Mario Kart Cake

I know this is a long post but I needed to have the recipes and amounts I use written down so that I don't forget the next time I do a cake.

This is a cake I made for Kaleb's 6th birthday and although it was very rushed and I didn't have very much time it still turned out pretty good.

This cake consisted of 4 layers of cake with a raspberry filling and cream cheese buttercream frosting. Then I covered the cake with fondant and decorated it. It’s been so long since I’ve done a big cake that I forgot how much cake batter and fondant I would need so after this cake I told myself I would write everything down.

(There's also a blog I look at that's doing a make-a-cake series and they have pictures and instructions on fondant and cakes.)

The Cake:

I used a 10-inch and a 6-inch cake pan. My cake pans are 3 inches deep. I decided I would try the cake mix route to not only save money but a lot of time.

I mixed up 2 cake mixes and it filled both of my pans halfway which is the most you want to put in a pan. I put them in the oven together at 300 degrees convection (325 if not using convection) for 60 minutes pulling the 6-inch cake pan out of the oven after 45 minutes. Be sure to grease your pans and for the 10-inch pan I put parchment paper in the bottom to make sure it doesn’t stick and tear the cake. I then mixed up 2 more cake mixed and made 2 more layers for the cake.

After they’ve cooled completely wrap in plastic wrap. Depending how early you make the cakes you can freeze them. This helps you get a moist cake although I don’t think with a boxed cake mix this is an issue because they’re so moist already. I made my cakes the night before so I didn’t freeze them this time.

Raspberry Filling:

I tried making my own filling with my own recipe (using a couple other recipes as guidelines) and it turned out awesome. It made more than I needed so I took the extra with us so people could add more to their cake if they wanted.

2 bags of frozen raspberries
2 t. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn starch
2 c. water

In large saucepan, combine raspberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and water; mix well. Heat and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Strain the sauce to get rid of the seeds. Cool completely. Makes about 4 cups of filling. (This would taste great piped into the center of cupcakes as a filling or for a donut filling.)

Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting

I love this frosting. It’s the best of both worlds combining cream cheese frosting with butter cream frosting. The only downside is that you need to keep it refrigerated and so I haven’t used it on wedding cakes since you usually aren’t the one taking the leftovers home. But other than that I won’t ever use any other frosting than this one.

4 lbs. powdered sugar (2 bags)
2/3 c. water
8 oz. cream cheese (1 block)
¾ c. butter (1 ½ sticks)
1 c. vegetable shortening

Add all of the ingredients except powdered sugar to your mixer. Mix until combined. Add powdered sugar a couple of cups at a time and mix well until it’s smooth and creamy. Makes 12 cups. (This was the perfect amount for this cake, after the small amount of piping on the cake I had about 1 ½ c. left. I’m also very generous when I frost my cakes and put a lot of frosting on them especially when you have a cake this thick.)

Assemble the Cake:

Level out the top of each layer of cake so that your cake sits flat. Place a spoonful of frosting on your cake plate and place the bottom layer down. I then pipe a ring thick ring of frosting around the edge of the cake layer to create a dam so the filling doesn’t run down the cake. It also helps so that when you frost the cake you don’t mix filling in the frosting and the crack is already filled with frosting. Spread a thick layer of filling on the cake. Then take the next layer and place it cut side down on top of your first layer. You don’t want to have to try to frost the cut part or it would be a crumby mess. Then frost the whole cake.

Repeat with the second layer of cake. I invert my cake pan (6-inch) and assemble the small cake on top of it. This makes it easier when it comes time for fondant. Place both cake layers in the fridge after they’re frosted.

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant

Buying fondant is expensive and it doesn’t taste gross. You can make a standard homemade fondant (like what you would buy in the store) but the ingredients aren’t pantry staples so there are some added cost or you can make the marshmallow fondant which is softer and easier to work with. Plus, it’s not expensive to make and only takes a couple of ingredients.

1 package (16 oz) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand) (The bags at the store are only 10 oz. so I used 1 ½ bags per batch)
2-5 T. water
2 lbs. (8 c. or 1 bag) powdered sugar
½ c. vegetable shortening

To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 minutes).

Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

Makes about 2 lbs. of fondant
.

I made 2 batches of fondant for this cake. The first batch I tinted the melted marshmallow mixture sky blue and this fondant covered both of my cakes. The second batch I left white and then divided it into different pieces to color separately after the fondant was made. Use the gel food coloring because the liquid will mess up the fondant. If you don’t want brightly colored hands wear gloved when first mixing the coloring in the fondant. Once it’s mixed you don’t need gloves.

