Baby Cake!

Eeeeek! So exciting! My friend asked me to do a "gender reveal cake" for their second baby. The doctor seals the information and ultrasound in an envelope so even the parents don't know. I received the envelope, dyed the cake either pink/purple or blue, and covered it up with chocolate frosting to prevent peeking. Then the parents had a little cake cutting party with their family and then gender of baby #2 is revealed!

Which one will it be?!

It's a boy!!

The batter was so pretty!

Notes and observations: the crumbs! I made the cake at my friend's house and was so worried about blue crumbs or batter hiding some where and giving it away. A couple of times crumbs got in the frosting and I was all "noooooooooo!!". I also resisted licking the batter because I didn't want to stain my lips or teeth, it was so hard. Also the outside of the cake turned a hideous green-brown-yellow color and I was worried. When I cut the top off the cake to layer them I could see that the inside was perfectly blue but it was still a stressful moment when I took the ugly looking cake out of the oven.

Congratulations! I was so excited to be part of this baby announcement!

Birthday Cake!

Poor Mr. Lawyer's birthday was a bit overlooked this year with our holiday weekend in NYC, me starting school again, and our engagement party so I made him a birthday cake! Technically it's still his birthday month so it's okay. He requested a coconut cream cake...that's right, cake not pie. I had to go to three different stores before I found coconut cream! Actually I ended up with cream de coconut which is sweeter so I just added less condensed milk. I also decided to use two round cake pans and layer them in order to make it more festive. I also toasted the coconut for some color. It was a hit! And the reviews said it gets better the next day. Mmmmm....cake for breakfast.

He was surprised when he walked in and saw a cake with candles!

A work in progress....thank god for frosting!

 mmmmmm cake!

Coconut Cream Cake

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, water and coconut flavoring. Beat for 2 minutes and pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
3. In a medium bowl, combine coconut cream with sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. 

4. When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it in even rows using a large fork or chopsticks. Pour milk mixture over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
5. In a large bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut.

Birthday Cake!

The Mother Unit came up and she brought a birthday cake! Woo! 

I asked for something that wasn't too sweet as I haven't recovered from my holiday sugar overdose. This pumpkin cake was perfect! Mom says that it's better if you make it ahead of time and let it sit overnight (minus the caramel and nut topping, add those right before serving). We may or may not have had some for breakfast.

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix 

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided 

1.5 cup milk 

1 1/3 cup oil 

4 Eggs 

1-1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice , divided 

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 

1 cup powdered sugar 

1 tub (8 oz.) cool whip, thawed 

1 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping 

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F. 

2. Beat cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. 

3. Pour into two greased and floured 9·inch round pans. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.
4. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently stir in cool whip. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; top with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

cake mix without the cake

Adding cake mix to your ice cream? Smart. Adding cake mix to your rice krispie treats? Also smart. I have made two batches to far: one for our NH vacation and the other yesterday with the leftover s'more marshmallows from said vacation. BAM!

Rice Krispie Treats

(from the box! but the cake batter idea from the internet)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package regular marshmallows (or 4 cups mini marshmallows...but I like to save them for the hot chocolate!)
6 cups Rice Krispies

1/4 to 1/3 cup cake mix (depending on your how strong you want it)

Sprinkles! (so not jimmies)

Directions:

1. Melt your butter and then through in your marshmallows. Once it's all melty, stir in cake mix and sprinkles.

2. Mix in rice krispies and transfer to a lightly greased pan. Let cool. Add more sprinkles if desired.

There is a nice vanilla flavor to these treats. Not as good as the cake batter ice cream but still more flavorful than regular rice krispie treats. Besides, what else am I going to do with that half used open box of cake mix?

Artsty Birthday Cake!

For Mrs. T's birthday I made an Artist Palette cake! I used a regular 9 inch cake pan, trimmed the sides to give it the appropriate shape and used my small biscuit cutter to make the hole. Then came some fun times with the food coloring!

Zucchini or Pickles?!

Last weekend while reading at the shore I saw this delicious looking bundt cake in my Martha magazine. This weekend I was actually home to make it! But first, I have to make a disclaimer: I will never love any zucchini bread, cookie or cake as much as I love my Grandpa Norm's recipe (although I am madly in love with Martha's Zucchini Cookies). Due to this fact I thought the actual cake part was lacking in flavor. My recipe has more cinnamon and vanilla in it. But Mr. Lawyer is devouring it so I guess it's not a real problem, just a personal preference. The orange glaze is absolutely amazing. I will definitely be saving it for some other dessert creation, like muffins. I thought zucchini and orange was an odd combination but it grew on me. The candied zucchini is okay, really just for garnish but it doesn't add any necessary flavor so it could be skipped. I don't have a mandoline to make nice pretty ribbons like Martha so I used my food processor and mine ended up looking like pickles! Oh well.

