Cake. Inspired.

I whipped up a super easy and cute Moana cake for one of my oldest and dearest friends ever. (Yes, once again I forgot to take proper pictures of the cake so all I had was a snap shot while it was in the truck.  When will I learn?)

Spice Cake with Pumpkin and Chocolate Chips *Cake Mix Hack*  Another super easy yet super yummy cake mix hack.  With this recipe I made giant Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.... to die for.  For real. You will need: 1 box spice cake mix 1 can pumpkin (15 oz) 1 egg chocolate chips Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl and mix until combined. Fold in desired amount of chocolate chips. Cook according to box directions.    You will not believe the flavor and moist texture of these cupcakes.  Devine.  Seriously.  Devine.

This style unicorn cake has made its rounds, more than once HOWEVER when the cutest little soon to be 6 year old sends her Auntie a picture of her dream cake...  Yeah, you do it and enjoy every second of it. When it was finally time to pick up the cake, Livy's gorgeous big eyes lit up and she couldn't stop smiling.  Absolutely melted my heart, in that moment she could have asked for the world and I'd bend over backwards to give it to her💖 Happy birthday little Livy! (yes, I forgot to take proper pictures)

Brown Butter, Spice & Mandarin Orange Cake *Easy cake mix hack*  1 box spice cake (any brand) 2 small cans mandarin orange segments (10.5 oz each) 1/2 stick butter 3 eggs Open both cans of oranges and pour into a small sauce pan, place over medium heat.  Bring to a low boil and allow to reduce down to 1 cup. Place butter in small fry pan and place over medium heat until browned.   Once brown, remove from heat and pour out of pan into small container to cool. When oranges and butter have cooled, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend until smooth.  I have a little 'chop-it-up' bowl thing that I use to chop up orange segments before heating but this step is optional  If you are using a dark pan to brown the butter you can check it by dropping a few drops onto a paper plate or light colored surface.  Its important to remember to remove it from the heat AND the pan immediately after r...

Pepper Jelly 2 C. finely chopped red bell pepper 1 C. finely chopped green bell pepper 1/4 C. finely chopped jalapeno 1 C. apple cider vinegar 1 box pectin (1.75 ounce) 5 c. white sugar Sterilize 6 canning jars (8oz), lids and rings.  Add water to large pot and place over high heat. Fill a small sauce pan with water and place over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil.  (This is for the lids.  I like to boil the lids for about one minute before placing them on the jars) After chopping all peppers dump them into a large sauce pan and place over high heat.  Add apple cider vinegar and pectin, stir well and bring to a full boil.  Quickly add sugar to pepper mix and stir.  Bring mix back to a full boil and let it boil for ONE minute.  Remove from heat and fill jars to about 1/2" from top.  After all jars are filled, use a wet paper towel to clean the rim of the jars (they have to be clean or they wont seal...

Uhm, yum.... This cupcake is made with an altered white cake mix and its pretty darn amazing. Cupcakes 1 box white or yellow cake mix 1 1/2 tea freshly grated nutmeg 3 large eggs 1/3 oil 3/4  C milk  + 2 tbls milk 3/4 C light sour cream 1 tsp vanilla paste Simply mix all ingredients until just blended.  Be careful not to mix too much, this can cause the cupcakes to rise a little weird and create little bubbles around the edges.  Not pretty   Fill cupcake liners approximately 2/3 full and bake at 350 for around 12 minutes.  Check cupcakes with skewer, adjust time as needed. Maple Cream Cheese Buttercream 3/4 C soft butter 1/4 C cream cheese 1 1/2 tbl whipping cream 4-5 C powdered sugar 1 scant tsp maple flavor 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg Whip all ingredients together until well combined.  You will probably need to adjust the amount of cream ...

I confess, I think out of the box and color out of the lines and that habit spills over into cooking as well.  I LOVE experimenting with different flavors and blending spices outside of the norm.  I came across this spice breakdown online and it has inspired me more than once. Keep this link close, its addicting and you will be using it.  A lot.     http://adventuresinspice.com/ (it looks like this)

Cupcake Bouquets and Cupcake Tea Parties for Mothers Day... What could be more fun??

Whats better than a cupcake bouquet for Mothers Day?   Nuttin'!

Oh  My  Gosh....  I cant believe how fast and easy this is to make!  I always run things past my taste testers (mancave occupants) and they all gave it a huge thumbs up.  Winning! Yummy Cupcake Filling 1 pt. heavy cream 1 small box jello instant pudding  - any flavor In a deep metal bowl that's been cooled add the heavy and cream and beat with hand mixer on medium/high.  When the cream STARTS (the second it starts to look the slightest bit thick) to thicken begin adding the pudding mix until fully incorporated. That's it. Yup, its fast and tastes amazing. *If you are one of those 'I can pick up on the taste of box jello mix' use cocoa and a little sugar, you wont be sorry.

