Cake Batter Pancakes

Its my birthday!!  And, I love cake.  SO, what better way to start my special day?!

Hello, sprinkles. You are a lovely sight first thing in the morning.

Yes, it tastes just like eating cake for breakfast.  A very fun tradition to celebrate special days.  I also just reached “best mom ever” status.  Thank you sprinkles, you never let me down.

Cake Batter Pancakes (recipe from How Sweet It Is)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
 2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 cups milk (varies depending on cake mix)
assorted sprinkles

Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, egg and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. You want the batter to look like regular pancake batter; not too thin, not too thick. This will vary greatly on the brand of cake mix you use. Start with 1 cup of milk and add more if needed. Preheat a skillet on medium heat (I use an electric grilled and turn it to 275 degrees). Fold desired amount of sprinkles into batter. Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute more. Serve with vanilla glaze.

Glaze 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 tablespoon milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract assorted sprinkles Mix milk, extract and powdered sugar until glaze forms. You may need to add a little more sugar or water/milk to reach desired consistency. Mix into glaze and drizzle on pancakes. Top with extra sprinkles.  *Because at this point, we really need more sugar*

Let Them Eat Cake

Raspberry Lemonade Cake
Cake:

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Filling:

• 1 lb fresh raspberries, washed
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*2 lbs additional fresh raspberries for garnish*

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mash 1 lb fresh raspberries with a potato masher and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp sugar.  Let sit while you make the cake.  They will get nice and juicy.
3. To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
4. Pour batter into 2 (8X8) cake pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
5. To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.
6. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting and mashed berries. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with fresh raspberries and store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light APRIL 2002

Tea Party

My sweet V turned 3!  And we celebrated by having tea!  Do you like my rhyming skills? 

We hosted an outdoor tea party and had the whole family here.  There were 29 of us and only 4 were non-family members.  I love our large close family.  And 7 were not able to make it. 
I made 3 cakes and served tea, coffee, and lemonade.  There were also mini fruit pizzas and butter mints.  All the proper things for a tea party.
I made sure to visit Goodwill and my favorite thrift store several times to collect tea settings, punch serving sets, and cute cake plates. 
I had so much fun.  This was the first year that V realized it was her day and she loved the excitement.  We held the party at 10am to beat the heat of the day.  We had badminton, horse shoes, and a ring toss.  Yard parties are so fun and casual. 

Recipes coming this week of all the yummy desserts.  The Strawberry Shortcake Cake and the Raspberry Lemonade cakes were a hit.  The mini fruit pizzas barely lasted 10 minutes. 
Enjoy your Sunday evening.  I will sleep well tonight.

Birthday Party Success!!

My youngest daughter turned 1!  We celebrated for 2 days with all the family.  We have all eaten so much cake, cupcakes, and cake pops!  I recruited help and we made 2 cakes, 4 dozen cupcakes, and 125 cake pops.

We had just under 30 people here to celebrate on Saturday.  N ate up all the attention and fun.  She was pretty shy about her cake at the start, but then managed to get her feet and legs in the frosting by the end.

This cupcake cake pan was so great to use.  I made two cupcake shaped cakes.  One for N to smash and one for the family to eat.  It is a small cake so it was devoured quickly, but it turned out so cute and it was so easy to decorate.  Well worth the purchase.
To end the party, we all had dinner together.  There were 22 of us gobbling up those delicious White Chicken Enchiladas and salad. 

Candy Land Cake (2nd Birthday)

Last summer when my daughter turned 2, I was looking for great cake ideas.  I found a few pictures on the web of a Candy Land cake and knew I had to give it a try.
I used 2 9x13 cakes.  I frosted them with confetti frosting (only the best frosting out there), and used Starburst candies to make the playing spaces. 
This was such a fun cake to make.  And it tasted really great.  Let me tell you, all of the little cousins loved how much candy there was!
Candies I used:
Gum drops on toothpick
Rainbow Twizlers
Fruit roll-up
Starbrust
Spree
Nerds
Ice cream cones with frosting and sprinkles
Reeces Peanut butter cups
Fudge frosting

Laughter In The Kitchen

Lets talk about my kitchen for a bit.  I have mentioned before that I have a large family.  Yes, I have 5 sisters and one brother.  Not only that, but my extended family is very close.  I see my grandparents on average every 6 weeks.  With their visit brings all the siblings, cousins, and my auntie.  We get together and there is instantly a crowd of 10-15 of us.  When one comes…..they all come.

I love this.  I especially love to watch the way my house transforms.  It is beautiful.  Suddenly, there are two pre-teen boys playing their Nintendo's and debating the best way to build a Star Wars Lego set.  There are 3 little ones toddling around and being passed from grandma to auntie and back.  There is a bustle of women in the kitchen prepping a snack or a meal or laughing about “Grammie’s best buns”.  We always have a joke about buns in the kitchen.  Then there are the very few men….just trying to hold there own.  They usually lay their claim on the recliner chairs and just watch the commotion. 
My twin sister is trying to learn more in the kitchen.  Her husband has his fair share of “inedible” meals. So, when I get the chance, I let her in on all the things I have learned and pass along some of my favorite recipes.
My mom and grammy have been running the kitchen for many years.  Our holiday meals are always so delicious.  And we still like to tease mom about her pie fail in 1994.  My mom hasn’t ruined many recipes and to this day, I crave her Blackberry pie and I always stash a piece away for breakfast the next morning.

In our family, life just happens in the kitchen.  Most of my memories growing up are in the kitchen.  Helping Grammy make her famous sugar cookies.  Watching my mom pack lunches and make milkshakes when we were sick.  Waiting very patiently as my dad made “all day lasagna”. 
My dads cooking skills need their own post.  It takes the man all day to make a lasagna.  He makes the sauce from scratch and enjoys the entire process.  He also is the king of breakfast.  But, he uses no recipes….so I have to spy on him and soak up what I can.
I am sure my girls will grow up with the same memories.  They have already learned to come to the counter if I am baking…..they know they will get a little treat.
What are you kitchen memories?