Zucchini Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze and Candied Zucchini

(from Martha Stewart Living)

Cake Ingredients:
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2.5 cups flour
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds (omitted, didn't have them)
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional (omitted, didn't have it)
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium zucchini
3 large eggs
1.5 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Cake Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.
2. Grate zucchini and size dry. You will need around 2.5 cups.
3. Stir together eggs and sugar, then stir in melted butter, zucchini, orange zest and juice. Stir in flour mixture. Transfer batter to pan.
4. Bake for one hour. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer cake to plate. Cool before brushing on glaze and adding candied zucchini.
Orange Glaze Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 pinches ground cardamom, optional (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Milk for thinning if needed
Orange Glaze Directions:
1. Whisk together sugar and cardamom
2. Whisk in zest and juice until it has the consistency of thick honey. If too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
Candied Zucchini Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 zucchini
Candied Zucchini Directions:
1. Slice zucchini into ribbons using a mandoline. I don't have one and used the slicing disk on my food processor.
2. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and add zucchini. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until translucent. If you place a circle of parchment paper over the top, it helps keep the slices under the liquid.
3. Let zucchini cool in syrup and then arrange zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet. Let dry for 1 hour.

three horns never play with long necks.

To top off our manly man dinner party we had this:

Sharptooth! RAWR!

Thanks to Christine and Amanda for their assistance with the frosting job!

"So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley. There had never been such a herd before. A long neck, a three-horn, a big mouth, a flyer and a spike-tail all together, all knowing that if they lost their way, they would starve or find themselves in Sharp Tooth's shadow." -The Land Before Time

Birthday Cake!

Melissa has made this cake for my birthday every year since I was 16. I'm madly in love with it and make everyone eat it. It's a heavenly combination of chocolate and mint and fudgie-ness. It's so famous that even Sandy made it in Tonga. So in honor of Brad's birthday we have cake! And for obvious reasons the Boston Red Sox logo could not be as awesome as our Phillies Cake.

Jenni's Chocolate Mint Torte Birthday Cake

(from the Kitchen of Melissa)

Ingredients:

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions:
1. Set a roasting pan on lowest rack. Fill pan with water. Pre-heat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray. Cut parchment paper large enough to cover bottom and hang over sides of pan. Coat again with cooking spray.
2. Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Let cool slightly.
3. Put heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until soft peaks form. 1 to 2 min.
4. Put eggs and sugar in the clean bowl and wisk until triple in volume. Gently fold half of chocolate mixture into egg mixture until almost incorparated, fold in remaining chocolate. Fold in whipped cream and peppermint.
5. Reduce oven temp to 325. Pour batter into loaf pan. Set pan in roasting pan. Bake until it looses it's sheen and appears set when jiggled. About 25 - 30 min.
6. Carefully transfer roasting pan from water bath.; let cool.
7. Pulling on parchment paper, remove torte from pan and transfer to baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 min. Using a spatula gently loosen torte from parchment paper and invert onto a serving platter. Lightly dust with cocoa powder.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
Directions:
In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like.

From the Bakery of Jenni and Amanda!

I must start this post with two disclaimers:

1. Amanda and I are awesome.

2. I've never been a huge traditional cake fan which is why the Mother Unit always made me cheesecakes for my birthday and Melissa always made me flour-less chocolate tortes.

That being said this was a pretty good cake recipe and the frosting was banging. I also picked up a cake decorating kit for 6.99 at HomeGoods which was the best decision ever.  Even if I never touch it again the amusement it provided for us last night was well worth 7 bucks. Oh, third disclaimer.

3. Amanda and I have never really decorated a cake before...but we do watch Food Network!

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake

(From the Mother Unit who, given the name, got it from Hershey)

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
1 batch "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. 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 super thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. 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. Frost .
"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:
1. 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.

To see how our amazing cake came to be, follow the link for a photo story!

but where's the rum?!

This past weekend my family came down to ship the Dork off to Washington so I made dinner for everyone. We had cheese, hot salami, crackers, olives, bread and oil, and goat cheese pesto bruschetta. 

The main course was my standby Tortellini with sausage, fennel and mushrooms because I didn't feel like experimenting with anything (but I promise not to cook it again for months!) with some NYS wine I had Dad and Melissa bring down.

Dessert was a new experiment and it came out fantastically! Of course it helped that it was heavily spiked with rum...

Rum Cake 

(The Mother Unit)

Cake Part 1: 
2 cups cake flour
1 ½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
½ cup butter, cut into bits
3 tbs vegetable oil
Cake Part 2:

½ cup finely chopped walnuts
1 (3.5 oz) pkg vanilla pudding mix – instant type
½ cup milk
4 eggs
½ cup Vanilla Rum (Normal is fine!)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Rum Sauce: 
½ cup butter
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
½ cup Vanilla Rum (Normal is still fine!)

Rum Glaze:

1/2 Cup Confectioner's Sugar

1 Tablespoon Rum

1 Teaspoon Water
Directions:
1. Use an electric mixer on low speed to combine "the Cake Part 1" ingredients in a large mixing bowl until the mix is the consistency of fine gravel, and all of the particles are almost equal in size.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a large bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle the chopped nuts into the bottom. 

3. Add "the Cake Part 2" ingredients (pudding, milk, eggs, rum, oil and vanilla) in a large bowl and combine on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl halfway through. Batter should be very smooth. Pour into bundt pan and level out top. Bake until fully golden and tester comes out clean. About 55 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack, keep in pan until cool.
4. In a small saucepan combine butter, water and sugar from glaze recipe. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved and syrup is well combined and thicker. Remove from heat and add the rum.
5. While cake is still cooling, pour hot syrup into, on top and around the edges of the pan. Cool cake completely in pan before turning out onto serving platter. 

6. Mix confectioner's sugar, rum and water (till desired consistency) and drizzle over the cake while it is still hot.

And then as payment I put everyone to work hanging my pictures. Ha.