029: another birthday!

this time it was my mom's birthday, and she loves her garden.  so what more fun could be had than a flower-themed birthday cake?  or, rather, cupcakes.  this was fun, and easy, and absolutely adorable.  i got compliments all night long on these sunflowers :o)

equipment:
knife
plastic bag
scissors
frosting tips if you have them (petal and point)
small flower post (i used really fun colored 3.3" plastic pots from the hardware store (washed, of course!) and stuffed the bottom) 
paper to stuff the bottom of your flower pots


indredients:
cupcakes (i used my red velvet cupcake recipe)
frosting (i used chocolate cream cheese on top of the cupcakes and dyed vanilla for the flowers)
food coloring
oreo or oreo style cookies


steps:
1.) frost your cupcakes with frosting (i used chocolate cream cheese, as it's brown, which looks more like dirt than regular cream cheese frosting to pair with red velvet cupcakes).

2.) place a small daub of the same frosting on the back of an oreo-style cookie and put either one or two cookies on top of each cupcake.

3.) use either colored or dyed frosting for the next part (i used vanilla and colored it yellow with food coloring).  if you don't have frosting tips, place your frosting into a plastic bag and cut one of the corners off (make sure it's small!  frosting comes out quickly, and you can always make it bigger if necessary).  if you do have frosting tips, do the same using the petal tip.

4.) draw petals around the edges of each oreo-style cookie.

5.) repeat step 3 with green frosting, this time using the pointed tip for drawing the leaves.  draw the leaves straight onto the top of the cupcakes.

6.) it might be prudent at this point to freeze your cupcakes, covering them very lightly with plastic cling wrap.  this will harden the frosting and make it easier to handle for the next part.

7.) stuff the bottom of your flower pots with some kind of paper (given the birthday theme i used tissue-style paper) so that the new bottom of the pot is about 2 inches from the top.

8.) place your cupcakes into the pots!


time: about an hour for decorating and finishing time
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation: play around with different cupcake and frosting combos, different cookies, and different kinds of flowers.  just have fun with it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!

enjoy :o)
-kl

028: red velvet cupcakes

these are the most moist and fluffy cupcakes i've ever eaten in my life.  and i didn't even manage to get a picture of one!  but i used the finished product for my sunflower cupcakes.  prep time was about 10 minutes, and bake time was around 20.


equipment:
cupcake/muffin tins
cupcake/muffin liners
mixing bowl
spoon
measuring equipment


ingredients:
devil's food cake mix (and ingredients the box recipe calls for)
1 package dry pudding mix (i used vanilla)
2 t. vanilla
2 T. instant hot chocolate powder mix
red food coloring
chocolate cream cheese frosting


steps:
1.) preheat your oven according to the instructions on the box.

2.) make the devil's food cake mix according to the box instructions.  add pudding mix (vanilla actually emphasizes the flavor of chocolate, but you could easily use chocolate, too), vanilla, and hot chocolate mix to the batter.  mix until well blended.  add the red food coloring until the batter has a red-ish tint.

3.) fill your cupcake/muffin tins with cupcake/muffin liners, or grease your tins.  fill the tins about 2/3 full and bake according to the box instructions.

4.) let cool completely.  frost as desired, but chocolate cream cheese frosting was wonderful on them!


time: about half an hour
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (5 out of 5 stars)

see how easy that was?  and they're so delicious!  enjoy :o)
-kl

027: graduation fun!

so for those of you who don't know, i recently graduated from college!!!  i've been so busy finishing up my degree, that i haven't had time to post much.  but!  i did have time to make a few fun graduation-themed desserts for our grad party.  fun, delicious, and super easy--i got compliments on these throughout the party :o)

both of these ideas are for graduation mortarboards that are edible and tons of fun!  the first is for the one on the right.

027a: mini reece's peanut butter cup and hershey's chocolate mortarboard

equipment:
knife

ingredients:
mini reece's peanut butter cups (i used the 40 oz bag, which had approximately 60 cups in it)
hershey's milk chocolate bars (i bought 2 of the 8 pack bars, and used 15/16 bars)
mini m&ms (my school colors are blue and white, so i used just blue ones)
school colored frosting  to make tassel
peanut butter (optional)

steps:
1.) unwrap your peanut butter cups and chocolate bars.

2.) flip peanut butter cups upside-down and put a small bit of either frosting or peanut butter on the now top of the peanut butter cups (i used peanut butter).

3.) break the chocolate bars into double-wide squares.  given that each column is 3 squares, you will have extra single squares left.  you can either use these singles together to make a double (as seen in the front of the picture above) or eat them :o)

4.) put a line of frosting on the top of your now mortarboard-shaped treats beginning at the center and working out to an edge or corner.  place a mini m&m on the top in the middle.


time: about half an hour for all 60 or so
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦♦ (5 out of 5 stars)



the second recipe is a 3-4 biter instead of a 1 biter like the above, and is more chewy.  in the very first picture, it is shown on the left.

