FBF: Flower Icing Cake

FLASH-BACK FRIDAY

FLOWER ICING CAKE

click on image to see full post from 11/29/11

O Clementine Pound Cake

We reached 300 on the Facebook page--so here is what I promised--an amazing recipe that I have been raving about the past few days!

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Oh man, oh man. I thought the salmon was my favorite from these series of recipes for O Olive Oil. That was before I made this. This recipe make 2 loafs, and one of them was practically gone before it had a chance to cool off. I'm just saying, if you are going to make this for a coffee group or bible study, make several batches because it won't last long!

O Clementine Pound Cake

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 tblsp O Clementine Olive Oil
1-1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1-3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cardamom
zest of 2 clementines (about 1 tablespoon)
juice of 2 clementines (about 4 tablespoons)
1/4 cup milk
for icing:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tablespoon O Clementine Olive Oil
few drops of milk

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 loafs pan, set aside.
• With a mixer, beat butter, oil and sugars until smooth.
• Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until completely blended. Stir in 1 cup of flour, as well as the salt, vanilla, cardamom, zest and clementine juice.
• Add the milk and rest of the flour. Beat until the consistency is smooth and completely blended.
• Pour the batter evenly into the 2 loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out smooth.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• For the Icing: In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and oil. Stir together until the oil is incorporated as much as possible [it will still be powder-y until the milk is added].
• Add the milk, a few drops at a time until the icing is at the desired consistency. [I used about 1 tablespoon, but it will differ from person to person]
• Drizzle over cake and lightly sprinkle some cardamom on top.

Its just DRIPPING with deliciousness!! Have I mentioned the smell? Its divine!

Superbowl Treats

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Treat yourself with little football brownies!

Very simple to make! I just used "boxed" brownie mix and follow directions baking them in 9x13" pan, lined with parchment paper. When they are done, let them cool for a few minutes in the pan, then lift the brownies up holding onto the paper and place them on wire rack to fully cool. When they are, invert them onto a clean surface and peel away the paper. I used a football shaped cookie cutter and cut out the shapes. I put a thin layer of chocolate icing (since brownies are...well....brown....you can skip this step if you prefer) and then piped the threads with white icing. Put into cupcake holders and serve! Simple as that!

Did you make any special treats for the superbowl?

#14 Creamy-Dreamy Thumbprints

My apologies for falling behind. Finals was a very hard and stressful week for me...buts its OVER! I'll try to catch up if I can. =)

CREAMY-DREAMY THUMBPRINTS

2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Colored Sprinkles
Vanilla Frosting

• In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat until combined. Then beat in egg yolks, vanilla and extract until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with mixer, then mix in the remaining by hand.  Cover and chill for about 1 hour. 
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll ball in beaten egg white and then roll in assorted colored sprinkles. 
• Place balls 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Using your thumb, make indentation in each dough ball. 
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are brown. 
• Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Fill each thumbprint with frosting. Serve immediately. 

If saving for later use, store cookie without the filling in the middle stacked in an air-tight container with wax paper between layers.

The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest magazine Dec 2011 edition

#7 Eggnog Pretzels "Kringla"

These have been my favorite so far! I can eat a whole batch!

EGGNOG PRETZELS "KRINGA"

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (1/2 tsp ground nutmeg)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp rum extract
3 cups flour
3/4 cup dairy eggnog

• In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in baking powder, baking soda, the 1 tsp fresh nutmeg, salt and cardamom until combined. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and rum extract until combined. Alternately add flour and eggnog, beating after each addition until combined. 
• Divide dough in half. Wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Roll pieces into 10 inch ropes, or "worms" as I call it! and twisting into small pretzel shapes.
• Place on an ungreased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes or until the ropes turn a light brown. Transfer to wire rack, cool completely. 
• Drizzle with eggnog icing (below) and sprinkle with additional nutmeg (optional).

EGGNOG ICING: In small bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/8 cup dairy eggnog, and 1/8 tsp rum extract until smooth. Stir in additional eggnog 1/2 tsp at a time to make into drizzling consistency.

If YOU have a Christmas Sweet recipe, let me know! I would love some help with these 25 days--and make you a full feature!

Flower Icing Cake

I know everyone has seen this on Pinterest. I just HAD to try it out! My grandma had her 80th Birthday party, with a purple theme, so to accompany the sheet cake, I made this pretty flower cake! I just used box cake mix for the inside--alternating vanilla and chocolate layers. The purple icing was also in between the layers as well.

FLOWER ICING CAKE

The details!

the inside--Chocolate and Vanilla!

