Sprinkles Rainbow Cake

For my nieces 5th birthday - I made this adorable cake that fits her personality perfectly!  The cake may look difficult to make but it was super easy.  All it takes is 2 boxes of Duncan Hines white cake mix, White canned frosting, food coloring (I used the neon shades), and of course the sprinkles!!!

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.  Seperate batter into 4 bowls.  Color each bowl with the various colors, purple, blue, green, and pink.

 Then using a spoon, randomly spoon the colored batter into 3 greased 8 inch round cake pans.  There is no set way to layer the colors, the more mixed up the better the cake will look in the end.  Bake the cakes according to package directions.

After the cake is baked and cooled, stack onto a cake base using the white canned frosting.  Layer frosting and sprinkles between each layer.  Once cake is fully iced (while icing is still slightly wet), apply sprinkles to all the sides of the cake!!!  It will be a adorable surprise when the cake is cut into!  A perfect cake for a little girl with a bright fun personality!!!

Kit Kat Cake

1 box Devils Food Duncan Hines Cake mix (Prepared as Directed)

1 can Milk Chocolate Frosting

9 4 packs of Regular size Kit Kats

1/2 bag Mini M&M's

Prepare Cake mix as directed (using 2 round 8 inch pans). 

After cooked and cooled, stack using frosting. Frost between each layer and then over the top and each of the sides of the cake.

 When frosted, line Kit Kat's around outside of the cake. 

Fill in the inside with M&M's.  Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Cupcakes

 Cherry Almond Cupcakes (Recipe found HERE)

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 teaspoon almond extract
• 12 maraschino cherries, halved
• 1 recipe Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting
• Maraschino cherries with stems (optional)

 Cherry Almond Butter Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice or milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Milk
   
  Directions: 
  1. Line twenty-four muffin cups with paper bake cups.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup combine buttermilk and cherry juice; set aside.  In a small food processor, crush the cherries for the cupcakes.

  

   

  

  
  

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

   

  
  

  3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups. Press some of the crushed cherries into batter in each cup.

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

   

  4. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups. Cool completely on wire racks.

  5. Prepare Frosting in a large mixing bowl and pipe onto cupcakes.

   

 

Thin Mint Cupcakes

Thin Mint Cupcakes

• 2 Boxes Thin Mint Girlscout Cookies
• 1 box  Dark Chocolate Fudge Duncan Hines Cake Mix (Prepared as directed on box)
• 1 Batch Mint Cream Cheese Frosting
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• 1-2 tsp mint extract
• 2-4 drops green food coloring

Directions:

• Place one cookie into bottom of 24 cupcake liners.  Set aside 12 cookies.  Crush the rest into a fine consistency in a food processor.
• Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Add 3/4 of the crushed cookies to the batter.  Pour batter into cupcake liners until 3/4 full.  Bake as directed by package.

 

• Prepare frosting.  Top cupcakes.
• Cut remaining cookies in half.  Place one half cookie on top of iced cupcakes and sprinkle with remaining crushed cookie bits.
• Enjoy!!!

My First Diaper Cake Centerpiece

My Sister in Law's baby shower is this upcoming weekend and I was put in charge of making the diaper cake centerpieces and the cupcakes for the event.  I will be posting pictures of the cupcakes later this week (or early next whenever I get a chance), but I wanted to take the opportunity tonight to explain how I made the diaper cake centerpieces and display the final product.

First, you will need a platter or some sort to stabilize the cake on. 

 

Then it came time to begin the daunting task of rolling up each of the diapers.  I made 4 separate 3 tiered cakes so I had A LOT of diapers to roll up.  I used Size 1 and 2 diapers and rolled them from the open end to the crotch side and wrapped in a small rubber band. You will need approximately 60 diapers per diaper cake, give or take a few extra ones to make it all look right. 

  

After all of the diapers were rolled up, it was then time to stack all of the diapers.  Using a Paper Towel roll, I first stuck a diaper in the top of the roll to make the top level all even.  You will need to adjust the actual height of the diaper later on but sticking it in to begin with will be a good help.  Then using larger rubber bands, begin making a circle of 6 to begin the bottom tier.  After this circle of 6, make a bigger circle around that of 12, and then a bigger circle around that of around 18 diapers.  This will be the base of the diaper cake.

 

Continue this process up the next level, with the circle of 6 and then a bigger circle of 12.  Finally on the top level, just use the circle of 6.  Then adjust the height of the diaper in the roll so that all of the sides are even.  The final product will look similar to this: 

 

The diaper cake is now made for the most part, the only remaining parts are to decorate for the event.  There are a million different ways that you can do this.  You can use ribbon matching the nursery room and then add baby supplies like bottles, rattles, bibs, binkies, or anything else you can think of.  To make this one though I just used Ribbon and Flowers.  I'm super happy with the final product!

Easter Cake

Above is the cake that I made for Easter last year!  It was a lot of fun to do and super simple.  Made with simple white cake mix and Wiltons Buttercream Frosting and a few purchased decorations and jelly beans!  This cake was super cute and super simple to make!!!

First, I went to our local Michael's store and purchased the Wilton Checkerboard Cake pan which made making this cake really easy!  That and the cake ingredients is all that you really need!

Individually prepare 3 boxes of white cake mix following package instructions; divide batter into three portions. In Each of the portions, color with the color of your choice.  I used pastel blue, purple, and yellow for this cake.

 Place Batter Dividing Ring into one prepared pan. Follow instructions in pan set for filling sections shown below (for convenient filling, place batter in disposable decorating bag) and remove ring. Follow filling instructions for 2nd and 3rd pan alternating the colors for best results!

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. After the cake has cooled, I colored the butter cream icing pink to serve as the separator and for the frosting.

Then I used plain white frosting with a star tip for the decoration, green frosting for the "grass" and jelly beans to decorate!  It was quite the hit and fun to make!!!!!!