Caramel Frosting

1 c butter, divided
2 oz cream cheese, softened
3 lbs powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
8-10 T water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 t sea salt

Brown 1/2 cup of the butter and let cool completely. It should look like this.

In the mean time, place cream and sea salt in a small sauce pan. Bring to a near simmer and add brown sugar. Bring to a low boil stirring nearly constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

In your stand mixer, combine both butters and cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar slowly. Continue beating and pour in the caramel mixture  and vanilla slowly. Add water 1 T at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Yep! You read that right. Beets made into dessert. You say you have a friend/neighbor/family member who grew beets in his/her garden and didn't know what to do with them so he/she handed them over the fence and challenged you to turn them into something delicious? Me too! So you have come to the right place! (Don't tell me that I'm the only one that has things like this happen to them.) Anyways, I did some searching and found a beet cake recipe at Taste of Home. This is like a carrot spice cake only not. :) It was a huge hit with all NINE kids. (My five plus the friends' who gave me the beets) Come to find out, (AS I WAS BAKING!) the men were discussing baking a cobbler because they were worried that my "beet dessert" would be nasty. They were amazed! These are moist and so yummy. And I can justify it by saying they are a vegetable. (Just play along!)

1 cup uncooked, peeled and shredded beets
2 t lemon juice
4 eggs
1 1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c milk
2 T honey
2 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
2 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa
2 t baking soda
1 t salt

In a small bowl, toss beets with lemon juice; set aside. In a bowl, beat the eggs, butter, milk, honey and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in beet mixture. Scoop batter into lined cupcake pans (makes 24+ cupcakes) and bake at 325* 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

 1 cube butter, softened
1 package cream cheese*
3-4 cups powdered sugar (you can use more if you want)
maraschino cherry juice (or milk)
1-2 t. vanilla
1 t. almond extract (optional)
1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped

Cream butter and cream cheese together and whip until fluffy. Add in powdered sugar and extracts**. Add maraschino cherry juice (1-2 T.) for desired consistency. You can add more powdered sugar if you get it too thin. Add in whipped cream.

*If you want a stronger cream cheese flavor use 2 packages of cream cheese. You will probably want to up the amount of powdered sugar.

**Always add extracts before the milk because they will thin out your frosting somewhat.

Easter Cake Balls

I am selling these for $1 each now through Saturday. Don't miss out. Make sure you get these in your Easter baskets.

Octopus Cake

My baby turned 2 on April 1st. I pretty much always let them pick their own cake out of my ridiculous stack of cookbooks. (Ever want to get me something? A cookbook is a safe bet!) Little Peanut picked this. This cake may have caused some minor cussing to leap from my mouth. It almost ended up in the garbage can. Let's just say it's lucky to have survived my wrath.

Brown Sugar Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Tonight was my first real attempt at cake decorating. I want to learn cake decorating, not just pretty frosting. I had to start somewhere. No laughing. The recipes I combined are amazing!

Brown Sugar Cake
3 cups flour
5 T cornstarch
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c salted butter, softened
1 c sour cream
2 1/4 c brown sugar
4 eggs
3/4 c buttermilk (3/4 c milk w/ 2 t vinegar)

Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt to combine. Set aside. Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until all combined. Beat in sour cream.

Bake at 350* in two 9 in rounds (or an 8 and 10 like I chose) for 20-30 minutes depending on pan sizes. Let cool and then frost with browned butter frosting.

Browned Butter Fosting
1 c butter, divided
3 lbs powdered sugar
1 t almond extract
2 t vanilla
8-10 T water

Brown 1/2 cup of the butter and let cool completely. It should look like this.

Combine browned butter with 1/2 cup softened (not browned) butter. Beat in powdered sugar and extracts. Add as much water as needed to get desired consistency. Frost cake. Here is my crumb coating and finished cake photos. (No laughing! It was my first attempt.)

Green Velvet Cake

Adapted from Epicurious

I searched out some green velvet recipes, but was unimpressed. I HATE adding oil to anything. I try and avoid it. It just grosses me out. So I found this red velvet cake recipe at Epicurious at it didn't call for any oil, just real butter (so I'll probably die of heart failure - whatever). I changed it up a little and viola!

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour milk (milk with a T of vinegar or lemon juice)
  
• 1 oz green food coloring
  
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  

In a medium bowl whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In a small bowl mix milk, vinegar and food coloring. In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the butter and sugar to combine. Add eggs and mix well. Add the flour and milk mixtures alternately in several small additions. Beat in the sour cream.

Pour into prepared cupcake pans or 2 9" rounds greased with cake release.

Bake 30-35 minutes (for 9" rounds) or until toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.

Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting and serve.

