No Shame in Storebought Cake

Cake seems to be my theme today. Only, I never shared the photos from the baby's ACTUAL birthday. It was on a Wednesday, smack dab in the middle of our school week... so I wasn't about to do the whole birthday party thing and ruin our homeschool momentum. I purchased a pre-made cake at the local grocery store and had her pop a little shamrock and leprechaun on it.

My baby was born on St. Patty's Day, so we tried to go for green, but they didn't have anything that color with buttercream icing. Buttercream is a must. So we opted for the primary colors instead. I'm sure he didn't mind. He probably thought that it tasted like heaven since he doesn't get a lot of sweets. I couldn't resist sharing this little collage of him digging in the cake like a steam shovel, and then we bathed him in the sink.

Isn't that how all first birthdays that are in the middle of the week play out?

This weekend we gave him a party so the family could join us and he could open presents and see his baby buddies. I posted all of the photos for that (including the owl cupcakes I made and pictures of the decorations) over at my 'real' blog today. Hop over and check them out!

- Heather

The Cake I Didn't Have to Bake

Last week, my oldest turned 13. I asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday. He told me he wanted my Sesame Chicken Fingers and Asian Fried Rice. I was happy to make it for him - despite the substitutions I had to make (crackers that had nuts and seeds in them instead of sesame seeds - because we were out). It came out great.

So did Morgan's cake she baked him. It was delicious - a boxed yellow cake with chocolate icing, sprinkles and dark chocolate chips. Yumm!

I'm never one to turn my nose up at boxed cakes. Or any cake, for that matter.

I was too tired after our long day and cooking dinner to make a cake. He had said he really didn't want one. He wanted chocolate chip cookies (like mama, like son), so his sister promised to make him those the next day - but she insisted he have a cake for his birthday.

She baked it at 8pm and we had cake after 10pm - with milk (of course); a bedtime snack for a birthday boy.

He got some spending money and gift certificates from his grandparents. As a surprise treat, I gave him a little dogtag necklace I had made with his original drawing for my blog... and promised to take him to Fuddruckers the next night. Fuddruckers is his favorite burger place besides Stax in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in TN... and Mighty Fine here in Austin (like mama, like son).

My little homemaker 11 year old has turned out to be a great help in the kitchen and she certainly has talent with baking. She makes us cookies all the time, too. I love it when she cooks and bakes.

If only I could stop time so they could be young and baking with mom at home forever. I can't imagine a kitchen without them.


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Kristen's Wedding Cake

What is it about wedding cakes that make them all have 'issues'? Mine nearly fell over at my reception. Seems Kristen (although her day seemed nearly perfect) had the same trouble with hers.

Looks pretty, right? Well I don't know if it was the heat or what... but it started to lean and slide.



Her wedding party had to do 'cake surgery'. They cut the top off and set it up beside the bottom on another tray. The cake in the background is a TIRE cake. That was the groom's cake. Both were good, but the chocolate and butter-cream and cream-cheese frosted wedding cake was the most moist I have ever eaten.

I had two slices. Don't tell Kristen.



This is Morgan serving groom's cake.

I love the way those tires looked, but fondant icing is gross.

I'm happy for Kristen that the women who were hanging around waiting for some of that delicious cake caught it before it became a puddle on the dance floor!

Too bad you have to wait for a wedding to eat wedding cake!

Owl Baby Shower and Bee's Berry Punch

"Whoooo doesn't love a baby?" That was my baby shower theme. These are the photos from yesterday's festivities - and YES, I got my cupcake... but was not impressed with the fact that it didn't start my labor like I had hoped. See that little finger indentation on the icing? That's my friend Ammie's little girl's mark. Party tip: make sure you watch the little ones if the cake is out on the counter!



Morgan was wearing her 'inspiration' shirt - complete with the little bird and branch that is very similar to what we'll be painting on her wall. I tried in the last two weeks to get the energy up to go paint the murals in the baby room, but it wasn't meant to be. There will be plenty of time for that later, I hope.



