blogworthy.

the cake i baked for the (now) four year old.  (i will attempt not to mention that it is also a blogland redundancy.  damn, failed at that.  oh well.)

and the always blogworthy ;) four year old.

happy birthday to my beautiful georgia.  may you always believe that the world is your oyster but learn to share some of the pearls along the way.

new year, new recipes: death by oreo cupcakes.

Last week, Miss Torrie inspired me with her facebook status resolving to dig through her extensive library of cookbooks and "cook up a storm" this new year.   I'm joining her in her quest and also making this one of my (many) New Year's resolutions.  I too have an abundance of cookbooks with shiny tempting photographs.  I think I have five separate boards on Pinterest devoted to food I'd like to eat.  And what about those (hundreds of) magazine tearings from the last ten years?  I'm delving into all the collected recipes, and I'm actually going to COOK something, instead of, well, admiring all the pretty pictures.  (Oh but I do love a pretty picture... I digress.)  Torrie and I thought we'd attempt and post (at least) one new recipe a week.  Care to cook along with us?

For this week's recipe I'm sharing a ridiculously sinful oreo cupcake (which is pinned on my "frost me" board.)  I made them for a baby shower for G's teacher.  And in full disclosure, I want you to know I baked them back in December so I'm already cheating as far as the resolution goes... How apropos, yes?

All the mommies, teachers, and littles loved the cupcakes.  There's an entire oreo on the bottom; what's not to love?  I frosted them with an amazing butter cream, LOADED with pulverized oreos.  Oh man.  Really, just a scoopful of that with a large glass of milk, and call it a day for me.  You can find the recipe for the cupcake here.  And here's the frosting recipe:

Oreo Loaded Buttercream 
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
Oreos, finely crushed in food processor (I used what was left over in the package after making the cupcakes, you can adjust accordingly to taste.  In my opinion MORE is better. =)

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together the sugar and butter on low speed until well blended.  Increase speed to medium, beating for another 3 minutes.  Add vanilla and milk, beating for 1 more minute.  Stir in crushed oreos.  Try not to eat too much of it or you won't have enough to frost the cupcakes.  Or better yet, double the recipe.  (That's what I did.)

 Georgia, enjoying the fruits of her mother's labor.

Torrie's baked up a lovely lemon cupcake for her first "new" recipe.  (We both have cake on the brain!)  Pop on over and see the deliciousness, which by the way, I've now pinned!

*The author of the cupcake recipe, Camber from Food Snots, uses a cream cheese frosting, but because my main audience for these cupcakes was a roomful of three year olds, I thought it best to stick with a butter cream! 

six!

I can't affectionately refer to Ava as "the five year old" anymore.

Let the adventures of SIX begin...

let them eat cake.

Because I may have a slight obsession with cake (see here, here, here, oh, and here,) I've decided to start a blog devoted entirely to my love affair with, you guessed it, cake.  If cake pleases you too (and even if it doesn't--uh, you must be crazy, just sayin') please take a look at it's debut.

the two year old has a thing for cake too.  what can i say?  genetics!

i think i just fell in love.

You know, if it were possible to fall in love with a cake.  And I actually think that it is.  We certainly know I'm not going to bake this, but if you'd like to deliver it, the two year old and I are lying low this weekend as we are both officially under the weather now.  A piece of cake (or two) would surely get us on the road to recovery, don't ya think?

having her cake and eating it too.

There is nothing especially exciting about this cake, other than the fact that Ava and her best girlfriend Paigey made it together.  Actually, they baked TWO cakes!  And had a blast doing it.  They thoroughly enjoyed the process, especially the frosting and the decorating.  Sprinkles, my friends, rival glitter in the mess making department.  Each girlie picked a color for her batter and then, after baking, swapped a layer.  (Perhaps this is my segue into this cake.)  It really was a good time, a party in the kitchen if you will.  (Thankfully the two year old was napping during most of our cake-baking playdate!)  

