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I was given this challenge from Kraft to "zest up my life" and I choose to step out of my comfort zone and bake things I've never tried before.

My first attempt was chocolate souffle and I have to say I really surprised myself. It turned out wonderfully, and wasn't anywhere near as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I've already made it twice since I first posted.

My second challenge was to try my hand at a tarte tartin, which is fruit tart usually made with carmelized apples, that is cooked upside down and flipped before serving.

Again, I've always put this on my list of things to try, but have never been courageous enough to actually do it.

I have to admit, before starting this I was nervous. There were so many unknowns... How long do I cook the apples in the caramel sauce? How do I successfully press down the puffed pastry to make a seal? Will it really flip out of the pan and look somewhat like all the photos I see on the Internet?

And guess what... It worked (pretty much)! I can't tell you how excited I was yesterday when I was tasting my very first homemade tarte tartin... so fruity and carmely!

So what are my lessons from these two challenging desserts. I have two...

The first is that I've just got to try. I know it sounds trite, but it's true.  I have to get out of my own way, risk the possibility of failure, and get on with it.

And second, I learned that in order to get good at a recipe, I have to do it over and over again. Sounds like life, doesn't it? As I mentioned, I've now made the chocolate souffle twice since my first attempt, and each time it's gotten easier and better. I'm already looking forward to my next tarte tartin, because I know what to expect and what I might do a little differently.

I am definitely a more confident pastry chef today than I was two weeks ago.

I still have one recipe to go for the challenge. I think I might try my hand at crème brûlée or French macarons. I'm actually excited to conquer it, what a change! I'll keep you posted...

APPLE TARTE TARTIN RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen pastry dough
• 4 large apples (Granny Smith or another hard, tart variety)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Quarter apples and core them. You can see my apples are already browning. Toss them in a tablespoon of lemon juice to stop them from browning and to give them a little extra tartness.

Roll out the pastry dough. I used a 10 inch plate to cut out the top to my tarte.

In a cast iron skillet (or other oven safe pan), melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. As soon as it is melted, stir in 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Keep stirring until it starts to thicken and turns light brown.

Add the apples to the pan in a flower shape. I made a few smaller slices to place in the middle. Cook for 15 minutes until the apples are soft.

Remove from heat and carefully cover with pastry dough. I used the end of a fork to press down the edges around the apples, an improvisation that actually worked. Poke some steam holes in the dough.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the puff pastry is nicely browned. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.

Hold the plate over the skillet, and with oven mitts on, carefully turn it over. A few of the apples stuck to the pan so I used a spatula to get them off and place them on the tarte. But I'm still impressed with how it turned out and I seriously wish you could have tasted it!

Kraft Italian Dressing only has one goal in mind... tantalizing your tastebuds. And we're always looking for new ways to help you amp up your zest appeal. Like what you see? Let our Zesty Guy show you even more ways to spread a little zest at getmezesty.com.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kraft via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kraft.

Have you seen how popular gender reveal baby showers have become? For those of you who don't know, a gender reveal baby shower is when the mommy-to-be and daddy-to-be reveal the gender of their baby at the party. I really think the added element of surprise brings a lot of fun to these showers, especially when the guests get in on the guessing.

Michelle at Printabelle designed this incredibly cute "Who Will it Be?" gender reveal printables collection and I'm excited to be giving them away!

This collection includes: invitations, welcome sign, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, gift bags tags, mini candy bar wrappers, and a fun "Who will it be, a He or a She?" banner.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE:

• Gender reveal baby shower printables
• Gender reveal baby shower banner

Here is the whole collection...

Here are the individual files...

And remember, if you’d like any of these printables personalized, Michelle will do it for $3 per file! To learn more about Michelle and see all the printable collections, head to Printabelle and the Printabelle Facebook page.

For more inspiration, check out all these incredible gender reveal baby showers on our site!

I'm excited to share my favorite parties added to our site this week... A totally rad motorcycle party, a Cat in the Hat 1st birthday with an amazing cake and balloon figures, an Avenger birthday with tons of DIY details, and a birthday party for twins that will take your breath away...

Clockwise from top left:

• Frog Prince Paperie's Motorcycle Birthday
• Carol C's Cat in the Hat Birthday
• Jessica G's Avengers |Super Hero| Party
• Lillian O's Aurelia & Indiana's 3rd Birthday

I'm always blown away by your creativity. Can't wait to see what parties you put up this week!

 

 

 

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

Earth Day is approaching. Do you need some fun ideas for throwing an Earth Day party of your own?

How about making a solar system dessert table backdrop?

Ooh, how about throwing a fabulous spa party using some of these great ideas!

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful.

I thought this would be a fun post. We get so many amazing superhero parties, I thought I show off these awesome superhero cakes!!!

(Click on the photo to  see the party the cake is from.)

For more inspiration, check out these incredible superhero party ideas and check out our superhero board on Pinterest.

I was asked by Kraft to write a post about how I might try something new to "spice up" my life.

What immediately came to mind were all the things I'm afraid to make in the kitchen. In my fantasy, I am a fearless chef who can tackle anything. In reality, I tend to stick to what's safe (sound familiar, per chance?).

So for this post, I decided to take the bull by the horns and attempt two desserts that have intimidated me for years... chocolate soufflé and tarte tatin.

