"16" Birthday Cake

A friend of mine saw my final cake--or at least the remnants of it--after I had taken it to the church office to get rid of the rest of it. (You can see it in yesterday's post.) Her son's 16th birthday was coming up, and she was thinking of doing a special cake for it. She asked me if I'd be interested, and I said, "Sure!"

They decided they would like a "16" shaped cake.  I started out with two 11x15 cakes made with 1 1/2 cake mixes each. The "1" is to have Oreo cream filling, and the "6" is to have buttercream filling. I probably could have done this with two 9x13 cakes and had enough servings, but I didn't want to be too small, and I wasn't sure how much cake I'd have to carve out to make the numbers.

 

I put this in the fridge to chill around 5pm and got it out around 12:30a to carve. I made a big "16" using a cool italic font on the computer, and then blew it up huge to the same size as my cake. I then used that as a pattern to carve my cake. You can see my templates and the excess cake that I cut away. There's a yummy use for cake scraps that I'll have to tell you about some other time.

So after carving the numbers, I decided they would be easier to ice if they were separated. I put them on two trays and iced them separately. Here they are with their crumb coats on. These chilled until the next evening when I decorated them with lime green and royal blue stripes. It was quite a job to get them on one board and completely decorated on the sides of the cakes against each other. Fun, fun!!  
 

Thanks for stopping by!

Wilton Method Cake Decorating Class Level II Final Cake

Well, here's my final cake from the Level II Wilton Cake Decorating Course.  I finished the class on March 3rd.  I posted earlier about all the royal icing flowers I made to prepare for it.  This was the final product.  I was extremely pleased with the way that it turned out.  It was almost a shame to cut it, but we did.  I cut it for the ladies here at a stamping workshop later that week, and then I took the leftovers up to our church office to get rid of it.  I didn't need to sit and eat the rest of it myself, and none of the boys here liked it.

It was a fruity cake, a Pineapple Banana Smoothie cake from a Cake Doctor book.  Then, I used pineapple juice and pineapple flavoring in the buttercream.  To finish it off, there was pineapple filling between the layers.  I was a little concerned that it would be too much pineapple, but it wasn't.  It was really good. Thanks for stopping by!

Windowpane Hearts--or whatevers

My oldest son wanted to make these Windowpane Heart cookies from Family Fun for Valentine's Day. I told him we would, but with the school Valentine's Day party and his grandparents visiting last weekend, we made them after Valentine's Day. Consequently, we decided not to make them heart-shaped, but used different cookie cutters instead.

I mixed them up on Saturday thinking that they would be fun to make with Grammy, but the weekend got busy, and we didn't get to it. The dough was in the fridge waiting for us, so we made them this afternoon after the grandparents left to go home. We were stuck indoors watching it snow, so it was a good snowy day activity.

The boys had fun helping to roll out the dough, and it wasn't messy, because the recipe tells you to roll it between two layers of waxed paper. I DO NOT enjoy making cut out cookies, but this was the best cut out cookie recipe I have used to date. I am pretty sure I will use it again to make normal cut out cookies to decorate with icing.

What makes this recipe special is that you bake the cookies on aluminum foil and fill the cut out centers with hard candy. Similar to the Family Fun recipe, we used Jolly Ranchers. The pieces were too big for our small openings, so I used a heavy knife to "whack" the pieces into halves on a cutting board. The boys liked dropping the pieces of candy into the little holes in the cookies too.

I can not even begin to tell you how pleased I am with the way these turned out. I did not have high hopes for them turning out anywhere near as pretty as the Family Fun shows them, but ours did! Yay! It's the little things in life, isn't it? The boys had fun and were so surprised at what they looked like when they came out of the oven. It was a fun baking day with the boys. Thanks for stopping by!

Peach Cobbler

Have you ever seen the Peach Cobbler recipe where you start with a melted stick of butter in your baking dish? I got a recipe like it years ago just after Jim and I were married. I hadn't made it in a long time, and then I saw it again on a blog that I used to follow. I made a few changes to it, and here's my version of it.

Peach Cobbler

1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 c. milk
1-29 oz. can sliced peaches

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the stick of butter into about eight 1 T. pieces and place them in a 9x13 baking dish. Put the baking dish in the oven while it's preheating to melt the butter. Watch it closely so that butter doesn't start to brown.

Strain the peaches and reserve the juice in a glass measuring cup. (I used sliced peaches with no sugar added in pear juice. You may use whatever variety you wish.) Add water to the juice, if needed, to have 1 c. of liquid.

Using a wire whisk, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, reserved juice and milk in a large bowl. Pour the batter mixture into the baking dish over the melted butter. The butter and batter will swirl together on their own somewhat. Do not mix them.

Lay the peach slices evenly in the dish. I like to place each one so that the whole dish is covered evenly with a layer of peaches. I may try using more peaches next time so that there's more fruit in the finished product.

Bake the mixture for about 40 minutes, until the top is light brown and the juices are bubbling around the edges. Enjoy!

I made this for a stamping workshop earlier this week and got many compliments. Give it a try the next time you need a quick and easy dessert! Thanks for stopping by!

