so yesterday was my wonderful boyfriend's 22nd birthday (happy birthday, darlin!), so of course i had to make him a cake (as well as his banana pudding--it was a party, after all!). anyway, james's favorite baseball team is the los angeles dodgers, and so what better way to celebrate than by making a cake in the shape of a dodgers jersey? i do, however, have to credit his mom with this perfect idea. thanks annette! and happy birthday, james!
equipment:
mixing bowl
measuring cups and spoons
9x13" pan
cutting board
sharp knife
frosting knife
food coloring
frosting tips
candles
ingredients:
1 box (you know i cheat) cake mix (i used devil's food--james's favorite) and the ingredients on the box
2 cans frosting (i used cream cheese)
steps:
1.) make cake according to box instructions and bake in a 9x13" pan. i also pulled out 1 cupcake's worth of batter and baked it in a silicone cupcake liner (which is awesome cuz you can let it bake freestanding in the oven and it took the same time as the rest of the cake) to use for the baseball. let everything cool completely, and the flip it onto a cutting board by placing the cutting board upside down on top of the pan and turning it over. freeze this until cake is hard.
2.) cut the cake into the shape of a jersey. i cut out the neckline and then only about an inch off the sides underneath the sleeves. i then added some of this cut out cake to the sleeves to make them proportional, connecting them with some of the frosting.
3.) crumb coat the cake and freeze it again (this just makes it all easier to work with).
4.) frost the cake in the colors of the team of your choice. obviously for james this was the dodgers. i used the most awesome frosting tool of all time that i inherited from my mom (thanks mom!) who inherited it from her grandmother. it is a metal tube that holds frosting and the end pushes down to push frosting out of one of 12 tips that go with it (pictured above). it made frosting control soooo much easier! love it. i then decorated the cupcake into the shape of a baseball and put candles on (as buttons). easy, fun, done.
time:less than 10 minutes prep time, 35 minutes bake time, cool and freeze time, about an hour to crumb coat then decorate difficulty: 1.5 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest) rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars) suggestions for variation: try different jerseys and teams. have fun with it!
anyway, happy 22nd birthday, james! i love you!
-kl
SPAIN WINS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! ESPANA ES EL CAMPEON DEL MUNDO!!!! anyway... can you guess who i was rooting for in the world cup?? to celebrate the occasion (just that they made it into the finals! their victory made this treat even sweeter), i made a world cup cake. just thought i'd share :o)
i made this cake (the recipe is written for a 9x13" pan) in an 11x7" pan with 6 cupcakes. i frosted it green and piped it with white to resemble a soccer pitch, then made the corner flags out of toothpicks and colored mailing labels, and finally the goals out of toothpicks and string. the cupcakes i then frosted white and piped with chocolate to resemble soccer balls, and i made the flags again out of toothpicks and colored mailing labels. anyway, it was fun, well-liked, and delicious (though, of course, victory always tastes sweet!). VIVA LA FURIA ROJA!!!
-kl :o)
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!
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
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!
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.
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.
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)
so today is my friend tyler's 20th birthday, and tyler is absolutely obsessed with all apple products. so what better way to celebrate his birthday than to make him an apple [logo shaped] cake?? well, maybe throw in a taco bar, playing super mario (super nes, of course) projected to take up an entire wall, some fantastic party games, and awesome friends and you've got yourself a party! happy 20th, bud :o) anyway, back to the CAKE!
now this baby was a double layered cake and took a 3 day process to make. despite that, it was not difficult at all, only time-consuming. i guess i cheated, because i used cake mixes and store-bought frosting. you are allowed to give up now and call me a fraud, but i hope you'll stick it out.
equipment: 9x13 pan cooling rack cutting boards sharp knife frosting (butter) knife cup of HOT water
ingredients: 2 boxes of cake mix (i used one chocolate and one yellow)and their respective mixing ingredients 3 cans of frosting (white) food coloring
steps:
the reason needed 2 boxes of cake mix is that tyler's favorite is marble cake. it is almost impossible to shape a marble cake, so to get the same marble taste, we went for 2 layered cake. i began with the chocolate on the bottom and added yellow cake to the top so as to mess up the coloring of the frosting less (yellow cake offers a more blank palate than does chocolate).
