Crazy About Cakes

Spiced Cake Doughnuts

2011-10-25T19:15:00.001-06:00

I found a recipe today from Taste of Home to make Spiced Cake Doughnuts. Having never made doughnuts before, I was really excited to make these. The kids and I got right to work.

Spiced Cake Doughnuts

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

5 Cups All-purpose Flour

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1 Cup Grated Peeled Apples

Oil for deep-fat frying

Browned Butter Frosting:

1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

3 Tablespoons Butter

1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1-3/4 Cups Confectioners' Sugar

Colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fold in apples. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2 inch doughnut cutter. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar and butter to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until lightly thickened. Pour into a small bowl; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cream; beat until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until frosting achieves desired consistency. Frost doughnuts; top with sprinkles. Yield: 22 doughnuts.

These doughnuts were a big hit at my house! For me, the frosting was the best part. What a great Fall treat!

Pumpkin Shaped Chicken Rolls

2011-10-24T00:04:00.001-06:00

Today we went to a party at my mom's house, and I was asked to take something to eat with a Fall/Halloween theme. This is what I came up with.....

Pumpkin Shaped Chicken Rolls!

Aren't they cute? And they were delicious too. This is how I made them....

I started out by making my favorite roll recipe, and adding orange food coloring.

NEVER FAIL ROLLS

4 1/2 Cups flour

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Warm Water

1/2 Cup melted Butter

1 Cup warm water

2 Yeast Cakes (2 Tbsp.)

1 tsp. Salt

3 Well Beaten Eggs

Add yeast to 1/4 cup warm water and stir until dissolved. Add beaten eggs, sugar, 1 cup water, salt, and melted butter. Mix well. Stir in flour making a soft dough (will be slightly sticky). Cover and let rise to double in bulk. Punch down and place covered in refrigerator. Will keep 48 hours in the fridge. Roll out into rolls and let rise one hour before baking at 400 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes.

I rolled my dough out onto a floured surface, and cut out cute little circles.

Then I scooped Chicken Filling onto the center of each one.

Here is my Chicken Filling Recipe.....

Chicken Filling

2 Cups cooked cut-up boneless chicken

3 ounces cream cheese

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

1 Tablespoon Chopped Chives or Onion

2-3 Tablespoons Milk

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Mix All Ingredients Together In a Bowl.

After scooping the chicken filling on all of the circles, I folded them up into balls.

***Make sure you pinch the seams tight, and put the seams face down on the pan.***

I diced up celery to use as my stems, and I placed them on top without poking a hole in the role.

They turned out perfect.

I baked them for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees.

Ahhhh.....Just Beautiful!

Ashley Turns Seven With The Painted Otter!!!

2011-09-27T15:06:00.000-06:00

Do you remember a couple of years ago when I posted about a Cupcake Decorating Birthday party? Well, we did it again! Ashley had another AWESOME birthday. She was able to share it with so many of her good friends.

At this party, the kids were able to use their creativity to decorate cupcakes and cookies. They had so many options to choose from! Pink, white, or chocolate cupcakes and sugar cookies (some regular, and some gluten free). Chocolate or white frosting. And oodles of candy to top them with. All of the creations were unique and delicious!

The highlight of the party was Melissa from THE PAINTED OTTER!

Melissa is a super talented artist who just started her own face painting business. I can't even put in to words how amazing her work is. Not only does she paint well, she is really good with kids. All of these little girls were so excited to get their faces painted.

She puts in so much detail.

And each design was unique....

.....and colorful.

Some had creatures...

...and some were just plain cute!

This party was a big SUCCESS!

THANK YOU SO MUCH MELISSA!

Right now The Painted Otter is having a drawing for a free deluxe Halloween face paint job. It is a $20 value! Alright my friends, all you have to do is like "The Painted Otter" on Facebook or subscribe to The Painted Otter's Blog. I would love for you to enter, and so would Melissa.

Vote For Me!!!

2011-03-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

I was recently nominated for Babble's Top 100 Food Mom Bloggers. I would love it if all of my dear friends could vote for me! Click Here to vote now. Thanks for all of your support!

An Edible Animal Cell Model

2011-02-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

My friend's son had an assignment for school where he was required to make a 3d animal cell model. It had to have all of the cell parts, such as the Nucleus, Nuclear Membrane, Mitochondrion, Golgi Bodies, etc. He was told that he could make the model out of anything as long as it wasn't something that could get smelly in a couple of days. Since one of his favorite shows is "Cake Boss", he decided he wanted to make it out of Rice cereal and fondant. He came over tonight so that I could teach him how to work with fondant. It was a lot of fun! After showing him what to do, it was fun watching him create his animal cell. I think it turned out great! His work was phenomenal. What do you think?

Pink Cupcakes...... A lot of Pink Cupcakes!

2011-02-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today I made 6 dozen cupcakes. They were for a Young Women New Beginnings. I thought they turned out great. They were frosted with about 5 different shades of pink frosting. And.....they were DELICIOUS, if I do say so myself! I experimented with the frosting and made it using butter, heavy whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. I really think it was the best tasting frosting I have ever made.

Now on to my next project.... A Girl Scout Thin Mint cake.

Cake Pops....Ryan's Class Treat

2011-02-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

I have been a room mother many times in my kids classrooms. Our school has a rule that you have to take treats that are store-bought. Well, I recently learned that if you have a Food Handler's Permit you can make treats at home. It's amazing that I just barely figured this out.

Anyway, I am the proud owner of a Food Handler's Permit. So, to celebrate Ryan's birthday I made cake pops for his class. Cake pops are some of my favorite treats to make. I didn't get too fancy with them, but I think the 8 and 9 year old kids in his class will LOVE them.

Happy 9TH Birthday, My Dear Ryan!

You can check out more of my cake pops HERE.

One Of My Favorite Blogs......

2011-01-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

There is a blog that I love to follow, because it always has a lot of good and easy recipes. I follow it by email, and look forward to each new post. And it really is one of my favorites. She is right up there with Pioneer Woman and Bakerella. Well, not too long ago, Tina at Mommy's Kitchen did a post on Sour Cream & Cherry Coffee Cake. Her post and pictures were AMAZING........enough to make anyone want to try it. Doesn't it sound heavenly? I had to give it a try because not only did it look delicious, but it looked simple to make. I like anything simple.

It only takes a few ingredients....

Here is Tina's Recipe........

Sour Cream & Cherry Coffee Cake
1 - 18 oz package white cake mix (I used a yellow mix, because that is what I had on hand)
1 - 8 oz container sour cream
3 - eggs
1/4 - cup water
1 - can cherry pie filling
1/4 - cup sliced almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a jelly-roll pan or 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Mix together the sour cream, eggs and water. Combine with the cake mix. Spread mixture into a greased baking dish and drop the pie filling over the batter in spoonfuls.

Make sure to swirl the pie filling throughout the batter. If not the pie filling will settle in the middle.Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. Test with toothpick for doneness. Cool in pan and drizzle with a simple icing if desired.

Simple Icing
1 ½ - cups powdered sugar
2 - tablespoons milk
½ - teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake and garnish with sliced almonds.

I went right to work making my own.

Here is my Sour Cream & Cherry Coffee Cake

I also made.......

Sour Cream & Apple Coffee Cake

and.......

Sour Cream & Blueberry Coffee Cake

I was so excited that I could substitute the cherry pie filling for other flavors. They were all so delicious, but my very favorite was the apple. You will have to give them a try and let me know what your favorite is.

Bread Making.........Addictive?

2011-01-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

I think so! And I'm not the one addicted.

My daughter just finished her Science Fair Project, and she did it on the accuracy of measuring when making bread. She had several people scoop a cup of flour. She determined that even though the same measuring cup was used, the amount was not always the same (due to packing or not packing, leveling or not leveling). Give or take about 6%.

She ended up making 3 batches of bread. But instead of measuring the flour with a cup, she weighed it in grams. Her first batch had the right amount of flour. Her second batch had 6% too little flour. And her third batch had 6% too much flour.

Next she had people taste the bread to determine if they could tell which one had the right amount of flour. The tasters liked all three, but the one with the exact amount of flour won the game. Good job Erin for a project well done!

My husband has really taken a liking to Erin's bread. The project was due last week, and he has made 3 or 4 batches of bread since then. So, as you can see, he is the addicted one......and it is WONDERFUL!

My house smells so good. Simplicity is the key. This bread recipe is very easy to make, and it tastes great. The crust is nice and crunchy, and the inside is so soft that it melts in your mouth. Did you know it only has 4 ingredients? Yeah, I was surprised too. Here is the recipe.....

1000 grams bread flour

20 grams salt

14 grams dry activated Yeast

600 grams of water

That's it! That's all you need. Now, grab a bowl and get ready to make this wonderful bread.

1. Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and give them a dry mix with a spoon.

2. Make a well in the center and pour in the water.

3. Gradually stir the flour into the water until it is all incorporated. Flour can vary or even humidity can make a difference so you might find you need to add a little more flour or water to produce a workable dough. You don't want it too sticky or to tough to work with.

4. It's time to get your hands dirty. Turn your dough out onto a floured surface. A board or even just your table top is fine. Start kneading the dough. Feel free to stretch, pull or punch the dough in all directions. Then roll it back up and stretch, pull or punch again. Any technique you choose will be fine, just keep working the dough for about 10 minutes until it is even in texture. Now roll the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased container that can be covered. You can use your mixing bowl if it has enough room for the dough to double in size, or use a large plastic container or even a bucket. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap or a damp towel.

