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skittles cake

So the girl's group I volunteer with had a cake auction fundraiser today and I needed to bake a cake. The girls love rainbows and sugar, so I used that as my inspiration, and went to the store and bought all the skittles I could carry. The boys were very excited to see the 'groceries' that I brought home. And VERY excited to hear that they had a job to do to help me with my cake….

…sorting skittles!

Sort, sort, sorty sort. I can't even tell you how much they enjoyed this. 

The Little Dude drew me a diagram for how to decorate the cake we would make. 

So here we go.One layer, baked and frosted. 

Two layers, baked and frosted. 

Three layers, baked, stacked and frosted. And skittle application begun. Note: the boys were not allowed to help me stick the skittles on. Though you can see the Little Guy there in the background, still managing to have a good time, getting all creative with the baking garbage; a cake tester and an empty Skittles bag turned into a flag. He was singing "oh Skittles Cake, we stand on guard for thee!" in the most hilarious off-key manner. 

And after what felt like HOURS of saying "NO, you may NOT eat one!", it was finally finished. 

At which point I was very pleased with the result. 

And the boys were very pleased to finally be allowed free-rein with the leftover skittles to decorate the extra cupcakes I made, knowing that I would have revolt on my hands if there was not something for them! How could I make such a cake and just give it away! All those Skittles, just slipping through their fingers. 

Ah, but to their great joy we had a LOT of left over Skittles. I wish I didn't have to buy so many packs, but it was necessary because I completely used up/ran out of the purples and the pinks. But there is NO WAY the boys are going to be allowed to eat all of these. I think I will be giving a lot of these away.

A few technical notes on the cake (if you want to make one exactly like it, or, more likely for me to refer to at the next birthday when a Skittles Cake will most certainly be requested). The cake itself is made from this recipe for what is reportedly The Best White Cake Recipe Ever! from the Add a Pinch blog. And I must say, it is pretty damn good. I made two batches of it in order to fill all my pans (an 8", a 7" and a 6" round) and make almost a dozen cupcakes besides. Then I used good ole' Martha Stewart's recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but did my usual trick of adding another couple of cups of icing sugar at the end of the recipe, because I don't actually find it very sweet. Which is surprising for me. I bought eight large bags of Skittles all together, two of each 'flavour' that was available, except not the sour Skittles, as the texture is too different with the sour coating on the outside. I split all four layers in two, and iced between them. I chilled it after icing and before putting on the Skittles 

So there it is. That's it. Another week another cake!

owl cake!

I've been a bit busy lately, a bit distracted by projects and, you know, life. So I haven't yet gotten around to posting the pictures of the cake I made when our Little Guy turned three. But it did turn out so nicely, and in the interest of sharing the way I made it, I now present to you, The Owl Cake. 

Oh, but wait. First I have to tell you that the Little Guy originally asked for a different kind of cake. When I told him he could have any kind of cake he wanted, he said "A Doggy Cake!" But that's what you had last year, I told him, how about something else? "A Kitty Cake!" he exclaimed. Ok, I said, I can do that. "No," he said "A Kitty Cat Cake AND a Doggy Cake!" Weeeeellll, I demurred, I don't know if Mommy is going to make two cakes. "No WAIT!" he said, holding up his hands, as if to stop the presses, "I know what I want!" And then after a pregnant pause, he said "A cake that is a kitty cat dressed up as a doggy, AND a dog cake dressed up as a kitty cat!" I know. Mind blown. What do I look like, a cross between Anne Geddes and Martha Stewart? Luckily, I was saved from the meta-cake baking challenge that is kitty cats and doggies dressed as each other, because he was watching over my shoulder one day when I was browsing cake recipes on pinterest and he saw a cake decorated to look like an owl. "THAT! I want THAT! An OWL CAKE!" he exclaimed gleefully. Done, and done!

So here's what it looked like before frosting. I used two 10" round cake pans to make it. Made my favourite cake recipe (a light vanilla flavoured white cake) and baked and cooled them, and then had handy Hubs cut it up and make it look like an owl.  

