Tie Dye Cake

Lately for birthdays, I've just been making cupcakes and putting them on simple little homemade cupcake stands.  I can match the stand to the party's decor and it's a lot easier to frost a cupcake than it is to try to decorate a cake.  However, for my daughter's Tie-Dye Birthday Party, I decided to try my hand at making an actual Tie-Dye cake, instead of just cupcakes.  I happened to find this Shirt Cake Pan in my basement when I was looking for other party supplies in my basement, and it ended up working out perfectly.  Of course a regular cake shaped pan would be just as cute.

Check out our Tie-Dyed Cake...

Pretty cute, don't you think? 

Here's what you'll need (feel free to make any of this from scratch, I just used store-bought supplies)...

* box of white cake mix + ingredients to make it
* 2 containers of white frosting
* shirt cake pan or any other shape (I happened to get mine years ago at a garage sale and it seems Wilton no longer makes them, but you could check Ebay or Amazon (affiliate link)for used ones, or just make your own shape from a regular sheet cake pan)
* food coloring

Here's what to do...

1.  Mix up your white cake mix according to package directions.  Separate the batter into 4 separate bowls, then add food coloring to each bowl to make the colors you want  ( I think I used about 15 drops of coloring in each bowl)

2.  Pour your batter into your greased cake pan.  I just did a little bit of one color here and a little bit there, until the whole pan was filled with random blobs and swirls of color.

 

3.  Bake according to package directions and allow to cool.  Then invert your cake onto the tray that you'll be using for serving.  (Don't worry if the colors look a little brownish and muted, they're nice and colorful inside the cake.)

 

4. Spread a fairly thin layer of white frosting all over your cake, then divide your remaining frosting into separate bowls and tint with food coloring.

5.  Use a toothpick to sketch a rough tie-dye swirl design in your frosting.  (My photo of the toothpick sketch was too faint, so I've drawn on the design I followed)

 

6.  Add your tinted frosting to your cake following the swirl design you sketched.  I put all my colors on first, then filled in the sections so the colors were touching.  (Notice my fancy cake decorating plastic spoon, I told you I don't decorate cakes often! ;)  )

7.  Finally, use the end of your fancy cake decorating spoon to draw the color from one swirl to the other, wiping off the spoon after each time.

 

8.  That's it!  Stick in some candles, serve your colorful cake to your birthday kid and be proud of your handiwork.

Oh, and things were way too hectic at cake serving time to get a well-photographed shot of the tie-dyed inside, but here's a quick, somewhat blurry, photo I grabbed before the girls came back inside and I had to start cutting seconds.

You can read about all the other details of our Tie-Dye Birthday Party HERE!

Make-Your-Own Lollipops

We made these yummy lollipops at my daughter's recent Tie-Dye Birthday party.  They were a fun little treat for the girls, but they were so easy, they'd be a fun little treat to make anytime.

Check them out...

Now look at how easy they are to make!

Here's what you need...

* Hard candy (photo shows Jolly Ranchers and Lifesavers, but I found that the Jolly Ranchers "melted" the best)

* parchment paper (affiliate link) - found in the baking aisle

* a hard object (to smash the candies)

* sturdy plastic bags (small freezer bags worked great)

* lollipop sticks (affiliate link) - found in                                                   the cake decorating section of most craft stores




Here's what to do...

1. Unwrap your candies and separate by colors in your plastic bags.  Close up your bags then use a hard object to smash your candies into smaller pieces.  ( I used a large wrench ).  You don't want to pulverize them into candy dust, but a variety of smaller-sized chunks.  

2.  For our party, I put the crushed candies in a divided tray so the girls could easily scoop out each color, but you could just go straight from the plastic bags if you want.

3.  Cut a piece of parchment paper to be the size of your cookie sheet, then draw circles with Sharpies to be the guidelines for your lollipop size and placement.  (they do spread out a decent amount, so leave some room between each lollipop)  Flip your parchment paper over so the actual marker circles are underneath, but you can still see the shape - that way the Sharpie doesn't bleed onto your actual candy.

 

4.  Preheat your oven to 225*.  Then allow the kids to scoop out the colors/flavors of the choices and mound them onto the circle shapes.  If you're doing this with more than one kid, allow them to write their name in Sharpie next to their lollipops.

5.  Put your tray into your preheated 225* oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until candies are melted.  

