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

022: banana bread with streusel topping

so my roommate bought bananas for her sick boyfriend, but somehow none of us ended up eating them.  so what better to do with a bunch of overripe bananas than make banana bread??  so that is exactly what i did :o)  prep time was about 20 minutes, and bake time is around an hour.

equipment:
measuring cups and spoons
3 mixing bowls (1 larger, 2 medium)
loaf pans (i used 3 of the little guys, but you could use one standard sized one, too)


ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 overripe bananas, smashed
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. softened margarine (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. sugar
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. softened butter


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 350F.  grease your loaf pan(s)

2.) mix flour, baking soda, and baking soda in the largest of the mixing bowls.

3.) in one of the smaller mixing bowls, smash your bananas.  i used a potato smasher, but you could easily use even just a fork

4.) in your third bowl, cream together your margarine and brown sugar.  add the eggs and beat them in.  add this mixture to the smashed bananas and mix well.  add vanilla to this mix.

5.) add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until moistened.

6.) pour evenly into the loaf pans.

7.) mix together the streusel topping, by creaming together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and sugar with the butter.  sprinkle over the top of the loaves.

8.) bake at 350F for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.  let cool before eating.


time: 20 minuets prep, 60 minutes bake
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦1/2◊◊ (3.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation:  i am not a big fan of crunchy surprises in my breads, but if you want to add crushed walnuts or something, i'm sure that would be an ok addition.


enjoy :o)
-kl

021: birthday fun!

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!