027b: brownie cupcake mortarboards

supplies:
mixing bowl
measuring equipment
knife


ingredients:
mini brownie cupcake mix (i used this mix and made 2 boxes, or 4 total packages, to make a total of 24 cupcakes.  an advantage of these is that they come with their own tiny cupcake pans).
chocolate covered graham crackers (i used these)
frosting (given that everything else was chocolate fudge, i used chocolate fudge frosting) (optional)
school colored frosting to make tassel
m&ms, reece's pieces, york pieces or other circular coated candy in school color (i used york pieces, given that they're blue and white and so are my school colors)

steps:
1.) bake mini brownie cupcakes according to package instructions.

2.) while your brownies are baking, cut some of your chocolate covered grahams in half.  the ones i got were rectangles and looked awkward, so to make them square, i used a sharp knife and cut some of them in half and later fused the two together on top of the brownie.  but i'm getting ahead of myself.  since i made 24 brownies, i used 36 total cookies, and cut 12 of them in half.

3.) after they're done, let the brownies cool completely, and flip them over.  put flavored frosting (or colored frosting) on the now top of the brownies.

4.) put the flavored frosting on the "raw" edge of one of the cut graham pieces and use the frosting to "glue" it to one of the whole ones.  then, put this whole square on top of the frosting on top of the brownie cupcake.

5.) to finish, put a line of colored frosting on the top of the mortarboard-shaped dessert, starting at the middle and working toward and outside edge.  to disguise the seam, perhaps draw it along part of the seam, as pictured above.  end by putting the york pieces (or whatever candy suits your school's colors) in the middle.


time: 5 minuets prep, about 20 minutes to bake, an hour for cooling, and half an hour for assembly and decoration, for a grand total of about 2 hours.
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)


these treats really were the hit of the grad party.  hope you enjoy them, too!
-kl

 congrats to all the grads of 2010!!!

026: better than sex cake

yes, i know, i know, another cake.  but look at the name of it!  how can you not want to know more??  well, i assure you it's quite simple, and i took it to a girls' night party, and it went quickly and got rave reviews.  no, it's not an original recipe, but i did make a few modifications here and there.  prep time is about 5 mins and total time around 2 hours.

equipment:
9 x 13 glass baking pan
medium bowl for mixing
liquid measuring cup
2 gallon-sized ziplock style bags
hammer
toothpick


ingredients:
1 box german chocolate cake mix (though you could also feasibly use devil's food if you were so inclined) and everything the box mix says you need to make the cake (usually oil, eggs, and water)
1 can (14oz, though you won't use the whole thing) sweetened condensed milk
caramel sauce (i bought a 12oz container, and only used about 8oz of it)
1 container (8oz) of whipped cream (i used the publix version of cool whip)
1 bag of fun sized heath bars or 8 king sized heath bars
chocolate sauce (you'll only need a bit, so the smallest size is fine if you don't have any ice cream to put the rest on)


steps:
1.) make the cake according to the directions on the box.

2.) while the cake is baking, unwrap the heath bars, put them into one of the bags and that bag in the 2nd.  on a safe surface use a hammer (or something equivalently hard) to crush them into small pieces.

3.) let the cake cool completely.

4.) poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick almost all the way down the height of the cake.

5.) generously pour the caramel and sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake (it's going to seep down into those holes you just made).

6.) frost it with whipped cream.

7.) sprinkle crushed heath bars over the top of the whipped cream and drizzle chocolate sauce over the top.

time: 5 minuets prep, about 2 hours total bake, cool, and top time
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation: mess around with the toppings you use.  maybe try twix instead of heath bars?  different kinds of cake?  fudge instead of or in addition to caramel, sweetened condensed milk, and/or chocolate sauce?  have fun playing around with it!

enjoy!
-kl

025: baked sweet potatoes

look!  real, non-birthday festivity food!  this is my mom's baked sweet potato recipe with my own personal spin.  it's easy to make, and pretty much delicious.  prep time is about 10-15 mins, and bake time was probably around half an hour to 45 minutes.  the sweet potatoes are the dish on the left, and the cranberry recipe is coming up as soon as i revise it a little bit.

equipment:
vegetable peeler (optional)
knife
glass baking pan (i used a 9x13 for 4 potatoes)
small mixing bowl

ingredients:
as many sweet potatoes (yams) as people
butter (melted)
cinnamon
cayenne pepper
ginger
nutmeg

steps:
preheat oven to 350 degrees.  wash and peel each sweet potato.  then cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices so that they resemble chips or disks (see picture above).

mix together the topping, which consists of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and ginger.  i also added a few grates of fresh nutmeg.  for 4 potatoes, i used about 2 T. of cinnamon, about 3/4 t of cayenne pepper, and 1/4 t. ginger as well as the nutmeg.

place the sliced potatoes in rows (almost like fallen dominoes) in a glass baking pan.  the drizzle the melted butter over the top of the potatoes (this ensures that the topping will stick).  sprinkle on the topping, and bake until the potatoes are soft.  honestly, i think it's impossible to overcook a sweet potato, and i wasn't paying attention to how long i left them in the oven, but it was probably somewhere between half an hour and 45 minutes.  let them cool a bit before serving, but do serve them warm. 

