sweet inspiration & fun baking ideas

I wanted to try this Red Velvet recipe from the other day again for a few reasons:

1. I had green food coloring and figured it would be fun for St. Patrick’s Day.
2. Many of you asked if the red velvet cake recipe could be used for cupcakes, so I wanted to find out for you for sure.
3. I wanted to try the cooked frosting that a lot of you recommended over the cream cheese version and
4. I had all of these…

Tiny shamrock sprinkles.

They just had to be used before another St. Pat’s day passed by.

A little liquid food coloring in green. For the red velvet cake I used two bottles, but one was enough for the green.

(P.S. This food coloring works much better than the time I tried to use icing colors.)

For the cupcake version I used one cup of oil instead of 1 1/2 to see how it would be with less.

So far so good.

Too good. Man, I never get cupcakes this puffy when I want them.

Look at that. Lucky I guess. Must be the shamrock sprinkles.

The batter was enough for 22 cupcakes, but judging by the tops, I could have filled them slightly less and gotten a full two dozen out.

If you don’t make the frosting right away, just wrap the cupcakes in plastic.

Okay… now for the cooked frosting.

I don’t know quite how I feel about it. It was good. But, I think I’m still a cream cheese girl at heart.

I used a combination of recipes from the comments on the red velvet post. Thanks Kelly, Shannon, April and all who recommended it. I think I did it right, but you’ll have to tell me before I give a final judgment.

Cooked frosting fans … is it supposed to be more creamy or more light and airy? Mine reminded me of a mousse-like texture and I think I was imaging it to be thicker.

It looked pretty, though.

Here’s the recipe:

Cooked frosting
1 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp ( I think … may have been two… can’t remember which I used for sure.)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

• Cook milk and flour. (Mine was cooked until pretty thick)
• Cool.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
• Add cooled cooked mixture to creamed mixture and beat until combined.

Enjoy on some green or red velvet cupcakes.

And in case you’re wondering…

It works with cake balls, too… with cooked or cream cheese frosting. Your choice.

You can also whip up some of these no-bake oreo balls for the occasion.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day a wee bit early.

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See all these pages?

I’ve been pouring over them this weekend trying to meet a deadline for a project I’ve been working on for more than a year now. It’s a book. Yeah, a book. Crazy, right?! Well, it’s written, designed and now it’s in the final stages of edits before it goes to press. Man, that’s weird to me. I’m soooo not someone who ever thought they would have a book. And, definitely not a book you could walk into a bookstore and find. I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me.

Do you want to see some of it?

Sorry… I can’t show you the inside just yet. That would spoil all the fun.

I wish I could though. Really, I do.

For instance, I’d love to tell you what I did with these.

I think you’d smile.

But, I can’t

I can tell you this, though…

The book has everything to do with these…

At the end of 2008, I went cake pop crazy for a few weeks and made a gazillion pops in different designs. Many of them you haven’t seen yet. I decided back then not to show them all on the site… just in case I ever put a book together and tried to publish it on my own, I wanted to have some that were a surprise to make it more fun.

Try to publish on my own… hahahaha! I’m so glad I didn’t go that direction because I don’t think I would have ever finished it, let alone be able to stock and ship books from my pantry. I don’t picture that going well.

Luckily, I didn’t have to. The publisher I’m working with has kept me focused with deadlines. Deadlines, as much as they stress me out… deadlines help. I had no idea the amount of work that would be involved when I started this. From the hours and hours of writing, baking, dipping, decorating, photographing, and hair pulling for me … to all the time editing, typesetting, and designing on the publishers part. I have a huge respect for anyone who has ever written a book or been part of the process. It’s a monumental project.

I don’t have firm details yet, but it’s on target to come out later this year.

My biggest hope is that it answers your questions about cake pops and inspires you to create more fun designs of your own.

Thank you guys so much for loving these little cakes on a stick. I never would have thought I’d be here right now when I made these.

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You may remember these cookies. I did them a few weeks ago when the Oscar nominees were announced and to kick off a series of movie award season recipes sponsored by Hyundai that have been featured for the last few weeks on the site. This one was in the main section and the others have been linked from a graphic in the sidebar. But I wanted to put the links to all of them here so you can get to them easily now that they’re done. So here goes…

Awards Night Sugar Cookies
Statues in sugar.