I'd like to say the reason behind this post is a fabulous, easy, and tasty white cake recipe.  One that I make from scratch, all the time.  A recipe, I created all by myself, to satisfy my never ending sweet tooth.  But of course it's not.  Other than the self indulgent need to share pictures,  I'm writing this in search of some help from you (my 30 loyal readers =).  Ava and I love to bake (and eat!) cake together but as I've said before, I'm not much of a baker, so I rely heavily on boxed cake mix (except for this one time,) which is fine.  I'm not opposed to short-cuts or store bought items.  Here's the problem.  I'm not a big fan of the ingredient list on my boxed mix. (Specifically, the partially hydrogenated soybean and modified corn starch.*)  Here's where I need the help.  Do any of you have an easy, fool-proof, delicious recipe for white cake that you seem to use over and over?  (Or better yet, a boxed cake mix that has real* ingredients?)  I'd love it if you'd care to share.  Thanks in advance!

(*How do they modify corn starch anyway?  I don't even want to know.  If my grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, it probably isn't.  I've been trying to eat food based on that thought for the last year.  More on that at a later date.)

let them eat (birthday) cake.

Last week my much older (by three years) brother turned the big four oh, (which did more to make me feel old than it did him.  Go figure.)  Although I cook a lot, I am not much of a baker (anymore*), but to commemorate the special day I made my very first chocolate cake from scratch (and not a Duncan Hines cake mix.)  I also made chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch.  I have to toot my own horn and say they were both delish.  The cake was moist perfection, and given that the dial on my 26 year old oven has only sharpie marks for its temperature settings, I was a bit in shock over it. The five year old happily decorated it.

Happy Birthday Denny!  I love you more than you'll ever know.  

Although there was plenty of frosting to ice the cake, I'll be doubling the recipe the next time I make this; there certainly wasn't enough for the girlies and me to eat big spoonfuls while we watched the cake bake!

(I apologize for the quality of the photos.  Battery was dead on the Canon, and all I had handy was my iPhone.)

Just after "helping" to blow out the candles.  (That's chocolate frosting on the corner of the five year old's mouth.) 

Kathy's Chocolate Cake

1 ¾ cup flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.  Combine all of the dry ingredients.  Add everything else except the water and beat for 2 minutes.  Stir in the water and then pour into the prepared pans.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pans and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting, below (put out butter to soften while making cake).

Chocolate buttercream frosting  (Don't forget to double this, if frosting is your favorite part of cake eating!) 

3 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup butter, softened

Combine all ingredients except the butter, then mix in the butter. 

*The reason I no longer bake is because I have no self control; I eat too much of what I bake,  I get a tummy ache, (gain 5 pounds,) and end up on a sugar detox. :(

the detox

I'm only sharing this here (with you-- my nine readers) with the hope that if I write it out loud, I will actually abide to it.  So here it goes.  For the next two weeks (14 entire days,)  I GIVE UP SUGAR.  And by sugar, I mean sweets, desserts, cookies, ice cream, candy, and foods with added sugar in them.  I DO NOT in any way mean wine.  Just to be clear.

The cupcake that put me over the edge.

Update:  I must confess that during a semi-breakdown after an epically bad day, I ate an entire Hershey's chocolate bar smeared with Skippy creamy peanut butter Wednesday night while watching a dvr'd (or is it dvred?) episode of Parenthood.  Please don't judge me.

let them eat cake (or she was so mad she threw the whole cake at him and walked away in her red high heels.)

Yesterday, during my daily surf (internet, that is) I happened upon this spectacular blog oh happy day!  The creator is San Francisco party planner Jordan Ferney and her hubby is artist Paul Ferney.  (Wouldn't it be fun to be invited to their house for dinner!?)  Recently, they collaborated on an art show and it wasn't just the whimsical paintings that made it so wonderful.  Jordan also created little stories to go along with every cake painting.  Each story is told in one simple clever sentence and leaves one's mind to wonder (or is it wander...?)  I can totally see myself surveying each painting, head cocked slightly askew, imagining the characters behind the cake.  And at the same time I'd be digging my fork into a piece of red velvet chocolate because they also served cake during the showing.  (Genius.)

She broke up with him because he didn’t offer her a bite of his chocolate cake.

She had just kissed a stranger on the sidewalk and was in the mood for some cake.

After he baked her a cake from scratch, she knew he was the boy she was going to marry.

let them eat cake.

A macaroni and cheese cupcake, that is.  I am so making this for my next party.  (Really, though who needs a party?  The girlies can have these with a side of broccoli for dinner, Sparky would eat about 15 of them, and I'll munch on one (or two...) while sipping a glass of cabernet as I watch the first season of netflixed Mad Men.)

Photo and recipe courtesy of Framed Cooks.

And consider the possibilities of what else might be made into a cupcake?