It's my birthday and I'll *gain10pounds* if I want to . . .

* Please sing along to the tune of "It's My Party." *

Have you ever made yourself a birthday cake?  After reading The Pastry Queen , I decided that this would be my year to bake my own cake.

I'm gonna tell you right now....I am NOT a cake decorator.  (That's probably obvious by now.)  It wasn't gorgeous, but it was GOOD!

The Pastry Queen is one of those cookbooks where you feel like you've gained 10 pounds just from READING it.  I LOVE reading the stories behind recipes; they actually make me a bit teary...the back story and memories behind the food.

One of the recipes that caught me eye was the White-on-White Buttermilk Cake with Jack Daniel's Buttercream.  I changed it up just a bit, adding vanilla bean paste and almond extract to the cake and the buttercream I changed to amaretto.

BE WARNED....this buttercream is RICH.  And buttery.  REALLY buttery.  As in, I think Paula Deen would marry it.  Delicious, yes, but I might switch it up for a less buttery buttercream next go-round.

Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Amaretto Buttercream
{adapted from The Pastry Queen}

3 c. cake flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
2 and 1/3 c. sugar
3 large egg whites, room temp.
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 and 1/2 c. buttermilk, room temp.

Place oven racks on the upper and lower thirds of the oven.  Preheat to 350.  Line the bottom of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.  Butter the pans and coat with flour.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs whites, vanilla bean past and almond extract.  Beat on medium speed until combined, scraping down bowl as needed.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low, until combined.  Add half the buttermilk, beat until combined.  Continue alternating ingredients, ending with the flour.  Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

Spoon the batter into prepared pans.  Place 2 pans on the top rack and the third on the bottom rack.  Bake for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  (The pans may be done at different times.)

Allow the cakes to cool in the pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Invert the cakes onto the cooling racks and cool completely.

Amaretto Buttercream

3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 c. water
2 c. sugar
6 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
1/4 tsp. salt
3 TBSP. amaretto

Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, whip the eggs and yolks on high speed for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar.  Simmer until the mixture registers between 234-240 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer.  Immediately pour the mixture into a heatproof measuring cup with a spout.  With the mixer on low, add the sugar mixture to the eggs in a slow, thin stream.  Increase the speed to medium and beat about 7 minutes, until the syrup has cooled.  (The bowl should be barely warm.)

Add the butter, a half stick at a time, and beat on medium speed about 30 seconds after each addition.  After all of the butter has been added, beat on medium speed for 3 additional minutes, until slightly thickened.  Stir in the salt and amaretto.

{It's so smooth and glossy!!!}

Frost the completely cooled cake.  Cover the cake....it will keep at room temperature for 2 days.

{I use strips of wax paper slipped underneath the cake when frosting.  Once the cake is frosted, pull out the strips and your cake plate will be clean around the edges.}

And those 10 pounds you'll gain from the buttercream?  I hear they plump up and smooth out wrinkles. ;)

Have you ever made your own birthday cake?

Half Birthdays . . . Works for Me Wednesday

Half-birthdays.  Do you celebrate them?

I don't know where my mom got the idea, but we always celebrated half-birthdays growing up. There weren't presents, but there was always cake. Half of a cake. Half of a Bundt cake.

{Once we were older and had moved out of the house, my parents always sent us HALF a birthday card.  That's right....chopped right in half!}

My half birthday fell during the school year, so I always felt so special bringing in that half cake.  Even though my mom baked, our half-birthday cake was always from the grocery store. (Or at least *mine* was. Molly, yours, too?) Remember the grocery store used to sell half Bundt cakes?

Kiddo's half-birthday was last week and even though I don't usually make Bundt cakes for his, I decided to go traditional this year.

Almond-Crusted Butter Cake
{recipe adapted from Lou Seibert Pappas}

1/2 c. slivered almonds
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp. (plus more for pan)
1 lb. powdered sugar
6 eggs, room temp.
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
2 and 3/4 c. cake flour

Preheat oven to 300.  Butter a Bundt pan and then evenly coat the sides with the almonds. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter until fluffy and light.  Gradually add the sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat until fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.  Beat in the extracts and salt.

Add in the flour in 3 additions, beating until smooth. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.  Invert the pan and remove the cake, right side up, and continue to cool completely on the cooling rack.

Serving suggestions:

• with a scoop of chocolate ice cream
• with fresh strawberries
• alongside a cappuccino for breakfast! (my favorite)

Half-birthdays work for our family.  What's your "unique" family tradition?

