Butter celebrates! (and champagne cupcakes!)

If you’ve been reading this blog for a little while, you might remember I’ve baked from the Butter Baked Goods cookbook a few times.  The first book from Rosie Daykin of Butter Baked Goods in Vancouver features over 100 recipes for classic baked goods.  I made the ‘no fail’ marshmallows, gorgeous pumpkin chocolate chip blondies and took part in an all-Butter dessert get together with my Cookbook Book Club. It’s a beautiful book full of recipes you will bookmark – childhood favorites that you will want to make over and over again.

Rosie’s second book, Butter Celebrates! was released last month and I was really interested to see a copy. A collection of baked goods for every celebratory occasion? Bring it on!

“What kind of celebration could it be without baked goods?”

In the book’s introduction, Rosie breaks down the idea of a “celebration”, suggesting it is much more than “ceremonies of respect, festivity or rejoicing”.  She believes each celebration, each special event or holiday should include some kind of baked good to offset the potential stress they produce.  Butter Celebrates! is a collection of recipes for a year’s worth of celebrations as well as tips for making the most of life’s special events and milestones. Holidays celebrated in the book include Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Easter, Hallowe’en, St Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, New Year’s Day and St Patrick’s Day. In addition to these widely celebrated occasions, the book includes recipes for events such as welcoming a new baby or new neighbours and even treats for a pet’s birthday! Rosie’s set out to “inspire you to celebrate life and to create new traditions and memories along the way.”

It’s a beautiful book (Janis Nicolay’s photography will make you want to bookmark nearly every recipe!) and it certainly is fodder for you to start planning your 2016 celebrations! It’s definitely inspiring me to take the time out of a busy life to stop and celebrate, well, life.

I’ve only made the one recipe from the book so far (but have bookmarked many) so look out for a full book review in the new year when I have had a chance to bake a little more.  The recipe I chose for today’s post screams “celebration” to me. I mean, Champagne. Cupcakes. What’s not to love?

I’ve made champagne cupcakes before (actually a pretty similar recipe although I only used egg whites) and was interested to see the difference. Mainly I wanted to see how “Champagne-y” these tasted! The cakes were perfect – not too dense, not so fluffy they couldn’t stand the weight of the buttercream – but the secret here is in a lovely little Champagne syrup that you brush over the cakes as they cook. It really intensifies the Champagne flavour and is quite delightful. The buttercream (also infused with Champagne) was light and fluffy (although the amount the recipe made is about double what I would use to frost 12 cupcakes…). These will become a standard for celebrations in my house – I took them to a dinner party on the weekend and even at the end of a bit of an epic meal, where people “didn’t have room for dessert”, these were devoured. They are, in fact the perfect end to a holiday meal – it’s just that small hit of sweet (and Champagne!) that you need.

Cheers!

Butter Baked Bloggers!

Today a group of Canadian bloggers are celebrating Rosie’s book by baking up a delicious storm and hosting a pretty awesome giveaway! Check out what everyone brought to the dessert table (then enter the contest!)

• Mardi from eat. live. travel. write. made Champagne Cupcakes
• Jenny from The Brunette Baker made Guinness Cake with Pretzels
• Meg from Sweet Twist of Blogging made a Lemon Loaf
• Heather from The Tasty Gardener made Cinnamon Heart Cookies, Empire Cookies, Coconut Nest Cookies and Cookie Jar Cookies
• Libby of Libby Roach made Gingerbread Guys
• Robyn from What’s Cooking on Planet Byn made Orange Gingerbread Cake
• Jan from Family Bites made Animal Cookies
• Tessa from Style Sweet CA made Chocolate Gingerbread Genoise
• Jacquee from I Sugar Coat It made Eggnog-less Bars
• Christina from Strawberries for Supper made ‘Hostess’ Cupcakes
• Kelly from Kelly Neil made Peppermint Nanaimo Bars
• Amanda from Once upon a Recipe made Banana Pecan Caramel Cake
• Gwen from Devour and Conquer made Pannetone

Butter Celebrates! giveaway

Thanks to the kind folks at Random House Canada and Rosie herself, you could win a personally signed Butter Celebrates! cookbook and a box of goodies from her bakery, Butter Baked Goods in Vancouver, BC. (A $125 value!)

• This giveaway is open to all legal residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority at the time of the contest in the province or territory in which they reside. Void in Quebec.
• Winner must answer a skill-testing question.
• No purchase necessary to enter.
• Giveaway will run from Wednesday, November 25, 2015 at 12:01am to Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 11:59pm. Winner will be contacted via email and name will be displayed on Rafflecopter widget. Email address will never be given out to any third party or anyone for that matter.
• Prize value is approximately $125.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

Order your copy of Butter Celebrates! on Amazon (this link should bring you to the Amazon store in or closest to your country) or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository.

 

 

 

Please note: The product links from Amazon and The Book Depository are affiliate links, meaning if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price which goes towards maintaining eat. live. travel. write. Thank you in advance!

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Disclosure: Random House Canada provided me with a review copy of Butter Celebrates! I have not been compensated for writing this post. All opinions are my own.