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Sunday 9 December 2018

10 Great Online Buys for the Holiday Season under 1000 Rupees!



It's that time of the year!

The Festivities are just around the corner and everyone is busy, bustling and buzzing about- decorating their homes, planning menus, shopping for clothes, making last ditch (futile) attempts to lose weight, and already hoping for a better New Year.

Here at the headquarters of Cake, Chaos and Confetti, aka our home, Its hardly a "Holiday Season" because it's also Wedding Season here in Goa and we're inundated with work at our Cake Shop, CAKED!

So, I'm always looking for quick solutions for all my Holiday needs and find Online shopping on the go a complete saviour! I honestly do not have the time to make the rounds at the shops and prefer having all my shopping done with a click of the button and delivered home.

I thought why not share a few resources with you my ixxtts as well?! After all its tis the Season for caring and sharing.

So here following are a few great Christmas Decor buys from one of my favourite shopping sites Amazon.com. The Best Part? They're all under INR 1000/- !!

Click on the titles to take you straight to the link.

 A Really cute and compact piece to decorate your table for only 350/- INR!and it throws up interesting shadows too!



Comes alive!






Bright cheery Red Cushion Covers to brighten your living room for only 799/- INR.


GROSGRAIN RIBBON BUNDLE



A super assortment of ribbons for all your Gift wrapping and projects. All for under 700/- INR.


CHRISTMAS TABLECLOTH




Deck the table with this one for only 700/- INR


SANTA SERVING DISH



550/- INR for this cute round Santa Dish to serve your guests your Christmas treats.



TABLE RUNNERS






Table Runners in a variety of pattern options for only 750/- INR


CHRISTMAS TREE THEME DOORMAT 



A nice durable Coir Mat for a Festive welcome to everyone at 600/-INR only.

COASTERS




Aren't these coasters just the cutest? 399/- INR for a set of 4


WALL/DOOR STICKER


Wall Decal for your Front Door or your Kids Room? Get one for 350/-INR only.


REINDEER RED CUPCAKE LINERS/WRAPS 



Set of 50 reflective red cupcake wrappers to brighten up your christmas baking for 700/-INR.


So here's my round up of some great festive buys under 1000/- Rupees that you can buy sitting in the comfort of your house.


Happy Shopping!


Saturday 8 December 2018

Recipe File: Jujubes aka Jelly Jewels

This is one of the easiest recipes to do for your Goan Christmas Sweet Treats! 

Its also a fun way to get your kids to join in the Christmas preps and create memories of making sweets in their mom's kitchen. I certainly have many a fond memory of feeling very excited and self important when my own mom enlisted my help to make the Christmas Kunswar *. Be the folding of the Neureos or twisting the Kulkul dough in to those distinct shapes or forming neat balls of the Bolinha cookies.

My eldest Faith had a great time helping me make these tasty lil gummy treats. And now on to the recipe!

JUJUBES

Ingredients:

  • 500 gms Granulated white sugar 
  • Extra cup of sugar for dusting 
  • 3 1/2 tbsp Gelatine (Unflavored)
  • Juice of one Lime ( optional)

  • Food colouring of your choice ( we just made red and green ones)
  • Food Flavouring of your choice ( we used lime and strawberry)
Method:

Put Gelatine Crystals in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and let soak for about 10-15 mins till bloomed ( softened).

Combine 2 cups of water along with 500gms of sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it get a bit thick and syrupy ( About 10 mins).

Add Gelatine to the mix and lower heat. Cook mixture while stirring the Gelatine through till completely dissolved ( about 5-10 mins)

Add the lime juice and stir through.

Take mixture of the heat and separate into bowls to colour and flavour as per your choice.

Pour the flavoured and coloured mixes into seperate tins/ trays to set and at room temperature or in the fridge.

Cut into desired sized cubes and toss into the extra cup of sugar to coat each piece thoroughly.