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Oh, I almost forgot!  If you are reading this through a reader, you may want to click on over.  There is a snazzy updated header and in the naviagation bar, you'll now be able to link to a "cookie index."  {The cookie index is a work in progress, but the link is there.}

And, once you click over, look up in the address bar.  See that, to the left of the www? It's my very own FAVICON!  That little thing  makes me feel so cool! {And it's very rare that I feel cool!}  Thank you, Jessica, of The Frilly Coconut for your design help and expertise!  You are a doll!

Kiddo in the Kitchen: Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake

I wanted to put this in the post title, but it was too long: "5-ingredient, no-bake, Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake!"

Kiddo picked this recipe from my collection of Everyday Food magazines. Everyday Food is a wonderful little magazine from Martha Stewart. If you've never picked up a copy, you might want to. Unlike some of the more complicated ones in MS Living, Everyday Food is filled with EASY recipes. I had to stop subscribing after a few years because there were so many recipes I wanted to try...I couldn't take any more!

This recipe seems too simple...and like it can't be all that good. Wafers, cream? That's it? Well, once assembled, the wafers soak up that cream and become cakey and soft. Plus, it looks really cool once you cut into it.

Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake
{adapted from Everyday Food}

1 & 3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 tsp mint extract
1/4 c. sugar
1 (9 oz.) pkg. chocolate wafers
1/3 c. mini chocolate chips

Beat the heavy cream, extract & sugar until stiff peaks form.

Spread about 1 teaspoon of cream on each wafer and form stacks on a plate.

{This would have gone a lot quicker had 5/6ths of the wafers not been cracked. Ahem, chocolate wafer packagers.}

Line a serving platter with two side-by-side sheets of wax paper. (You'll pull these out later.) Lay the stacks horizontally along the seam, pressing gently to form a log.

With an offset spatula, cover the log with the remaining cream. Refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

Before serving, gently pull wax paper from under the cake. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Slice cake diagonally with a serrated knife.

Kiddo gives this an 8.5....a perfect cold, minty treat for after tossing the football in the backyard.
{You can still see ours in the background.} :)

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I'm linking this up to Tidymom's I'm Lovin' It Party. Have you been? Lots of great ideas and goodies are linked up every Friday!

Three Sweet P's (a giveaway)

Sweet P #1:

Pink Polka Dot Martini Glasses (that you can WIN!)

{How CUTE are these?!?!? For martinis, dessert, ICE CREAM?!? *swoon*}


Sweet P #2:

Pampered Chef! These martini glasses are from The Pampered Chef's Help Whip Cancer campaign. In May, when you purchase any product from their Whip Cancer collection, they donate $1 to the American Cancer Society.

I love that this takes place in May, just in time for Mother's Day! (I lost my mom to cancer 10 years ago.) Since 2000, The Pampered Chef has raised nearly $8 MILLION for the American Cancer Society.


Sweet P #3:

*Pink* Lemon Angel Cake

The recipe comes from The Pampered Chef, and you guys, it is delicious!!! It would be perfect for a baby or bridal shower, Mother's Day or a neighborhood cookout. It's a really light cake with a sweet and tart lemon glaze. Mmmmm....

{Because it's Angel Food cake, I can somehow convince myself it's ok to have 2 pieces at one sitting.}

Pink Lemon Angel Cake
(adapted from the Pampered Chef)

pink gel paste food coloring (or 5 drops liquid red coloring)
1 box Angel Food cake mix
3 lemons
2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. Cool Whip
raspberry sauce (for frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed...I couldn't find those)

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together a drop or 2 of pink gel food coloring in the amount of water called for on the box of cake mix.

Follow the instructions on the box for mixing the cake. Pour into a 13 x 9" pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is golden on the top and slightly sunken in the middle.

Invert pan into a cooling rack and let it cool (upside down) for about 1 & 1/2 hours.

Zest the lemons. Juice lemons to equal 1/3 c. lemon juice. Whisk the zest, juice and powdered sugar until smooth.

Flip cake back to right-side up. Poke holes in the cake with a fork, about 1 & 1/2 inches deep and 1/2 inch apart.

Pour glaze over the cake and spread across evenly. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes.

Cut cake and serve with raspberry sauce (or thawed raspberries in syrup) and top with whipped topping. To be extra fancy, transfer whipped topping to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. :)

{Of course, this cake would be just as good without the pink coloring, but the pink does make it fun!}

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The giveaway:

• To enter, tell a story about your mom (or someone who has been a mother figure to you) in the comments. (I'm really looking forward to your stories!)
  