 

And then I frosted the daylights out of it in order for it to look like a nice, feathery owl. You know I have no great love for food colouring, and I was very happy to be able to pull this off without using any, and still having three distinct colours of icing. I made a Swiss Meringue Buttercream (our favourite fancy cake icing from good ole' Martha Stewart, but I must confess I add an extra cup or so of of icing sugar at the end because we like it a bit sweeter than Martha does) and took out one third of it before adding a tablespoon of strongly brewed instant coffee to get a mocha flavoured icing which is tan coloured, and then I took half of that out of the mixer and added cocoa powder to get the chocolate/mocha flavoured icing which is dark brown. And then I used my #19 tip (manufactured by Ateco, don't know if the numbers are the same for Wilton etc.) and made the long, feathery shapes. I was very pleased with how the feathers on his chest worked out, by alternating the vanilla and mocha icing. That was Hubs' good idea. He went and googled owl pictures and suggested it. Clever man. 

The eyes are opened up Oreos, and the pupils are droopies (a weird salty dutch candy that my kids love, but yours will probably hate. M&M's would work well in their place) and the nose is a long gumdrop cut on the diagonal and stuck back together. I'm pretty happy with it, though if I had it to do again I would have made the nose a shorter triangle, so that he would look "cuter". Also, it'd have made his feather horn thingy's on top of his head shorter too. Again for the cute factor. Short features equals "cute". But luckily my big Little four year old Guy had no such criticisms for me. He just wanted to make sure he got to eat the nose. 

Even his friends were licking their lips in anticipation.

 So we sang and blew out the candles and cut up our delicious owl. Everybody got the piece they wanted ("just chocolate icing for me!", "I want vanilla!"), and there was plenty to go around.

And even an extra piece or two to save for this guy to celebrate on the day after his birthday party. Because that's how we roll, cake and lego for daaaaays!

chocolate chip cookies with raspberries

You know, sometimes its the simple things. I like to bake a fancy cake and every now and again try my hand at a pie, but sometimes all that effort is really not necessary. 

I was making a routine batch of chocolate chip cookies today. Nothing special really, except that the Decadent Chocolate Chips from President's Choice were on sale this week, and so I bought some to throw in the cookies this week. Used the recipe from Silvana's Kitchen, but I used butter instead of vegetable shortening aka: Crisco. Because we're eating dairy and wheat again these days, but I still make them gluten free because they taste just as good and even if you don't have an allergy its not a bad idea to limit the gluten in your life. 

Hubs and the Little Guy had just come in from the garden where they'd been picking raspberries. I'm telling you people, sticking three or four raspberry bushes into our garden a few years back was the single best gardening decision we ever made. They are a late bearing variety, so this is their prime, and they are just LADEN with berries. We pick a nice couple of pints every three days or so. Its amazing. When I look at how much organic or pesticide free raspberries cost in the grocery store and then I walk out to my garden and pull them fresh off the branch FOR NOTHING it blows my mind. 

But I digress. The boys came in with a couple of containers of fresh raspberries and we sat down to mid-morning snack/tea to have a hot-out-of-the-oven cookie, naturally. And then I had the best idea ever. 

Why not put these two lovely things together?

I was not the only person who thought this was a great idea. 

The Little Guy was totally on board. After all, he'd picked these raspberries himself! And chocolate chip cookies, are just about his favourite thing in the world (right up there with droppies and freezies).

So we put those fine motor skills to good use. 

And this is the result. Melty chocolate. Buttery cookie. Raspberry jam-y sweetness on top. Each bite is a mouthful of perfection. And you don't have to be a pastry chef to pull it off.

And for those of you with less free time, and no gardens, I'll bet you could get much the same effect with some Pillsbury tube cookies and a pint of berries from your local grocery store. And here's another 'cheater' version of this that I have totally done. Get yourself a bag of Two Bite Brownies, a jar of Bonne Maman Raspberry Jam, and put a little dollop of jam on top of each brownie. That is also crazy good. And if you are feeling decadent put a little whipped cream on top. Even better. I've served those at parties and they go over very well. Basically raspberries and chocolate are one of my favourite flavour combinations. And this guy agrees with me. 
 

