Apple Pie Cupcakes | How to

Hello Friends!

It is finally fall and autumnal festivities are creeping up everywhere. Recently I missed our semi-local apple festival and was completely bummed about it. They normally have such amazing apple pies at the festival and since I missed out on them, I decided to bake some cupcake style!

Below is the recipe I came up with. Personally, I think this is one of the most simple recipes on the blog because you basically only have to make the cake and cut out the leaf on top. There is no icing to make because I opted for whipped cream instead since that is what is normally on top of apple pies. Let me know what you think about it in the comments below!

Recipe:

           Ingredients for cake:

          - 1 white box cake 

          - 1 1/4 cup water

          - 1/4 cup vegetable oil

          - 4 egg whites

          - 1/4 cup sour cream

          - 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

          - 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

          - 1 can of apple pie filling

          - 12 inch pie crust

          - can of whipped cream (keep refrigerated until use)

          - cinnamon-sugar mixture to garnish (4 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon combined)

         Directions

          - Mix together cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, sour cream, nutmeg, and cinnamon until well blended.

          - Pour batter into lined cupcake tins until the batter covers the bottom of the tin. Add in a spoonful of apple pie filling into each cupcake tin. If the apple slices are too large, cut them in half before placing them in the cupcake tin. Then pour batter over the apple filling to cover up the apple slices in each of the cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-28 minutes.

          - While the cupcakes are in the oven, place the pie crust on parchment paper and cut out leaf shapes. I did this with a knife and made super simple oval ones making sure to slice leaf veins in the center. Bake the leaf cutouts for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

          - Once the cupcakes are cool, spray whipped cream on the top. Then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top to garnish. Finally, place a leaf cut out into the cupcake.

          Additional Comments

          - Wait until time to serve before decorating the cupcakes.

          - You can cut out other shapes from the pie crust other than leaves!

My brother and I also filmed a baking tutorial. This time he was a astronaut from space, check it out:

Happy Baking,

Tilly

Whimsical Pumkin Teapot

Hello Everyone,

I just returned home a few days ago from a much needed trip at the Amish Country.  Its a trip we usually take a couple times a year but have not been able to in the last year. Thus I was so excited about going. Its a place where you can fill your day with going from one antique store to another without end.  It is just amazing how many antique stores there are.  What that mostly means for me is the intoxicating search for tea pots and tea cups, and the and Amish Country never disappoints. The question is not if I can find any, but how many can I fit in my vehicle? Although I found quite a few good treasures, I decided to feature this whimsical cheery yellow pumpkin tea pot. It was a little bit more expensive than I wanted to invest in a seasonal tea pot and I am not sure where I will store it, but I could not resist.  I actually did place it back on the shelf for a few moments (out of some faint attempt of self-control) but then around the corner fate happened. I found this beautiful yellow and gold tea cup that just needed a whimsical tea pot to make a seasonal tea encounter wonderful.  So, back I went to collect the tea pot, and then to the cash register to check out.

The yellow kept making me think of lemons, so, I decided that Lemon Lift Black Tea would be perfect.  Its a distinctive blend with just the right amount of lemon and a dash of spice.  A little bit of lemon added to the top of this hot tea was perfect. I wanted something easy to go with my tea and decided on the usual choice of cupcakes.  Cupcakes are easy to make and definitely easy to find in any grocery store.  I didn't feel like whipping any up so I decided to pick some up at a grocery store after my son's futsal game.  My husband trying to be helpful packs up all my bags and puts them in the vehicle for me.  Upon arriving home, I discovered he had placed my cupcakes into the vehicle on their tops.  Needless to say they were not very pretty anymore.  I was able to salvage three and throw some sprinkles on top to cover the imperfections.  Because I was able to salvage a few cupcakes and my husband was really trying to be nice, I let him off the hook pretty easy.  Overall I was very pleased with this fall teatime especially since we only have a few more days before the Christmas fever takes over.

 

 

God Bless,

Trina Belle  

Psalm 46:10 | Be Still And Know That I Am God

Hello Everyone

On my way home travelling a few months ago I made the usual stop to eat at Cracker Barrel. Instead of patiently waiting on my food to arrive, I slipped out and thought I could occupy my time better by shopping. I love shopping to find the perfect treasure to bring home with me as a reminder of my time away. That’s when I found this beautiful linen embroidered with the scripture of Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God". It was the last one they had and I knew that it would be perfect to use not only for a perfect tea napkin, but to provide inspiration.  

