A Roarin' Good Cake

When I asked our now 3-yr-old what kind of cake he wanted for his 3rd birthday, I was not expecting him to say, "A dragon!" As I tried to hide my dismay behind smiles of excitement (how on earth was I going to make a dragon of all things?!), my mind immediately went to the internet.

You can find anything on the internet these days, and sure enough I found this tutorial for how to construct a dragon cake! The design was so easy to follow as far as how to construct the dragon out of cake, and all you need are two round (8 or 9 inch) cakes.

The absolute best thing about this cake was how much Asher loved it. I mean he loved it! He kept going upstairs to look at it and would call down, saying, "Mommy, Daddy, come look at my dragon cake!" Talk about making a mom feel good. :)

I used my favorite doctored up white cake recipe, and added sprinkles to it because Asher loves sprinkles. I also used my go-to buttercream frosting and made 1 1/2 times a regular batch just to make sure I had enough.

The original tutorial used different kinds of candy than I did to make the spikes, talons, etc. and you can certainly use whatever you think will work best.

Supplies
2 8-or-9-inch cakes
3-4 cups buttercream frosting, tinted the colors you like (I did blue and green)
Starburst candy
Chewy Spree
1 large marshmallow
2 fruit roll-ups (I used the tie-dye kind)
4 chocolate chips
2 skewers
candles (I found those crazy squiggle ones at Hy-Vee)
a large cutting board, or some other flat surface to use as the cake base

1. Cut the dragon out using the tutorial link above.
2. Secure each piece to your cake base using a dollop of frosting, and also secure the cake pieces together using frosting (this helps the pieces from separating after you've finished frosting it).
3. To frost the cake you can either slather the frosting all over and then use some type of round bottle cap and make indentations for scales, or you can do what I did. Fill a plastic baggy with frosting and snip off the end. Pipe a line of dots (about 1/4-1/2 inch big) straight across the top of the body. Use a spoon and lightly press into one dot at a time and pull down gently. Pipe the next row of dots close enough to the first to not see cake in between (I alternated my blue and green colors). Continue doing this until the entire dragon is covered with frosting. *Don't be discouraged if it doesn't look perfect - some of those angles are tough, and some of those spaces are hard to get to with piping. The end result will still look good!
4. For the spikes along the spine, slightly flatten the Starburst and cut in half diagonally into triangles. Insert each triangle into the dragon spine and down the tail.
5. Use Sprees and insert them vertically into the dragon's feet.
6. Snip the marshmallow in half horizontally and press each half onto the face for eyes. You can either use black icing to make the pupils, or insert a chocolate chip into each so the round part is facing out.
7. Use 2 chocolate chips to form the nostrils.
8. Insert candles into the snout to look like fire.
9. Wrap fruit roll-ups around each skewer and stick it to itself. Then insert each skewer into the cake to make the wings - you may need to cut the skewers to fit (you can scallop the edges of the fruit roll-ups just by using a scissors).

Look out, he's breathing fire!

It looked good, but does it taste good . . . 

The official verdict was a resounding, "YES!" :)

Hugs and cookies,

Amanda

Candy Lover's Cake

Asher's 3rd birthday came and went, and I still can't believe he's 3! He had an absolute blast with his birthday - he was so excited about everything: cake, candles, presents, singing, seeing family, everything. In fact, today he said, "I need some more birthday, Mommy." Made me feel good to know that he really enjoyed everything about it.

For my little sweetie's actual birthday, I knew I wanted to make a cake that didn't require any fancy decorating by me, since I had already made a dinosaur birthday cake when we had family down to celebrate over the weekend (a post on that cake to come!). This cake couldn't have been easier as far as decorating goes, and the cake and frosting recipes are easy, too.

I used my favorite Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting recipes because you really can't go wrong with either - they turn out every time. I love them.

And, since Asher loves Oreos, I decided to use them in the filling between the cake layers:

Oreo Cream Filling (original recipe can be found here)
8 oz. container whipped topping
4 oz. softened cream cheese
7 oz. jar marshmallow cream
12 oreo cookies, crushed
1. Combine first three ingredients until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate about 1 hour.
2. Stir in the crushed oreos, and spread on top of first cake layer.

Additional Supplies
fun size Kit Kats (I'm not sure how many, so just grab a Halloween sized bag of them)
M&Ms
sprinkles
Assembly
1. Place a dollop of frosting on the center of your cake plate, followed by one cake layer - this keeps the cake from sliding around.
2. Spread the bottom cake layer with the oreo cream filling, leaving about a 1 inch border.
3. Place the second cake layer on top of the oreo filling, and use chocolate frosting to frost top and sides of cake. Don't worry if it doesn't look pretty, it'll be covered with candy!
4. Place Kit Kats vertically around the entire cake and press slightly to stick them to the frosting.
5. Grab some M&Ms and place them in the space between the top of the Kit Kats and the top of the cake.
6. Cover the top with sprinkles and keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat!