Covering the Cakes with Fondant:

Grease your surface and rolling pin and roll the fondant out to the size you need. Measure the sides of the cake and top to see how big of a circle you need. For a big piece of fondant it’s easier if you have 2 people and you drape it over your hands and place it centered on the cake. This time I was alone and so I couldn’t pick it up without it tearing so I folded the fondant in half and then fourths (like you would a pie crust when you’re putting it in the pan) and placed it on the cake and unfolded it. The only thing about doing this was I had a small crease in the fondant where it was folded in half but it wasn’t very noticeable. You also want your cake elevated when applying the fondant so the extra drapes over the sides. This makes it easier to smooth out. You can use your hands or a fondant smoother. I watched a couple of videos on the internet to learn how to cover a cake with fondant. Also, to get fondant pieces to stick to fondant just dip your finger in water and rub it where you want the shape. The press it to the fondant and it will stick.

Cake Tools:

I have a fondant smoother and I just bought a fondant roll and cut mat. I use my wood rolling pin but they do have fondant rolling pins you can buy. They probably are easier to use but I don’t want to spend $20 if I don’t have to. You can buy the supplies at Wal-Mart, Roberts and Michael’s. Wal-Mart is the cheapest unless you use coupons. Just look in the craft section at their decorating stuff. I buy my disposable piping bags and food coloring there too. For more specific colors or supplies Gygi’s is the best store.

Next time I will plan better and buy cookie cutters in the basic shapes I need (stars, clouds) because it’s too time consuming and doesn’t look as sharp to cut out the shapes with a knife. And they only cost about 50 cents to buy. I also want to try to mix my filling with a cream cheese mixture to make a cream cheese fruit filling. I love the strawberry cream cheese filling in Costco cakes. And the biggest issue is that I need to plan more time! With the next cake I’ll be sure to have the cake cooked, assembled, frosted and the fondant made and colored the day before. Then you just have to cover cakes and decorate which is the most time consuming.

Mmm....Peanut Butter

These are the BEST peanut butter cookies I've ever had! I hate making peanut butter cookies because as soon as they cool they start to turn rock hard and they're crumbly and just not that good. When I saw the picture for these cookies on Baking Bites I was so excited to try them. I'm glad I made a double batch. They aren't flat and they're soft and chewy, even the next day. The toffee melts so it becomes part of the chewiness of the cookie. I no longer hate making peanut butter cookies.

**Side notes: I didn't make mine into sandwiches. I also used creamy peanut butter for the cookies instead of crunchy and dark brown sugar since I already had an opened bag I needed to use up. Anyone know the difference between quick cooking oats and old fashioned oats? I don't cook with oats much and all I had were old fashioned and they worked great. I used a cookie scoop instead of rolling them into the balls. Less work and much cleaner. Do not overcook, mine took 9 minutes and were barely brown on the edges. I let them sit on the pan for 1 minute and then put them on the cooling rack.

Toffee Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Recipe from Baking Bites

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup finely chopped toffee bits (such as Heath)
approx 1 cup smooth peanut butter (if making sandwiches)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth, followed by crunchy peanut butter. With the mixer on low speed or working by hand, gradually blend in the flour mixture, then stir in the toffee bits. Drop scant 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cookies are cooled, sandwich each pair with 2-3 tsp smooth peanut butter.

Makes about 40 cookies, or 20 sandwich cookies

Creamy White Chili

This is a really good recipe for a white chili. It was creamy and I really liked it with Monterey Jack cheese. Although we had a really good white Chili in Colorado and Matt says he likes that version better. So I'll have to get the recipe and try it again. I didn't add the cayenne pepper since Kaleb doesn't like anything spicy. My chicken was already precooked and cut up in the freezer and so I just added everything but the sour cream and whipping cream to the pot at once.

Creamy White Chili
from My Kitchen Cafe

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies (if you like less kick, add just one can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately. This is especially good served with tortilla chips. Makes about 6 servings.

This is another recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. Matt has never liked Stroganoff, at least not the kind with Cream of Mushroom soup. So I was excited to try this recipe. We all really liked it. We served it over brown rice but I think next time I'll try noodles. It was good with the rice but brown rice has a nutty flavor that to me distracted from the stroganoff. We also love mushrooms and so I added 2 containers of sliced mushrooms and I also cooked them on the stove for a couple of minutes so that everything at the end could be added without cooking for another 15-30 min.

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
From: My Kitchen Cafe

Put in crock pot:
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced

Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup


Cook in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crockpot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.


Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

My uncle (he's an amazing cook) made this breakfast casserole a couple of months ago and I loved it! I've now made it twice and both times I've forgotten to take a picture. So no picture but just imagine a breakfast casserole, they kind of all look the same anyways, but this one tastes much better! And I love that I can make it the night before and since it makes more than enough for the 4 of us we have breakfast for a couple of days.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

• 2 12oz. pkgs. Jimmy Dean Sausage (mild)
• 1 sm. onion (I use 1/3 c. dried onion)
• 2 1/2 c. Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Stuffing Croutons (in a bag by the stuffing)
• 2 c. Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I've used sharp and mild so whatever you have on hand)
• 8 eggs
• 2 c. milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 t. dry mustard (I didn't have this)
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup mix
• 1 c. sour cream

Cook onion and sausage and drain drippings on paper towel. Arrange Stuffing Croutons on bottom of lightly buttered 9X13 baking dish. Spread sausage and onion over baking dish evenly. Spread cheese on top of sausage. In a bowl mix eggs, milk 1/2 c. of the heavy cream, dry mustard and pepper until well mixed. Pour over the top of the cheese, sausage, stuffing mixture. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning mix cream of mushroom soup with the sour cream and 1/2 c. of heavy cream and spread on top. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Pomegranate Cheesecake

I made this for Christmas Eve dinner but we were so full and we kind of forgot about it until everyone was leaving. So I brought it to Christmas Day dinner for everyone to enjoy. This is an awesome cheesecake recipe. The crust is more like a sugar cookie which I like because sometime the graham cracker crust flavor can overwhelm the cheesecake flavor. Also, it's really creamy but still light and it has the sour cream layer on top. I loved the pomegranate sauce on top. The only thing I might do different is not put the pomegranate seeds inside of the cheesecake batter. I think it's not necessary since they don't have flavor until you bight into them and you're using them as a topping too.

This is my new favorite traditional cheesecake recipe. I still really like THIS version but it's more dense and a thinner cheesecake and this new recipe is more traditional to me.

Pomegranate Cheesecake
From: My Kitchen Cafe (also has a tutorial for seeding a pomegranate)

*Plan Ahead: the cheesecake needs to be chilled for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pomegranate Glaze:
1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice (usually found in the refrigerated section of juices)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg; beat well. Beat in flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover one portion and set it aside.

Remove the sides from a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Spread first portion of dough on just the bottom of ungreased springform pan base, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto the sides of the sprinform pan to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula, like an offset spatula, to spread dough.

For the filling: reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour on low speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Mix in sour cream and lemon peel. Then, using a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold in pomegranate seeds (if you use the electric mixer for this part, the seeds will burst and stain the filling with the juice - and it won't look as pretty).

Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven. (It doesn't matter if the cheesecake cracks on top since it will have a sour cream topping.)

For the topping: stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

For pomegranate glaze: in a medium saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (12 to 15 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.

When ready to serve, remove cheesecake and pomegranate glaze from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings.

Mango Orange Glazed Carrots

Another Christmas Eve dish but we also have this almost every Sunday too. It's that good.

Mango Orange Glazed Carrots

6-7 Carrots (washed but not peeled)

1/4 t. ginger

1 T. sugar

1/4 c. mango-orange juice (you can also use just orange juice)

1 t. corn starch

2 T. butter

1/4 t. salt

Slice carrots crosswise about 1 inch thick. Put carrots in a pot and add just enough water to cover the carrots. Salt the water. Drain when cooked. (Approx. 15-20 min. depending on how thick your carrots are.)

Combine sugar, corn starch, salt and ginger in a small saucepan. Add the mango orange juice. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in butter. Pour over hot carrots tossing to coat evenly. Serve hot, serves 4-5.

Apple Cider

The next 5 posts will be dishes we had at our Christmas Eve dinner. The pictures were taken after everyone had dished up and was already eating, definitely an after thought so the pictures aren't great but at least there is a picture.

Apple Cider

1 gallon apple juice

1 1/2 c. orange juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

6 cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

12 whole allspice

Mix together and bring to a boil. Simmer at least 30 minutes.*

*I put all of the ingredients in a crockpot for 1 hour on high instead and it worked great and then it was easy to keep warm through the night.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I wanted to try a Broccoli Cheese Soup that didn't have processed cheese in it. This recipe from My Kitchen Cafe was really good and I love the taste of the swiss cheese in it.

(I had already eaten half my bowl when I thought to take a picture and Ashton decided to help me stir the cheese in as I took the picture)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups of broth)
1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
3 c. steamed chopped broccoli florets

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Drizzled Caramel Popcorn

This is what I made for neighbor/friend gifts this year. It's cheap and you can make alot of it at once. I made 5 batches of this recipe.

Chocolate Drizzled Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 quarts popped popcorn (1 c. unpopped)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Drizzle chocolate over cooled popcorn and let set.

*Add 1 t. to your chocolate chips when you melt them. You can also add nuts, candy, pretzels or anything else you want to the popcorn.