape the seeds out of your pumpkin, wash them, and spice them to your desire. You can make them sweet, spicy, or even just plain.


As one of my assignments in my food art class, I was given the task to carve a pumpkin using a creative design. I chose to carve a skull because it seemed challenging and I believe that skulls represent Halloween. I began with drawing out my sketch on my pumpkin and then I carefully started carving. I was very impressed with the overall look of my finished pumpkin and overall this assignment was a lot of fun.   

"Spider Web Cookies"

Next, are the artistic Spider Web cookies. Starting off with a simple chocolate shortbread cookie, these desserts have a very strong cocoa flavour, and have somewhat of a bitter aftertaste. However, once the icing is added, the cookies become much sweeter and more desireable. To ice these cookies, we used white and black royal icing. We started by creating a border around the edge of the cookies in white, and then flooded the cookies with more white icing. Then, we took our black icing and drew circles (starting smaller on the inside and getting bigger as you go towards the edge.) To create the look of a spider web, we used a toothpick to draw the icing out to the edges of the cookie and it was as simple as that.

Tip: Make sure your cookie has cooled completely before icing or else the warmth from the cookie will cause the icing to melt and you will be left with a mess

  

"Yellow Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing"

 

This next creation is a simple yellow cupcake with a delicious buttercream icing. The actual cake was light, fluffy and moist, and the icing was rich and creamy. Having been the first time I have ever decorated a cupcake using an icing bag to pipe, I would say that my designs turned out fairly well. I would recommend practicing on some parchment paper first, and then moving on to decorating your cupcake. It is much harder than it looks and it takes patience. The finished product is pictured below.

"Rainbow Cookies"

These cookies get their name from their shape and colours as you can see in these two pictures. Don't be fooled by what they look like! Even though they may look artificial I can assure you that they are still magically delicious! They are perfectly bite-sized and sweet enough to satisfy your cravings.

Making these for the first time was very difficult because getting each layer even and perfect is almost impossible. But as long as it still somewhat resembles a rainbow, people will understand your intentions. They are worth trying once, even if just to taste.