6.  Carefully take out your tray and immediately add your lollipop sticks, rolling them in the melted candy to completely coat the top part of the stick.  Note:  The lollipops will harden quickly, so move pretty fast with this step.

You'll notice that some lollipops were unevenly melted, that was the Lifesavers candies.

I'd recommend just sticking with the Jolly Ranchers, or doing a test batch 

with other varieties of candy.

7.  The lollipops will be cooled and hardened in less than 5-10 minutes.  Just peel them off the parchment paper and they're ready to enjoy!

Sharing our lollipops at:
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Trix Krispie Treats

I made these yummy treats for my daughter's Tie-Dye themed birthday party because the colorful swirls had a tie-dye effect.  However they were really yummy and super easy, so I know I'll be making them often as just a regular treat.

The recipe is really simple because they're basically just Rice Krispie Treats, but with Trix cereal instead.

Here's what you need...

* 6 cups Trix cereal ( I used the swirls one)
* 1 bag of marshmallows
* 3 Tbsp. butter






Here's what to do...

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the marshmallows and stir often until they're completely melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the cereal.  Using a greased spatula, press the mixture into a greased 9 x 13" pan (or you can use a smaller pan for thicker treats).  Allow to cool, then cut with a sharp knife.

And here's the finished treats - easy, colorful, and really good! 

Make-Your-Own Mini Pies (for Pi Day or any day)

Yesterday was Pi Day ~ an unofficial "holiday" celebrating the mathematical expression of pi ( the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter and approximately equal to 3.14)  Get it?  March 14th is 3.14.  Now my kids aren't so far along in their math studies that they've actually worked with pi, but they eagerly accepted any excuse for a fun little dessert.

Check out these fun, individual-sized pies...

I made it super easy for us and just got some premade pie crusts and three different kinds of fillings ~ apple, blueberry, and cherry.

 

Making the pies was really simple and the kids liked choosing their fillings and adding some little designs to the tops of their pies.

 

It's really pretty self-explanatory, but this is how we made our mini pies...

1.  Preheat oven to 425*.  I also used some parchment paper to cover my cookie sheets.
2.  Using a small bowl or cup, cut circles out of your premade pie crust.  (Ours were about 5" or so).
3.  Spoon some filling into the center of your crust circle.
4.  Make an egg wash by putting just an egg white into a bowl and whisking it slightly.  Then brush the wash around the edges of your circle. (It'll help to act as a "glue" to seal the top and bottom crusts). Put on the top circle of dough and gently push together the edges to seal.  Then use a fork to help further seal the edges.
5.  Using the extra scraps of crust, cut little shapes or letters out of the dough (we had initials, footballs, cherries and more).  Brush some of the egg wash over the whole top of your pie, put on your shapes, then brush a little more egg wash on.
6.  Bake until the pies are golden brown.  Our pies took about 12-13 minutes.
7.  Allow to cool a bit and serve with ice cream!

Yummy!

I was a little more literal in my interpretation and made my pie with the pi symbol!

As I mentioned, my kids haven't had to actually calculate the area of a circle or do any other problems with pi, but they are familiar with the term from one of their favorite movies ~ Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian.  We love watching it before we head down to DC to visit the Smithsonian Museums.  In the movie, Ben Stiller's character has to crack a code and gets the answer from the Einstein bobble-heads in the gift shop at the Air and Space Museum.

As we were eating our pies last night, my kids kept shaking their heads as they tried to say all the numbers from the movie (3.14159265)  Here's a little clip.

Sharing our fun desserts at:

Walking Tacos (aka Tacos in a Bag)

I first saw these "walking tacos" at an amusement park concession stand several years ago.  It's such a smart idea ~ putting the taco fixings in a snack size bag of chips.  However, I'd pretty much forgotten about them until my oldest went to a birthday party recently.  She came home telling me all about the "tacos in a bag" that she'd had and was begging me to make them for our family.  Well, her wish came true for dinner last night when I made them for me and the kids.  We ate ours sitting at the dinner table, but this would be the perfect food for a bbq, tailgate or any time you're on the go and don't want to have to sit down to eat.

Check it out...

So simple!  All you need are individual bags of chips, taco meat, and fixings.  (We liked Doritos for our chips, but Fritos, Sun Chips or other similar chips would also work.)  Crush the bag slightly to break the chips into smaller pieces, then add your fixings, grab a fork and enjoy!

