Moishe

I made a cake this week!  I made it for my daughters Kindergarten class as a way to say “Farewell” to her teacher.  She is getting older and had planned to retire.  But with the economy the way it is, she’s going to find a good Medicare supplement and stick around!

Not really! Her husband was injured at work just recently, and with him home recuperating, she has decided to extend her contract for one more year, just to help with the family budget. So, instead of a “Farewell” cake, it turned into a “Hope All Goes Well…We’ll See You Next Year” cake!

What do you think??

It’s Moishe from “Where The Wild Things Are”.  Do you remember him?

My Famous Pina Colada Cake!!

You may have tried someone else’s Pina Colada cake, but I have never tried anything and came up with this yummy concoction all on my own. But hey, maybe more than one great mind thinks alike!!

Here’s what you’ll need:

First off, make your cake according to the box directions. This cake is made in layers–this cake today is a two layer, but I have made a three–and it’s just as good. After your two layers of cake have cooled, you are going to make a batch of stabilized whipped cream frosting. To do this you use:

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tsp vanilla

4 TB powdered sugar

2 TB Wilton Piping Gel

Beat until it holds stiff peaks.

Take half of the whipped cream mixture and mix it with a 1/2 can of Bacardi Pina Colada Mix (frozen juice section). This is your filling.

Spoon over first layer of cake and spread to make smooth. Add the second layer of cake, and poke holes through the top.

Spread over the holes to fill them with the filling and remove excess filling back into the bowl.

Use the rest of the whipped cream to frost the top and sides of the cake. Dust with coconut. Sprinkle pineapple tidbits over the top.

Wrap the sides in parchment paper and put in the freezer until just before you are ready to eat it.

Planning A Party!!

My Mother In Law and I are in the process of planning a shower for her grandson (my nephew) and his wife. They live in San Diego and won’t be at the shower, but we thought it would be a fun way to show our excitement for their new arrival.

We are moving away from the standard shower or even summer fare, and going with shish kebabs and summer salads. I will be making a cute cake for them, and also for another nephew who will be celebrating his 21st birthday the same day.

I will be making the invitations today, and hitting the party store later…I’ll let you know what I find!

They’re Leaving

I just found out that a very close family member of mine is leaving the country! Picking up and moving across the world. How amazing is that? He and his wife are both going. They are going to be quitting their jobs (she’s a jr. high teacher he works in architecture and cad drawing something or other), they are selling their home, kissing their kids goodbye (the youngest is married) and heading off.

Now–as surprising as it was to hear they were doing this–I have to admit it sounds amazingly cool as well! When I was 21 (unmarried and living at home) I dropped everything to move to Japan for 18 months–C.R.A.Z.Y. amazing! So I’m really excited for them and for the stories and letters we’ll get back from them! I’ll keep you posted!

Strange Thoughts

Have you ever gotten so run down that you start coming up with possible maladies you might have? Be it mesothelioma or asthma—psoriasis or athlete’s foot? I totally do this! I have these weird bumps on the back of my head–on both sides (so it’s “not a tumor” (name the flick)) but you know, I constantly think they must be a sign of something. No, they don’t hurt. Yes, they are both exactly the same size, shape, hardness — everything– same, but you know…they must be the sign of something sinister!

Mind you, they’ve never really frightened me enough to actually make a doctor’s appointment to get them checked out. Why?? Because they are just little nodules on the back of my skull!!! Maybe if I keep telling myself that–I’ll quit worrying!

2 Weeks Of Cake

As you can see, I spent the last two weeks making cakes. How awesome is that! They were two fun character cakes, one Elmo and one Minnie Mouse–both very similar structurally. In fact, I used the same pans for both–but Minnie’s top layer is not in the center of the cake, and Elmo’s is–that’s all that is different!

Now, after spending 2 weeks in the kitchen, I’m happy to report that I want an LCD TV in the corner of my kitchen! Honestly–it got so lonely in there all by myself! My kids know to make themselves scarce during the “deco” time–all we need is kid-dust kicked up in the kitchen. But with a tv in there–they could be in with me, or at least I could watch something while I worked!

Minnie Cake

This is the second Minnie Mouse cake I’ve made. When I made the original cake I kind of went crazy on the whole Ebay Minnie Mouse purchases. So I ended up with TONS of Minnie’s, most of which arrived after the birthday party. So this cake was fun to recreate using some of the new ones and some of the duplicates. The best part of this cake, that was missing on the first one—the Minnie Topper! I think she’s AWESOME!

Elmo Cake

This cake is based on Elmo’s World. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a world that Elmo has created with crayons, hence the squiggly lines. This cake was for a child’s first birthday, and normally I wouldn’t make a 3 tier cake for this, but what made this cake fun was that after the Happy Birthday’s were sung, the top tier turns into the baby’s smash cake.

An Itchin’

My birthday was this past week and you know something silly, I really wanted to make my own cake. You know, that is a sign that I really need to find diet pills that work! I didn’t end up making a cake. My husband’s dad picked one up from the grocery for me, which was really thoughtful. But for some reason, I still have this little urge to make a cake! I do find it a bit cathartic, and sitting here tonight, it really sounds like something I need!

Maybe I’ll try my hand at that cute little Mario Brother’s cake that was making it’s way around the internet a few weeks ago. So fun and so cute!

What do you think?

Skin

There is one nice side effect that comes from working in the cake field! It’s skin care! I know, that sounds like an oddity but really. Not only do I wash my hands (A LOT) but I work with shortening. Talk about some smooth, silky hands!

Yes, I’m totally kidding! It’s actually my least favorite part of baking. I am way to finicky about my hands. I have a bottle of lotion in every room of the house. Lotion and lip bam! If my hands or my lips are dry, it’s torture~! In fact, you didn’t even notice right then, but I had to take a little pause to slather up my lips. Once I was talking about them, I realized they were dry!

I need to purchase some really creamy lotion in the coming days. With summer setting in, mine are sure to get dry and cracked from all of this washing!