Boston Creme Pie

I was craving this yummy cake a few days ago so I decided to create my own. I took a butter cake mix and doctored it to my liking. Then baked it in two 9" rounds coated with cake release. The filling is a package of instant vanilla pudding prepared as directed, mixed with homemade whipped cream. Yum! I could eat this stuff with a spoon all day long! The trick to getting it to all stay together is foil and freezing. I didn't take pictures (sorry!), but I pulled out a strip of foil long enough to wrap the cake with some room for over lap and then folded it in half (hotdog style- remember that from kindergarten?) I wrapped it around the cake and tucked it into it's fold and taped it there. I then topped they cake layer with the filling and froze it. After it is nice and solid you can put the other layer on top, leaving the foil around all layers but sliding it upwards so there is a little lip around the top to hold in the chocolate. For the chocolate layer I melted milk chocolate chips and mixed in some heavy cream. Just pour it into the tin foil mold and refrigerate until it sets up a little bit.

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Robot Cupcake-Cake

My oldest son turned 8 this week. So as per tradition we searched through my cupcake books (You know, the morning of his birthday - as per tradition - ha!). He chose the robot. I didn't have all of the candy pieces on hand for the robot decor (also as per tradition - what is wrong with me?!) so I told him I'd have to improvise. (You guessed it - as per tradition! Why mess with tradition?) So I set out on an adventure to search through all of my cake decorating items, remind me to post a picture of all of it someday. This was no small task! I added an '8' and 'Jordy' (I couldn't fit 'Jordan'- haha!) Here is the result.

Famous Coconut Cupcakes

Ok, ladies who have been hounding me for this recipe, here it is. Hope you all love it as much as they do! Like most of my recipes, it isn't an exact science. Feel free to play around with the amounts until you get what you love.

Cake:
Your favorite butter vanilla cake recipe made into batter (don't use a recipe that calls for oil. Use a recipe that calls for butter. Trust me)
I use pillsbury butter recipe vanilla cake and add a large vanilla pudding mix, 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. white sugar (along with the water, eggs and butter it calls for)
2-3 T. Coconut extract (I add it in until I can smell it strongly)
1/2 cup coconut, blended in your blender until fine (this is optional)

Bake cupcakes or cake according to directions for whatever cake recipe you use.

Frosting:

1/2 c. white shortening
1/2 c. (1 cube) Smart Balance Buttery Sticks partially softened
1-2 T. coconut extract
1 lb powdered sugar

Cream shortening and butter sticks, add extract and mix well. Add p. sugar slowly and mix well. (Add more or less p. sugar to get desired consistency.) Frost cupcakes with desired amount and top with coconut if you choose.

"National Chocolate Cake Day" Cake

A few people who obviously don't care that I'm trying to lose weight, posted about National Chocolate Cake Day today. I'm sure they all knew full well that I wouldn't be able to help myself and would just HAVE to make a cake. I'm sure that's what they were thinking.... Okay, so maybe not. BUT, I did have to make one and I'm gonna blame them in the morning when I step on the scale and cry.


Cake:
1 boxed cake mix - I used a dark chocolate
1 large instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 c. chocolate chips, melted

Mix cake as directed on box. Add in pudding mix and mix well. Add sour cream and mix well. Add melted chocolate and mix well scraping sides of the bowl. Bake as directed on the box in desired shape. I baked mine in a 9x13 mostly because I always make my cakes for cakeballs that way and I didn't give it any thought until it was already in the oven. Oops.

Frosting:
2 cubes butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. hot chocolate powder
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1/2 c. melted chocolate chips

Place butter in mixer and whip. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and hot chocolate powder and mix well. add whipping cream and beat for about 1 minute on high. Add in melted chocolate and mix until smooth.

Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 t. vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Place all in bowl and mix on high until very stiff cream forms.

When cake is baked and cooled place cake in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. Slice in half so you have 2 9 x 6.5" pieces. Then slice each of those in half to make 4 layers of 9x6.5". Frost two layers with cream and one with frosting. Place a cream layer on the bottom, followed by the chocolate frosted layer. Place the last cream frosted layer on top and add the last cake layer. Frost the entire cake with remaining chocolate frosting. Enjoy! (But don't blame me when you step on your scale and cry. Blame my crazy facebook friends. It's really their fault. Haha)

Wilton Cake Release - CopyCat recipe

This is the copycat recipe for Wilton's Cake Release.

1 c. flour
1 c. shortening
1 c. veg oil

Whip and store in an air tight container in the pantry. When needed stir and brush on pan. Don't forget to let your finished cake sit for 10 minutes after baking before removing from pan.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

I got this recipe from my Bishop's wife, Brenda Nevitt. She made this for me when Londyn was born and I was a little unsure because bundt cake is normally dry, but this is AMAZING! (I should have know Sister Nevitt's cake would have been nothing short of amazing!)

What you'll need:
Cake:
1 Strawberry cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
3/4 c. sour cream
1 instant vanilla pudding mix

Mix everything together and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350* for 50 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. Top with strawberry glaze.

Glaze:
Strawberries, sliced
sugar

Mix strawberries and desired amount of sugar in a bowl and let sit 30 minutes or longer.