While not the healthiest dinner, they were definitely yummy and a fun treat.  I'm sure we'll be making them again, especially in the summer when we have friends over and we're in and out of the pool.

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Today's Creative Blog 

Hidden Heart Cake

As soon as I saw this recipe for a Peekaboo Pumpkin Pound Cake on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  I figured Valentine's Day would be the perfect time to try my own version with a hidden heart instead of a pumpkin.  For awhile there, I thought I'd have a big Pinterest Fail on my hands, but it ended up working out okay and the end result was cute enough to impress my kids for a special Valentine's dessert last night.  (Of course, anytime they get cake for dessert they are excited, but I thought this treat was particularly cool.)

I'll include a few tips to help you avoid a potential fail in this "do as I say, not as I did" post.

Check out this cute cake...

Isn't that cute?  Red velvet cake hearts that are revealed when you slice into a white cake.

Here's what you need:  (NOTE: I'm not a "from scratch" baker, so I used all box mixes and premade frostings, feel free to make your own if you'd like)

* box of white cake mix
* box of red velvet cake mix
* eggs, water, oil, etc. to make cakes
* loaf pan
* heart cookie cutters
* frosting (not pictured)







Here's what to do:

1.  Check the size of your heart cookie cutter and make sure it's small enough to fit into your pan.  (This was my first potential problem when I realized my cutter was too big and I had to run to Target to get a set with a smaller heart.)

2.  Bake your red velvet cakes in the loaf pan.  I made two of them because I had plenty of batter.  Allow your cakes to cool.  

NOTE:  After re-reading the initial recipe (after I was done), I realized they recommended refrigerating the cakes for a little while.  I think this will help the cake hold it's shape better when cut.

3.  Cut your cake into slices and then use the cookie cutter to cut out the heart shape.  

NOTE:  I think thicker slices held their shape better than the thinner ones I did in this photo.  Make your slices about the same thickness as the cookie cutter.

4.  Put a little bit of your white cake batter in the loaf pan, then arrange the heart slices down the center.  Pour the remaining batter along the sides and top of the row of hearts.

NOTE:  Here's where things got a little tricky and I thought the whole thing would be a fail.  Because I was trying to balance the hearts on their points (versus the wider base of the pumpkin in the inspiration recipe), they tended to tip over and the thinner slices started to split down the center.  Then, I had enough white cake batter to cover the hearts in one loaf pan but not the second.   Therefore, I'd definitely recommend making thicker slices of the red velvet and refrigerating them to firm them up.  I'd also either use two boxes of white cake mix or make only one hidden heart cake and use the extra batter to make a smaller cake.


However, I forged ahead and baked the lumpy, half-covered cakes and hoped for the best.

As you can see, they're lumpy because I didn't have quite enough white cake batter for two, but it was nothing a little frosting couldn't cover.

Make your slices with a sharp knife and check out the fun little heart in the middle...

With the changes I made above in the notes, I'd definitely do this again.  You could do all sorts of different variations with shapes and colors using different cookie cutters and/or food coloring.

Sharing our cute cake at:

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Saltine Toffee

I love making recipes that are easy and delicious, but have a cool little twist.  I first found this Saltine Toffee recipe years ago in one of those community cookbooks where everyone submits their favorite recipes.  I love making it because it's so super simple, but tastes absolutely awesome.  (I've heard of it referred to as "Christmas Crack" and I can see why, it's really addicting!)  You wouldn't think saltine crackers would belong in a candy recipe, but the slight saltiness and crunch that they give this toffee is just perfect.

Take a peek...

Here's what you need:  (It's only 5 ingredients!)

• saltine crackers (about 1 sleeve of crackers out of a box, plus a few extras)
• 1 cup of butter (that's 2 sticks)
• 1 cup of brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 cups of chocolate chips, either milk chocolate or semi sweet (that's about 1 bag)
• approx 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Here's what to do:

1.  Preheat your oven to 400*.

2.  Line a jelly roll pan (which is a cookie sheet with sides), with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

3.  Line up your saltine crackers in a single layer in your pan.  You'll want them close together, but not touching.  You can break some crackers in half if you need to so the whole pan is covered.

4.  Put your butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then allow the mixture to boil for 3 minutes, stirring only once or twice.

5.  Pour the mixture over the saltine layer.  Try to pour it fairly evenly over the top, reaching all the way to the edges.  However, it will bubble up and spread out in the next step, so every cracker doesn't need to be completely covered.