This cake screams party! And, it's so fun for kids to eat because it's covered in colorful and chocolate-y candy goodness . . . You probably won't get many complaints from the adults either. :)

Waiting patiently while we sing . . . 

Working hard to blow out those candles!

Hugs and cookies,

Amanda

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I got to make wedding cupcakes again this summer! It was so much fun working with the bride to figure out flavors, colors, etc., and one that we were both really excited about was this Strawberry Lemonade cupcake. There are a lot of these types of recipes floating around on the internet, and all of them are different. The cupcake recipe I ended up using came from my Betty Crocker cookbook, with a few tweaks of my own; the cream cheese frosting recipe was from Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor.

The combination of the light, moist, lemon cupcake with a not-too-sweet strawberry cream cheese frosting is  amazing. In fact, one of my sisters said it was the best cupcake she'd ever eaten! I'll put that compliment in the books. ;) The cupcakes themselves are very tender, yet they hold up nicely freezing and traveling; the lemon flavor is just the right amount - it doesn't slam your taste buds as soon as you bite into it, but as you chew, the flavor develops in your mouth. And strawberry cream cheese frosting? Enough said.

*On a super-exciting note for me, this cupcake recipe would also make a phenomenal yellow cake. From scratch. I've been searching for years to find one that's moist and flavorful. All the ones I've tried are either too dry, not flavorful, or both of those things. With the few changes I made to the original recipe, this is it! Just make sure you substitute vanilla extract for the lemon and leave out the lemon zest if you just want a yellow cake. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Lemon Cupcakes (adapted from Betty Crocker's Starlight Yellow Cake)
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon flavoring
3 eggs
zest of one lemon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners (should get between 24-28).
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat all ingredients on low speed 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Beat on med./high speed an additional 3 minutes.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake approximately 18-22 minutes, or until cupcakes are light golden brown on top and spring back went gently pressed with your fingers.
4. Allow cupcakes to cool for a few minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor)
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. mashed, drained strawberries
1/2 tsp. strawberry extract
1. Beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed 1 minute.
2. Add powdered sugar, extract, and strawberries and mix on low 1 minute until combined. Scrape down bowl, and beat again on med./high speed 1 minute more. Add additional powdered sugar to thicken it if needed, or milk, 1 tsp. at a time if you want it a little thinner consistency.

Hugs and cookies,

Amanda

Strawberry Shortcut Cake

Nothin' says summer like a strawberry cake with whipped cream frosting! The cake is light and moist with a layer of strawberries on top, followed by dollops of fluffy whipped cream. It's definitely one I would make again, and I might even try a white cake mix with raspberry jello and fresh raspberries next time . . . Hmm, that's enticing.

The whipped cream as the frosting is wonderful - it's not overly sweet, which is a nice complement to the sweetness of the cake and strawberries. Bring this to your next picnic or get-together and it'll be a hit! (And so will you.)

Strawberry Shortcut Cake (original recipe here)
1 box strawberry cake mix
eggs, oil, and water as called for on cake box
3 c. fresh strawberries, sliced
1 Tbls. lemon juice
2-3 Tbls. sugar
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (3 oz.) strawberry gelatin
1. Prepare and bake cake in a 9x13 pan as directed on cake box. Allow to cool.
2. Dissolve gelatin in 1 c. boiling water, and stir in 1 c. cold water. Place in refrigerator until cool, but don't let it set up into jello - it should still be liquid.
3. Mix together sliced strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar. Allow to macerate for 20 minutes.
4. Poke holes all over cooled cake with a straw. Slowly pour the liquid gelatin over the entire cake.
5. Spread strawberries over the top and place in the refrigerator.
6.Whip cream and powdered sugar together on med.-high speed until stiff peaks form. Don't overbeat or you'll get butter! Spread over cake and refrigerate cake at least 4 hours before serving.

 This is what the cake looks like after the jello and 

strawberries have been added - so summery!

Hope you're all enjoying the summer so far!

Hugs and cookies,

Amanda

White Chocolate Raspberry Rose Cake

I've been wanting to make a "rose cake" for quite a while now, but nothing had come up to justify making and decorating an entire cake. But, when Mother's Day rolled around and I knew we'd be spending it with my mom and the rest of my family I thought "OK, this is a great opportunity for this and I know it'll get eaten!" I'm the second of six kids, and everyone plus significant others and grandkids was there, so it's a big family.

