Chocolate & Vanilla Polka Dot Cake

I mentioned this cake a little bit when I wrote my post about How-To Make a Polka Dot Cake. But I wanted to be more specific with it, and share the outside as well as the inside, because I think it turned out nicely. (And I have some solutions for the problems that I did have.)

What You Need:
Chocolate Cake Recipe (Either scratch or cake mix works fine.)
Vanilla/White Cake Recipe (scratch or cake mix again, fine.)
Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Vanilla Buttercream Icing
Small Round Cutter (like these)
Decorating bags and a variety of round decorating tips (I used tips # 12, 10, 7, 5 & 3)

Click Here to Read More>>

Special Delivery: Valentine's Day Cookies

A special order for Valentine's Day. Simple envelopes addressed to the one(s) you love.

To make these, I used the recipes below:
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Royal Icing

I will warn you that while they are "simple," they don't exactly go fast. It takes some real time to do that much writing and tiny details.

Other Links you may want to check out:
Royal Icing Consistency
How to Color Icing (getting red and black is not easy)

Enter your email address below to receive the latest recipes, tips and ideas in your email inbox:


Delivered by FeedBurner

And don't forget, if you shop at Amazon.com through my link, you support this blog and its contents. Thank you!

Hearts-Inside Cake... Or Not

After I had so much fun learning how to make the Polka Dot Cake...

I decided that I wanted to try it with hearts for Valentine's Day. It seemed so simple... and really, the hearts-inside part actually turned out pretty well...

It's just the rest of the execution that failed... miserably.
I'm hoping to give the hearts - or maybe another shape - another chance some time soon. But, if you want to try it yourself... and certainly get better results... let me tell you what worked, and what decidedly did NOT.
Click Here to Read More>>

100 Days of School Cookies

The 100th day of school means 100 cookies for the class.
That's what we did at our house this weekend, gearing up for the big day.

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
or Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
Small round cookie cutter (I used the medium of this set.)
Royal Icing Recipe
FoodWriter or other edible ink markers

*Note: It took me a little more than one batch to get the 100 cookies plus the rectangles for the extra cookies. You may be able to eek out 100 from a single batch, but I recommend at least a 1 1/2 batch of either recipe, just so you have a few for the inevitable mess-ups along the way. (I did not make nearly enough backups, which meant I was a little crabby when they were careless... not enjoyable!)
Click Here to Read More>>

"Wild About You" - Easy Monster Cake

How about a hairy, purple Monster to say I'm Wild About You, Valentine!?!
This cake is super easy! It took me less than an hour to decorate. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, Birthdays, whatever!

What You Need:
6-9" Round Cake (This was 6"x3")
2-4 cups of Buttercream Icing (depending on the size of your cake)
  Colors: Purple, Pink, Black (and white)
Decorating Bags & Tips #5, 12, 233

Click Here to Read More>>

Chocolate-Mint (Grasshopper) Cookies {Recipe}

There are two flavor combinations that are my go-to comfort foods... Chocolate and Peanut Butter, and this, Chocolate and Mint. If you ever see me buying a Peppermint Patty in line at the grocery store, go ahead and give me a hug. I probably need it.

What You Need:
For the Cookies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
4 oz. melted chocolate*
1 large or extra large egg (at room temperature)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white vinegar

For the Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (at room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. Creme de Menthe (available in the liquor store/section)

*I recommend semisweet or milk chocolate (depending on your taste). When I used unsweetened chocolate, the cookies tasted a little bitter to me, although some of my taste-testers thought they were good. I liked the less-bitter variety best.
Click Here to Read More>>

Banana Turtle Cupcakes {Recipe)

These cupcakes are quite the mish-mash of a few of my favorite recipes. But they are SO good, and SO rich, and SO worth the work!

What You Need:
For the Cupcakes: (Banana Cake Recipe)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. butter (at room temperature)
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
3/4 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe bananas
1/2 c. buttermilk

For the Icing: (Caramel Buttercream Icing Recipe)
1/2-3/4 cup Caramel Sauce (make your own or use store-bought)
4 egg whites
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla


For the Filling: (Chocolate Ganache Recipe)
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
4 oz. heavy whipping cream


Optional:
  Extra Caramel Sauce and melted chocolate for drizzling.
  Pecan halves and chopped pecans for decorating.

Click Here to Read More>>