5. Place the dough in a warm place (not too hot, yeast starts to die above 50 C) until it doubles in size. This will take about 1 hour. Don't worry if you can't find a spot warm enough, it will still rise but it will just take a little longer.

6. Once your dough has doubled, punch it down and take it out of the container. Now divide it into 2 even portions. Press the pieces out flat and then roll into loaf shapes.

7. Place the dough pieces into large loaf tins and cover again to allow to rise. Plastic wrap or a damp towel will be fine. Sit in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until it reaches the top of the tin. While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 230 C (450 F)

8. Once the dough has reached the top of the tin remove the cover and place in your pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes. You can check if it is baked by knocking on the crust and listening for a hollow sound.

9. Remove from tins and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy your bread!

By Request.....

2010-12-14T14:24:00.003-07:00

Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes!

I have received many emails and messages asking for the recipe to these delightful treats. I made them using a chocolate cake mix, but what makes them extra special is the candy cane filling and the Chocolate Peppermint frosting. So, I hope you give them a try. They really are DELICIOUS!

Candy Cane Filling

8 ounces Cream Cheese (at room temperature)

1/2 Cup Confectioner's Sugar

1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

4 ounces White Chocolate (Melted)

Crushed Candy Canes

In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and blend well. Add cream and white chocolate. Beat until fluffy. With a spatula, fold in 3-4 Tablespoons of crushed peppermint.

I used the Wilton Tip #230 to fill the cupcakes with. Be sure to crush the candy canes pretty fine so that they will go through the tip easily.

Chocolate Peppermint Frosting

1 Stick Butter

6 Tablespoons Milk

4 Tablespoons Cocoa

3 Cups Powdered Sugar (approximate)

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 small drops of Peppermint Oil ( be careful, a little bit goes a long way)

Bring to boil margarine, milk, and cocoa. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and Peppermint Oil. Beat well.

I topped my frosting with crushed candy canes and a candy cane Hershey's Kiss.

You Take The Cake!

2010-12-13T10:42:00.002-07:00

Last Night I had a Primary Board Meeting. I really wanted to thank all of the teachers for their many hours of selfless service. So the theme of the meeting was "You Take The Cake". Pictured below is the invitation to the meeting.

For refreshments, we had cupcakes. My good friend Karrie made some delicious Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and also some White Cupcakes with a Raspberry Filling.

I made Chocolate Cupcakes with a Cream Cheese Candy Cane Filling.

And I also made Coconut Lime Cupcakes.

I practiced making the coconut lime cupcakes until I got them just right.

In fact, I think they were PERFECT!

This is what I did....

COCONUT LIME CUPCAKES

1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

3 Large Eggs

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1/3 Cup Lime Juice

1 Tablespoon Lime Zest

1 Cup Shredded Coconut

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds).

Then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

LIME BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Shortening

3 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

1 teaspoon Lime Juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon Lime Zest

Flaked Coconut for decorating

Beat the butter and shortening until smooth, then add sugar and beat. Add lime juice, vanilla, and lime zest and beat until fluffy. Spread the frosting on cooled cupcakes and top with shredded coconut (I toasted mine).

The board meeting went well, the cupcakes were even better. I hope you give these delicious treats a try!

Today I Am Thankful For......

2010-11-19T13:20:00.001-07:00

Many Things!

But here are a few of the most important:

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ.

2. A LOVING husband who supports me in all that I do.

3. The BEST children any Mom could ever ask for.

4. Parents and In-laws who are GREAT examples to me.

5. Six WONDERFUL siblings who I adore and look up to.

6. AMAZING friends and neighbors.

7. My little home. It is CUTE and perfect for us.

8. GOOD health.

9. A baby who sleeps through the night.

10. The many opportunities that I have to serve others.

And the list goes on and on.

When I was growing up, my Dad often made my favorite dessert....Brownie Pudding Cake (which I will post a recipe for later). But, the other day I was looking through one of my cookbooks, and I found a recipe for an Apple Pudding Cake. You can't go wrong with pudding cake, right? If Brownie Pudding Cake is good, then Apple Pudding Cake must be equally as good. Well, we have an abundance of apples right now, so I decided to give this recipe a try. It was simple to make, and my house smelled AMAZING while it was baking. I kept telling the kids that I hoped it tasted as good as it smelled, and it did. It was so delicious! The cake was super moist, and the hot apples on top just made it WONDERFUL! You are going to have to give this recipe a try.

APPLE PUDDING CAKE

This recipe may need to be doubled if you are using a 9 by 13 -inch pan.

Cake:

1/4 cup shortening or oil

1 egg

1/2 cup milk or apple juice

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 bottle sliced apples (I just boiled fresh apples)

2 Tablespoons tapioca or cornstarch

(or apple pie filling)

sugar

cinnamon

In a bowl, cream together sugar, shortening, egg, milk or juice from apples, and vanilla. Mix together dry ingredients and add to mixture. Set aside.

In a saucepan, drain remaining juice from apples. Mix a small amount of liquid into cornstarch or tapioca. Mix tapioca according to package directions. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens. Add apples into thickened sauce and heat. Pour apples or apple filling into a baking dish.

Drop cake batter by tablespoon on top of apples. (The best way to do this is to have two tablespoons - 1 to scoop batter and another to scrape the batter off the spoon.) Spread the dollops of batter carefully so all the apples are covered with cake batter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake tests done. (I doubled the recipe and it took closer to 45 minutes to bake) Serve warm with ice cream or whipping cream on top.

Turkeys....Turkeys....Turkeys....

2010-11-12T18:26:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cookie Turkeys

First, Start with your favorite chocolate chip cookies.

(I suppose sugar cookies would also work)

Take a cookie, and frost it with chocolate frosting.

(I used frosting from a can so this would be quick and easy)

Stick 8-10 sliced almonds in the frosting at the top.

Place two white chocolate chips on for eyes.

Place a mini chocolate chip in the center of each white chocolate chip.

(It helps to dip it in frosting first)

Place a candy corn front and center for the beak.

Break the center from a twisted pretzel for the feet.

So easy a child, caveman, or turkey could do it!

This Week's FHE Treat......Blondies!

2010-10-27T11:32:00.001-06:00

Our family looks forward to Family Home Evening every Monday night. The kids really enjoy doing activities together as a family, but most of all, they like the treats that come with it. This week we decided to make Blondies loaded with butterscotch and chocolate chips. They look good, don't they? They taste even better than they look. Rich, yummy, goodness.

This is what you need to make these treats.

1 cup of butter (2 sticks), melted
2 cups of light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of butterscotch chips
1 cup of chopped pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 X 13 baking dish (I used cooking spray with flour in it). Combine baking powder, flour, and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the baking chips and nuts. Pour mixture into your greased baking dish. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (the center will still be kind of gooey). Allow to cool completely before cutting. Preferably overnight.

Blondies are so delicious with a little ice cream on top....

...and even better topped with a home made caramel sauce!

This is Ina Garten's Caramel Sauce.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful- the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry- the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

ENJOY!

Bakerella's Book Signing and a Giveaway!

2010-10-14T16:38:00.003-06:00

I have the best husband in the world. He didn't want me standing in line all day at a book signing because I just had the baby. So, he went to Salt Lake early this morning to get me a ticket to meet Bakerella. He even had to do some sweet talking to get me a ticket. I was so very grateful. I got number 10!

Here she is.......Bakerella! She is cute and sassy, just as I had envisioned from reading her blog.

I have always been a fan of Bakerella, and I love to make her cake pops. She just put together a Cake Pop book, with amazing illustrations and step by step instructions to make the delicious treats. I was so excited to see that Salt Lake was on her list of stops on her book signing tour.

Williams Sonoma had cute displays of her books all over the store.

We ended up getting to Trolley Square just in time for Bakerella to arrive. There were SO, SO, SO many people there! And once again, I was happy to have a ticket that said number 10 on it. They took people back in groups of 10, so I was able to get in quickly. Bakerella was a lot of fun! She was so nice to let us get our picture taken with her. My daughter passed up an opportunity to go to the park with the other kids, just so she could meet Bakerella. I was so glad to have her with me.

My daughter was a little shy when it came to meeting Bakerella.

When we left, there were still hundreds of people in line waiting their turn. We had so much fun!

Now for the giveaway. I have a signed copy of this wonderful book, that I will give to one lucky reader of my blog. There are 4 ways to enter (you can do all 4 if you would like)..... Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each.

-First, leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite fall treat is.

-Second, put a link to this post on your Facebook page, and leave a comment telling me that you linked on Facebook.

-Third, become a fan of Crazy About Cakes on Facebook. Leave a comment telling me that you've become a fan.

-Fourth, become a follower of my blog. Leave a comment telling me that you follow Crazy About Cakes.

I will be choosing a winner on ~~Tuesday, October 19th~~ using Random.org. Good Luck!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!
Congratulations to Carrie...comment #24! I will be contacting you!

Carrie said...

My favorite fall treat is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. (Although, I tend to make them year round because they are so yummy.)

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Mini Orange Cupcakes..... A Fun Fall Treat

2010-10-11T16:37:00.001-06:00

I'm excited to be back in commission after having my baby. I now have a baby boy that is 10 days old, and he is cuter than ever. I really lucked out with him. He is a very good baby, which makes having 5 kids easier for me to adjust to. The older kids adore him and always beg to hold him, which gives me time to get things done. Sometimes I wish I could just have him all to myself, but I take all the snuggles I can get.

