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the dipping of beeswax birthday candles…a tutorial

By on September 17, 2013 in Birthday Celebrations, Sewing and Crafts

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Yesterday I posted the honey cake recipe which so many of you requested so it’s only fair I guess that I share a quick how to on making your own beeswax birthday candles.  You ask for it 🙂

We usually make the birthday candles for the upcoming year on Candlemas though making them on someone’s birthday was definitely fun.  We forgot to make one for Matthew last winter.  So simple really and even the little ones can join in.  You only really need a few things, beeswax, string for the wick, a container to melt the beeswax in and a skewer to help dip the wicks.

I use an old jam jar.  I think it came from some organic strawberry jam purchased at the store, it is tall and skinny so you need less beeswax and when you are done making candles you can just put the lid on the jar and keep the leftover beeswax until the next time you want to make some.

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Shall we get started?

First, chop up your beeswax in small pieces, the smaller the faster it will melt.  I shave some off my big block of beeswax with a knife.  Put the glass jar or can inside a small pot with enough water in it to cover up to the level of the beeswax in the jar.  Heat it slowly until the beeswax is all melted.

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Cut your wicks a few inches longer than you want your candles.  Tie the wick end to the end of a skewer.  I have these neat little loopy things which make dipping easier but skewers will work just fine.

Dip the wick in the beeswax and let it sit for a minute for the first dip so the beeswax really gets into the wick.  Pull it out and with your finger, carefully (its hot) pull it down and hold it so that it dries straight.  Do this with all the wicks.

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Now comes the fun part.  Dip the wick in for a few seconds, longer than that and the beeswax melts off and you get no where.  Pull the wick out of the beeswax and let it drip and dry for a minute or so.  Repeat until the candle is the thickness you want it.  Hang it and let dry.  Once dry, cut it off of the skewer and leave enough wick to burn on the top of the candle but not too much.

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Enjoy!

I’ll be back tomorrow with Livie’s finished crocheted tunic!!  See you then.

 

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honey cake and basil lemon frosting recipe

By on September 16, 2013 in Birthday Celebrations, Recipes

Woo,  so sorry about not getting this recipe posted on Saturday as promised.  My momma and poppa are here and there is so much catching up to do.  It is so good to have them here in my home with us.  We are enjoying all the stories, laughs, amazing food and hugs.  I myself have been encouraging my poppa to tell us as many of his jokes as possible.  The best part for me is when he laughs so hard at his own jokes that it gets hard to hear the punchline.  Oh that laugh of his, it does my heart good.

I have a little surprise later this week for all of you, my own momma and poppa will do a guest post here Thursday and Friday and will share two of their very good recipes.  You are lucky, trust me!

Onto the recipe.  This cake is so delicious.  Everyone who has it asks for the recipe and it is one of my favorites especially for first birthday cakes as you may have seen during Matthew’s birthday last week.  The cake is just sweet enough and goes perfectly with the sweet, lemony basil frosting.

Note:  This makes a small cake.  If you need to make two layers then you will need to double the recipe.

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Honey Lavender Cake with Basil Lemon Frosting (adapted from Apples for Jam cookbook)

12 tbsp butter

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1/2 c honey

3 tbsp water

1 3/4 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp lavender flowers

2 eggs, beaten

Grease a cake pan really well and flour it.  In a small saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, honey and water.  Simmer gently until the butter and sugar are dissolved.  Stir it a few times to make sure it does not stick to the pan.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add the honey butter mixture, lavender flowers and eggs to the flour and beat until all the lumps are gone but do not overbeat.  Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until done.

 

Lemon basil frosting

2 c confectioners sugar

7 tbsp softened butter

1/2 tbsp  lemon zest

1 tbsp of fresh basil, finely chopped, about 2 or 3 big leaves

4 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Optional: If you would like a more whipped consistency to the frosting add 1 1/2 tbsp water.  Otherwise, the frosting is nice and thick.

In a bowl, blend all the ingredients until smooth, if too stiff add a teeny bit more water or lemon juice and if too thin add more confectioners sugar.

 

 

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