Cupcakes, Candy, SweetWorks, Giveaway!

There are three things you should know about me, and each has to do with candy.

1.)  I loved the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  And that’s how I envision every candy factory being run.  Yes, even today!

2.)  My sister and I were once mad scientists and put Pop Rocks candy in a bottle of soda while we were sitting in our dad’s car.  Whoa!

3.   I’ve conspired with SweetWorks candy to show you some of their awesome new products, and in return they are sponsoring a GREAT giveaway here at The Joy of Caking!

Don’t you just love it when I tell you my secrets?  Now, let me tell you a few of SweetWork’s. secrets.

SweetWorks, Inc. is a candy manufacturer and distributor located in Buffalo, NY.  Their brands include Sixlets, Oak Leaf, Niagara Chocolate, Ovation, and Celebration candies.  And if that’s not enough, they are the parent company for Florida Tropic and Bubble King.  This corporation produces some of the most popular candies out there.

Since I typically blog about baking it only seemed appropriate to share SweetWorks Celebration line with you.

The Celebration line offers an unbelievable variety of beautifully colored Pearls (smaller, harder) candy coated balls that taste similar to a Jawbreaker in flavor, and Sixlets (larger, softer) candy coated balls that have a sweet chocolaty flavor.  Both are gluten-free.

To show you just what you can do with the Pearls and Sixlets I started out by making lemon cupcakes with a white vanilla buttercream icing.  I’ll share that recipe with you later this week – I promise. 

I decided to focus on three decorating themes to give a sense of just how useful these decorations are.   I am sharing my finished cupcakes in the form of three virtual parties!

The first party is….

Both the brightly colored and shimmering Pearls and Sixlets turned my simple lemon cupcakes into a cute and inviting baby shower theme. 

The second party is…

 

I knew immediately when I saw the shimmering gold and silver Pearls and Sixlets that I was headed toward a wedding shower theme.  I only wished I knew someone who was getting married soon so I could show these off in the real world and not just the virtual world.  All I can say is elegant!

And the last party…

What is a birthday without candles?  A great one in my estimation…   Especially when they illuminate the whole room and the fire department has to be on standby!  Again, these bright and shimmering Pearls and Sixlets offer an eye catching and festive birthday celebration. 

Now, a word about my experience with Celebrations candy.

Neither the Pearls or Sixlets melt in your hands when you handle them and they’re durable. The colors also didn’t run when they came in contact with the frosting. I actually frosted my cupcakes the night before and left them out at room temperature before taking my pictures the following morning.

I would offer a word of caution where the Pearls are concerned.  They are considerably harder than the Sixlets and they might be too hard for small children or people with dental concerns.  The Sixlets make the perfect alternative in those situations.

I have had so much fun working with SweetWorks and their candies. And now it’s your turn to have some fun!

SweetWorks is offering an assortment of eleven bottles of Pearls and Sixlets to one lucky TJOC reader.

This contest is now closed.  The winner is CindyB – congratulations!

To enter: Leave a comment on this post telling me which of the three virtual parties you liked the best.

For additional entries:

Follow SweetWorks on Pinterest, Facebook, and/or Twitter. 

Follow The Joy of Caking by Email, RSS, Pinterest, and/or Twitter.

Pin on Pinterest

Share on Facebook (with the link to this post)

Tweet this on Twitter:  Win Celebration Candy from @SweetWorks and @thejoyofcaking (with the link to this post).

Make sure you leave a comment for each of the actions you take in order to qualify for additional entries.  Eleven possible entries per person!

This contest is open to US Residents only.  The giveaway will close and the winner will be randomly selected on April 6th. 

Disclosure:  SweetWorks provided the candies for this post.  All opinions are my own.

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Wine, and more wine… 1st stop, Eleven Lakes Winery

As it happens, my birthday is fast approaching, and when my husband asked me how I wanted to celebrate turning another year older, it didn’t take me long to spit out my answer.  Wine tasting!  This was no surprise to him, since he knows how much I appreciate our local wines, foods, and farms.  

One more thing,  I added.  Not on a busy weekend when there are so many people bellied up to the tasting bar that you can’t squeeze in, but on a weekday when you don’t have mass crowds to contend with. 

So, one day this last week, we set off on my birthday adventure.  The plan, hubby would be the designated driver, isn’t he sweet?  And I, the official taster. Plenty of sunshine, the glistening waters of Cayuga Lake, and colorful fall foliage welcomed us down this glorious wine trail.

Our first stop of the day, Eleven Lakes Winery situated on Route 89, in the small hamlet of Canoga, on the north west side of Cayuga Lake.  

Upon entering the tasting room we were greeted by Matt, who I learned during the visit is the owner of Eleven. Matt was working behind the bar and happily poured samples, answered questions, and gave me permission to take  pictures.  The wines I tasted follow. 

After a great tasting, it was time to shop.  My favorite –  Moonglorious.  “A party in a bottle and is best enjoyed with friends.”  Eleven Lakes Winery is a definite must stop.  I enjoyed their friendly atmosphere, and great wines!   A great start for a birthday celebration.

Click Eleven Lakes Winery to learn more.  They can also be found on Facebook.

Next stop?  Cobblestone Farm Winery & Vineyard

In the middle of making a carrot cake

I have procrastinated all day long.  I had good intentions of baking a cake earlier in the day but it’s been a lazy day for me.  The weather is crummy, and frankly, my time this morning was spent watching Runaway Jury.  Good movie…  When I couldn’t make up my mind what kind of cake to make today I  asked my husband.  Would he prefer a yellow cake with a lemon filling, or a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting?  I knew what his answer would be.  Carrot of course!  I found a great recipe for carrot cake in a Williams Sonoma Baking cookbook that I bought for his birthday one year.   I’ve made this cake before and the first time it turned out great – nice and moist..   When the cake is finished I’ll post a picture or two and the recipe. 

I spent some time looking at some vintage recipe books today too.  That’s  a topic I definitely will have to spend more time on in a future post.