Rhubarb Cream Pie

Ok, I made this a couple of weeks ago, (probably more like a month ago now!) before we went to BC, so these are old photos, but I had to share it with you anyhow, because if you do one thing this week, you should make this pie! I'm serious, you will NOT regret it.  This is pretty much hot out of the oven. Which sounds all nice and picturesque, but is not ideal in terms of pie. 

Because we could not wait to cut into it. 

But this is what you get when you cut a hot pie into slices. They are not really slices, per se. We call them schlices instead. Because they are schloppy.

But luckily, they still taste amazing. Seriously, I think this is my favourite kind of pie. Right up there with Peach Pie and Pumpkin Pie. Its hard to choose a favourite pie, and really, under what kind of cruel Sopie's Choice-like circumstances would you have choose anyhow? Its like having to pick a favourite child! Not possible. My vote is for having a slice of each.  

Also, note the pair of mittens in the foreground of the above photograph. And this photo was taken in late July. I'm telling you, the Little Guy LOVES his dress up mittens. The only reason he was convinced to take them off was that the pie was going to be messy. Like his mother, this kid will do anything for pie. 

Anyhow, now that' I've gone on about pie long enough perhaps you want to make one, so here is the recipe. Handed down to me by my Mom who got it from a friend who got it from, who knows where. Don't get all hung up on provenance with this one, just make it and enjoy!

Rhubarb Cream Pie

Filling: In a small saucepan melt 2 tbsps of butter and add 2 cups of diced rhubarb and 1 cup of sugar. Cook slowly over medium low heat until rhubarb is tender. 

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar

                2 tbsps cornstarch

                2 well beaten egg yolks (reserved the whites for the meringue later)

                1/2 cup of light cream (half and half works nicely)

                1/8 tsp of salt

Add to rhubarb mixture and cook until thickened. Seat aside to cool.

Meringue Topping: For a lovely full meringue use three egg whites. (use the two left over from making the filling, but add another, because everyone loves meringue) Have the egg whites at room temperature. Beat them with a hand mixer until frothy. Add 4-6 Tbsp of sugar, one at a time, depending on how sweet you like it. Beat well after each addition until the meringue is glossy and slightly stiff. 

You can make your own pie crust (good crust recipes can be found all over the internet, but I like this one, or the basic pie crust recipe from The Joy of Cooking) Blind bake your empty pie crust at 325 degrees for around 22 minutes. Make sure to prick it thoroughly first and also weight it with large dried beans (like kidney beans) or pie weights. Let it cool.

Pour filling into a pre-baked pie shell. Top with meringue. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mintues. Try your best to let it cool completely before cutting it into slices. But I will understand if you don't. 

Fake Cake

Right, maybe I should change the title of this blog to "All About Cakes". Its very much about the baking lately around here. Though I should preface this by saying this is not the kind of cake I usually make. Normally I'm all about the butter, the fresh fruit, the baking from scratch. But this was a different occasion that usual. Our church is doing VBS this week (that's Vacation Bible School for the non-churchy or child-free among you) and I was asked to do the drama/story telling segment of it. So our props list for the first day called for "an elaborately iced cake". A prop cake, never actually to be eaten, to be used to illustrate what it is like to feel left out. So the cake was to be displayed, shown off, but never actually eaten by the kids. Just used to tantalize them. And it had to be used repeatedly over the course of the day. Several people suggested that I just put icing on a styrofoam form, but it just seems like a waste. I certainly did not have time for making something from scratch on Sunday night, so I did what I seldom do: I bought a box cake mix. And not just a box mix, but the very cheapest box mix possible. Good ole' No Name Brand in the ugly yellow box for a dollar-ninety-nine! Angle food if you must know. Because I know it bakes up high and pretty. It took me all of five minutes to slam that sucker in the oven. It was like magic I'm telling you!

And then, I iced the daylights out of it. I made up a nice batch of Seven Minute Frosting, useing the recipe from the Joy of Cooking. It is indeed, billowy and light and very, very sweet. Almost nothing but egg whites and sugar. Plus a little corn syrup and cream of tartar. What's funny is it took me longer to make the icing than to make the cake. I've made this frosting before, but what the real departure for me is food colouring. I see all sorts of beautiful cakes on Pinterest and at events that are all the colours of the rainbow. And I admire them, (and eat them at other people's houses too!) but I rarely can bring myself to bust out the food colouring when I'm baking. It just grosses me out to see a whole little bottle of the dreaded red dye #5. I know, I know, I'm being silly, but most of the time I just like to go with a cream cheese frosting, or some gorgeous whipped cream, and the food colouring just seems... unnecessary. If I want a colourful dessert, this or this is a little more my jam.