In this fast paced life that is constantly filled with distractions, disappointments, and mindless chatter, it is next to impossible to be still. Because of this it is so easy for the world to rob the peace and joy and break down the communication between ourselves and God. As our souls yearn for God, this busyness yields a disconnect in our spirit, and an internal war ensues within us. As our minds begin to race with life our focus begins to shift from knowing God is in control to wondering why we must endure suffering. God becomes a distant glimpse while we become engulfed in the present reality of our problems. Instead of being tuned into what God has for us, this distance ensues a narcissistic cycle of constant discontentment and self-pity.

It is imperative in this secular world that we simply stop and take time to be still and meditate on what God’s design and plan is for our life. Knowing God in a deep intuitive way allows us to detach ourselves from our circumstance and rest upon who he is. Understanding that in the difficult times in our lives he is strengthening our inner man that we may endure the hardships of life and like Job say’s, “Though he may slay me I will rest in him”.

It is one of my life long struggles to drown out life and simply be still and know God for who he is. So, as my tea linen inspires me to work upon my deficiency and grow stronger in the faith, I pray this post inspires you to do the same.

God Bless, 

Trina Belle

Halloween Tea

Hello Everyone,

It's Halloween, the festive time of the year where old traditions of celebrating the dead come alive.  The last day of October is where we attend costume parties, decorate our houses with spooky jack-o-lanterns, light bonfires, and tell scary ghost stories that send shivers down anyone's spine. But most notable and prevalant attribute about Halloween its the treats! Its the one holiday a year where candy is King and the sugar level in every household raises by an infinate amount. So what does that mean for any tea lover? It means its another opportunity to set up a festive and inviting place to celebrate with a Halloween tablescape and some hot tea with treats.

I started off with a perfect black tea pot that could be found in any witch's kitchen for a brew of some sort, and a matching black mug that could hold a delightful potion of tea.  Next, I placed an apothacary full of candy corn topped with oreo Halloween themed cookies.  A plate full of orange and green cookies with a couple of cake pops make the sweet menu official.  A couple added items for extra ambiance and I am ready to begin my Halloween treat. 

Here is to hoping to inspire you on this spooky day to stop and take some time to enjoy your sugary treats with a spot of tea.

 

 

 

God Bless,

Trina Belle    

Halloween Costumes for Tea Pots

Hello Friends,

In honor of Trick-Or-Treat night, todays posts talks about costumes! Have you ever wondered what tea pots dress up as for Halloween? Well here are four tea pots that have their costume on and are ready for tonight!

Here is an unmarked tea pot dressed as a kitchen sink. It is complete with cabinets and drawers under the sink. The tea pot also has a few dishes in the sink, with a dish towel hanging over. The tea pot, cup, and tray on the left make up the lid. This is a super cute tea pot that blends right in with the holiday décor.

This Bordeaux tea pot was hand painted by Mann. I think it looks like a basket filled with grapes, leaves, and vines from a vineyard. What do you think?

This hand painted Tulip Time by Mann, makes for a wonderful garden costume. The handle is a blade of grass, and the lid has a tulip sprouting from the top as a handle. Side note: it is sitting by a childhood favorite, Pumpkin Moonshine!

Finally we have another unmarked tea pot, this time as a cute little cottage. What is more homier than a thatched roofed home complete with a chimney? I think this costume does a great job at impersonating a cottage. This is also my favorite costume of the four!

Happy Trick-or-Treating,

Tilly

Pumpkin Spice Tea | Review

Hello friends,

When they say pumpkin spiced everything, they MEAN pumpkin spiced everything. In more recent years pumpkin spice as a flavor has taken over during the fall months. I am not a strong connoisseur of the pumpkin spice flavor, but with the growing hype surrounding it, I decided to give it a whirl. A picked up Bigelow's Pumpkin Spice Black Tea (from my local Walmart), which claims to be a Hearty Spiced Tea. After letting it brew, I added in some sugar. Here is the result!

 

 

One of my first thoughts was that it was much better than I had originally expected. It quickly began to smell and taste of nutmeg and pumpkin pie. The ingredients for the tea are black tea, natural pumpkin flavors, cinnamon, licorice root, clove, ginger, and pumpkin flake. After reading the ingredients I realized one of the flavors I was tasting was the licorice root. The tea is gluten free and includes an average of 30-60 mg of caffeine. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this tea and happy with my purchase. I hope this encourages you to try something new as well!

Happy Steeping,

Tilly