Decorating with owls was quite fun. The theme was expanded on with birds nests, ribbons and eggs. I used some older owls I have collected over the years - including this Avon owl that I've had since I was a wee little girl. We gave him a pretty new collar and he stood watch over the perfectly colored jelly bellies.



By far the biggest hit was the cake my friend Ammie ordered. We got the cupcake idea off of Flickr and altered it to be a buttercream icing creation. My downfall is buttercream icing. It wasn't as pretty as fondant, but it was EXTRA yummy.



We also had chili dip, artichoke dip, chips, crackers, cheeses, fruit, candy, and an incredible punch to go with our cupcakes and cake. The punch was my own creation. Here's the recipe:

BEE'S BERRY PUNCH

Adjust the amounts of each ingredient to fit your taste and the size of your punch bowl.

chilled ginger ale
frozen piña colada mix (run hot water over it to soften before putting in the punch)
bag of frozen mixed berries
raspberry sherbet
chilled berry/cranberry juice
crushed ice

Everyone enjoyed the punch. We got a lot of compliments on it. I wanted more myself, but by the time people started leaving and I had a chance to make it back over to the punch bowl, there wasn't any left.



Aside the punch bowl was the "diaper cake". Another baby-shower Flickr idea. I told you that Flickr was the bomb. So many creative people out there! We used wadded up grocery sacks as the center of each layer and rolled diapers to go around the edge before tying them off. It just so happened that I had a package with light green and white - which went perfect for our nursery-color schemed party. The tip top has a nesting stuffed owl. I had planned on tying off some pacifiers with ribbon and letting them dangle from the nest - but time got away from me and I forgot to add them.



Ammie found this cute white cupcake stand at Target. I glued a tiny orange bow at the top. We added ribbon to all the white table-top accessories. I thought her flowers she got half price at Lowe's were a nice touch to the table-top, too. You don't have to break the bank to have a nice looking party spread (well, if you know how to decorate cakes yourself, that is!).



Interestingly, I found out that Ammie had planned to do her two year old daughter's room in an owl theme, too. Not quite the same colors (she was adding in pinks), but her Pottery Barn owls were a cute touch as party decorations. Great minds think alike. I was glad little A let us borrow her owls (even if she did pull them down a few times to tell us which one was her favorite).



This was our artistic contribution to the party. I made an owl out of card-stock, scrapbook paper, and ribbon - colored with crayons and markers - to hang on the wall over a row of chairs. The little ones enjoyed coloring a few of them that I drew on paper, too. It kept the tiny hands busy while the grown-ups scurried to prepare for the guests.

During the party we played a few games - the guys got to identify the chocolate 'poo' in newborn diapers and the girls had a relay race to see who could dress and diaper a doll. More of the younger girls played than the grown-ups during the women's race. The doll owner finally got tired of sharing and took our prop, so we ended that contest early. We gave away two Starbucks gift cards to the winners of each.

All in all, the party was a lot of fun. I had to enlist my husband at the end to help open gifts because I started having some contractions and was unable to bend forward to look in the bags. I feel like I swallowed an exercise ball, I'm soooo big.

It's nearly 11pm on Sunday night and I'm having contractions as I write. All our bags are packed and now that we've had the shower, the carseat is ready and installed in our vehicle. We're as ready as we can be for the little 'hoot' to get here. If he comes tonight, we'll know for sure he's a night-owl.

I'll try to 'tweet' when I can if we head to the hospital. Until then, I may be hard to find online.



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C is for Carrot Cake

This cake needs no introduction. You may require an armed guard to prevent others from eating it before you can get a slice, though. My daughter made it on her birthday. She was not quite yet 10. The recipe is so fool proof that even an elementary school kid can make it and it comes out delicious.