• For an additional entry, tweet the following: "Pink Polka Dot Martini Glasses giveaway from The Pampered Chef & @bakeat350tweets #WhipCancer http://ow.ly/1FWTC "
  ...and leave a separate comment letting me know you tweeted. :)

Giveaway ends May 9th at 8pm Central.

{I was not compensated by The Pampered Chef for this post...I just wanted to spread the word about their Help Whip Cancer campaign and I wanted one of you guys to have those darling glasses!!! Good luck!}

May the Force be with you . . .

The kiddo had a Star Wars birthday party last weekend. Only 6 kids came over and I still feel like I'm in recovery mode!

Actually...it was really fun. No injuries, although my husband almost lost an eye with a projectile from the pinata. I'll spare you the details.

But, you will get the details on the sweets. Let's start with the R2D2 cookies....

I'm always reluctant to do "characters." I tried my hardest to channel these Star Wars cookies from Sugar Belle, but didn't quite get there.


These were the party favors. I mean, as if cake, ice cream, punch and candy from the pinata aren't enough...send the kids home with a little more sugar!!! You are welcome, parents! ;)


The plan was for the cookies to say "May the Force be with you." I couldn't get it to fit.


Can you see that sparkle in the background? I love it! I used my new disco dust. I didn't want the entire background to be glittery, so I brushed this on the DRY background (IE: the cookies had dried overnight) to make it look like the sky.

On to the cake....now the girls on my cake decorating team for NYC are about to get nervous because I am not a cake decorator! You'll soon see.



I made an R2D2 from candy melts and royal icing. Then, the Star Wars cake was inspired by the lovely multi-colored cakes from Amanda of i am baker. My son said he wanted red and blue layers...something about good and bad lightsabers.


{So, R2 didn't sit exactly flat on the cake...the boys didn't seem to notice!}


{These candles were supposed to have a blue flame...not as cool as they looked on the box.}

Want to see the inside??!?!



Cool, right?

I tried to get a few more pictures of the inside, but hungry boys just don't understand, "Wait about 10 minutes while I put this cake in the light box near the "good window" and take a picture from every angle." Geez.


The layers are just white cake mix with blue and red food coloring. (Each cake mix made 2 layers and I used AmeriColor Royal Blue and AmeriColor Super Red.)


This frosting was incredible...right from the back of the cocoa can (I used Hershey's Special Dark, or dutch-process cocoa).

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
(from Hershey's...I doubled this recipe)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, Special Dark or regular
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

I used 3/4 c. frosting between each layer and used the rest to cover the top and sides.



Jedis...I leave you with a picture of Dog Vader. May the Force be with YOU!

When life hands you vegetables, make cake!

When our family joined a CSA this year, I never pictured myself baking a cake from our shares.



But, in our box this week…BEETS!

{For the rest of the story, please visit my post over at Blissfully Delish! See you there!}

Mother's Day Coconut Cake

Although I didn't make this for Mother's Day, I'm going to call it Mother's Day Coconut Cake. Why? It's the last dessert I remember eating and making with my mom.

I was visiting my mom...and she was really sick. I think she knew that she was not long for this world and was trying to get in some of her favorites. There was Ben & Jerry's in the freezer and she sent me to Frulatti in the mall for a certain smoothie. And, she wanted cake....this coconut cake.

The fact that she let me do most of the baking of the cake made it obvious that she was pretty ill. To be perfectly honest, we were a little spoiled growing up. My mom (and dad) cooked FOR us. We didn't do a whole lot of cooking together. We mainly enjoyed the fruits of their labor. :) When my sister and I would come home for a visit, Mom had freshly baked cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels and probably an ice cream pie (or two!) waiting in the freezer. {Not to sell my dad short, I didn't know any other kids whose dads made pancakes for them before school and before they went to work. He also makes a mean upside-down apple pie.}

So, I'll always remember my mom each time I make this cake. Not in a sad way, but thankful. Thankful that she gave me this love of good food. Thankful for everything.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Give your mom an extra hug today!

This is a really easy, moist and delicious cake! My son who "doesn't like coconut" did a little dance upon tasting it and declared it the "best cake ever." {More on the "best chocolate ice cream ever" to go with it in a future post...promise!}

Coconut cake

1 box white cake mix
1/4 c. oil
3 eggs
1 carton sour cream (8 oz.)
1 (15.5 oz) can creme of coconut

Icing

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)
4 TBSP milk
Angel Flake coconut

Lightly grease a 9 X 13" pan. Mix cake ingredients and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Beat cream cheese with the powdered sugar and milk. Spread over cake and cover with coconut. Store in refrigerator.

More for mom...

♥♥♥Mom's Yellow Rose Cookies♥♥♥