The tutorial uses a 1M star tip to make the roses, and for some reason I assumed my mom would have one at her house so I didn't bring my own . . . Oops! She had one that was much smaller, so I gave it a go with that, and it still turned out so pretty! This decorating technique is very forgiving, and yet so elegant.

You start with a thin crumb coat of frosting over your cake, so if you mess up on a rose you can just wipe it off and redo it. It's great.

The tutorial I used can be found here. It's very easy to follow. Obviously my cake looks quite different than hers - I think using the smaller tip made it look more vintage-y, so I guess I'm glad it worked out that way because now I know the look of the cake can vary depending on what size tip you use. That's great to know considering you might want a different look depending on the type of situation you're using the cake for (i.e., if you're providing the cake for a wedding, engagement party, birthday, shower, that has a more vintage feel.) Either way you frost it, it'll look gorgeous.

I used a white cake for the layers, and you can find the recipe here (it's the same recipe I use for my white wedding cakes/cupcakes).

For the filling between the layers, I used a raspberry buttercream frosting.
Raspberry Buttercream Filling
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. seedless raspberry jam
3 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbls. milk, if needed
1. Beat butter and jam until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add in powdered sugar (with mixer off) and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
3. If frosting seems too thick, add in milk until desired consistency.

To frost the top and sides, I used a white chocolate buttercream (the original recipe can be found here.
White Chocolate Buttercream
1 1/2 c. softened butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbls. milk
9 oz. white chocolate, chopped (do not use chocolate chips)
1. In a microwaveable bowl, melt the white chocolate at 50% power at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla on med./high until light and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes.
3. Add in milk and beat again until combined.
4. Pour in the melted, cooled chocolate and beat again for about 1 minute.

Frosting/Assembly
1.Place a small dollop of frosting on plate or cake stand to hold the cake in place. Place one cake layer in the center.
2. Use raspberry buttercream filling to frost the top of the first cake layer, leaving about a 1/2 inch border.
3. Top with second cake layer.
4. Frost top and sides of entire cake with a thin layer (a crumb coat) of white chocolate buttercream. You should still be able to see the cake through the frosting - it does not need to perfect!
5. Place your decorator's tip in your pastry bag, and fill about 1/2-2/3 full of frosting.
6. Starting with the sides of the cake, position tip of pastry bag in the center, and slowly circle around in a spiral motion until you reach the top and bottom of the cake. Continue doing this until you've made roses around the entire side of the cake.
7. Do the same thing with the top, but start on the outsides and work your way to the center.
8. Once you've completed all your roses, go back and fill in any empty spaces with smaller roses, or a little swoop. (I used both depending on the size of the gap.)
9. Admire your handiwork and eat up!

The only complaint I got about this cake came from my brother (so that doesn't count, right?). His complaint was that there was too much frosting . . . I tend to eat all the frosting because I love frosting. But, just to warn you, using a piping bag and doing the roses does require a lot of frosting, so you'll end up with more than if you just frosted it with an offset spatula. That being said, know that you don't have to eat all the frosting. :)

Hugs and cookies,

Amanda

A Tale of Two Cakes - Part 2

Have you seen these things called "cupcake cakes"? They're so fun for birthday parties - especially for kids! If you haven't heard of or seen them, basically you take unfrosted cupcakes and form them into some sort of shape (e.g. I used a number 1 for Aiden's bday) and then frost all of them together so the top looks like one big decorated cake. So cool. And, as I said, it's perfect for a party because everyone can just grab a cupcake and you don't have to worry about slicing a cake. I'm in love with the idea.

Mine didn't turn out as smoothly as the video showed, but I already know what I did wrong so I can fix it next time and you won't make the same mistake! Usually when I bake cupcakes, I like a little dome over the liner after they're baked. Apparently (as I discovered), that's not ideal for a cupcake cake. You want the cupcakes as close together as possible so there are few to no gaps between them; otherwise what happens is you need a lot of frosting to put in those gaps. (As I'm writing this, a light went off in my head telling me I could have just trimmed the edges off the cupcakes . . . sigh). Anyway, underfill your cupcake liners a little bit so they don't spread too far over the edges as they bake. Lesson learned.

The cupcake and frosting recipes I used came from "Cupcakes From The Cake Mix Doctor" and were titled "The Best Birthday Cupcakes (with two frostings)" - how perfect is that?!

The Best Birthday Cupcakes
1 pkg. butter golden cake mix
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 Tbls. vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with paper liners (mine made exactly 24, but if you fill them less you'll get more . . . obviously).
2. Place all ingredients in mixer and mix on low speed about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl, and mix on medium speed for 2 more minutes.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full (or a little less if you're doing a cupcake cake) and bake for 24-27 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting

Chocolate Syrup Frosting
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. chocolate syrup
3 c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1. Place butter, cocoa powder, and syrup in mixer and mix 1-2 minutes on medium.
2. Add sugar, milk, and vanilla, and mix on low until combined. Turn mixer to med-high and beat an additional 3-4 minutes.

