Chantilly Lace

My friend Kristin celebrated her Birthday yesterday. We don't exchange gifts and I didn't see her but I felt this desperate urge to make her a cake anyway. So it will be a day late but it is the thought that counts.

White whipped icing and butter cream decorations. This is my first attempt at Chantilly Lace and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Vanilla cake with blueberry filling. It is only a 6" cake and I had left over batter so I made some vanilla blueberry cupcakes also. My husband told me that they are "terrible and we shouldn't share them with anyone". That's how I know he likes something. He gives it a bad review so they won't leave the house. HA!

One Crazy Week

My good friend Nicole was drafted to make a surprise 30th Birthday cake for a good friend. I offered to help her and we worked side by side. She worked on her 30th Birthday cake while I worked on the Monster truck. It was a LOT of fun to have someone to share in the creative process. We did a lot of laughing, a little commiserating, and made a HUGE mess 3 nights in a row. It was a blast. I hope we can work on another project together in the future.

Other than helping her learn how to make fondant and cover a cake, the only other thing I did is help make the topper. She did the rest by herself! Not bad for her first attempt at fondant. She did a great job!!!

Monster Jam Birthday Cake

My son absolutely loves Monster Trucks. His favorite is Blue Thunder and for his Birthday, he asked for a monster truck cake. His cousin TJ is celebrating his Birthday in February also (the boys are 6 days apart), so this is for both of them.

It was most definitely a challenge. Matt was an indispensable part of this project. He put his carpentry skills to work and built an incredible frame for me to work with. He also helped carve the shape of the truck. He wanted to have a hand in our son's cake and he did a fantastic job!!! I love you baby!

Happy Birthday Garrick & TJ!!!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Believe it or not this is a healthy version of a double chocolate chip cookie! Amazing that such healthy ingredients can turn out such a moist, chewy, and oh so chocolaty delight! As opposed to a traditional chocolate chip, these have less than 1/2 the fat, about 1/2 the sugar, and they have whole wheat flour!

Want to make them yourself? Here's the recipe!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (HEALTHIER VERSION)

(side note: I spent about 6 months tweaking the ingredients to get this cookie just right. If you make substitutions or change measurements, I can't be held responsible. Make changes at your own risk!!!)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

3/4 cp Land O Lakes Light Butter (Softened)
1/4 cp Applesauce
1 pkg Chocolate Pudding
1/4 cp White Sugar
1/2 cp Splenda
3/4 cp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla

Combine the above ingredients and mix.

2 Eggs(room temperature) (or egg beater equivalent)

Add Eggs and mix

1 cp. White Flour
1 cp. White Wheat Flour (King Arthur Brand)
2/3 cp. Cocoa Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Combine these ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk together lightly to incorporate. Then gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients just until they are thoroughly combined. Do Not Over Mix.

1 1/4 cps Mini Chocolate Morsels (Yes, it makes a difference!!!)

Add Morsels and stir

Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Pull them from the oven before they look "done". When cooled they will firm up and you'll have a chewy and chocolaty treat. You can add nuts if you like and you can also add dried cherries.

February Birthdays!

The month of February is huge in our household. We have 6 Birthday's between my family and my husband's family this month. With only 4 weekends and a limited amount of time, we've been combining the Birthday celebrations for the past few years. This weekend we are celebrating the Birthday of my 84 year old Grandmother who is a HUGE fan of the Cleveland Indians (her hometown team). My nephew Eli is turning 3, and my son Garrick is turning 6.

I wanted to make a cake that combines all 3 of them in a somewhat cohesive design. This is what I came up with. Matt was a big help as usual.

The top of the cake is Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians on home plate with a stack of balls and a baseball bat. Happy Birthday Gram!!!

The 2nd tier of the cake is in honor of my son Garrick who has had a passion of construction and heavy equipment since he was old enough to see his first one.

The bottom tier is all Eli. My nephew is in LOVE with trains.

Happy Birthday!!!