Birthday Cake

When it comes to birthday cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting is classic. The birthday girl I made the cake for is a chocolate fan, as am I, obviously. So I decided to change it up a little and did 1 layer of yellow cake and 1 layer of chocolate cake with buttercream frosting in between the layers and chocolate frosting on the outside covered in sprinkles. By the time I was done my kitchen was COVERED in frosting and sprinkles. But it was worth it because I loved how the cake turned out!! It sounds like a lot of steps/recipes, but it's really not that bad!

Birthday Cake

What you'll need:
1/2 recipe yellow cake (1- 9 inch cake), recipe below

1/2 recipe chocolate cake (1- 9 inch cake), recipe below
1 batch buttercream frosting, recipe below
1 batch chocolate frosting, recipe below
sprinkles, if desired

Directions:
Mix yellow cake and set aside (don't bake yet). Make chocolate cake according to directions. Place both cakes in oven at same time. Once done baking and cooling, invert chocolate cake and frost top with buttercream frosting. Stack yellow cake on top and frost the whole thing with chocolate frosting. Decorate with sprinkles. Store in refrigerator.

Yellow Cake
seen on Annie's Eats
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups milk

Directions:
To make the cakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.  Butter and flour the edges of the pans, tapping out the excess; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to blend well and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk.  Beat each addition just until incorporated.
Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of the pans to help remove the cakes.  Invert the cakes onto the rack and peel off the parchment.  Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.  Level the cakes if necessary.

Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate' Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.  

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

 

Instructions:

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. Add more sugar to make stiffer, or more milk 1 TBLS at a time to thin out until desired consistency is reached.
 

Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate' Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Kit Kat Cake

I'm still here. First I was just really busy. We went out of town for a few days, then my mom came to visit for a week. Then I found out i'm pregnant. And although I can't stop eating, thinking too much about food isn't exactley something I want to be doing while 8 weeks pregnant. So it's been slow around here.
You may have noticed these kinds of cakes before. Usually the top is covered with m&ms, making it look somewhat like a bowl of m&ms. I made a chocolate cake from scratch and it was a little tall. Notice how it's taller than the kit kats? But that isn't why I chose not to "fill" it with m&ms. I figured with chocolate cake and kit kats, adding m&ms might be a little over kill. Since it was for my SIL's baby shower, I thought duckies would be fitting. My mom arrived at our house that morning so right away I put her to work to make the frosting. We've always called it "the white sticky frosting" in our house, but it's like a swiss meringe , made of egg whites, sugar, corn syrup (and whatever else might be in it) and cooked over the stove. It ends up tasting like marshmallows and it's really good. However i'm not sharing that recipe today. Today is just the cake idea, so you can go make your own creation!

Kit Kat Cake


Ingredients:
1 2-layer cake (homemade or box mix is fine)
frosting
kit kats
ribbon

Directions:
Make your cake layers and let cool. Once cool, frost both layers and stack. Press kit kats into side all the way around and decorate/garnish as desired. Tie a ribbon around the whole thing and you're done!

Brownie Ice Cream Cupcakes

I've been meaning to post this one for about 2 months, and with St. Patrick's Day coming up, I thought it was about time. Lately we've just been super busy. We took a trip down to Universal Studios for a long weekend, then my mom came to visit for a week, among other things. 2012 is starting out pretty well, i'd say. This would be really good with any ice cream, but the birthday girl I made them for requested mint chocolate chip, and it was a great choice.

Brownie Ice Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix, made according to directions on package
1/2 gallon of ice cream
ganache (Heat 1/4 c. heavy cream until hot then pour over 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips. Let it sit for a minute then stir until smooth. Let it sit for a few minutes to thicken)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 cup muffin tin with foil liners. Spoon about a tablespoon or two of brownie batter into the bottom of each cup. Bake 6-8 minutes until cooked through. Cool brownies then place in the freezer for about 25 minutes. Take ice cream out and let it soften during this time. When the ice cream has softened, run the ice cream scooper under hot water and place a small scoop on each brownie, using a spoon rinsed under hot water to smooth the top over. When they're all done, refreeze the cupcakes for about an hour. After they've frozen, remove and top each one with a teaspoon of ganache. Store in freezer. Remove 5 minutes before serving and enjoy!

Carmelitas

I have a love/hate relationship with pinterest. I love all the ideas. I mean i've found some great stuff there, like these carmelitas and the stand they're on (yeah, I made that). But I hate that nothing is original now days, atleast that's how it seems. Everyone's making and doing the same stuff and even if you think you thought of it first, you just find out everyone else has already done it. Obviously I fall into that as well seeing as how I copied ideas and do so all the time. But it just doesn't feel as special when you can actually see something you want to do or make pinned all over other boards. And then there's that whole awkward thing about making something a friend has pinned, not that they have any claim to it anyway, but not wanting them to think you copied their stuff. Anyone else feeling like this? Maybe it's just me. But either way I still love browsing pinterest and finding new ways to waste my time. Here's one of my finds and boy was it a good one! They remind me of these smores cookie bars that I absolutely love, but with caramel instead of the marshmallow. This is one i'll definitely be looking forward to making again soon!
Carmelitas
seen on Lulu the Baker

Ingredients:

32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel.

Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting

Cake Balls

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I made red velvet cake something. Here's that something. Red velvet cake balls with cream cheese frosting. The thing I love about cake balls (or pops) other than they're delicious, is that you can easily customize them for any occassion. Almost a year ago I posted baby shower cake pops (which happens to be the number 1 viewed recipe here), but I never posted the recipe. Or the "how to" actually, since it isn't really a recipe. So here it is! It's pretty simple..after you've done it once you'll have it down.
Cake Balls

Ingredients:
1 box of cake mix, any flavor, baked
1 can frosting, any flavor
chocolate, candy melts, or almond bark for coating
garnishes optional (such as sprinkles)

Directions:
Bake cake in 13x9 in. pan according to directions.
Let it cool then crumble into a big bowl.
Add the frosting to the bowl of cake, I start with 1/2 can and gradually add more. I usually end up using about 3/4 can. If you add too little or too much your cake balls might fall apart.
Use your hands to combine the frosting and cake until moist then roll into quarter size balls. It will be very messy. Place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and continue until you're finished rolling all the balls, then place them in the freezer until they've firmed up a bit. This will help keep them from falling apart when it's time to dip.
Melt your chocolate and dip balls in. Using 2 spoons, coat the balls and place back on wax paper afterwards. If you're going to sprinkle anything on top, do it now before your coating hardens. Let set until firm, I like to place them in the freezer to speed things up. Once the outside has hardened you can drizzle any extra over the top if you want.

Crepes

For Valentine's day breakfast I got up at 5am and made crepes. Some really good crepes, too. I had no idea just how easy they are to make! I'm a horrible, terrible pancake flipper, so I think it was mostly the size (and thinness) of crepes that had me thinking it would be tricky. Crepes are a lot more forgiving and you can reposition it easily if your flip has a flop. If you can make pancakes, you can make crepes. I've read that usually almost always the first one or two end up being the 'practice' ones that get tossed. I found it a little easier to lift the crepe with the spatula then just use my fingers to flip it. It is really hot though. Fill with whatever you desire, sweet or savory. I chose to spread some warmed Nutella down the center and fill with strawberries and bananas, topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

Crepes
Food Lover's Odyssey

Makes about 20 eight-inch round crepes (6-8 servings)

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Whisk the two eggs together in a bowl, just to break the yolks. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until combined. Put in the refrigerator for one hour before cooking. This lets the flour rest, so that the crepes are not chewy and tough.

Very lightly butter a non-stick pan and heat. Pull from heat and pour in about 1 1/2 ounces of batter. Before putting back on the heat, swirl the pan around so that the batter spreads and creates a round crepe. Cook on medium-high heat until the edges turn slightly brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. The crepe should be a golden color before you turn it. Flip over using a spatula and cook for about 30 to 45 seconds more. Remove from the pan, and continue cooking the remaining batter the same way as above. Place on a tray covered with a paper towel. As you cook the crepes, you can stack them one on top of the other, separating them with a paper towel.

Tips for making a thin crepe (also from Food Lover's Odyssey, that I found very helpful!):

1) The key to a thin crepe is to find the right amount of batter that will thinly coat the bottom of your pan. You might have to make a few messy crepes testers before you find the right size. For an 8-inch pan, a 1 1/2 ounce ladle should work.

2) You also want to very lightly grease the pan. Dip a pastry brush or paper towel in already melted butter and lightly brush/rub onto the pan once, before cooking any crepes.

3) You want to have a hot pan, but raise the pan off the heat when you ladle the batter into the pan, and once you've poured in the batter, immediately start swirling the pan to move the batter out and into a circle.

Chocolate Bowls

Happy Valentine's Day!! I've been cookin up a storm in prep for this evening. It'll be a little too late for us to go out by the time Matt gets home, so we're staying in! One of the things I made are these little chocolate bowls to hold our dessert in. I even used a little water balloon and made one for Rylee. Valentine's day is alll about the chocolate, and this is another great easy way to sneak some more in. I originally planned to do some white chocolate and dark chocolate mousse inside, but I was busy as it was so instead I got some ice cream, covered some strawberries in chocolate and and cut out a couple hearts from red velvet cake that I used for something else I made. Enjoy your evening!
Chocolate Bowls


What you need:
Chocolate, melted (how much you need will depend on how big and how many bowls you make)
Balloons
Wax paper/parchment paper

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Melt chocolate.
Blow up some balloons (1 balloon per bowl) and dip the tops of them in the chocolate. Hold upright swirling the chocolate around for about a minute. (I put some sprinkles on them at this point, you could get creative and sprinkle on whatever toppings you'd like, or just leave them plain.)
Spoon some chocolate onto the wax paper to act as a base for the bowl and set balloon chocolate side down on it. (At this point I placed in the freezer for a minute to harden quicker because as soon as I put the balloon on the base the sprinkles started to run down the chocolate). Repeat with remaining balloons.
Put the chocolate covered balloons in the refrigerator for about an hour then remove and pop the balloons. Carefully peel them off of the chocolate. Serve or store for up to 3 days.