Polka Dot Pinwheels giveaway!

Erin from Polka Dot Pinwheels has generously offered a Cakewalk reader a set of 8 personalized party pinwheels made to match your party theme and color. Erin adds a personalized message to the center of each pinwheel making them extra special. They are fabulous as party decorations or favors!
Two ways to enter:
Visit Polka Dot Pinwheels then come back and leave a comment about how you would use the pinwheels.
Become a fan of Cakewalk Baking on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you've done so.
Enter now until Friday, July 23rd by noon pacific time. Winner will be announced Friday evening and will be contacted via email. Open to US residents only.

Score!

I was thrilled to stumble across these adorable vintage 1/2 pint milk bottles at one of my favorite thrift stores yesterday. They're a perfect size for little kiddos and would look so charming on a dessert table (cookies & milk anyone?). I held back at buying a dozen, but I might have to go back and scoop up a few more.


And they look cute with flowers too!

DiY Fringe Party Hats

Hop on over to Birthday Girl to check out my complete party hat tutorial. Thanks to Sherry Heck for all of the fab photos.

For the locals: Cakewalk at Crackerjacks

I'm so excited to be helping Crackerjacks, children's consignment and boutique, celebrate the grand opening of their new digs at 4009 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland this Saturday. Crackerjacks offers a selection of gently used children's & maternity clothing and baby gear as well as lovely handcrafted toys, organic bath products, adorable shoes and much more. I will bring mini-cupcakes for customers big & small to enjoy while shopping at the new, much larger location. Saturday, June 26th/ 10 am - 6 pm.

Ice Cream

I love making ice cream at home and I'm always in search for new recipes. I often find when making a custard style recipe the result is too rich and 'eggy' tasting, so I was intrigued when I found this Farm Chicks recipe published in Country Living magazine that used considerably fewer yolks than I'm used to. The recipe also eliminated the time consuming step of tempering the eggs when making the custard and added half & half in addition to cream and milk. The yield was huge so I made two batches adding 1 tsp peppermint extract and itty bitty chocolate chips to one and 1 tbl vanilla to the other. Using my trusty (but incredibly loud - does anyone else have this problem??) Cuisinart Supreme , I whipped up my ice cream. The base is rather thin, so I think a night in the fridge would make it firm up a bit quicker, but I can never be that patient. YUM! I was very happy with the results of both batches - nice texture, perfect sweetness and flavor. I think this will be my go to recipe from now on and I can hardly wait to make the chocolate & peanut butter variations!