Anyway, I've been aching to get back into the kitchen. I always love Fall and Halloween time. There are so many fun treats and goodies to make that fill my home with wonderful aromas. I found a recipe for these Orange Cupcakes on a blog that I follow. Laura over at http://realmomkitchen.com/ always has fun recipes to try. I couldn't resist these cupcakes. I changed them up a little and made them mini. I also added a candy corn on top to add a little pizazz.

Fresh Orange Cupcakes

1 package of yellow cake mix
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 large eggs

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, sugar, and orange zest. Whisk to combine. Add orange juice, canola oil, vanilla extract and eggs. Blend with the mixer on low speed for one minute, then speed it up to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.

2. Fill cupcake papers about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 350F until golden in color and a toothpick test comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes.

3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Orange Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. (I also added orange food coloring)
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

I think I will make some brownie bites also, and top them with this orange butter cream frosting. You can't go wrong with chocolate and orange! I'll save that for another day.

My New Love......Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

2010-09-16T18:14:00.002-06:00

While I was shopping at Walmart one day, I came across the yummiest lemon cake in the bakery. After trying this delicacy, I decided that I should find a recipe for it. After all, I couldn't keep spending $3.00 for a little slice of cake. The package said that it was Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Lemon Butter Cake. Surely I could find a Paula Deen recipe online.

And I did! I really love Google. With the click of my mouse, I was able to find a ton of sites with this recipe. And what's even better........The recipe comes with many variations. I plan on trying the pumpkin variation next. It sounds perfect for fall. Today I made the Lemon Butter Cake, because that is what I was craving.

Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.

Here are the different variations.....you can have fun and even create your very own version of this delicious dessert.

Pumpkin Gooey: Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I promise you'll never want pumpkin pie again!

Pineapple Gooey: Add a 20-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Lemon Gooey: Use a lemon cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Add the juice (approximately 1/4 cup) and zest of 2 lemons to the cream cheese filling. Proceed: as directed above.

Carrot Cake Gooey: Use a spice cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Peanut Butter Gooey: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and an extra egg to cream cheese filling. You can sprinkle the top of batter with 1 cup chopped peanuts if you like. Proceed as directed above.

Chocolate Chip Gooey: Use either yellow or chocolate cake mix. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts on top of filling. Proceed as directed above.

Banana Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix. Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas and an extra egg. Proceed as directed above.

Nutty Gooey: Use a yellow cake mix, and add 1 cup chopped nuts to the cake mixture. Proceed as directed above.

Chippy Gooey: Stir 1 cup white chocolate chips, peanut butter chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, Heath Almond Toffee Bits or Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits into filling. Proceed as directed above.

Give this treat a try, and let me know what you think. Also let me know if you have any other variations that I can add to my list! These bar-like treats will not disappoint.

Darin and Kari's Wedding Cake

2010-08-09T21:33:00.000-06:00

I vowed that I would never make any cakes 9 months pregnant. But when my brother asked me to make his wedding cake, I was happy to do it. Luckily, I have a loving husband who helps me when I need it. He actually did most of the work on this cake, and it turned out great!

Two of the cakes are chocolate with a chocolate butter cream filling, and the other two are a white cake with butter cream filling. As we were getting ready to stack the cake, my 3-year old came up to my husband with cake crumbs all over his face! We soon realized that he had taken several handfuls of this cake and eaten them. We were able to doctor it up and save the day. It turned out great, and I am very thankful for my husband, Jim, for helping out so much with this cake. And a BIG congratulations to Darin and Kari on their special day. Thanks for letting us do your cake! I think I will now retire from cakes until this baby is born.

This is Darin and Kari cutting their cake. It wasn't long before they had it smashed in each other's faces. They were sure silly!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars.....A Guest Post From Jill.

2010-07-04T22:03:00.001-06:00

My dear Sister-in-Law posted this recipe, and I thought that all of you would enjoy it. These Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars are to die for! Here is a copy of her post.......

First of all, I don't usually post recipes because I am the worst at following them. I get it from my mom- she calls it the "Football Rules of cooking- unlimited substitutions." My mom probably gets it from her mom. I have recipes from my grandma that actually call for a glug of milk, or a glug of oil. I look at recipes more as suggestions or guidelines, then do my own thing. Sometimes things turn out really good, and sometimes... not so good. My husband likes the way I cook, so I guess that's good enough. I discovered allrecipes.com and found that there are a lot of cooks out there like me. It makes me laugh when I read the comments, and someone says they didn't like the recipe that much, and that they substituted rice vinegar for apple cider vinegar and left out the ginger or doubled all the spices... BTW, I do follow baking and canning recipes.

Anyway, my sister-in-law made these yummy bars earlier this year, and passed the recipe along.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars

2 cups of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (or 1 tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough)
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Divide cookie dough in half. For crust, press half of the dough onto the bottom of a greased 8 X 8 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Spread over crust.
Crumble remaining dough over top.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

I doubled the recipe, and cooked it in a 9 X 13 pan.

Here's the recipe I like for Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c butter flavored shortening (or 1/2 c shortening and 1/2 c butter)
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t salt
1 t soda
3 cups flour
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream together sugars, and shortening. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients then chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Thank you so much Jill for this yummy post!

Old McDonald Had A Farm Cake

2010-06-12T18:31:00.002-06:00

FONDANT PIGS......

FONDANT CHICKEN......

FONDANT BABY CHICKS......

(I know, they kind of look like ducks!)

FONDANT COWS......

FONDANT HORSES.... AND A SHEEP!

This is the cake that I've been working on.

Cute, isn't it?

This cake was made for Ryan's 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Inderrieden, who we absolutely adore. She had a family reunion this week for the McDonald Family. The theme of the reunion was "Old McDonald Had a Farm". What a cute idea, huh! Well, this cake was a lot of fun to make, and it was made by my whole family. The kids got involved making fondant animals. Erin made the chicken and baby chicks, which turned out great. Jim made the cows and the horses, and I made the pigs and the sheep. Adam helped by eating some of the fondant. If you look closely in one of the pictures, you'll see an over-sized rooster that Ryan made. We only put it on for pictures.

The sheet cake and the barn were both carrot cake, with a cream cheese filling. We made the silo with Rice Krispie treats. I made the fence posts out of modeling chocolate, but realized afterward that I should have just used big Tootsie Rolls. Oh well, they turned out really cute.

We were really proud of this cake when it was done. The kids begged me to wake them up early so that they could see their creation one last time before it went out the door. Thanks to Mrs. Inderrieden, for giving my family something fun to do this week. This cake was a lot of fun!

A Decadent Chocolate Strawberry Cake For Berneitta!

2010-06-06T18:04:00.001-06:00

Last night I had the opportunity to make a cake for some good friends of mine. They were celebrating their Grandmother's birthday. When I asked what flavor of cake they wanted, the response that I got was, "Whatever you think would be good". Hmmmm......Well, I think almost all cakes are good. I decided that I could NEVER go wrong with chocolate. And who doesn't like strawberries? That's when I decided to make this decadent Chocolate Strawberry Cake. It is a moist 12 inch cake, stacked 3 layers high, and it is filled with a rich chocolate butter cream frosting. While I was frosting the cake, and washing and slicing the strawberries, my cute husband was melting white chocolate to do the lettering on the sides. We actually wrote the words out, and then formed them to the 12 inch pan so that they would bend with the cake. I think they turned out great! I also made a delicious strawberry glaze, which I drizzled on top of the strawberries. I will have to share the recipe with you, because it really turned out great! This glaze would also work as a filling for inside the cake.

Strawberry Cake Filling/ Glaze

1 small box Strawberry flavored gelatin
1/2 cup hot water
1 (20 oz.) jar Strawberry jam (I used the seedless kind)
1 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch

Mix the gelatin with 1/2 cup hot water. Stir until dissolved. Add the jam. Stir until well blended. Combine cornstarch and 1 cup water. Set aside. Heat jam mixture to boiling. Add cornstarch mixture. Stir over heat until thickened. Cool and use.

You can use any flavor of gelatin and jam. (This is what I use for my raspberry cake filling, and it is great!)

This cake turned out great, and the family loved it! I can't wait to make another one.

Easy To Make.....Chocolate No Bake Cookies!

2010-05-18T16:54:00.002-06:00

This post was inspired by Tina at Mommy's Kitchen . As I checked my Facebook today, she had a post that said she was making Chocolate No Bake Cookies. Well, I LOVE no bake cookies, and so do all of my kids. Although if I told them I was making no bake cookies, they wouldn't know what I was talking about. They call these little delicacies "Gorilla Poop Cookies". I knew that I couldn't make just a single batch with the kids coming home from school soon. My eight year old son can eat a dozen in seconds and top it off with a cold glass of milk.

Anyway, I looked over Tina's recipe. It seems to be a little different than mine. Her recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder, and my recipe calls for 1/2 cup of Cocoa Powder. I'll have to try them both ways. But today, I used my own recipe. I made my kids very happy. Right when they walked in the door from school, they could smell the rich chocolate smell of "Gorilla Poop Cookies". At least I was able to use the cookies as an incentive to get their jobs done quickly.

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oats, rolled or quick

In a saucepan, combine and heat sugar, butter, milk, salt, and cocoa. Bring to a rolling boil. Take off heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Place mixture by teaspoonful on to the wax paper. Refrigerate until firm.

