free tutorial on how to create a chocolate christmas tree!

Yah, I know what you're gonna say, I'm late... Christmas is here. 
Well, I had a bad case of the flu in the past two weeks. In the midst of it all I was thinking of you !
I had this great idea for a gift/ table center for your holiday dinners. 
But I guess you bought all the gifts you want for everyone. And you probably know what you'll use for decor. In the small chance you haven't had the chance- here is my idea for you. my Christmas gift to you.

My gift is a tutorial on how to make a hand crafted , easy to make, tasty chocolate christmas tree!

Let's start!

You will need everything you see in the photo: 

Click on the template, then right button click it and save it as a photo. Finally print it.

My template for 1-3 tree sizes to use all or choose the one you want, cut from regular print paper. 

A pencil ruler, craft cutting blade, strong glue, I used UHU, tape, glue gun, gold craft wall paper, a golden star attached to a toothpick, thin foam board. 

I already cut mine. You'll need three triangles. And a pair of scissors. 

Start by gluing the sides of the foam board using glue and some clear tape. 

Attach two pieces of the foam, first. pointy end to pointy end. Once arranged to your liking attach the third piece.

Looking from the bottom it should look like a pyramid- something like this:

Cut your gold wallpaper and attach it to the sides of your pyramid. 

Don't worry about it if it doesn't look perfect. you will be attaching chocolates to cover pretty much the whole thing.

Next, heat your glue gun. Place a dot of hot glue on the choclate wrapping 

And quickly attach it flose to the tip of the pyramid.

Continue adding chocolates in the same way. You can arrange them tightly close, or further apart. That's up to you.
Once you finsh one side continue to the next one. I switched colord for each side, but you can either use the same color for the whole tree or mix them on all sides.

Finally attach a heart to the end of a toothpick. using the glue gun, glue it to the top op the tree!

These trees will be a hit in your christmas party. 
You can wrap them in cellophane and give them as gifts or use them to decorate your table and serve at dessert time! A great treat!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What can you do with you leftover cupcake liners?

I have this problem, once in a while.

I bake cupcakes and use beautiful cupcake liners for a beautiful presentation, but then I get stuck with a few left overs.

This usually happens to me when I try a new recipe, and I end up with 30 cupcakes instead of 32 or 35, the number of cupcakes that was stated in the recipe. 
Do you have this problem?

Well, I gotta tell you, this is kind of upsetting. Because until now I had no idea what to do with these liners. I couldn't just through them out, because I was sure i'll use them someday... I just didn't know how or when.  

A few days ago I counted my leftover liners and found that I have 40 different liners. 

Yesterday I got an email from one of my friends, with lots of tips and tricks for the kitchen. Usually I don't bother opening these emails, I honestly don't have the time.( between 3 kids, a hubby and a business to run)
But I was intrigued, and found this great idea:

Use your liners to keep your drinks bug free

So I decided to check the web for more ideas ( why didn't I think of that earlier?! )

I just love the fact that people are sooo creative. I found tons of ideas. 
Here are the ones I liked best:

Let's start with the easiest one:

photo by: James Wojcik

Make a small hole in a sturdy cupcake liner
and insert the pop-sickle stick through the hole. Tada! you created a drip free sticky free solution. (i'll be keeping 2-3 liners in my purse for my son. He really needs this, actually I need it:)  )

Another simple and great idea, I got from yammiesnoshery blog. Although, I suggest using these in a different way than Yammie. 
I suggest melting some dark chocolate, and using a narrow flat paint brush- brush cupcake liners with a thick coat of the melted chocolate. This way you'll have a more durable chocolate shell.
When done, place your liners in a cupcake pan and place in the fridge until set. Pour Chocolate mousse and set remove liner peeling it slowly, and serve! 

Christmas is just around the corner, check out these ideas: 

I found these lovely snowflakes here, and the tutorial on how to create these snowflakes made from cupcake liners, is here.

Create floral toppers for your cupcakes, for your dinners or as gifts. I would really go wild with colors and design.
You can find the instructions for the cupcake floral liners here at Icingdesigns

Kelly from Imperfect homemaking created a cheerful wreath. You won't believe how easy it is!  
Check out her cupcake liners wreath tutorial here

Last but by no means least, is this beautiful Daffodil cupcake arrangement. A great idea for your holiday gifts. the Daffodil cupcakes are actually cupcake pops! check them out here at Ashely's blog cute as a fox












What do you do with left over cupcake liners? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Cake Away!

Sharon