time: 10 minuets prep, 30-45 minutes bake
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation:  play around with the exact mix and proportion of your spices to best suit your tastes.  i, for example, love cinnamon, but am not a big ginger gal, so my proportioning might be a little off for your tastes.

enjoy!
-kl

024: even MORE birthday fun!

i know, i know, you're sick of birthdays.  BUT i have a lot of awesome people i'm close to born right around the same time, sooo... deal with it.  haha.  anyway, today is my roommate's birthday.  things rachel loves: ice cream, ice cream cones, cupcakes, funfetti cake, and frosting.  so this idea combines alllllll of those in one fantastically delightful (and super easy) birthday cake.

equipment:
muffin pan
cupcake liners
mixing equipment
frosting knife
candles (optional)


ingredients:
cake mix (i used funfetti cuz it's rachel's favorite)
frosting (again, i cheated and used the canned stuff--it took me 2 cans)
cake cones (flat-bottomed ice cream cones)
sprinkles or other decorations


steps:
this was sooo easy it's unbelievable.  mix up your cake mix and spoon it into the cupcake lined muffin tins.  then, place the ice cream cones upside-down on top of the batter (it's best if you smoosh them down just slightly into the batter so the cupcakes rise right into the cone) and bake them.  then let them cool completely, and remove the cupcake liner from the top of the ice cream cone.  frost and decorate!  i was also surprised to find that these did not require a crumb coating, and i just dipped the frosted cupcakes into the sprinkles, however you can probably use crushed nuts, candies, and etc.  get creative!  so easy and so fun, and a delightfully innovative way to eat a cupcake.  the only tricksy part is storing them, as they're somewhat top-heavy and gooey with frosting.  i ended up cutting rounds in old shoe boxes to store them upright.

 happy 23, rachel!  i love you :o)
-kl

023: more birthday fun!

boy oh BOY have i been busy!  i have several recipes to upload, and i will get to them all when i can, but for now, this is just another fun cake i did for my dad's 50th birthday!  he absolutely loves trains, so with a little help from betty crocker, i made this masterpiece for his surprise birthday party.  this cake fed around 20 people with leftovers, so it's definitely possible to halve the recipe and make it on a much smaller (aka not table-sized) scale for your train lover.  delicious AND fun :o)

 equipment:
 2-4 loaf pans
serrated knife
glass of hot water
cookie sheets or cutting boards
frosting knife
candles (optional)


ingredients:
cake (i cheated and used 2 boxes of cake mix)
frosting (this bad boy took 1 can of chocolate and 3 of vanilla)
food coloring
round candies


steps:
because we were feeding so many, 2 batches of cake mix were necessary (many thanks to my mom for making the cakes!).  these were mixed into 2 loaf pans per batch (4 total loaf pans) and frozen after they cooled and were removed from the loaf pans

after they were frozen thoroughly, each cake was removed from the freezer individually and the rounded top cut off using a serrated knife.  *hint: this process becomes much easier if you dip the knife in hot water between each cut!  flip the cakes over so the part that used to be the top (now flat after cutting the rounded part off) is facing the counter and becomes the bottom.  this makes the cakes much more structurally stable.

first, i made the engine.  this is its own loaf pan, and is the biggest piece you'll be working with.  cut off the sides the long way of the cake so the cake is about 3 inches wide.  then cut 2 of the corners off so the shape is now a really awkward hexagon.  then, about 2 inches back from the back edge of those cuts, cut halfway down the height of the cake in 2 strips about 2 inches apart, the across the bottom of those 2 incisions to remove a piece half as thick as the cake itself.  "glue" this piece back onto the cake with chocolate icing so the back lines up with the first incision you just made.  confused yet?  check out the diagram below for some visual help and much needed clarification.

the rest of the cakes are really easy--just quarter them.  again, be sure to have the side that you cut the rounded top off become the bottom.  these quartered pieces become the "cars." place them the long way behind the engine piece.  i just placed my pieces on cookie sheets, but you could also do it on cutting boards or whatever you have that is big enough to support the whole train.  regardless, it should be something that you can put in the freezer.  after all your pieces are cut, place them onto whatever surface you're using (from here on out, i'll just say cookie sheets) in a train-like shape, meaning the engine followed by the cars in whatever arrangement suits your location best.  once arranged, put them back in the freezer, as this makes your decorating job MUCH easier.

the hard part is over!  phew!  now comes the tedious stuff--decorating.  i used all chocolate frosting on the engine and all vanilla on the cars.  take your cookie sheets out of the freezer one at a time, and crumb coat your pieces.  this means that you cover the pieces using frosting and a knife just to seal the crumbs of the cake in so that they don't affect your final decorating.  freeze each cookie sheet again after each piece on it is crumb coated.

then comes the actual decorating.  i did the engine all in chocolate, but each car i dyed a different color by mixing food coloring into the vanilla icing.  after each car was frosted, i added wheels by using round candies.  i piped spokes on to these with colored frosting, and connected them to the cars using plain frosting.  add whatever other decorations you like to your cars--be creative and have fun!  add candles if you want, but above all, enjoy :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!  i love you :o)
-kl