Copy code Skip to main content

How to Do Dip Powder Nails

 Staying at home means avoiding the nail salon, and as someone who always  smudges regular nail polish (seriously, how is it possible that they can still  be ready to smear by the time I go to bed?), I have a newfound appreciation for the variety of modern manicure solutions available. I previously reviewed Ohora's at-home gel strips , which are a great option for hassle-free designs. Another option that I really like, even though I am far  from a pro, is dip powder. Dip powder is essentially an acrylic powder that contains pigments or glitters. You purchase a set of liquids that can be used with the powders of your choice for a quick and clean manicure that requires very little dry time. Dip powder is easily accessible, and if you're new to dip nails in general, I'd suggest a reasonably priced option for practice. I started with the Lavender Violets brand on Amazon, which comes with a set of powders + all the liquids you need for a beginner. I did find that the l...
Post a Comment

Black Bottom Cupcakes (Gluten Free!)

Sometimes, the strangest food combinations actually go together, and combine to make something amazing, like chips on sandwiches, or cupcakes with bacon. Enter one of the most deliciously strange food combinations of all, chocolate and cheese, and you have the black bottom cupcake.

There are plenty of black bottom cupcake recipes to be found on the internet, but I decided to take a traditional recipe, and attempt to make it gluten free. It has been three months since I gave up gluten, and with Easter occurring in two days, it was important to me to have a recipe that would be safe to eat, without tasting "off" to the friends and family I would be sharing it with.

You will need:

For the cream cheese topping:
  • 8 ounces of cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the cake bottom:
  • 1 & 1/2 cups of gluten free all purpose baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
  • 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup of cocoa
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp salt

    First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients for the cheese topping together, and set aside.

    Mix the xanthan gum in with the olive oil until dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients for the cake bottom, and mix until smooth. Pour the cake batter into greased muffin tin (I used muffin cups), filling each cup about halfway. Top with a scoop of the cheese mixture, and bake for 25 minutes.



    This recipe makes 18 regular sized cupcakes, and they are amazing!

    You may also be interested in:
    Labels:

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    How to Do Dip Powder Nails

     Staying at home means avoiding the nail salon, and as someone who always  smudges regular nail polish (seriously, how is it possible that they can still  be ready to smear by the time I go to bed?), I have a newfound appreciation for the variety of modern manicure solutions available. I previously reviewed Ohora's at-home gel strips , which are a great option for hassle-free designs. Another option that I really like, even though I am far  from a pro, is dip powder. Dip powder is essentially an acrylic powder that contains pigments or glitters. You purchase a set of liquids that can be used with the powders of your choice for a quick and clean manicure that requires very little dry time. Dip powder is easily accessible, and if you're new to dip nails in general, I'd suggest a reasonably priced option for practice. I started with the Lavender Violets brand on Amazon, which comes with a set of powders + all the liquids you need for a beginner. I did find that the l...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    Apple Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes and Bacon

    If you've seen my post about  Peachy Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes , you already know how I feel about sheet pan recipes. These sheet pancakes pull together all the goodness of regular pancakes, plus the ease of a casserole-- no more standing at the stove flipping batter! UPDATE: These make a great breakfast sandwich -- perfect for a crowd! If you have not checked out that recipe, I recommend you check it out , as this is a significant improvement over an adaptation of the first. Since it's fall, and we have been doing all the fall things-- like a family pumpkin painting day, and trying to brave the fall festivals even though it's unexpectedly hot-- these pancakes bring a taste of fall with apples, cinnamon, maple syrup and bacon. Yum! Read on for the recipe. Apple Cinnamon Sheet Pancakes Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free bisquick 2 tbsp cooking oil of choice, plus a little for greasing the pan 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus extra for...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    5 Ideas for a "Stay at Home" Date Night

    Goodbye to 2020, and a cautious "hello" to 2021! If you're like me, you had a pretty uneventful New Year's Eve.  That's not to say that my NYE has been particularly  exciting every year until now, but the pandemic has certainly ensured that there is zero possibility of that changing for the foreseeable future. We settled in for a night of Schitt's Creek and oddly depressing NYE broadcasts, and yours truly is the only one who made it to midnight! With the monotony of stay-at-home life, I think it's important to try and plan different things to look forward to. Valentine's Day hasn't always been a "big deal" in our household, but what I've noticed over the years is that if you treat everything as "not a big deal", you start to look back and realize... you haven't made anything a "big deal" in a while. Paired with significant USPS delays, I'm planning for next months' activities now  so that our Valentine...
    Post a Comment
    Read more