But this cake had to look FANCY! So I got out the evil little bottles and made myself some pink icing. And while I can't say that I'll be using it in every cake I bake from now on, I must admit it looked delightful! As I piped those pink rosettes and swags and ruffles edges around it, it was all I could do not to exclaim "ooooh, so priddy!" in high pitched delight. And after a generous dusting of sprinkles and some decorative oreo halves were added, it was ready to go. 

And as I suspected, my children do think that it is part of the pre-eating ritual to take pictures of your food. Because I had promised them both pieces of this cake as soon as we got home from VBS and it no longer needed to be used as a prop. So I got out the knife and the plates and just before I was about to slice into it, L.D. said "Wait Mom! I don't think you took a picture of it yet." Duly noted.This is the Little Dude telling me how much cake he wants. "See Mom? A whole wedge of cake. With one of those cookies pieces on it."

"from here to here! Okay Mom? Is that a good idea?"

I don't think he's ever had an Oreo before either. "These black cookies are pretty good Mom." he says. 

The Little Guy was very pleased about this cake too. He's all about the icing. Note the concentration and his tongue hanging out in anticipation. 

But for a real review of a cheap box cake slathered with sugar and food colouring, you must ask the expert - a six year old. And here is what the Little Dude had to say as he ate this cake. These are direct quotes, as I took notes while he talked. 

"This cake is so good. It makes me feel like I'm in candy world! You should take a picture of this cake mom, and then print it out and frame it and hang it up in my room so I can look at this cake all the time. I would say that its better than a hundred jelly beans." And as he licked his chops. "I'm a fan of this icing."

Though I should note that neither of them actually finished their cake. So either they reached full sugar saturation after scraping all the icing off, or else the cake wasn't actually that good. Either way, we did not waste that prop cake, and as the child of Dutch imigrants, that's what counts. 

Peach Cake

I am still loving that All Cakes Considered book that my sister gave me for my birthday. This week's cake is the Peach Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Look how beautifully it turned out!

I didn't make any changes to the recipe in terms of ingredients, but I did bake it differently than recommended. It says to bake it in a tube pan, but I baked it in two round pans so that I could make a layer cake instead. I had two reasons for this. 1. I hate baking in a tube pan because I have a really hard time assessing when it is done. I often find it a little underdone in the centre, even though my oven tends to run hot. I fuss and hover and give it another five minutes and then another two minutes, and then STILL I find it just a little too pudding-y in the centre. It stresses me out. But I can always tell when a cake in a flat round pan is done. There is much less margin for error. And 2. It give you more surface area for frosting. And frosting in between the layers make for more frosting in every bite. And who can argue with that. 

Look at this poor guy, waiting and waiting until Mommy finishes taking pictures of the cake, until its finally time to EAT the cake! As a side note, I wonder if my kids realize that not everyone take pictures of their food before they eat it. Its probably not in every home that each cake requires a photo shoot of its own. 

Anyhow, he couldn't wait forever. Just had to sneak in there for a little taste. 

Yum.

Another note on frosting. This was a great frosting, with the cream cheese base and all, which gives it a more savoury flavour, and allows it to be not quite so sweet, as the cake itself was pretty sweet to begin with. But I thought to myself, since I'm making it into a layer cake, I'd better double the frosting amounts. Which I did and then I still did not have enough to frost the whole thing! I could see when I'd iced the middle that I was going to be pretty light on the frosting, so I put the remainder in a piping bag and put a jumbo star tip on it and did the rosettes around the edge. Which was plenty of icing if you ask me, but if you want a fully iced cake, you should probably tripple it. 

To say it was enjoyed by all would be an understatement. 

We at the daylights outta that cake!

Though some of use took a brief break from eating to make funny faces. You know who you are.