On a Side Note: This is the first winter since I was little that I remember wishing there was snow on the ground. "Why?" you may ask. Asher got all this winter gear (snowpants, boots, mittens, shovel) and has only been able to use them twice! He had so much fun playing in the snow and being pulled on the sled, and I wish we could do it again! Especially since we also got some snowpants for Aiden on clearance that he hasn't been able to use at all yet. I was hoping to get some pictures of them being pulled together on the sled, but somehow doing that through the mud doesn't sound as appealing . . .

12 Days of Goodies - Day 4: Coconut Cake

For my birthday, my parents got me "The Cake Mix Doctor Returns" and I've been dying to try out one of the cakes. I decided to go with the Coconut Refrigerator Cake for two reasons: 1) I've wanted to make a coconut cake of some kind for about a year now, but haven't found an occasion to do it, and 2) It looked so pretty and festive in the book.
The recipe itself is simple, both for the cake and frosting. However, I definitely ran into problems with the frosting because it would not stay on the cake! It was really frustrating and time consuming to get it to look decent. BUT, don't worry, I have some suggestions below as to alternatives which should make it much easier next time. The wonderful thing about this cake is that it's a refrigerator cake, so you can make it ahead of time and it only gets better as it sits in the fridge. I sliced a piece and then took the rest over to my old work pals as part of their Christmas goodies. So far, the two bites Asher and I have had were very well received.
This. Cake. Is. Delicious. I will definitely be making it again!

Coconut Refrigerator Cake
Cake
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 c. milk
1/2 c. cream of coconut (can be found by the mixed drink ingredients; be sure to stir it well first)
3 eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 9-inch cake pans.
2. Put all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds.
3. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat batter on medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes.
4. Divide batter evenly in cake pans - approximately 1 1/2 c. each. Bake for 18-23 minutes, or until light golden brown, and the top springs back when lightly pressed with your finger.
5. Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn cakes out to cool completely on wire racks.
Frosting
2 c. reduced fat sour cream
1 3/4 c. white sugar
8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 1/2-4 c. sweetened, flaked coconut
1. Place sour cream and sugar in mixing bowl and beat on low for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat on medium until the sugar has dissolved - 2 more minutes.
2. Add whipped topping and beat on low until well blended.
3. Stir in 3 c. coconut, and refrigerate at least 10 minutes
Assembly
1. After cakes have cooled, slice each in half horizontally using a serrated knife - you'll have six layers. Brush layers lightly with cream of coconut, if desired. (I did this for three of the six layers.)
2. Put four strips of waxed paper forming a square and set the first cake layer on it. (This prevents frosting from getting your platter messy). Top cake with a heaping 2/3 c. frosting. Place another layer on, and repeat layering cake and frosting until the top layer is on.
3. Here is where I went wrong, and now you won't. You can use the rest of the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. If so, here are my tips: 1) Start on the top and put frosting on, and slowly work it to the edges and down the sides. It will slide off onto your waxed paper. 2) Do not try to keep putting more frosting on the sides. You will spend forever trying to do this. Whatever sticks with the first application is all that will stick. I mistakenly thought if I refrigerated it and then tried to put more on it would work . . . it didn't. So, frost the top and sides and stick it int he fridge. 3) After it sits in the fridge for an hour or so, take it out and sprinkle the top and press the sides with the remaining 1 c. of coconut. This helps cover any imperfections the frosting didn't cover. I think I would do it this way next time.
Or
If you don't want to mess with that process, here's an alternative: Make half of the frosting recipe and just use it as filling between the layers. It's way too delicious to not use it at all. For the top and sides, you can then use a cream cheese frosting, or a coconut buttercream - I think either would be yummy.

If you learn from my mistakes, you shouldn't have problems. Or maybe your frosting will stick nicely to your cake and not run at all . . . According to the recipe, she adapted this frosting because in her previous recipe the frosting wouldn't stick and kept dripping down the sides . . . Hmmm, that's still happening to me with this one, but maybe you'll have more success. Like I said, I'll definitely be trying this one again. SO GOOD.

*Don't forget to gently pull your waxed paper from the edges of your cake before serving!

Look at that mess!!!

Drippy drippage.

Ta-da! Fixed it - and thank goodness I used the waxed paper trick or it would have been much harder to clean up.

Looks pretty nice, now, right?

It cuts beautifully, too.

12 layers of cake and frosting . . . what could be bad about that?!

It really is a delicious cake.