Grandmothers Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies These are the most delicious, soft and yummy sugar cookies ever.  The recipe came from my grandmother so that makes it extra special.  Everyone rolls dough out differently but I prefer these cookies to be a little on the thick side so I roll my dough out at least 1/4" thick.  (at least).  Watch your first batch quite close, take them out when you see light golden brown creeping up from the bottom edge.  (LIGHT golden brown).  If they bake too long they will dry out. 1 C. sugar 1 C. butter 1 C. sour cream 2 eggs 1 tea. vanilla 1/2 tea salt 1 1/2 tea baking powder 2 T. baking powder 1 tea baking soda 4 to 4 1/2 C. flour Cream together sugar and butter. In a medium bowl combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla then add to butter mixture. Mix well. In a large bowl add flour, soda, baking powder, corn starch and salt. Stir until well blended. Add wet and dry ingredients, stir until well combin...

Finally getting this review posted.  I had a friend ask me if I had tried these new Ghirardelli cake mixes and I didn't even know of their existence.  Sorry Ghirardelli, nothing personal. I picked up two different types of mixes and decided to go with dark chocolate first. I used my typical hacks... melted butter rather than oil and milk rather than water. Instead of a full cake, I made cupcakes.  (its good to switch things up a little now and then). Final Impressioin  It doesn't have the slight 'chemical taste' like the cheaper brands but its significantly more expensive. My Mancave dwellers are my most trusted critiques and they ate every last crumb. I didn't mind the flavor or texture at all, which came as a total surprise. If I HAD to use a mix, what brand would I choose???? Ghirardelli. Its worth paying a little more AND I see coupons for them on a regular basis so that helps offset the higher price. Thumbs up from the C...

  Old MacDonald had a farm Yi-Yi-Yo! My oldest daughter loved McNuggets and she would ask to go to Old MacDonalds Yi-Yi-Yo for McNuggets...  So, of course, the name stuck..... 28 yrs and holding. This is a 2 tier which is very similar to the last 'farm' cake however this was for a sweet little girl who loves everything about Old McDonald.  I tried to place flower vines and bushes here and there to girl it up a little.   I love to create these woodsy type cakes, they are just too fun.

Lately people are requesting farm or woodland type cakes.  Soooo fun!  This was for little Coles 1st birthday (wanna guess who forgot to take pictures?)

Happy Birthday Harley!   What an honor to this was to create a cake for someone who is beyond special.  This is one I will never forget.  (this was not the original design... during transport we were literally ran off the road by some lunatic, which caused us to lose 2 layers. Jerk! Total nightmare.)

This is rapidly rising to the top of my 'most requested'.  Yeah, its pretty much amazing. Chocolate Chipotle Ganache Ingredients: 1-1/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips 1/4 C milk chocolate chips 2 TBSP unsalted butter 3/4 C heavy cream 3/4 tea ground chipotle child e  powder Place cream in a small sauce pan and place over medium heat.... keep an eye on it Add chips and butter to a microwave bowl and zap 'em for about 20 seconds.  Remove, stir a little and zap again for about 15-20 seconds. Set chips aside until heavy cream is ready, when little bubbles form around the outside remove from heat and carefully pour over chips.  Let sit for a minute or two then stir until well blended.  Clean the sides of the bowl COMPLETELY then use a large piece of saran wrap cover, pushing the saran down until its sitting on top of ganache, then smooth saran up the sides of the bowl.  This is an important step, ganache will form a weird f...

This cake recipe is adjusted just a tad from the online Hershey's Chocolate Cake .  Hey, the Hershey's people have been doing chocolate since like forever... they know their stuff. Ingredients: 1-3/4 C sugar 1-3/4 C all purpose flour 3/4 C cocoa - I prefer Dutch process 1-1/2  tea baking powder 1-1/2  tea baking soda 1  tea salt 2  eggs 1  C milk 1/2  C butter, melted 2  tea vanilla  (the good stuff.  Never settle for anything less than the best) 1  C boiling water Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees - higher altitudes lower by 25 degrees Grease pans and line bottom with parchment paper Place dry ingredients into a large bowl and then use a whisk to blend.  In a separate bowl place the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, beat on medium to blend together.  Now add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  *St...

'Hit the Spot' Chocolate Cake Beautiful thick & rich chocolate cake perfect for using in multiple tiers. This one is so amazing I've awarded it the 'Spoon Lickin' Good' medal of honor. 1 3/4 C   Hot water 2             packet Instant coffee 2C          Unsalted butter (4 sticks) 1 1/2 C   Cocoa Powder (Dark Blend/Dutch Process is my fave) 4 C         Flour 4 C         Granulated Sugar 1 T         Baking Soda 1 1/2 t    Salt 4            Large Eggs 1 1/3 C  Sour Cream In a heavy sauce pan bring water/coffee and butter to a simmer, whisk in cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.  (adding cocoa to warm coffee/butter helps to release even...