Store in a airtight container outside and enjoy!



my lovely assistant

*Goan Christmas Sweet Treat Tray

Recipe File:Cranberry and Pistachio White Chocolate Fudge


 December time is no holiday for me. Being as I am in the business of  Wedding Cakes and Wedding Season is from November- February in Goa.

So come Christmas time I'm in a mad rush to get all my Shopping, Decorating, School Concerts, pre-cooking etc. etc. done while  I simultaneously juggle creating 5- tiered sugar confections that have to be delivered in person at wedding venues all over Goa.

Needless to say that time is not my friend in December.

And every year I tell myself I'll just buy a bunch of ready made Traditional Goan Treats and sweets to distribute to my neighbours, family and friends for Christmas. And Every year I feel guilty about going the ready made route ( like its somehow cheating) and end up spending one mad day prepping all my Sweet treats in a go!

Last year I made Jeweled Fruitcake, Chocolate Walnut Brownies, Goan Coconut Bhaathk, Potato Bebinca, Marzipan pumpkins, Date and Chocolate Nut Balls, Goan Neureos  and Kulkuls, Jujubes, Coconut Barfi and Cranberry and Pistachio White Chocolate Fudge..All in one day.



It was in hectic and mad but admittedly I mostly chose to use recipes that are quick, fairly simple and  time effective!

And now I'm going to share two of my Christmas Treat Recipes with you!Huzzah!

Lets start here with;

CRANBERRY AND PISTACHIO WHITE CHOCOLATE FUDGE

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (400 ml)
500 gm slab of White Chocolate ( or compound) ,chopped( about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
Red and Green food Colouring ( optional)

Method:

Grease an 8-inch square pan or line with butter paper. 

Combine the sweetened condensed milk and chopped white chocolate in a Thick bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. 

Mix until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth and thick.

Once smooth and just a bit viscous, take off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Then chuck in the cranberries and pistachios. And finally stir in the salted butter and stir well till fully incorporated.

Gently put in 1-2 drops of Green and Red food colouring and swirl to form a marbelized pattern ( Can be omitted).

 Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula or tap a few times on the counter till even.

 Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or leave at room temperature overnight. 

Once set, lift the fudge out of the pan. Cut the fudge into 1-inch squares. Can be stored for about 8-10 days at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Sunday 2 December 2018

20 Pretty Plus Size Party dresses for the festive season under 2k





Finding trendy and fun dresses in India for our generously proportioned sisters is a task all by itself. 

Trust me, I completely understand!

Just as I was adjusting and learning to accept my newly acquired plus sized form, I found that shopping for a nice dress was an extremely frustrating and demotivating affair. There were hardly any brands that catered to this large ( no pun intended!) market. 

The ones that did make plus sizes had depressing, outdated , matronly looking patterns that would would take the joy out of dressing up!

But luckily things are slowly but surely improving and there are better options out there now for pretty party dresses in bigger sizes. Most of them retail online (yay) and its a far more pleasant experience.

Where one doesn't need to have a melt down in a claustrophobic dressing room, trying to zip up the too snug, frumpy looking sad dress and handing back the offending garment to a judgmental and smug faced shop assistant with a teary eyed and unnecessarily apologetic, " It's  a bit small.."
Not a true story at all.

Anywaaay....

I promise you'll be the belle of any ball in these gorgeous numbers aaand have money left over for a killer pair of heels!


Sunday 28 October 2018

Wedding Cake Trends 2018: Watercolours and Handpainted Florals


These amazing masterpieces are like Enchanted Gardens for a modern day Fairytale wedding.

Dainty pastel watercolour washes and fade away effects are layered with lush decadant flowers and wines that meander wild and free all over the cakes. 3d handcrafted Sugar flowers masterfully laid over the Handpainted flowers give it a whimsical dreamy quality.

All reminiscent of a bountiful Garden of Eden!


















Pick one of these beauties if you envision a very Romantic Wedding that is feminine, elegant and whimsical!