If you've never had No Bake cookies before, give this recipe a try. It won't disappoint you! And it is very easy to make! I hope you enjoy!!!

Brad and Ashley's Wedding Cake

2010-05-11T23:08:00.001-06:00

Here is the wedding cake that I've been working on the last couple of days. It felt really good to be able to get back into the kitchen after being out of commission for a while. This cake was made for my nephew, Brad, who married his sweetheart, Ashley, today. The cake was 5 layers of chocolate cake filled with a chocolate buttercream filling. It was topped with a home-made marshmallow fondant, and adorned with swirls, which I piped on with an eggplant colored buttercream. (Be sure to click on the picture to get a better view of it!)

This cake was a lot of fun to make! A big THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to Brad and Ashley on their special day.

Ryan's Baptism Cake...Any Chocolate Lover's Dream

2010-02-06T21:12:00.003-07:00

My little Ryan turned 8 this week, and it was a very special birthday for him. He got to be baptized. To celebrate the occasion, I made a chocolate lover's dream cake. Each layer was chocolate cake filled with chocolate fudge frosting and crushed Oreo cookies. The cake was adorned with Kit Kat candy bars around the edges, and M&Ms on top. It was delicious and it was a BIG hit with the kids. Everyone loved it! Happy Birthday Ryan, and congratulations on your Baptism. We Love You!

Meal or No Meal....

2009-12-29T12:18:00.012-07:00

Many of you have seen or heard of the game show “Deal or No Deal”. Well, the other night, we attended a party where the theme was “Meal or No Meal”. Thanks to my creative sister-in-law and her family. Our game involved a contestant, a BAKER, and Howie Michael as the host.

Here is the famous baker!

Instead of having numbered briefcases to select, we had numbered pizza boxes. Inside each pizza box was a picture of a treat or goodie. The smallest prize was a single M&M, and the largest prize was a giant box of chocolates.

There were other prizes in between such as an oreo cookie, miniature candy bars, regular candy bars, and king size candy bars. Every so often, the BAKER would call on a cell phone to offer the contestant a goodie to quit the game. This offer was based roughly on the amounts of goodies remaining in play. At this point, the contestant would have to choose “Meal” (which would end the game), or “No Meal” (and they would have to choose another pizza box).

We had a fun time, and in the end everyone got to take a treat.

I even made a numbered Briefcase Cake for the occasion.

Yes, it really is a cake!

I thought it looked like a real briefcase. I guess I'm not the only one, because somebody tried to open it!

One of my Passions Revealed

2009-12-17T22:51:00.006-07:00

To all of my friends in cyber land. I am about to reveal one of my passions that I have this time of year. I have many of them, but this passion makes my mouth water and my taste buds dance. It is sweet and tasty. And people either love it or they hate it. It is something that I remember having every Christmas season since I was a small child. It is EGGNOG! I’ve been pretty good at avoiding it as I pass by the dairy section of the grocery store. But today I caved in and bought me some. Ok, to be honest, I bought a couple of cartons.

Now, I didn’t pour me a full glass and sit by the fire and enjoy a moment of heaven. Even though that sounds so nice. I made dinner and dessert with it. Oh, and it was good. Really, really good. My kids gobbled up every bite, and asked for seconds, and thirds, and fourths………ok, they just took seconds. But they liked it a lot. Dinner was Eggnog Pancakes! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Neither had I. But I made some and they were a sure hit. For some reason, eggnog pancakes and maple syrup go really well together. Here is the recipe for my Eggnog Pancakes. You should give them a try.

EGGNOG PANCAKES

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 1/2 cups eggnog

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 pinch salt

1/2 t. rum extract

1/2 t. nutmeg

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Mix all of the ingredients until combined. Melt a little bit of butter in the pan. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes over. They should be golden brown on both sides. Makes 8-10 pancakes. Enjoy!

For dessert I baked an Old Fashioned Eggnog Bundt Cake. It was very moist, delicious, and rich. I got this recipe from Tina over at Mommy’s Kitchen, who by the way, has an amazing site. But you’ve heard me say that before. She truly is the blogger of all things yummy. Here is a link to her site, so you can get the recipe. It was easy to make and took only a few ingredients. And, I got to use a bundt pan that I bought about 10 years ago that I have never used.

Here are the few ingredients. (Notice the big, beautiful, brown eggs. They came from my Rhode Island Red chicken. She just started laying about a month ago.)

I mixed them together.....

......and here is my first Bundt Cake.

An Eggnog Bundt Cake! And it was more delicious than I could ever describe. I will definitely be making this cake again. Especially now that I've conquered my fear of baking in a bundt pan. I hope you give this cake a try and enjoy it as much as I did.

Krystal's Package Wedding Cake

2009-12-15T08:47:00.021-07:00

I am finally able to post pictures of the cake that we did last weekend. And I say "we", because my husband actually did most of the work on this one. I'm teaching him well. I really enjoy the time that I get to spend with him while decorating cakes. He is by my side through every cake that I make. I keep trying to get him to go into business with me, but he isn't as passionate about cake decorating as I am. Even though he is extremely talented at it.

I am really pleased with how this cake turned out. (BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GET A BETTER LOOK AT THE DETAILS) I had never made a big bow out of fondant before, and it really was the highlight of this cake. It took four days to make, and it was fun to take on the challenge. Here are some pictures of the progress of my bow.

How To Make A Fondant Bow

I started by rolling out the fondant to about 1/8 inch

thickness. Next I cut it into 1 inch strips.

I hung the strips over a wooden dowel, to shape them into a loop. I painted the ends with water and pinched them together.

Then I painted each loop with a shiny, red luster dust.

I found a plate that was about the same size as the bow that I needed, and covered it with waxed paper.

I made a royal icing and colored it the same color as the bow. I started by putting a big glob in the center of the plate.

I placed 7 loops on the bottom layer. I know the picture only shows 6, but I added one later.

After the first layer dried a little bit, I put another big glob of royal icing in the center.

And proceeded to add more loops...

....and still more loops.

I added more and more layers of icing and loops until the bow was complete. It was very fragile, and I wish I had another day or two to work on it. Next time I will start the bow a week in advance, which will give it a little more time to harden. But I was very pleased with the end result.

A big THANK YOU to Krissy for letting me be a part of your wedding!

Black Friday Deals!!!!

2009-11-23T12:38:00.006-07:00

I always love to go out shopping on Black Friday. Last year I took my daughter with me, and we had a great time. Our adventure started about 3:30 a.m. and ended about 9:00 a.m. I'm not sure if I like it because of the deals, but I know that I like the thrill of being in a crowd. And I really like to people watch. People get so crazy when they are trying to get a good deal on things. It's like their inner demons come out as they rush into the store and wrestle with others to get that one COOL gift.

My husband thinks that I am crazy for even wanting to go out so early. He would much rather stay in bed and shop online without the crowds. Now, I know that a lot of you are like my husband, and would rather stay in bed. So that is why I am doing this post. Amazon has already started their Black Friday Deals. They started today!

Amazon searched for the best Black Friday deals everywhere--including deals other stores are planning--so they can meet or beat their prices and bring them to you even earlier. These limited-supply offers will go quickly but they will add new ones throughout the day, every day this week, so you can skip the long lines and still save a bundle.

Click Here To Start Your Shopping Today

My Bread Cornucopia

2009-11-11T09:09:00.008-07:00

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity of hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at my house. I was thrilled at the chance I had to decorate and get ready for such an event. I decided to make a Cornucopia out of bread to hold my home-made rolls. It was a little tricky to make, but in the end it turned out really cute and was well worth the effort. If any of you are feeling adventurous this year, I will post the instructions so that you can give it a try. I wish I would have taken step by step pictures as I made this, but unfortunately I wasn't a blogger back then. Hopefully you can do it with just the instructions. You can also email me if you have any questions.

Bread Cornucopia

Ingredients and materials:

Colander

Aluminum foil

Vegetable oil

2 loaves of frozen bread dough (I used my own bread dough)

Egg wash (used as paste)

Cooking brush

Wrap a colander with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil.

Let the frozen dough thaw (but not rise), then roll one over the colander. Use egg wash as a paste to attach the bread around the colander. Once it's attached, egg-wash the entire surface.

Cut the other loaf of bread dough into strips. Lay the strips of dough from the top to the bottom and tuck inside the colander. Lace the cornucopia with the dough strips, basketweave style.

Egg-wash the complete surface again and twist the bottom together. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

**This portion is just for show, not to be eaten.

In Loving Memory of Kevin's Youth.....My First Tombstone Cake

2009-11-06T22:02:00.008-07:00

A dear friend of ours turned 40 today. His wife surprised him with a HUGE party. It was a funeral for his youth. I was so lucky to be able to make the cake. (Be sure to click on the picture to get a better look at the details.)

This cake was a lot bigger than it looks in the picture. It took more than 5 dozen eggs and a half a gallon of oil. The top portion of the tombstone was made using rice crispy treats (5 recipes). My husband, Jim, helped out a lot with this cake. He started by drafting it out on the computer for me, and he even marbled the fondant. Isn't he good?

Here is the back of the cake.

Almost everyone came to the party dressed in black.