Wilton Level I Cake Decorating Class Final

I completed my Wilton Level I cake decorating class tonight! I had Jim take my picture with my cake and certificate when I got home.

Does this cake look familiar? It should, because it's the same as Sally's birthday cake I made earlier this week. It was a trial run for my final.  Sally's cake was coconut, but this one is a Devil's food cake with a chocolate ganache filling between the layers. Then, I made purple roses instead of blue. The instructor said it was beautiful. I can't wait to start Level 2 next week! I already have the kit for it and everything!

Mae Dawson's Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie

My friend, Olivia, asked me in an email yesterday what food Indianapolis is famous for. Every year when her family gets together to watch the Super Bowl, they make foods that are famous from each of the cities the teams are from. The first thing that came to my mind is Sugar Cream Pie. I had never heard of this type of cream pie until I lived here in Indiana.

A few years ago, I came across this recipe for Mae Dawson's Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie on Paula Deen's show, Paula's Home Cooking, on the Food Network. I was looking to find a good sugar cream pie recipe, and this is the best one I've tried so far. It has made it to my "keepers" recipe file. The only thing that I would mention about the recipe is that I had to bake it longer than directed. You may also want to cover the crust with foil for the entire baking time so that it doesn't get overdone. Other than that, it's a great easy recipe--especially when you use a frozen pie crust!

I also mentioned to her that beef tenderloins and baked corn casserole were Hoosier traditions. All you native Hoosiers out there, what foods do you think are traditional Indiana fare? Let me a comment to tell me what food you think Indiana is famous for. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Sally!

My friend, Sally, has a birthday today. I decided a few weeks ago I would surprise her with a birthday cake since I'm taking a cake decorating class. Sally's favorite color is blue, hence the blue roses. However, they're probably a little darker than I would like them to be.

The cake is a coconut cake that I made by using coconut milk in a white cake mix instead of water.  Have you seen the Cake Mix Doctor books? I sort of followed a recipe in the Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, but made a layer cake instead of cupcakes. I should have added coconut flavoring to the cake mix and icing, but I didn't have any. I'll have to get some! There's a coconut filling in between the two layers that comes from a Paula Deen recipe for Jamie's Coconut Cake that I've used before.

This was a trial run of a cake for my Wilton Method Level I Cake Decorating class final on Wednesday evening. The design is from a sample cake in our Level I lesson book. There are little imperfections that I can see, of course, but it looks ok, I think. The consistency of the icing for the roses needs to be a little different, but other than that, I'm pretty pleased with it. Thanks for stopping by!

German Chocolate Cake

Our church hostes a Men for Christ meeting Monday evening. The women of the church were asked to donate pies and cakes for the event. I signed up to bring two cakes--before I decided on a whim to take a cake decorating class. After having my first class last Wednesday, I decided to practice with the two cakes I would make for the church. I just practiced the basics with them:  leveling them, putting on a crumb coat, and simple star tip decorating.

I have never made a German chocolate cake before. I used a chocolate cake mix for the cake, but made both icings from scratch. The Coconut-Pecan Frosting was from my Better Homes & Gardens binder cookbook. Thanks for stopping by!

Baked Pineapple

Last month our church had it's annual holiday meal to celebrate the holidays. Someone brought a baked pineapple dish. I didn't have any of it, but my friend, Sally, did. She commented how good it was, especially with ham. It wasn't at the dessert table, but in with the side dishes. That made me curious, so I went about looking for a recipe to try.

While visiting family in PA between Christmas and New Year's, I made this Baked Pineapple recipe I found online. It was good, but I don't think it was like what was at the church dinner. I'm going to have to find out who brought it and get their recipe! Thanks for stopping by!

Aquarium Birthday Cake

I mentioned yesterday that my oldest son's birthday was Friday. He got a small aquarium for his birthday. To continue the theme, I made this cake for him. He really likes Swedish fish, so that was an added bonus. Thanks for stopping by!

'10 Birthday Cupcakes

Yesterday was my oldest son's 6th birthday. He wanted me to bring cupcakes in for his class. We talked about what kind of cupcakes he wanted, and how he wanted them decorated. He got a red gumball machine for Christmas. He really likes it, and we decided to put gumball machines on his cupcakes.

I used a plastic milk jug cap to make a circular imprint in the white buttercream icing. Then I traced the imprint with the light blue icing for the globe of the gumball machine. The rest is just free-handed. The kids really liked them and thought the gumball machines were cute. Thanks for stopping by!

Quick and Easy Fudge

Jim's dad's birthday was over the weekend. He likes fudge, so last week I whipped up a batch of this easy fudge for him. Believe it or not, this recipe is from my high school freshman home economics class. My grandfather loved this recipe, and I used to make it for him all the time. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Fudge

1 c. butter
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. cocoa
2 T. vanilla
1 lb. conf. sugar

Melt butter and peanut butter in a large pot over medium heat. Remove from heat and add cocoa and vanilla. Add sugar one cup at a time and stir until smooth. Press into a square baking dish and let set until cooled. You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process so you can eat it sooner!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cream Cheese Squares

I made these Cream Cheese Squares for a stamping workshop at my house last night. The ladies seemed to like them. They are super easy to make, and I needed something quick and easy this week!

