Thanks to everyone who came out and supported 101.7 FM "The One" for their Charity Bake Sale & Car Wash in Goderich, Ontario this past week-end. Thanks to The One for inviting me out as a special guest for the day! We raised money for Relay For Life & The Canadian Cancer Society.

Hola everyone, So I hear JC over at The One radio station in Wingham, Ontario is gearing up for the big charity car wash and bake sale this Saturday july 17th in Goderich, On ... he has his bikini ready and is baking up a storm!
For more information please check out their website. 101.7 Event Page
Ill be there from 11-3pm helping them out! The charity event is for Relay For Life and the Canadian Cancer Society.
It will be a big week-end in Goderich most of you will already be going to listen to the pipe band at The Square so why not go with a clean shiny car and a cookie in your hand! P.S we are in the Zehrs/Walmart parking lot...I'm sure you can't miss J.C. in his bikini...LOL

This is a fabulous cupcake recipe for the summer. I bought fresh strawberries from a farm back home. Washed and then froze them. I find frozen strawberries are best as they add a little more liquid and blend easily. These cupcakes have been a real crowd pleaser. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup self-rising pastry flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup of frozen (thawed) pureed strawberries
1/2 cup of Strawberry Cream Liqueur ie Tequila Rose
1/4 cup milk
With a hand mixer beat sugar and butter together for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a pale yellow.
In a separate bowl sift together the flours and baking soda.
Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture; mix well.
Stir in the milk, pureed strawberries and Strawberry Cream Liqueur.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, blending as you go.
Spoon batter into lined cupcake tins; fill to about 3/4 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes app. 16 cupcakes.
let cool and ice cupcakes with Strawberry Icing
STRAWBERRY ICING
1/2 cup butter, softened
app. 2-2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/8 cup pureed strawberries
2 tbsp. Strawberry Cream Liqueur
Blend together butter, and strawberries.
Gradually add icing sugar and liqueur alternating as you go until you get a smooth creamy texture
Ice cupcakes and enjoy!

I had the pleasure of creating 13 new recipes for an upcoming show called Fresh Life. This is their second season and I was the dessert edition to the show. All recipes involve liqueur or spirits (poor me) ... lol it was great to get crafty in the kitchen and come up with some fabulous recipes. Thanks to the producers Marty & Kaaveh and the wonderful crew. Check out my facebook group for more photos Happy Baker Facebook Page. The show will launch someday in the fall ... ill keep y'all posted!

So I'm on day three of a cleanse/detox. My friend has given some great advice and it's time to recharge my engine. I consider this an oil change for the body...but not having caffeine... my beloved coffee is the toughest thing I have ever done! And what is even tougher is making mocha cupcakes while you can't even drink coffee. Mi Vida Loca! I'm gearing up for an upcoming TV shoot and my kitchen is full of yummy baked goods and I can't even lick the spoon...UGH. If I can do this I can do anything!

Starting this week I am doing the baking segments for a TV show all about cooking with alcohol. The baking segment is new for this season and my producer said I didn't have to bake every recipe with it. Maybe he thought it would be difficult for me and I told him "No...no...I prefer to. No problem!".
Thanks to Corby Distilleries LTD. for supplying the bottles! Corby Website. Details to follow about the TV show and some fun behind the scene photos.

Well I had a lovely dinner last night with one of my childhood friend's, her husband & kids. Her daughter Maleah is one of my biggest fans :-) and she demonstrated that with some crayons. Thanks Maleah!!

So my 29th B-Day (6th year in a row) was yesterday. Which is one of the best days to have a B- Day in Canada because it's Canada's Day. There are always fireworks, beer tents and free concerts what else could you ask for !? I celebrated with some family & friends at a concert in the Toronto beaches listening to a concert by my fav band as a kid ... Glass Tiger ... don't judge me:) They were announcing something over the speakers but because at this point I had a few mojitos aka vitamin water I was not paying attention. They dragged me to the main booth at the concert and prompted me to show my idea...weird....anywho it was for a contest the first person to come up and prove it was their B-Day won a prize pack. Yah ... it was full of baking & cooking supplies coincidence ... I think not! It also including a book by the first cookbook author I chatted with for guidance when I first started writing my cookbook. Sweeeet.

Creating recipe for upcoming TV segments ... details to follow soon!

Thanks so much Harlequin for making my visit amazing! We had an fantastic turnout and the book was well received...we even ran out of books. YAH! Can't wait for The Happy Baker's release date in October across the U.S.A.

For Everyone who loves Gingerbread and Dark Chocolate this recipe is for you! Add some spice in your life with this yummy cookie!!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 eggs

1 cup of dark chocolate chunks (at least 50% I used 70%) you can cut up a dark chocolate bar or I used Ghirardelli chocolate discs that I picked up from the Lindt outlet store.

Mix together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Stir in the eggs and molasses until combined. In a separate bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly on a lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy! Store cookies in an airtight container.