As a tip, I would suggest baking, cooling, icing, and then refrigerating so that the flavors can meld and the icing can solidify a bit. The icing is so creamy and dreamy. It isn't your typical buttercream (believe me, I don't have anything against buttercream). It isn't whipped topping from the grocery store, either. It is REAL cream - beat by hand. You just have to try it.

It's like cake on crack. Not to mention there are lots of veggies in there. So have an extra slice - it's kind of healthy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Aunt Mary:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake time approximately 30 minutes (do the toothpick test). Spray two round baking pans with butter flavored Pam. Line the bottoms with rounds of wax paper.

CAKE:

2 cups of Sugar
2 Cups of Flour
4 Eggs
2 Tsps of Cinnamon
1 ½ Cups Canola Oil
2 Tsps of Vanilla
2 Cups of Carrots
2 Tsps of Baking Soda
1 Small pkg of Walnut pcs.
1 Tsp of Salt

Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Cream eggs & sugar. Add Oil and cream thoroughly. Add dry ingredients & mix well. Add carrots. Mix. Add Walnuts. Bake approximately 30 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out of the center damp but not with batter on it.

ICING:

1 8 oz. pkg of Cream Cheese at room temperature
½ pkg of Powdered Sugar
1 small pkg of walnut pieces
1 small pkg of Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tsp Vanilla

Whip cream until stiff peaks can be made. Set aside. Smooth cream cheese in the mixer. Add powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Add Vanilla and mix. Fold in the whipped cream. Stir in walnuts.

Once the cake has cooled on a cooling rack, remove one cake onto a cake plate. Ice the top with about ¾ inch layer of icing. Add the other layer. Using a flat spatula, ice the top of the cake and smooth the icing down onto the sides until completely covered.

It is best to keep the cake refrigerated once it is iced, due to the whipping cream ingredient.


There you have it folks. Even a 10 year old can make it. And it will make you not want to share any more. So be sure you make an extra cake if you are the greedy type.


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Technorati Tags: cake, carrot cake, dessert, food, baking, recipes, delicious, kitchen, cooking, vegetables, eat

Sopapilla Cheesecake

We really like this recipe... but let me warn you in advance, it fits NOWHERE on any diet plan. You can't beat how easy it is, though. It is a great dessert for a church function and goes perfect with a Mexican meal.

I couldn't tell you where the recipe originated. I have two friends that both gave me the same one, though - so I would say that there are plenty of people passing it around!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:
3 packages (8 oz) Cream Cheese – softened
2 packages Crescent Rolls (8 count per can)
1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla 1 stick Butter – melted

Topping:
½ Cup Granulated Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 baking pan (I used PAM).

Whip Cream Cheese, Sugar and Vanilla in large bowl. Unroll 1 package Crescent Rolls and place in the bottom of the baking pan.

Spread Cream Cheese mixture over Crescent Rolls. Top with 2nd package Crescent Rolls.

Pour Melted Butter over top. Mix Topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Refrigerate before serving.



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Technorati Tags: cake, recipes, dessert, easy cooking, baking, food, cheesecake, sweets, Mexican, pastry, yummy

Morgan's First Cake

She's nine years old and has helped in the kitchen for a long time now... but this time she wanted to do it HERSELF. She baked a yellow cake with chocolate icing and broke out the entire army of sprinkles and icing tubes for a topping. After all, a cake isn't a cake without sprinkles if you are a kid, right? The only thing I did was help her take the pans OUT of the oven and show her how to ice the cake briefly before she took over the spatula. She really did it HERSELF.

I think she did a fine job for her first time baking alone. We have yet to dig in to the cake (so I don't know what it tastes like), but unless it is horrible and I have to come back in to edit this post, I'll let you believe it tastes as good as it looks.

My favorite part of this experience was:

1. I didn't have to bake the cake myself. As my cousin said to me today, she can't wait until she can tell her daughter, "Cook for me, my minion!" Today the cake, tomorrow DINNER! I'm seeing many a night off from dinner duty in the future and it looks extra real good, baby.