I got so excited to try them, I actually made the chocolate souffle over the weekend (see photo above). And it wasn't anywhere near as hard as I thought... I LOVED HOW IT TURNED OUT. It was so rich and creamy and light and fluffy. And the best party is I felt so proud of myself! I will be posting the recipe later in the week.

This weekend I'm going to attempt a tarte tatin. I think they're so beautiful, and I hope mine look something like the ones I drool over on Pinterest.

And for the third dessert I want to try, I was hoping to get suggestions from you of a dessert you're a little intimidated to make, but think I should attempt. If you have a dessert like this, please leave it as a comment in this post or email me at jillian(at) catchmyparty.com. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Here's another picture of my souffles because I still can't believe I did it!

Kraft Italian Dressing only has one goal in mind... tantalizing your tastebuds. And we're always looking for new ways to help you amp up your zest appeal. Like what you see? Let our Zesty Guy show you even more ways to spread a little zest at getmezesty.com.

 

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kraft via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kraft.

Have you ever wanted to design your own party printables, but didn't know where to start? Well, Beth Picard of My Friend Beth and Great Graphics, put together this video to show how simple it is to design a banner. And the best part is you get to create it exactly as you like! 

Hi, I'm Beth, and in this video I will show you a quick and easy way to make a banner. To do this, all you need is Photoshop Elements (version 10 or 11). If you don't have Elements, you can download a free trial from Adobe.

There are two ways you can change your pennant letters. You can save each page you make with 2 flags on it by going to "File: Save As" and choosing where to save it, and name it something like "Banner 1."

Or you can print out your banner pages as you go. If you print as you go, you can simply change the letters right on the two pennants you have, by highlighting the text (it still works when it is sideways), and just changing the letters.  I suggest saving each page, however, because if something doesn't print out correctly, you may want to redo it later.

What's so fun about creating your own printables is the possibilities for creativity are endless!

Here are some sample banners people have made using this same technique.

Fiesta Banner by Bella Grey Designs

Football banner by Church Hill Charm

Under the Sea Banner by Pink Wasabi Ink

Thanks, Beth, for this easy-to-understand tutorial. I definitely get intimidated by graphic design (although I'm getting braver) so thanks for breaking it down and making it look so easy!

Beth Picard teaches people how to use digital paper and clip art through her Photoshop Elements tutorials on her membership site, My Friend Beth.  She also sells digital paper backgrounds and digital clip art for invitations, party decorations and other crafts on Great Graphics.

 

Molly Allen from CakeFYI has developed another awesome treat for us!! It you're into salted caramel, you will love this...

There’s absolutely no denying that the salted caramel trend is here to stay. Today, I wanted to give you a simple blondie recipe, but with a kick. I drizzled them in sweet and salty caramel sauce and topped them with coarse salt for that authentic salted caramel look. Talk about the perfect treat!

Salted Caramel Blondies

Makes 9 Blondies with Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter, melted
• 1 C Brown Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 C Flour

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Beat melted butter and brown sugar together.

Add the egg.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the brown sugar mixture and mix until well combined to form a thick batter.

Spread batter into a greased, square pan.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow blondies to cool in the pan on a wire rack. While blondies are cooling, prepare Salted Caramel Sauce.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp Butter
• 3/4 C Brown Sugar
• 1/3 C Milk
• 1/2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tsp Salt

Directions:

Melt butter on low in a saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar, milk, and vanilla and whisk well. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Do not stir the sauce until it has boiled for 5 minutes.

Remove the sauce from the heat, add the salt, and whisk well. Transfer the sauce to a mason jar to let cool.

Once blondies have cooled, whisk 1 Tbsp of Powdered Sugar into the Salted Caramel Sauce. Drizzle Salted Caramel Sauce over blondies. Sprinkle with course salt. Enjoy!

 

Thank you, Molly, these are making my mouth water!

To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

What fantastic parties this week! Here are my favorites which include a mad scientist party, a petting zoo 1st birthday, a cowgirl birthday, and an Alice in Wonderland Party...

Enjoy these, I sure have!!

Clockwise from top left:

Sharnel D's Mad Scientist Party

Amy W's Ruby's 1st Birthday.. Petting Zoo Theme

Festinhas D's Alice in Wonderland Party

Melissa N's Country Western/Cowgirl Happy 6th Birthday

Can't wait for next week!

 The winner is Michelle Adkins!! Congrats, Michelle!!!

If you love specialty party supplies, then you will love our $75 giveaway from Via Blossom! Via Blossom sell all the best party decor, anything you need to make your party extra special and beautiful. In fact, I'm dying to get my hands on the berry baskets, chevron spoons, and vintage bottles... See some of their selection below.

Via Blossom is the result of two sisters, Cristina and Maggie, joining forces to bring you the most innovative and adorable mini-dessert presentations and party décor.  "We believe that love is in the details and delicious treats should always be accompanied by an exquisite presentation. Our handpicked product selection can be coordinated and mixed and matched to perfection, making party organizing a pleasurable experience."

To enter the giveaway, just "like" Via Blossom on Facebook below, then leave a comment at the end of this post saying you did it!

We’ll pick the winner at random on Thursday, April 18th at 10:00 PM (PST).  Any entries after that won’t be considered, sorry. We will use random.org to generate our winner and will notify the winner by email. Open to US residents only. Good luck!

This is a sponsored post.