Here is the birthday boy, Kevin... aka Bishop McEvoy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It was such a fun party. I am glad that I got to be a part of it.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-11-02T10:46:00.006-07:00

We got to go to many parties this weekend for Halloween and Birthdays. We ended up taking a Pumpkin Sheet Cake to two of the parties. I really enjoy pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, and really anything that is made of pumpkin. But this pumpkin sheet cake is the MOST DELICIOUS pumpkin cake that I have ever eaten. It is super moist. For this reason I am going to share the recipe with you. I think EVERYONE needs to try it.

Like the Candy Corn Sugar Cookies that I made, this recipe also comes from Tina at Mommy's Kitchen. I really love her site, because she has a monthly menu and she posts recipes for all of her meals. They are easy, practical meals that anybody can make. And of course, she also has delicious desserts and treats. Stepping into her blog is like stepping into her kitchen. So thank you Tina, for having such an AMAZING site.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

15 oz. can pumpkin (I used Banana Squash that I had baked)

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into a greased 10X15 inch baking pan.

Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool the cake completely and then frost it with the cream cheese frosting. Here's what you'll need for the frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

5-6 tsp. milk

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and blend till smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a bit at a time until you get it to a spreadable consistency. Spread on top of the sheet cake.

You can also top this cake with some chopped pecans or walnuts, but that is optional.

I hope you give this cake a try and enjoy it as much as we did. DELICIOUS!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

2009-10-28T18:11:00.011-06:00

Are you looking for that perfect, last minute Halloween treat to make? I came across these adorable sugar cookies on a fun blog that I follow. Tina over at Mommy’s Kitchen had them as a feature on her site this month.

You can make these cookies using your favorite sugar cookie recipe, or you can just purchase the refrigerated dough from your supermarket. Here is the recipe that I used (and I doubled it):

Ingredients:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ sup butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup sour cream

Preparation:

Into a bowl, sift together the sifted flour, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Beat for 2 minutes. Add sour cream and half of the sifted dry ingredients; beat 1 minute. Stir in remaining dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in thirds. Add orange food coloring to one of the portions, and yellow to another.

Line an 8-inch square pan with waxed paper and press yellow dough in the bottom.

Next, press the orange dough on top of the yellow dough.

Then press the plain white dough on top. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pull the dough out of the baking dish, and cut into ¼ inch thick slices.

Cut the slices into triangles, and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. My cookies came out perfect at 8 minutes.

Happy Halloween!

Here's A Little About Me!

2009-10-25T16:38:00.005-06:00

I am crazy about a lot of things. I am especially crazy about my adorable kids and my wonderful husband. Their love, kindness, and smiles are enough to make anyone happy. I am crazy about baking, and filling my home with a yummy aroma that is inviting to anyone. I am crazy about serving others. The joy that I get from doing acts of kindness for others is unbelievable. Most of all, I am crazy about life!

The Easiest Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

2009-10-24T20:38:00.007-06:00

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are quick, easy, and delicious. Since pumpkins seem to be in abundance this time of year, you can either use fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin. I chose to use canned pumpkin.

3 Simple Ingredients:

1 box Spice Cake Mix

1 Small Can (15 oz.) Pumpkin

1 12 oz. bag of Chocolate Chips

Start by mixing the pumpkin and the cake mix together. You don't need the oil or eggs. Just the dry mix.

Mix it together well, and add the chocolate chips.

Mix well, and scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. I always use a non stick cooking spray.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Your home will smell inviting, and you will have a delicious treat! I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as my kids do.

Megan's Diamond Shaped Wedding Cake

2009-10-09T21:27:00.011-06:00

Tonight was Megan's wedding reception, and I was able to make her cake for her. This three-tiered cake was amazing! The top layer was a white cake with a raspberry filling. The middle layer was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, and the bottom layer was a carrot cake with a buttercream filling. I did chocolate fondant for the first time ever. And I was extremely surprised at how easy it was to make and work with. I will share the recipe at the bottom of this post. Be sure to click on the top picture to get a better view of the details.

The reception was beautiful! I was really glad to be a part of it.

For the Chocolate Fondant, I mostly followed the Wilton recipe. I changed it by using real chocolate instead of the chocolate candy melts. The texture was perfect.

Wilton Chocolate Fondant

Ingredients:
14 ounces dark cocoa candy melts
1/2 cup light corn syrup
24 ounce package Wilton Fondant
Brown Icing Color (optional)
Black Icing Color (optional)

Makes: About 2 pounds chocolate fondant (this cake took about 10 pounds).

Instructions:
Melt Candy Melts following package directions. Add corn syrup; stir to blend. Turn out mixture onto waxed paper; let stand at room temperature to dry and harden several hours. Wrap well and store at room temperature until ready to continue with recipe.

Knead small portions of candy mixture until soft and pliable. Knead softened mixture into fondant until smooth and evenly colored. If darker color is desired, knead in icing color.

Brown and Blue Wedding Desserts.....It Was Megan's Great Day!

2009-09-30T20:47:00.010-06:00

My friend Megan got married today, and I made some goodies for her special day. With brown and blue as the colors, the possibilities were endless. I started with some cupcakes.....white and chocolate. The chocolate cupcakes had a rich chocolate buttercream frosting with grated chocolate on top. The white cupcakes were topped with a buttercream frosting also.

I also made my Mint Brownie Bites. When I made these before, I was able to just buy Dove Chocolate hearts, because it was close to Valentines Day. Well, I learned that chocolate hearts are impossible to find in the fall. I ended up buying a heart candy mold so that I could make my own chocolate hearts. They were delicious!

I made Cake Balls with a Spice Cake and Cream Cheese frosting.

And I made Cheese Cake Balls. I will have to give you detailed instructions on these little delicacies in a later post. But, I can tell you that they melt in your mouth. The cheesecake was covered with Milk Chocolate, and topped with toasted hazelnuts.

What a beautiful Wedding. Thank you Megan and Taylor, for letting me be a part of your special day.

My next project......Megan's Wedding Cake for her reception next week! It will be a lot of fun.

Ashley's Cupcake Decorating Birthday Party

2009-09-20T12:46:00.013-06:00

Ashley had an AWESOME birthday party this weekend!

We had a great group of kids, and we kept things simple. We had the kids do some balloon relay races. They also got to take a swing at a pinata.

The big attraction of the party was cupcake decorating. They had so many choices to make! They could take a strawberry, white, or chocolate cupcake.

They could top it off with strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate frosting.

The many toppings were endless. The kids could choose from M&M's, Dots, Candy Corns, Gummy Bears, and Chocolate chips.

And every child likes sprinkles, right?

Here they are making their creations.

And the pictures say it all......

And yes, I even made one!

What a great day! Happy Birthday Ashley!

A What? A Peach Upside Down Cake!

2009-09-14T07:51:00.009-06:00

My Dad gave me some peaches the other day off of his tree. I didn't have quite enough to get a canning operation going, so I went on a quest to find a yummy peach dessert recipe. I came across a lot of peach pie recipes, and they all looked great. But when I found this recipe for a Peach Upside Down Cake, I just had to try it. It turned out AMAZING! It was almost like a peach cobbler, and was especially wonderful served warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Start by heating your oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square or round cake pan, or spray with baking spray. Peel and pit the peaches, slice thinly.

Fruit Mixture:

3 peaches, peeled, thinly sliced, about 2 cups of slices (I think I used 4 or 5 peaches)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 Tablespoons melted butter

Toss the peaches with the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Arrange the peach mixture in the prepared baking pan.
Cake:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2/3 cup milk

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, and almond flavoring. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with the milk, beating just until blended. Spoon the batter over the peach slices.
Gently spread it around to cover the peaches.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Invert the hot cake onto a platter or cake plate and let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and scrape up any fruit slices clinging to the pan and arrnage them over the cake.
Like I said before, it was especially wonderful served warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Dipped Oreo Pops.......Delicious!

2009-09-09T21:23:00.008-06:00

I have always enjoyed sitting down with some Oreos and a big glass of milk. I had no idea that the possibilities were endless when it came to making yummy treats with them. I thought I would give these delicacies a try. Dipped Oreo Pops!

They were so incredibly easy to make, and mouth-watering delicious too. These pops work best when you have the double stuffed Oreos. Start by shoving a sucker stick or a popsicle stick in the middle. They hold up pretty well. I learned pretty quick that you can't push it in too far, because the cookie will break. So only go about half way.

Melt your chocolate or candy melts. I used Chocolate Mint candy melts, and melted them quickly in the microwave oven (30 second intervals works best, stirring between each).

Then take those cute little cookies for a swim.

I stick my pops in foam until they harden. You can decorate them anyway you would like. I think they would be really cute for Halloween with pumpkins or spiders on them.

Enjoy!

Grasshopper Brownies

2009-09-04T11:43:00.009-06:00

My dear friend Melissa shared this recipe with me, and of course I had to try it. She also gave me permission to put it on my blog. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MELISSA!

Any of you who know me well, know that my favorite ice cream is cookie mint. So, of course, I instantly took a liking to this recipe. It was really easy to make, and very delicious in the end.

Here are the 3 main ingredients:

A Boxed Brownie Mix, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, and Andes Mints. There’s no way you could go wrong with these, right?

Grasshopper Brownies

Ingredients

2 boxes of any regular brownie mix (I used 1 family size mix)

6 Tbsp. Flour

About 10 Tbsp. Butter (plus more for pan)

About ½ cup milk

4 eggs

1 package chocolate sandwich cookies

2 bags Andes thin mints

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9” X 13” pan. Cover bottom of pan with parchment paper. Allow a few inches of paper to rise above the long sides of the pan. These will serve as handles to remove the brownies later. Butter the parchment paper.