Movie Popcorn Brownies
Mini marshmallows make me smile. These were made with movies in mind, and before the actual nominees were announced.

Ribbits & Royalty
Okay, lollipop sticks usually mean cake pops around here, so click through if you want to see some frogs.

Coraline Cookies
Peanut butter button cookies. Cute as a …… okay I won’t say it… I won’t s-… button … I said it. And I also dipped them in chocolate… yum.

Upcake Decorating 101
Hmmm… what’s up with all the sprinkles?

Movie Marquis Cookies
Sugar pearls and frosting sheets help make these.

Lobster Toppers
Fun, but definitely not french.

The above titles are links so you can take a look at the full projects if you like.

Now, all the movie award recipes are sponsored by Hyundai, but I thought I would sponsor a little giveaway myself for more film fun.

Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go. Below are five award categories for the Oscars that air Sunday, March 7th.

To play, just choose who you think will win from each category below and list your guesses in the comments section of this post.

You can copy the categories below and paste into your comment with your choices:

Best Picture:
Directing:
Best Actor:
Best Actress:
Animated Feature Film:

On Saturday, March 6th – the day before the Oscars, I’ll pick one (1) person’s comment at random and post it here on the site.

Then on Sunday, while I’m watching the Oscars, I’ll keep score. For each of the above categories that person gets right, I’ll pony up a $50 gift card. Visa or Mastercard most likely.

5 correct = $250 gift card
4 correct = $200 gift card
3 correct = $150 gift card
2 correct = $100 gift card
1 correct = $50 gift card
0 correct = a virtual pat on the back

Sound fun? Good. Okay, let’s see how good you are at predicting. I’m officially scared.

Deadline to enter is Friday, March 5th at 8:00 pm ET. TIME’S UP! Winner Below.One entry per person please. Good luck!

Okay, MarianaB! This is gonna be fun. I can’t wait to see how good your guesses are tomorrow night. Hope you’re excited.

YAY! MarianaB – You got 2 out of 5 right. A $100 gift card isn’t too shabby. Congrats!!!

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After yesterday’s post, I thought it was only appropriate to follow up with the real thing. No purse this time. This is all cake.

Velvety and yes … red.

And delicious. And moist. And one of my favorites.

It’s covered in cream cheese frosting that’s to die for. Help me.

There’s something about a red velvet cake that always makes me feel good inside. And it’s not just the taste. It’s the memories it brings of family and holidays and home. But it doesn’t have to be saved for special occasions. I think it should be loved all year long.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
• Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
• Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
• Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
• Then make the frosting.

Note: This cake has a pretty good amount of oil and is really moist. I haven’t tried this one with cake balls yet. But, if I did, I would either use less oil or less frosting to mix together. Next time I make it, I’ll do a little experimenting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar

• Sift sugar and set aside.
• Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add vanilla.
• Then, add the sugar in batches. Scrape down the sides in between each addition.
• And frost away.

Please enjoy your heart out.

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Cake, baby!

Yes, this post is all about delicious cake, but just not the kind you eat.

It’s about the kind you can carry. I found this decadent purse online and just fell in love. First with the name of course, and then with the design. It’s from Petunia Pickle Bottom.

But, it’s not just a purse. It’s also a diaper bag. That’s right. Inside this not so little red number is a fold out changing pad, room for diapers and a plastic case for wipes. No one would ever guess. Unless of course they, too have had some cake.

Now, don’t feel like you’ve gotta go and get pregnant just to carry this purse. Petunia Pickle Bottom made the changing pad detachable so you can carry Cake even if you don’t have a little one in tow for a reason.

Did I mention the matching coin purse? Sweet.

Want it? Anyone?

Okay, if you do, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win the Red Velvet Cake purse.

All you have to do is tell me your favorite kind of cake. That’s it.

Deadline to enter is Monday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Sorry, Time’s Up! Winner Below.

One winner will be chosen at random and announced sometime Monday evening on this post.

Good luck.

I’m glad you guys liked this purse so much. I’m just sorry I only have one to give away. I did make you a real red velvet cake though. Check it out. Now for the winner.

Judy, Judy, Judy! Congratulations. Carrot Cake with Red Velvet purse does sound like a perfect combo. You won.

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