i began by making a 9x13 pan of chocolate and greased the WHOLE pan and sides really well. i baked it according to the instructions on the box, and let it cool for about an hour. i then put a cooling rack on top of the 9x13 pan, held it in place and flipped the whole cake pan over onto the cooling rack without the 2 ever losing contact. this makes it easier to flip onto another surface later, as well as serving to let it squash down a little bit so your cake isn't quite so tall. after this fully cooled, i used the same process to flip it back into the 9X13, and then again into a cutting board (i used white to be a blank palate). i just cut the cake to fit onto the cutting board without discarding too much cake. after this, i wrapped the cake and cutting board in saran wrap and refrigerated it overnight.
the exact same process was used for the yellow cake, and this went onto a second cutting board, though this one doesn't matter regarding color or material, as the cake will eventually get transferred on top of the chocolate one.
i then took both cakes out of the fridge and frosted the chocolate one (i just kept this frosting white) on top to act as the congealing layer between the two cakes. transferring the yellow cake on top of the chocolate one was probably the hardest part of the whole process, and i ended up using a slow slide and transfer process, though i think freezing the yellow cake might work better so as to be able to get a firm grip on it without fear of it breaking or crumbling apart, which is the trouble i was facing.
the final product, but for an idea of the layering involved
then i made a rough outline on the cake of an apple and mostly carved the corners away with a sharp knife, soaking it in a cup of HOT water in between every cut. this is a classic wedding cake trick to get the cleanest cut and get rid of any cake or frosting particles that you don't want in another area of your cake. so the apple shape was cut and all that remained was the leaf. i used the "bite" piece (cut after the whole apple shape was cut) as the leaf, as they are essentially the same shape. this i had to prop up with toothpicks, but i later frosted over them and warned the person who ate the leaf about them so they wouldn't choke and die, haha.
then it was time to frost. i did this in two layers--one as a rough covering and one as a finished layer. looking back on it, i could have done the first layer in white and not worried about the coloring yet, but i did not know at the time that it would take two layers to look good. so i just used food coloring to dye my white frosting and put it in the proper locations to cover both the sides and the top of the cake. *TIP: put the cake in the freezer for a few minutes (20 or so) before you start this process, as it will be much easier to frost, and also do this (10 minutes or so) in between every color change.* i also froze it for about half an hour before starting the second layer, and then kept it refrigerated until it was served. this was the time consuming part, but none of it was hard.
anyway, it was a major hit at the party. to cut it i again used my sharp knife and hot water and cut it like a wedding cake. everyone seemed to enjoy it, and the reaction was more than worth the tediousness of the effort!
so today is my roommate's birthday (happy birthday, rachel!!), and of course i had to make her some cake, and an awesome cake at that. so then i remembered that her sister-in-law made this crazy wicked cake that she was mooning over, and i decided to give it a try. so here it is. we like to call it rachel and the amazing technicolor clown cake. have fun!
equipment: 1 mixing bowl twice as many bowls as colors of food coloring that you have twice as many spoons as colors of food coloring that you have
ingredients: white cake recipe (i used a boxed cake recipe for a 9x13" pan *NOTE: for better colors in your dye, use the egg white recipe instead of the whole egg recipe, as it eliminates the yellow from the yolk that might mess up your dye colors*) white frosting recipe (i used a pre-made store-bought white frosting) food coloring
steps: 1.) mix cake batter according to recipe. separate equal amounts into as many bowls as food coloring colors that you have (i had 4 colors, thus i quartered the batter into 4 bowls).
2.) mix different color into each bowl.
3.) spoon batters into cake pan. i know this sounds weird, but i promise that it will stay put and you won't have colors running into each other to make a non-chocolate brown cake (unless you mix them together yourself). be sure that the batters cover the surface of the cake pan at an even level. if not, add a color (either the same or different, which creates an awesome layering effect) over the top of the bottom layer. be sure to use all of the batter.
4.) bake according to recipe instructions. LET COOL COMPLETELY (this is important).
5.) if you're so inclined, do the same thing with your frosting as you did with your cake batter. i put the same color frosting as was the color of batter underneath just by mixing the frosting together with the food coloring and basically frosting by numbers using the colored cake surface as my guide. the colors thus went all the way through the slices.
time: according to recipe difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest). not hard at all, just a touch tedious. rating: fun!! (no star scale this week, as the recipe belongs to a major cake/baked goods manufacturer and came out of a box) suggestions for variation: try writing something in the batter, or making other sweet designs and shapes rather than just random swirlings.
hello! my name is kendra, and i am a recently married workaholic with never enough time or energy. one of the things i enjoy, however, is simple, fast, and inexpensive cooking. please feel free to comment on recipes or leave suggestions for existing or future recipes. thanks for visiting!
happy cooking :o)