This was quite easy to do, a bit time-consuming, but easy! You gotta try it out...and if you make a mistake, just use a knife and scrape/spread it away! You can't go wrong!

use the 3rd row, 2nd one down (#33)

So have fun! Let me know if you try it, I would love to see other's interpretations!

"Heaven in a Single Bite"

I saw these all over (on Pinterest, of course)....

  

 ...from Oh! Cupcakes and Cooking with Chopin

And I just HAD to give these bad boys a try...

...and I named them more "appropriately" as well

Did I mention you don't need to be a novice to make these?? Really, all from a box....

HEAVEN IN A SINGLE BITE

1 box brownie mix (with ingredients called for)
1 tub cream cheese icing
12 pack of Ferrero Rocher chocolates (each one cut in half)
chopped almonds

Make brownie batter and pour into a mini muffin tin. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. IMMEDIATELY press 1/2 piece of chocolate into the brownie and let cool for 10 minutes. [yields about 24-32 miniature brownies--so get more chocolates, or use the extras in a different recipe]

Carefully remove brownies from the muffin tin, and let cool on wire rack.

When brownies are completely cool, top with s dollop of icing and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

THERE. Heaven on a stick. Now don't eat every.single.one. That defeats the purpose of making them for a lunch group ...

What was I saying? Oh yes...also prepare to spend the night on the tredmil.

So don't let me keep popping your bubble...go ENJOY!

.....oooo look at the inside!

I used a whole chocolate on this one...
but to make them go farther, cut in half!

Shark Cupcakes

Last week was VBS [Vacation Bible School] for my kiddos. They had a wonderful time! I helped out in the crafts area and had a lot of fun too. Volunteers were need to bring in snacks and food and such for the volunteers. So I said I'd bring in cupcakes. Yup, another chance to express my creativity! Not to mention they were a huge hit and didn't last but and hour. That is always a great ego booster!

SHARK CUPCAKES

Again, I just used a delicious box cake mix for the cupcakes (yellow butter cake). White frosting with blue food coloring for the frosting "waves." White chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate for the "waves," "sea shell" and "shark fin." And then I used a powdered donuts (use a spoon to make the "bite" mark) for the life preserver and red food gel for the strips. Graham cracker crumbs for the "sand."

Be creative with it! I really enjoyed making these. I'm sure there is a more "professional" way to create these, but I didn't have a lot of time and it was just for fun.

Anyone notice my little detail of the colored paper cups? Blue for the water and yellow for the land! I know, crazy. But thats me!

[Featured at Make & Take] Tea-cup Cupcakes

Check out Make & Takes for more details from the tea-party!

And as for me, I will tell you how to make these adorable little tea-cup cupcakes! The idea wasn't mine, however I didn't ever bookmark the blog I did see them, so I have no idea the blog site! I'm sorry! If it was you, let me know so I can give credit where due!

What you need:
Ice-cream cone "cups" variety
Shortbread cookies
Peachy-Os candy rings
Box of cake mix--baked according to directions into mini-cupcakes
Icing
White Chocolate
Sprinkles

Cut the bottoms off the ice-cream cones, creating the cup look. Use the icing like glue, and "glue" the cup to the cookie. Peal the paper off the mini cup cakes and place in the center of ice-cream cone cup. Top it off with icing. For the decorations on top, pipe white chocolate into desired shapes and sprinkle with the colored sugar. Freeze for 15 minutes, then place on the icing. Cut the peachy-o rings in half and stick them to the side of the cups.

[do not make more than a day ahead--the cones will get soggy!]

And there you go! A perfect treat for the tea-party girls!

Cowboy Cake

A friend of mine's son is turning 6 and she was worried about the cake--I told her to relax, and let me do it--it took a load of her shoulder immediately! So I got free-reign on this cake. This is how it came out...

COWBOY CAKE

I like it just plain....but the lettering needed to be added

Its still adorable...and Micah LOVED it. Huge hit!

For a little surprise, I made these cookies. I had left over icing, sugar cookies, and a few pieces of candy.

She thought they were hilarious and perfect for the parents =)

I had such a blast doing this--I'm not a baker, but I love designing! My friend insisted on paying me--but I insisted not (and I'm more stubborn). I did this for fun and it helped her out. I don't mind doing this--as long as its not money out of my pocket.

Funny part was when my son saw this, he thought it was for him--he had a party a week ago, and thought he was gettin another one. HAHA Poor guy--I guess I should make a few to have around the house to make my family happy!