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First thing first!

...I wanna apologize to all the icon contests and stuff. ;; I might not be able to enter for a couple of weeks until I find my photoshop disc. D: 'Cause'cause. My computer had to system restore after it got a virus that BLOCKED my antivirus program from starting up. /)_(\

(Honestly, I don't even know how I got it. It happened while I wasn't even IN the room, I came back and all of a sudden my computer was like EPIC FAIL UP IN HERE.)

Anyway, so I'm still gonna run all_icontest but I don't think I'll be able to enter anything for a bit. D: Sorry.

...But yeah that's pretty much the it for news about me. Summers are boring as hell and I want school to start again and I also want to get a job again but NONE of those seem to be working out right now. =_=;

In other news, my grandpa has taken to yelling at me for being short. I can't reach the top of the closet, of course I have to throw the apron up there. Don't yell at me for folding everyone's fucking laundry because I'm too short to get it up there normally. Do it your fucking self next time.


Simple Syrup
Okay, this first recipe is really really damned easy and also really useful. It won't go bad unless you leave it out for some kind of creature to get, too. You use this on cakes-- any kind of cakes, including cake mixes if that's what you want-- to make sure that the cake stays moist as can be as well as enhance the flavor of whatever cake it is.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Procedure
For this recipe, you put both the sugar and the water into a pot and put the heat on high. Watch it carefully and when it just starts boiling, take it off of the heat. If you leave it to boil you'll end up with something more than syrup. The color should be slightly yellowed, but mostly transparent. Allow it to cool before you put it on cakes. Also, if you don't want to make more or less, you can add as much as you want as long as the amounts of sugar and water are equivalent to each other in the mixture.

Caramel
Caramel's really simple to make, but it requires a lot of attention. This is for the hard caramel for candies and for crumbling, by the way, not caramel sauce.

Ingredients
Sugar
Butter

Procedure
You will need a frying pan for this recipe. The measurements depend on the size of the frying pan. I also suggest having already prepared what it is you're going to use the caramel with beforehand, as it is very important to mold the caramel while hot.

Now then, first start by pouring sugar into the frying pan to cover its flat surface. You should not be able to see the frying pan through the sugar. Turn the heat as high as it will go and watch it. The sugar will brown and begin to boil. As soon as it begins boiling, add butter. If it's a small frying pan with a 6-inch surface, about 1-2TBSP will do. If it's a large 12-inch, I suggest perhaps 1/4 of a cup. This will give the caramel a rich taste and make it much more malleable. After you put the butter in, do not mix it, but shake the pan back and forth over the fire. Be careful not to splash the caramel though, as sugar burns are extremely painful. Sugar has to be almost 400F to boil, so that will give you an idea of how hot the mixture is going to be. Carefully watch the color of the caramel until it is a medium golden color. Remember: The lighter the color it is, the sweeter the caramel will be. The darker the color, the more bitter it will be. So unless you really like bitter caramel, I suggest going for a light-medium.

When you've reached your desired color, turn off the heat and immediately pour the caramel onto the pastry you are planning on covering it with or, if you are going to mold it, a heavily greased surface to wait for it to cool to touchable levels. There will be a point during which it will be much like candy caramel, malleable, and that is the point at which you need to mold it. It will still be fairly warm at this point, but it won't burn you.

Be safe and have fun! :)