Check out my new video & recipe on CityLine ... City TV's Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

For Immediate Release: May 5 2010

Coming to America! THE HAPPY BAKER A DATER'S GUIDE TO EMOTIONAL BAKING By Erin Bolger

U.S. Rights Sold to Harlequin Appearing at BookExpo America May 25-27th 2010 TORONTO– Hot off the press: U.S. rights to THE HAPPY BAKER have been sold to Harlequin. The American edition will be available in stores nationwide in October 2010. Author Erin Bolger will be featured at BookExpo America (BEA) from May 25-27th and is ready to take on America!

"I'm extremely excited about being part of the Harlequin Non-Fiction family. They know my demographic better than anyone. I feel this is the perfect fit for The Happy Baker book in the United States and I can't wait to share my book." ~ Erin Bolger

Since being published in Canada in April 2009 and appearing on CBC’s The Dragon’s Den, THE HAPPY BAKER has travelled across Canada and abroad to Paris, France promoting the book and sharing her recipes. The book has received media attention and acclaim from papers across Canada from Calgary to Montreal to Ottawa to Toronto to her hometown of Blyth Ontario and she has appeared on a variety of television shows from Breakfast Television, a regular guest spot on Cityline to eTalk and The Steven & Chris Show on CBC as well as national magazines like Hello Canada and Style at Home.

“Online Bestseller at Chapters.ca”

“Voted one of the ‘Favourite cookbooks of 2009’ by The Montreal Gazette”

“Mixing up hilarious anecdotes with mouth-watering photos and easy recipes for all things gooey, this book is as entertaining as it is appetizing.” ~ Hello! Canada

Now THE HAPPY BAKER will be available in the U.S. market through Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. Harlequin is the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of books for women, with titles issued worldwide in 28 languages and sold in 114 international markets. For decades, Harlequin has published great romance imprints like Harlequin, Silhouette and Love Inspired. Also in young adult, Harlequin Teen is the home of authentic fiction for every young reader. Harlequin Nonfiction publishes memoirs, cookbook, diet, fitness, self-help and motivational, and relationship books. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin has offices in 19 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com.

Author Erin Bolger will be at the BookExpo America (BEA) May 25-27th with Harlequin. It is North America’s largest gathering of book trade professionals attracting an international audience. Organized with the support of association partners including the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the American Booksellers Association (ABA), BEA is recognized for the media attention it brings to upcoming books as well as for the notable authors it attracts to the convention itself. bookexpoamerica.com

Erin is constantly creating new recipes, some inspired by the latest Hollywood break-ups: "You Are Lucky I Didn't Rip Your Rum Balls Off" was inspired by Jesse James and is the ultimate emotional baking recipe for Sandra Bullock and "Indiscretion Surprise, Almond Sugar Cookies” is related to the Tiger Woods scandal.

People have been asking where is your Tiger Woods inspired recipe ... Alright People here it is: .... "Indiscretion Surprise, Almond Sugar Cookies" ... You take your typical brown sugar cookie but throw a little something extra into the mix. It looks all nice and perfect on the outside but has some crazy secrets on the inside ... 1 cup butter, softened ... 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed ... 2 eggs ... 1 tsp. vanilla ... 1 tsp. salt ... 1 tsp. baking soda ... 3 1/2 cups flour ... 4 Caramilk chocolate bars, broken into squares ... slivered almonds for garnish ... Preheat oven to 350* ... With a hand mixer mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined ... Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.; combine thoroughly ... Take one square of the Caramilk bar and form a small amount of dough around the caramilk ... concealing it ... Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and press to flatten. Un- baked cookie should be just over an inch in diameter ... Garnish with a few slivered almonds and press lightly into dough ... Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes; until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!!

Here is a recipe inspired by the recent "indiscretions" of Jesse James. What would I do and what would I bake when I finally allowed someone into my world and completely trusted him to only have him hook up with multiple women behind my back! ... Well of course I would be angry, seriously angry. I would need a recipe that called for a lot of smashing and also some alcohol. That recipe is "You Are Lucky I Didn't Rip Your Rum Balls Off" I told you it was angry... get out your hammer ladies there are some nuts that need to be crushed and by nuts I mean almonds .............................. 1 1/2 cups of almonds (smashed into very fine pieces and roasted in the oven at 325 degrees for app. 7 minutes; stirring often) ... 1 1/4 cups of vanilla wafer cookies (finely crushed) ... 1/2 cup icing sugar ... 3 Tbsp. cocoa ... 3 Tbsp. corn syrup ... 1/3 cup of rum ( I used Honey Rum from the Canary Islands) ... Thoroughly combine the crushed almonds, crushed wafer cookies, icing sugar and cocoa. Stir in the corn syrup and rum ... Put the mixture in the fridge to firm up for easier handling. Roll mixture unto small balls and then roll in icing sugar ( you will need about 1/4 cup of icing sugar to roll them in) ... Let rum balls sit in the fridge for a day or two it's really important for all the ingredients to hang out and get to know each other, adds to the overall flavour ...