Pink Leopard-Print Rainbow Pound Cake

Laura, my little sister, recently turned 31 years old, and for her birthday she requested that I make her a cake, to which I replied, "sure!" Laura then went on to describe what kind of birthday cake she wanted. "I want a pink leopard-print rainbow cake." "You are really testing my skills," I replied. But, I'm not the type of person to back down from a challenge, and let me tell you...it was not without challenges.

It is actually pound cake. I figured the layers would hold up better with a dense cake. I got the recipe from a co-worker and it is really good. I frosted the cake with cream cheese icing that I dyed pink using Wilton icing color.

To make it a rainbow cake, I separated the batter into five bowls and dyed each bowl a different color with McCormick food coloring. I then put scoops of each color in the pan and used a knife to gently swirl the colors through each other, creating a tye-die effect. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cake...we were too busy eating it! Here is a picture I found on the internet that resembles the inside of my cake. Click on the link to see a step by step pictorial on how to create a rainbow cake...

One-Step Pound Cake:
Blend together...
2-1/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter (softened)
8oz yogert (any flavor) or sour cream
3 eggs

Pour mixture into pan that has been greased and floured.
Bake at 325 for aprx 60 minutes

Cream Cheese Icing:
Blend together...
4 ounces butter (softened)
4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Delicious Fiber...No Cardboard In Sight

I highly recommend these Fiber One apple cinnamon muffins from Betty Crocker. They are so good, and one muffin has five grams of fiber...that's 20% of the recommended daily allowance! Although the sugar content is a little high (14g per serving), I still love them. For breakfast or a quick snack, I grab a muffin, maybe spread on a little peanut butter, and I'm out the door.

One box makes 12 muffins. I baked them in a Wilton muffin tin. I works great...with a little non-stick cooking spray, they slide right out.

Here's what you need:

1 box Fiber One apple cinamon muffin mix

3/4 cup water

2TB vegetable oil

2 eggs

non-stick cooking spray

1 medium bowl

1 spoon

muffin tin

Fresh-Picked Blueberry Pie

My husband and his brothers inherited some land from their father, and on that land are two small blueberry fields. On a good year, big, fat blueberries hang in bunches like grapes, making the task of picking them all too easy. Just hold your bucket under the heavy, berry laden branches...a little shake and some gentle nudging is all you need. And they are so good for you...full of antioxidants.

I received this recipe from my mother-in-law who has a great appreciation for blueberries. There is nothing like the taste of a juicy, sun-ripened blueberry, fresh off the tree. This pie is the epitome of that taste sensation.

I veered slightly from the recipe by substituting orange juice for lemon juice, and 1/4 cup tapioca for corn starch (but only because I didn't have either on hand). The end result was still delicious! Enjoy!

Fresh-Picked Blueberry Pie Recipe

What you'll need:

4 cups of fresh blueberries (not frozen)
1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 TB corn starch
1 TB butter or margarinr

2 TB lemon juice

1 small sauce pan

1 med/large bowl

1 spatula or spoon

1 pre-made pie crust

whipped cream

Instructions:

Wash and drain blueberries. Chill 3 cups of berries and put 1 cup of berries aside. Mix together sugar and tapioca in a sauce pan. Add water, orange juice and 1 cup of unchilled berries. Cook over med-high heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Pour cooked mixture into a med/large bowl with the remaining chilled blueberries. Let stand for aprx 30 minutes. Pour into pie shell and refridgerate for at least 4 hours. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Patriotic and Delicious

Every year for the fourth of July, I make a rectangular cake and decorate it to look like an American flag by using strawberries and blueberries. This year, I used the same "red, white and blue" theme, but I created a round cake with a less obvious nod to our country's flag. I think it turned out just as patriotic...and just as delicious!

The cake is a yellow cake mix by Betty Crocker. It is two layers, with a thick layer of homemade cream cheese frosting in between. The whole cake is topped with more cream cheese frosting and decorated with strawberries and blueberries.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix together...
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

A Touch of Fairytale Charm

I created this cake for my niece who was performing in her first ballet recital. I knew that I wanted to theme the cake after her costume, so I dyed the icing this beautiful blue to match her dress. Then, I topped the cake with white feathers and silk peonies. I think it gives the cake the perfect touch of fairytale charm.

And yes, the cake is riding atop the center console of my husbands Ford F-250. It rode like this for 100 miles and luckily managed to remain intact for the party.

I actually cheated on the cake and used a Betty Crocker box mix, but I frosted it with homemade icing. Each cake tier has two layers that alternate between chocolate and yellow cake. Between the cake layers are layers of chocolate buttercream icing. The whole cake is topped with traditional buttercream icing, dyed blue. The dots, edges and writing are done with buttercream icing.

A Sweet Ending To A Perfect Day

My husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and fell in love with the beauty of the islands. So, for our daughters first birthday, we wanted to recreate that feeling of Aloha Spirit by throwing a luau in her honor.

Feeling very optimistic I decided that, rather than purchase a pre-designed cake from Publix, I would make this a birthday to remember...and make her cake. But not just any cake. It had to be special...and it had to be fit for a Hawaiian princess.

The cake is actually banana bread. When we were in Hawaii, one of our fondest memories is of the "road to Hana", on the island of Maui, where we bought the most delicious banana bread from a young lady who managed a quaint roadside stand. Although I've never been able to recreate that banana bread, this recipe is pretty darn good.

The cake is two tiers, and each tier has two layers. Between each cake layer is a thick layer of the best cream cheese frosting you've ever tasted. After stacking the layers and tiers, and icing the cake with cream cheese frosting, I placed the chocolate-filled cookies around the edge of the bottom layer. Then, I sprinkled brown sugar "sand" atop the bottom layer, added a few seashells and a few more cookies to frame my daughters name. The grand finale is the bouquet of hot pink hibiscus that tops the cake. It was truly a sweet ending to a perfect day.

Here are the recipes...

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees - Bake for aprx 60 minutes (the time will vary depending on the size of the pan)

***The recipe calls for mixing dry ingredients separately, but I just throw everything into one bowl and it always turns out delicious.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted (and cooled)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
*optional - chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut (I've tried all of these optional ingredients and they are all fabulous!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix together...

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Would a cake by any other name taste as sweet?

The same friend who inspired me to create this blog suggested the title "let them eat cake" and I immediately loved it, having fantasized many years ago about owning a French patisserie of the same name.

Testing...testing. A blog is born.

Testing...testing...
I created this blog after becoming inspired by a coworker who currently manages three blogs. One about food, one about travel and one about wedding planning...all three of which spark my interest on many levels. But, not wanting to completely plagerize her creative ideas, I began to think about other things I enjoy. It took only a few seconds for me to remember my newly rekindled fondness for baking...and thus a blog is born.