These Cupcakes Are The BOMB-Literally!

Frangipani-made with meringue powder

So I've finally mastered the art of the bath bomb cupcake. It's not perfect, but it looks like a cupcake! I now realize that my problem with the first couple of batches was that I was using plain powdered egg whites and not meringue powder. Oh yeah, there is a difference. Powdered egg whites are just that and nothing more, whereas, meringue powder contains corn starch, cream of tartar, and silicon dioxide (an anti-caking agent) in addition to the egg whites.The plain egg whites would not solidify-easily. The texture of the frosting is visibly smoother and the swirls are not as defined-but they're still wonderful, I think. I had to use a cup and a half of confectioner's (powdered) sugar in addition to a cup of corn starch just to get it to thicken up.

Caribbean Queen-made with powdered egg whites

With these cupcake bubble bombs, I used 12-14 oz of confectioner's sugar, and it thickened up nicely-after about 10-12 minutes of whipping it with my hand mixer. The pink frosted ones are scented in Frangipani, or plumeria, while the peach-colored ones are scented in what I call Caribbean Queen-a thick, fruity concoction of raspberries, ripe, juicy peaches, sweet strawberries, cherries, mandarin oranges, grapefruit and a splash of pineapple and mango-OMG! I need to make a soap with this scent!

So I have my floral and my fruity bomb. Now I need a true bakery-scented bomb, and an essential oil blended bomb. I'm having fun...

Just A Photo...Or Two

I took this picture to get a gauge on just how colorful (or un-colorful) my soaps are. I personally have a problem with a lot of brown soap. Don't ask me why, it's just want of the many quirks I own. Anyway, I like how this one turned out. I'm amazed at my progress in soap making. While I haven't tackled the fancy swirls and intricate patterns, I love soap with texture-whether it's seeds, leaves, flowers, grains...-and I have quite a few texturous (yep, made that one up) soaps.

Now to about those intricate patterns...

Not Quite How I Envisioned It....

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Bottom

I wanted this soap to be a bright, obnoxious shade of pink, but I obviously did not use enough raspberry pop oxide.I scented these flowers in Perfect Peony. I have plenty of that fragrance so I just may try again, but I can't help to be disappointed at the outcome. I think I'll try again and relegate these to the Family Fug...

A Facial Soap

I'm really reluctant to call this soap a "facial" soap because it implies that it's only good for the face-because it isn't! But I did make this soap specifically for the face. I'm not an esthetician or dermatologist, but I know what my skin likes: gentle, slightly moisturizing cleanser (I say slightly because I have sensitive yet acne-prone skin-WTF?) with some beneficial ingredients.

I love this soap if I do say so myself. It's made with 90% olive oil and 10% coconut oil. I scented it in eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils because they're both anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial-just what my fickle skin needs-especially now that it's getting warmer. I swirled it with French red clay which is another natural detoxifier and exfoliator. French red clay also draws excess oil and impurities from the skin so if you have dry to very dry skin this soap may be a little much. The fragrance is light yet botanical like you'd expect an essential oil-scented soap to smell. It'll be in the shop by week's end:)

Buffy Goes Hawaiian

Sunnier skies are upon us, and I wanted to give Buffy a makeover for spring and summer. She's now green and scented in coconut lime. The lather is insane considering that it actually has salt in it. Yep, that's about all, lol. Happy-rest-of-the-weekend!

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