6.  Next, put the tray in your preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes.  The toffee mixture will bubble up and soak into the saltines.

7.  Take your tray out of the oven and sprinkle on the chocolate chips.  Pop it back into the oven for just a minute so the chips soften and melt.  Then use a rubber spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the saltine/toffee layer.

8.  If desired, sprinkle the optional chopped nuts over the melted chocolate layer.  Set the whole pan aside for it to cool completely.  It'll take a few hours for it to cool and for everything to harden.  If necessary, you could put it in the fridge to speed up the process.

9.  When everything has cooled, break the toffee apart into bite sized pieces and enjoy!

Rice Krispie Treat Cones

My daughter recently celebrated her 10th birthday with a slumber party for several of her friends.  When planning the treats for the party, I knew I wanted something fun and easy to serve.  As I was browsing Pinterest (seriously, how did I ever plan parties before Pinterest?) I came across these super cute cones at Maddycakes Muse.  How perfect!  They look so much like real ice cream cones but the fact that they're actually chocolate-covered Rice Krispie treats make them so easy to make in advance and serve easily.

Check them out...

Here's how I made them...

(Note: To make 18 cones, I had to make up two batches of the Rice Krispie treat mixture)

1.  Make up a regular batch of Rice Krispie Treats.
          * 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
          *  1 bag of marshmallows
          *  5 1/2 cups of Rice Krispie cereal

     Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and add the Rice Krispie cereal, stirring until well coated.

2.  Allow the Rice Krispie mixture to cool slightly so it's not quite so sticky, about 5 minutes.  Then fill the inside of each cone with the mixture ~ this gives you more treat to eat AND it helps to stabilize your cones so they're not too top-heavy.  Next add another generous scoop of the Rice Krispie mixture to form the top "ice cream" part of the cone.

See how the first scoop filled it to the top of the cone, 

then the second scoop was mounded on top?

3.  Instead of using an ice cream scoop, I found it easier to just scoop out the mixture with a regular spoon and mound it on top.  Then I used a piece of waxed paper sprayed with cooking spray to mold the mixture into a more evenly rounded shape.

4.  Finally, I melted some chocolates for dipping.  I did three "flavors" ~ white chocolate for vanilla, white chocolate tinted pink for strawberry, and regular chocolate.  I simply dipped the top of the cone in the melted chocolate, then used a rubber spatula to spread it on evenly.

5.  I set the dipped cones in a cupcake tin for some stability and added some sprinkles while the chocolate was still warm.

That's it!  They were quite simple to make and looked really cute set out on a tray for the party.  (Although I forgot to get a picture of them nicely displayed!).  

The chocolate coating was a bit too hard to get a regular birthday candle into, but we improvised with a sparkler and it was a huge hit!

One happy and satisfied birthday girl...

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Corn Bugles

How's that for a title?  I'd seen the idea for chocolate peanut butter Bugles and thought they'd be perfect in candy corn colors.  Now, before we go any further, I've eaten enough candy corn over the years to know that these aren't the "official" candy corn colors in the proper order.  I know that it should be yellow on the bottom, then orange, and white on the tips.  However, I wanted to keep some of the yellow of the Bugles snacks showing so I had to use the orange at the base to keep the peanut butter in.   Believe me, though, once you taste these yummy little treats, you won't care that the color order has been switched around!

Check these snacks out...

Here's what you'll need...

• Bugles snacks
• Peanut butter
• Orange and White Melting chocolates

Here's what to do...

1.  Start by filling each Bugle with a little bit of peanut butter.  I didn't do anything fancy, just used a knife to spread a little bit into each one.  (You'll find that the openings on some of the Bugles are too narrow to get much peanut butter in.  You can just snack on those "defective" ones as you're working! :)  )

2.  Next, melt your orange melting chocolates and dip the peanut butter end of the Bugles in the chocolate.  Put on waxed paper to cool.

3.  Do the same with your white melting chocolates and dip the pointed end in the white.

4.  Allow your treats to cool and harden and they're ready to go!

Let me tell you, these were a huge hit with the kids (even their dad loved them).  The combination of the chocolate & peanut butter with the salty crunchiness of the Bugles was delicious.  It reminded us a bit of a candy bar, a Kit Kat maybe, but with a little more saltiness and crunch.

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