Make brownies according to package directions with the following exceptions:

- Add 6 Tbsp. Flour to the mix

- Replace oil with melted butter

- Replace water with milk

Chop 1 ½ bags thin mints into coarse chunks. Place sandwich cookies in a large plastic bag and break into pieces with hands and a rolling pin. Stir mints and cookies into brownies by hand- batter will be very thick.

Spoon batter evenly into pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Use parchment paper “handles” to lift brownies from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Cut brownies into preferred serving size and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Looking good, right?

How about now?

Mmmmm.... Delicious! What is amazing about these brownies is that you get a little crunch from the cookies and some gooiness from the melted mints. I will be making these again and again!

Chocolatey, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

2009-08-05T16:46:00.009-06:00

It’s been a while since I last posted anything here. And really, I have no excuse except that I’m trying to lose weight. Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t start a Fitness blog! Maybe that’s to come. Anyway, we have a great abundance of Zucchini this year, so I’ve been on a quest to find ways to get my kids to eat it. To be totally honest, I didn’t like zucchini when I was young either. But now I really quite enjoy it. I made a casserole the other night and loaded it with zucchini, and the kids gobbled it up. They LOVED it!

Well, today I got creative with the Zucchini again. This time around I decided to try some Chocolatey, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes. They turned out Really good. And they taste so DELICIOUS!

For those of you who also have a great abundance of Zucchini, here is the recipe for you to try.

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup grated carrots (I just substituted another cup of zucchini)

Chocolate Chips

1 Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with yogurt, beating well after each addition. Fold in zucchini, carrots, and chocolate chips.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost cupcakes. Yield: 21 cupcakes.

I frosted my cupcakes with a chocolate fudge frosting that I like to make. Here is that recipe....

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1 stick butter

6 tablespoons milk

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring to boil butter, milk, and cocoa. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat well and spread on warm cupcakes.

Next I grated a little chocolate to top it off. I hope you give these a try, and enjoy them as much as we did!

Cake Pops Without The Sticks? Part 2

2009-07-07T09:15:00.005-06:00

1 Boxed Spice Cake + A Spoonful of Cream Cheese Frosting + A Spoonful of Coconut Pecan Frosting + Vanilla Candy Melts = The most delicious, mouth-watering treat you could EVER eat!

I know, I know..... You're thinking, "Didn't she already post about the 4th of July Cake Pops?" Well, I did. But, I made more! And these little gems were to die for.

First of all, bake a spice cake. You can use any recipe you would like. I just used a boxed cake mix due to lack of time. Follow the directions on the box to make your cake.

Once the cake is baked, crumble it into a large bowl. Stir in a spoonful of cream cheese frosting, and a spoonul of Coconut Pecan Frosting ( Again, I used the little store-bought tubs of frosting all for the sake of time.) Mix it well. I like to use my hands to make sure it gets well mixed.

Roll it into balls, and dip them into your melted candymelts. Easy as Pie!

Cake Pops Without The Sticks? Incredible!!!

2009-07-03T09:03:00.004-06:00

I thought these little treats would be fun to take to my party on the 4th of July. They may not look real pretty, but BOY ARE THEY DELICIOUS! And easy to make, too. Chocolate cake with a hard chocolate mint shell....mmmmm.

Start by making your favorite kind of cake (in this case, I just used a boxed chocolate cake mix). Just follow the directions on the box and bake it. After it cools, crumble it up into a bowl. Stir in some frosting so that the cake crumbs will form into balls. One cake made about 55 (quarter-sized) balls.

Now here's the fun part. After I had all the balls rolled and onto a cookie sheet, I started to melt my candy melts. I bought my chocolate mint candy melts at Hobby Lobby. You can also buy them at Michael's or Gygi's or anywhere else that sells candy making supplies.

To melt the candy melts, just put them in a dish in the microwave. Stir them every 30 seconds until they are melted and smooth. Then send the little cake balls for a swim. I dipped them and put them on waxed paper until they hardened. Oh, and I added a few stars for fun.

For detailed instructions on how to make Cake Pops with the sucker sticks, check out www.bakerella.com . She has some really cute 4th of July cake pops on there.

Have a great 4th of July everyone!!!

Stephanie’s Whimsical Wedding Cake

2009-06-26T19:54:00.005-06:00

This cake had whimsical written all over it when Stephanie brought me a drawing of how she wanted it to look. She is such an artist. Swirls, stripes, and daisies adorned this beautiful Tiffany blue and coral pink cake. The bottom tier was a white cake with raspberry filling, and the middle and top tiers were both chocolate cake with a chocolate butter cream filling. The cake got it’s shine from an edible white luster dust, which I painted on each layer. I made the daisies out of fondant a few days prior to the wedding. Be sure to click on the picture below to see all the great details.

I am really pleased with how this cake turned out. Thanks Stephanie, for letting me create your vision!

Apple Tart.....Another Paula Deen Favorite

2009-06-16T11:13:00.007-06:00

Hey ya'all! I am really starting to enjoy making Paula Deen recipes, because they always turn out so yummy. My family quite enjoys me making them as well. And if you're lucky, maybe you can stop by when I happen to make one. DELICIOUS! I've also learned that a good Paula Deen dessert in my kitchen is great bribery to get my kids to eat their dinner (yes, even broccoli). The sour cream adds a unique, yet delicious flavor. I also changed it up a little by sprinkling a little cinnamon on top. So give this one a try....I'm sure you'll love it. Let me know how it turns out!

Paula Deen's Apple Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:

About 6 medium apples, peeled, pitted, and sliced

3 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:

1/2 cup apricot preserves or jelly

1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Mint, for garnish

Whipped topping, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crust:

Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides, or a round au gratin dish. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

To make the filling:

Peel and thickly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will shrink during cooking.

Combine the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan.

To make the glaze:

Combine the preserves or jelly and orange juice. Spread with a pastry brush over the top of the warm tart. Serve the tart warm, at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with fresh mint.

We ate our tart with ice cream on top. It made it extra good! I bet it would also be great with whipping cream. Now I'm off to start a wedding cake. I'll be posting that next, so stay tuned!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pastry

2009-06-09T14:19:00.013-06:00

My dear husband came in from the farm the other day with this......

and these.....

which inspired a strawberry rhubarb pastry. His favorite dessert.

I cannot take credit for this, because the only thing that I did to help with it was eat it. But I will share the recipe so that you, too, can make this super yummy dessert.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pastry

First of all, take 1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

and 1/2 cup butter or margarine.

Cut in the butter and mix it all together. Press in the bottom of a 9X13 pan.

Next, prepare the rhubarb and strawberries by rinsing and cutting them.

Stir together the rhubarb, strawberries, (about 1 quart)

and 1 (3 ounce) box of strawberry or raspberry Jello, and put on top of the crust.

Then you will make a crumb topping by mixing 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar and cutting in 1/4 cup of butter. Sprinkle on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until it starts to get bubbly in the middle.

Then serve it up warm! It is especially good with vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!

I Made Lemon Blossoms Y'all!

2009-05-31T21:17:00.004-06:00

For any of you who don't know......I'M A HUGE PAULA DEEN FAN! Well, I was talking with my friend Sara the other day, and she said that she had a Paula recipe that she wanted to try. Of course I had to try it as well. These Lemon Blossoms are AMAZINGLY delicious, and easy to make. I decided to make some to take to a family party today. It turns out...I'm not the only one who thought they were AMAZINGLY delicious! Everybody loved them.

Here is the recipe, so that each of you can make and try these wonderful delicacies.

PAULA DEEN'S LEMON BLOSSOMS

1 (18.25 oz. box) yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz.) instant lemon flavored pudding mix (I used the cook and serve because that's what I had on hand)

4 large eggs

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray miniature muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray (I like to use the cooking spray that has flour in it. I've never had a cake or muffin stick yet). In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, and 3/4 cup oil. Beat for 2 minutes. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter (I use the small Pampered Chef scoop) into each muffin tin, and bake for 12 minutes. Turn the cakes onto a cloth towel.

In a medium bowl, sift confectioners' sugar. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and water, stirring until smooth. Dip the cakes into the glaze while they are still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible. Place the cakes on a wire rack with wax paper underneath to catch the drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.

AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!

An Adorable Cupcake Pin Cushion....Up for grabs!

2009-05-27T21:45:00.002-06:00

Isn't this the most adorable and yummy looking pin cushion you have ever seen? I know it's not edible....but it's a CUPCAKE! One of my good friends started a blog called Whimsy by Victoria.

Victoria is really talented at decorating and making adorable handbags, aprons, pin cushions, and more. She also gives a lot of home decorating tips on a budget. Well, if you check out her blog she is giving away one of these cute pin cushions. All you have to do is go to her blog and comment on her post to be entered. She is also giving away this adorable bag. It is her Whimsy Signature bag. So, check out her blog, and if you like it become a follower. She would be happy to see you there. http://whimsybyvictoria.blogspot.com/

Her giveaway ends on June 3rd, so be sure to visit soon. I hope you win!

Erin's Birthday Surprise!

2009-05-22T21:50:00.005-06:00

Erin's really good friend threw her a surprise birthday party tonight. It was so much fun! The best part was that she didn't even have a clue that it was going to happen. She was really surprised.