I did substitute low-fat crescent rolls and Neufchatel cheese to make them a little less sinful, and they were still very good. I also changed the topping. I didn't sprinkle them with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. I made a simple confectioner's sugar icing and drizzled it over them instead.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares

I first tried this recipe a few years ago. I made it one weekend when my parents came for a visit. My dad and I really liked them. They were here two weekends ago, and I made these Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares for them again.

I originally got the recipe from the cooking page of the Farm World newspaper, which ironically is published right here in Knightstown, Indiana. The clipping I have says that the recipe comes from the VeryBestBaking.com site.

Prior to writing this post, I hadn't ever tried going to the site. However, it's sponsored by Nestle and looks like a great new source of recipes! Thanks for stopping by!

Chocolate-Sour-Cream Frosting

Yesterday I told you about some brownies I made from scratch. Here's the recipe for the Chocolate-Sour-Cream Frosting that I added to them to make them even more decadent than they were on their own! Can you tell I was really craving chocolate last week? This recipe is another oldie but goodie from that red and white plaid binder Better Homes & Garden Cookbook that almost everyone owns.

Chocolate-Sour-Cream Frosting

1 c. semisweet chocoate pieces
1/4 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. dairy sour cream
2 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan melt chocolate and margarine over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool about 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating till smooth and of spreading consistency. Frosts top and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers. Store cake in refrigerator.

Thanks for stopping by!

Brownies from scratch

One day last week, my 5-year old wanted to make brownies. I have never found a good recipe for brownies from scratch that I really like, so every time we make them, we try a new recipe. I found this one in the church cookbook that a friend of mine submitted. They were great! Thanks, Amanda, for this great brownie recipe!

Brownies

4 eggs
2 c. sugar
6 T. cocoa
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
12 T. melted butter
1 t. vanilla

Mix together eggs, sugar and cocoa. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in butter and vanilla. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 for 20 minutes, or until they are set in the center.

I made these even more decadent by adding Chocolate-Sour-Cream Frosting. I'll share that recipe with you tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Watermelon Pops... ...sort of

A few weeks ago, I was looking for watermelon recipes. I wanted something watermelon-themed for a stamping workshop snack. I came across this recipe for Watermelon Pops on the Kraft Foods website. I didn't make them for the workshop, but I saved the recipe for the boys and I to try someday.


We made them this week--sort of. We didn't add the mini chocolate chips, and we didn't use lime jello for the top layer, so ours don't look like watermelons at all, but they're still tasty. We used orange on the top layer instead, so they're a strawberry/orange fruity frozen snack. They're not bad, but I don't know that we'll make them again. The boys just don't have a sweet tooth or big appetite for ice cream and/or frozen novelties, so it's hard to tell how long these will remain in my freezer. Thanks for stopping by!

Grandma Kuck's Rice Pudding

A few months ago, I posted about a rice pudding recipe I had found that you made with already cooked rice. It was pretty good, but I became less impressed with it the second and third times I made it. Have you ever had that happen with a recipe you thought you really liked the first time you had it?
Losing excitement about my former recipe made me want to try some others that I had stashed in my "recipes to try someday" collection. Today, I tried this Grandma Kuck's Rice Pudding recipe from Family Fun. It is fantastic! It is exactly what I was looking for--creamy and wonderful! There's no grainy rice texture in it at all, and it's super easy! Now I guess the real test is whether I will like it the second and third times I make it, but I'm sure I will! Thanks for stopping by!

Grape Salad

Earlier this week at a stamping workshop, I made this Grape Salad recipe for our snack. At an earlier workshop, Kristie was telling me about this great dessert she had made with grapes. Then at another workshop we got to talking about the recipe again, and Sally mentioned that she had a recipe for it, and she makes it all the time. So I asked Sally for her recipe, and I made it for all the gals to try. Sally said it's not her recipe, she got it from someone else, so apparently it's a recipe that has made the rounds. It's a great fruity dessert! You should give it a try!

Grape Salad

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. seedless grapes (You may use any mixture of green, red or purple grapes, just one variety, or two, or all three.)

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in grapes. Refrigerate.

Topping

1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans

Mix together and sprinkle on top of the salad. (It's best to add the topping not too long before serving.) Refrigerate.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Supreme

Hi! Sorry I've been delinquent for so long. It's summertime, and the meals have been quick and easy standby's, no new recipes to tell about.

This weekend, I had a stamping workshop at the house. We were making fruit-themed cards, so I made fruity snacks. For dessert, we had Cherry Supreme. It's a recipe of my mom's that she's had for years. I hadn't made it in a long, long time, so I dug out the recipe for us yesterday. I made a few changes to it, so here's my version of it.

Cherry Supreme

Crust:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. melted butter

Mix together and pat lightly into a 9x13 baking dish.

Filling:

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (I used the reduced fat.)
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 T. vanilla
1-8 oz. tub Cool whip (I used the fat free.)

Whip together the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread gently on top of crust. Chill for a few hours. Top with a can of cherry pie filling. (I used the can made with Splenda.) Chill until time to serve. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!