2. I'm thrilled that the kids are wanting to cook (even if Kaden's only contribution to this particular project was sprinkles) - maybe they won't be as useless as I was when I got married and only knew how to boil water, pour cereal, make cheese-toast and cook hamburger helper. Already I think both of them have far surpassed my skills at 20. In fact, on occasion they will take turns making me breakfast - cheese toast and chocolate milk. That's multi-tasking, folks. When you are under 11 you should get allowance for stuff like that.

3. She decorated the cake for ME and her dad. Always a brown-nosing plus... especially when done on any form of chocolate.

4. She made me a card to go with it. And everyone knows I'm a greeting card junkie. Home made is even better. Maybe she needs an Etsy shoppe?

I'm sure she'll post about her cake on her blog, too. But not today. Because I'm all blogged out. Four blog posts in one day is enough to make anyone NEED cake. In case you wanted to check out those other blog posts, you can do so at these sites:

Sprittibee
Heart of the Matter (today's article won't be up until the 8th)
and
Homeschool Blog Awards

Oh, and I'll be hosting the Homesteading Carnival soon... next Monday, I think. I'm anxious to get my garden update added to that. The watermelon is going crazy! However, this Texas heat is really hard on the plants without rainy days in the mix. We had one day of rain recently, but 95% of the state is in a drought. Pray for us Texans to get rain if you think of it.

See ya, round.


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Technorati Tags: Cake, Dessert, Baking, Kids, Cooking, Food, Life, Chocolate, Family, Parenting, Motherhood

Kentucky Hot Brown and Carrot Cake

Both of those look great, don't they? I posted about them on my other blog. Sorry for neglecting you in here. I just haven't had the time to update it lately. I will come back in with some recipes soon. I promise.

Do any of you have a good recipe to share for a Kentucky Hot Brown? I'd love one.

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Poppy Seed Cake

You'll find no lemon here. Sorry - I don't much like the lemony deserts. I try all the recipes on this site before I post them, so rest assured, I am only posting the good ones. This little cake went with me to Sunday's potluck lunch at our church, and it disappeared - every bite! It is also a really EASY recipe and requires not much more than a bunch of dumping and mixing...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (or any butter/yellow/golden cake mix)
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream (I used Horizon's Organic Low Fat)
• 1/4 cup poppy seed

ICING:

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 cup oleo (I used 2 sticks softened butter)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 box powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients except for icing ingredients in large bowl. Blend on medium and high speeds until mostly smooth. Grease 13x9x2 inch pan (I used 2 round cake pans and it came out great as a double layer) generously (this cake tends to stick). Pour batter in pan/s evenly. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes depending on elevation and your oven. Test with toothpick - when it comes out clean in the center, the cake is done. Let cake cool before you ice.

Cream all icing ingredients together in large bowl. Use blender on medium and low speeds until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly on cake.

Enjoy!

Peach Dump-Cake

My Morgan calls this "Dumb-Cake", and that's about how much "Smarts" it takes. This recipe comes from my husband's step-mom - Nana. It is wonderful.

• 9X18 (large rectangular)Glass Pyrex Baking Pan


• 2 Cans of Peach Pie Filling (or 1 if you like more cake and less fruit)*


• 1 Can Crushed Pineapple *optional (tastes great without it)


• 1 Yellow Cake Mix


• 1 Cup Pecans (or to taste)


• 2 Sticks of Butter (melted)

Pour fruit filling into ungreased pan. Spread evenly. Mix pecans with cake mix and dump evenly over filling. Melt butter and drizzle as evenly as possible over top of cake mix. Bake in Preheated 375 F degree oven and bake at 350 F degrees for 30-45 minutes. Cooking time varies by oven/elevation - if top starts to brown, you can cover with foil. Bake until cake is not "smooshy". Cake will not "rise".

*Frozen peaches with cornstarch and sugar (cooked into syrup) will also work.