Her friend organized the entire thing, and asked me if I would make the cake. She said she had a poem that she wanted me to make the cake around. So, you have to read the poem for this cake to make sense.

Erin was just 8 years old

She wanted to be 9.

Her friend held a birthday party so we'd know

Her birthday had arrived.

Her mother made a birthday cake

Decorated fine,

A park, a stream, a dog, a girl

All having a great time.

Then your mother put a number on

To show the birthday year.

Oh, no! In icing pink and sweet

It says you're 8, not 9!

So now you must be 8 again

Until next May, and so

Just go to sleep and do not eat

Because you must not grow.

When Erin's birthday comes again

In the year 2010

Should she turn 9 at last, or skip ahead,

Should she be 10 then?

Cody's Soccer Ball Cake

2009-05-19T20:05:00.006-06:00

I made this Soccer Ball Cake for a good friend of mine who was celebrating her son's birthday. The bottom is a white sheet cake with a raspberry filling. The green frosting was piped on to look like grass (It looked pretty cool). I made the fudge marble soccer ball using the Wilton 3D sports ball pan. I attached the ball to the sheet cake with a dowel so that it wouldn't roll away. This was ONE COOL CAKE! Be sure to click on the picture to see the details.

Rachel's Daisy Wedding Cake

2009-05-15T19:42:00.003-06:00

Here is the cake that I've been working on this week. 3 Tiers of white cake with raspberry filling. I made the daisies out of fondant. This cake was a lot of fun to make!

French Vanilla Cake With Raspberry Filling

2009-05-03T12:29:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I got bored and decided to practice basket weaving on a cake. I still need a little more practice, but it was a lot of fun to make. The cake was delicious too! Click here to get instructions on how to basket weave your own cake.

S'MORE BROWNIES ANYONE?

2009-04-18T09:47:00.008-06:00

I had so many of my readers tell me that they made and really enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies that I posted. So I decided to add S’more Brownies for everyone to look at, drool over, and to try.

One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is go camping. Well, not really. But I do enjoy the s’mores that usually go along with all of our camping trips. Since it is not quite warm enough to do the camping thing yet, I decided to make brownies with a s’more twist. I think you will really enjoy them. We sure did! I asked each of my children (my little bakers in training) to tell me how they would describe these brownies after they took the first bite…….

Erin said, “Delicious, gooey, and better than good!”

Ryan said, “Yummy and gooey. They really do taste like S’mores!”

Ashley said, “I like them, but they are so gooey Mom. They are yummy in my tummy.”

Adam said, “More…more….more…..”

So that about sums them up. They were simple to make. A bag of marshmallows, a boxed brownie mix, some graham crackers, a little butter, and some sugar is all it took to make these delicious wonders.

I started by making a graham cracker crust. I crushed about 16 graham crackers, and mixed them with ½ cup of butter, and ¼ cup of sugar. I pressed it into a 9X13 inch pan and let it bake for about 7 minutes. Next, I mixed up the brownie mix (according to the directions on the package), and poured it on top of the graham cracker crust. Then I baked it according to the package directions as well.

After the brownies cooled, I stacked large marshmallows over the entire top and stuck them under the broiler just long enough to toast them. Mmmmm…… It even smelled like the toasted marshmallows from camping.

I really loved them, but when I make them again, I think I will cut the marshmallows in half or use mini marshmallows instead. That might reduce some of the gooey-ness. But if you like gooey-ness, you will love the large marshmallows! I hope you try them out. Let me know what you think.

Thank You Bakerella!!!

2009-04-07T11:03:00.010-06:00

Bakerella is famous for her Cake Pops. She makes really cute pops for all of the holidays, and this time around I couldn’t resist trying them! My friend Sara and I spent an entire day decorating our cute little creations (some of which are pictured above).

We started by baking cakes from a cake mix. After the cakes baked and cooled, we crumbled them into a bowl and mixed them with frosting. Next, we rolled them into balls (about the size of a quarter). The balls needed to go in the freezer for a few minutes while we melted our candy melts. It was necessary to dip the lollipop sticks into the chocolate melts before putting them into the balls. This made it so the balls wouldn’t fall off the sticks. Once the balls were all on sticks, we placed them into foam blocks and put them back into the freezer. After a few minutes we were able to dip the cake pops into candy melts and decorate away. It’s amazing what you can do with cake sprinkles and confetti! For more details on how to make Bakerella’s Famous Cake Pops check out her website at http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/08/hope-these-put-smile-on-your-face.html

Cake and Cookie Decorating Birthday Party

2009-03-21T00:43:00.011-06:00

I got asked to teach cake decorating at a birthday party last night! I was totally in my element, not only with the cake decorating, but I love to hang out with the young girls. They are always so much fun to be around. I guess it makes me feel young again. My daughter was invited to this party and came home saying it was one of the best parties she had ever been to, so that was great to hear. I think everyone had a good time. I know I did.

At the beginning of the party, each girl got to paint a pot in bright Spring colors (since it was the first day of spring). They got pretty creative, and the pots were all very cute and unique. It was fun to see their personalities come out while painting.

While the adorable pots were drying, the girls were given aprons to decorate. All cake decorators need a good apron!

The girls even posed for a picture sporting their new aprons.

Next, I showed them a few cake decorating techniques using a delicious buttercream frosting, and various tips. I taught them a lot of the basics.

I had sugar cookies on sticks for them to decorate. They all did an AWESOME job. It was fun to see how different all of the cookies were. There sure was a lot of giggling going on.

The end result was phenomenal! The cookie bouquets turned out really well, and everyone had a great time.

Banana Split Cake

2009-03-15T00:15:00.008-06:00

Last weekend I took a trip to Denver to spend some time with my sister. We always have so much fun together. One of the things that we like to do when we get together is shop. So, we went to a couple hobby and home décor stores, and I came across a set of mini cake pans that I couldn’t pass up. I know, I know….I’m starting to wonder why I get so excited about such things. But I HAD to have this set. It is the Wilton Tasty-Fill Mini Cake Pan Set.

The set has 4 mini pans, and a recipe booklet. I immediately went to the recipe book to see what I could make, and this is what I came up with…….

A DELICIOUS BANANA SPLIT CAKE!!! Now if I have you drooling over your computer screen, keep in mind that you (YES YOU!) can also make this cake. I will tell you step by step how to make it.

I started out with a basic banana cake recipe:

½ Cup Butter (softened)

1 Cup Sugar

1 egg

½ Cup Butter Milk

1 Cup Mashed Bananas

1 t. Soda

2 Cups Flour

¼ t. Salt

**Cream sugar, egg, and butter. Add bananas and soda. Add balance of ingredients. Mix well. Next put ½ cup of batter into each mini cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before taking cakes out of pans.

Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer for a couple hours. Then pull them out to put the filling in, which is softened strawberry ice cream. Mmmmm….. After filling with strawberry ice cream, stack 2 cakes together (so the filling is inside). Return them to the freezer so the ice cream can set back up. Just before you are ready to serve these delicious little delicacies, pull them out of the freezer and frost with whipping cream. The only thing that could make this any better would be chocolate, but….. You are in luck! You pour ice cream toppings on top of the whipping cream. On this particular cake I used chocolate, strawberry, and caramel toppings. I also chopped up some peanuts, and topped it off with a cute little cherry. DELICIOUS!!!

Now, if you would like to give this cake a try, you can click on the link over to the left of my blog to purchase these fun pans. I imagine I will be using mine a lot!

Raspberry Lemon Gem Cookies

2009-03-02T21:53:00.008-07:00

DON'T THESE LOOK DELICIOUS?

Most of us have made cookies before using a cake mix. Well, that's what I did this time around, but I put my own twist on things. I have always liked lemon cakes with raspberry filling, so I thought I would try a lemon COOKIE with a raspberry filling. I started with a lemon cake mix. Next I added 2 eggs, 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil, 2 Tablespoons water, and a teaspoon of Vanilla Flavoring. After mixing all the ingredients together, I dropped the dough by the teaspoonful on a lightly greased cookie sheet. I made a well in the center of each cookie, which I did by pressing in a greased melon baller. I'm sure there are other ways to do it. Then I put seedless raspberry preserves in the center of each one.

I baked them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. After they cooled completely, I melted white chocolate and drizzled it on top of the cookies. What an AWESOME finish to an AWESOME cookie! These cookies were a perfect Family Home Evening treat. Definitely give them a try, and let me know what you think. MMMMMM......

FuN FuN FuN

2009-02-27T15:38:00.003-07:00

The first 3 people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be.

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a

FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Who's in?

Fruit Pizza...A Perfect Spring Dessert

2009-02-26T12:21:00.001-07:00

This is one of those desserts that I absolutely love, but have never made before. As I was grocery shopping the other day, I came across a display of blueberries and strawberries on sale. I couldn't pass up a good deal on such delicacies. So, thus came the FRUIT PIZZA!

This was such an easy treat to make. A simple sugar cookie dough created the base. And it was topped with a cream cheese frosting. After a little slicing, I loaded all the fruit on. Mmmm......

I will definitely be earning "Brownie Points" (or should I say "Pizza Points") with the family tonight.

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

2009-02-17T14:00:00.002-07:00

I found a blog that I really enjoy reading on a regular basis. It is www.bakerella.blogspot.com. On her blog, Bakerella offers a lot of cute, fun, and delicious recipe ideas for others to try. I saw this recipe and had to give it a try.

You simply make your favorite brownie recipe, and your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Take big spoonfuls of the cookie dough and press it into the brownie batter. Looking good, right? Oh, it gets even better.

After they bake, you need to let them cool completely. Then pour on some chocolate ganache. (I will include my chocolate ganache recipe at the bottom of this post)

You need to allow the chocolate ganache some time to set up before you cut into it. I know, you need a lot of patience! But it is all worth it in the end. Mmmmmm.......

Don't they look AWESOME? They were fun to make, and they taste great too.

Chocolate Ganache Recipe

8 oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate (I used semi sweet chocolate chips)

3/4 Cup Heavy whipping cream

2 Tablespoons Butter

1/2 t. vanilla (optional)

Bring the whipping cream and butter to a boil over medium heat. Pour over the chocolate in a bowl. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until blended and creamy. Pour over your brownies, or whatever dessert you are making. Let it set up and you are good to go. This recipe can also be used to make chocolate truffles.

Valentine Mint Brownie Bites

2009-02-12T21:31:00.002-07:00

I made these Mint Brownie Bites to give out to friends and family for Valentine's Day. I started by making brownies in mini muffin tins. Next I made a buttercream frosting and added pink food coloring and a drop of mint extract. I topped off the treat with a heart-shaped Dove chocolate. Simple and Delicious!

Give this treat a try, and let me know what you think. Also, if you have some good Valentine's Day treat ideas of your own, I would love to hear about them. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Dad's Favorite Cake To Make

2009-02-02T09:00:00.001-07:00

Jim loves to make the kids his famous Ice Cream Cake for their birthdays! It seems to be the favorite dessert at our house. He starts with just a brick of ice cream, and tops it with bananas, scoops of more ice cream, whipping cream, and any kind of topping you can think of. With this cake, you have to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles really fast. Otherwise you end up with Birthday Soup. What a delicious treat!

Panda Cupcakes for a Kickin' Kung Fu Panda Party

2009-01-30T19:14:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to surprise Ryan with a Kung Fu Panda birthday party. He had no idea we were going to do this. We invited a bunch of his friends over for the excitement. Each of the kids were given a foam sword and a balloon. They were asked to keep the balloons off of the ground, and they could only use their swords. It turned into a giant sword fight, but the kids had a blast! After the sword game, each of the kids were able to make an oragami frog. Then they were given a bowl of noodles and chopsticks, where they had to eat the noodles only using the chopsticks. Then they got to eat the yummy panda cupcakes (which were decorated with mini oreos and mini chocolate chips) and ice cream. Party favors were given out in Chinese "Take Out" boxes. What a fun party!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

MAS*H Cake

2009-01-17T21:32:00.002-07:00

This cake was requested for a M*A*S*H themed birthday party. It is a carrot cake with cream cheese filling and toasted pecans. It should be pretty delicious!

The Making of the Tree Cake

2009-01-08T22:30:00.001-07:00

I've had a lot of people ask me how I made the Christmas Tree Cake, so I decided to post pictures of the making. There is a one-inch dowel going down the center, and then I supported each layer with small dowels. The trunk of the tree was a 6 inch round cake. The three tree levels were 12", 10", and 8". Each a different flavor, and trimmed just to the right size (thanks to my hubby who drafted it out in Auto Cad for me). Each level was crumb coated with a butter cream frosting, and covered with a home made marshmallow fondant. I painted the fondant with an edible luster dust which gives it a shine. The round decorations were cut out of fondant, and the swirls were piped on with a green butter cream. The tree skirt is made with fondant, and the fringe was piped on with frosting using a grass tip. This was such a fun cake to make. I'm aching to make another creation.

Christmas Tree Cake

2008-12-23T00:20:00.001-07:00

Here is the Christmas Tree cake that I made this weekend. The trunk and bottom layer were both chocolate cake with a chocolate cream filling. The middle layer was a lemon cake, and the top layer was a white cake. It was very cute and very delicious! Be sure to click on the picture to get a better look at the details.

Family Fun With Gingerbread

2008-12-01T23:17:00.001-07:00

Every year we let the kids decorate gingerbread cookies to hang on the Christmas tree. Here are the creations for this year's tree. Along with the cookies, the kids also make paper chains, and popcorn strings to decorate with. This is one tradition the kids will never forget. The kids are proud of their home made decorations!

R2D2 Cake

2008-11-09T22:34:00.001-07:00

Here is the cake in progress. The body is made up of white cakes filled with a lemon cream cheese filling. The round top is also a white cake, and the legs are made with rice crispy treats. They were then crumb coated with buttercream frosting, and finished off with a lemon flavored marshmallow fondant.

Here he is all finished and ready for Alex's birthday party. He was definitely the hit of the party!

My Decadent German Chocolate Cake With Dutch Chocolate Ganache

2008-10-25T22:13:00.002-06:00

So here is the cake that I've been aching to bake. It was very rich and very delicious! German Chocolate Cake with a Dutch Chocolate Ganache. The filling was made by carmalizing Sweetened Condensed Milk and adding toasted pecans and toasted coconut. I will definitely be making this one again!

Ashley's Castle

2008-09-21T21:08:00.001-06:00

A beautiful castle for a beautiful little princess. Both the 10 inch and 6 inch layers were made with a strawberry cake, because Ashley's favorite color is pink. The filling was a strawberry mousse, and it was topped with buttercream frosting. It was quite delicious!

Amanda's Wedding Cake

2008-09-12T21:05:00.001-06:00

This is my first wedding cake, and it was SO much fun to make! I'm so glad I had the chance to do it.

A Monster Truck Jam for Adam!

2008-08-01T21:56:00.001-06:00

A 16 inch cake for a 1 year old??? I wanted to practice making a large cake, so therefore Adam got it for his Birthday. The cake was really moist, with 38 eggs, 16 cups of sugar, 5 cups of butter, and 16 cups of flour, among other ingredients. It is an almond flavored white cake with a chocolate mousse filling. It is topped with a green buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache. The dirt is so lifelike! Everybody thought that I brought it in from the garden. It is actually crushed graham crackers and oreos. Oh, and the candy rocks are edible. The cake tasted even better than it looks! Adam sure enjoyed it.

I Went A Little Topsy Turvy!

2008-06-04T21:42:00.002-06:00

For Erin's Birthday and Baptism I decided to make her a Topsy Turvy cake. Each level has chocolate cake, white cake, and strawberry cake with a buttercream filling. This whimsical cake was a big hit at the party!

Crazy About Cakes

Spiced Cake Doughnuts

Pumpkin Shaped Chicken Rolls

Ashley Turns Seven With The Painted Otter!!!

Vote For Me!!!

An Edible Animal Cell Model

Pink Cupcakes...... A lot of Pink Cupcakes!

Cake Pops....Ryan's Class Treat

One Of My Favorite Blogs......

Bread Making.........Addictive?

By Request.....

You Take The Cake!

Today I Am Thankful For......

Turkeys....Turkeys....Turkeys....

This Week's FHE Treat......Blondies!

Bakerella's Book Signing and a Giveaway!

Mini Orange Cupcakes..... A Fun Fall Treat

My New Love......Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Darin and Kari's Wedding Cake

Chocolate Chip Cheese Bars.....A Guest Post From Jill.

Old McDonald Had A Farm Cake

A Decadent Chocolate Strawberry Cake For Berneitta!

Easy To Make.....Chocolate No Bake Cookies!

Brad and Ashley's Wedding Cake

Ryan's Baptism Cake...Any Chocolate Lover's Dream

Meal or No Meal....

One of my Passions Revealed

Krystal's Package Wedding Cake

Black Friday Deals!!!!

My Bread Cornucopia

In Loving Memory of Kevin's Youth.....My First Tombstone Cake

Pumpkin Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Here's A Little About Me!

The Easiest Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Megan's Diamond Shaped Wedding Cake

Ingredients:

Brown and Blue Wedding Desserts.....It Was Megan's Great Day!

Ashley's Cupcake Decorating Birthday Party

A What? A Peach Upside Down Cake!

Dipped Oreo Pops.......Delicious!

Grasshopper Brownies

Grasshopper Brownies

Ingredients

Chocolatey, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups butter, softened

Cake Pops Without The Sticks? Part 2

Cake Pops Without The Sticks? Incredible!!!

Stephanie’s Whimsical Wedding Cake

Apple Tart.....Another Paula Deen Favorite

Strawberry Rhubarb Pastry

I Made Lemon Blossoms Y'all!

An Adorable Cupcake Pin Cushion....Up for grabs!

Erin's Birthday Surprise!

Cody's Soccer Ball Cake

Rachel's Daisy Wedding Cake

French Vanilla Cake With Raspberry Filling

S'MORE BROWNIES ANYONE?

Thank You Bakerella!!!

Cake and Cookie Decorating Birthday Party

Banana Split Cake

Raspberry Lemon Gem Cookies

FuN FuN FuN

Fruit Pizza...A Perfect Spring Dessert

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

Valentine Mint Brownie Bites

Dad's Favorite Cake To Make

Panda Cupcakes for a Kickin' Kung Fu Panda Party

M*A*S*H Cake

The Making of the Tree Cake

Christmas Tree Cake

Family Fun With Gingerbread

R2D2 Cake

My Decadent German Chocolate Cake With Dutch Chocolate Ganache

Ashley's Castle

Amanda's Wedding Cake

A Monster Truck Jam for Adam!

I Went A Little Topsy Turvy!

MAS*H Cake