3 Ingredient Chocolate Zucchini Cake

by penji1
3 Ingredient Chocolate Zucchini Cake

3 Ingredient Chocolate Zucchini Cake

If you are already starting to wage war against the zucchini barrage that is coming from your garden like I am, then I strongly suggest that you give this recipe a try.  It was easy, it was surprisingly delicious and if you don’t tell people that there is zucchini in it, no one will ever know.

1 chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1 1/2 – 2 cups shredded zucchini (I actually run mine through the food processor until it is a puree as opposed to shredded)

1  Mix all ingredients until well combined.

2  Pour batter into either 2 greased loaf pans or 1 greased bundt cake pan.

3  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

I frosted it with some chocolate frosting that I had leftover in the fridge from some other dessert.  You could make an easy glaze with some milk, powdered sugar and cocoa.

recipe from The Creek Line House

Rustic Buttercream Striped Wedding Cake with Greens

by penji1
Rustic Buttercream Striped Wedding Cake with Greens

Rustic Buttercream Striped Wedding Cake with Greens

Latest wedding cake for my friend Bailey and her new husband Maycol.  It was so hot that the cake was having some issues which gave me some issues!  I had to grab the top layer and turn it around as it was starting to slide.  So it didn’t look as pretty as it did preslide!  Oh well!  I know it tasted good cause I had extra layers left over which we ate last night and also shared with the neighbors.

Chocolate cake recipe here

Buttercream Icing recipe here

Here’s a closer look

Rustic Buttercream Striped Wedding Cake with Greens

Rustic Buttercream Striped Wedding Cake with Greens

Thanks Bailey for letting me be a part of your big day!  Congratulations to you and Maycol!

Pink Drip and Sprinkle Birthday Cake

by penji1
Pink Drip and Sprinkle Birthday Cake

Pink Drip and Sprinkle Birthday Cake

So I tried out a drip cake and turns out my drip was too drippy!  I’ll work on it, I promise.  My friend Brandon asked if I would make a birthday cake for his girlfriend Lauren.  All he gave me to go on was pink, hearts, and stars so this is the result.  Even though the drip was a little too runny, I still think it was a cute cake.

The cake is vanilla, you can find the recipe here.

The frosting is buttercream and you can find that recipe here.

The drip recipe came from here.

And the sprinkles are from here.  I found them at a local store called Gygis.  (I added in some tiny pink heart sprinkles and some tiny silver star sprinkles both from Michaels.)

Harry Potter Cupcakes and Mini Hagrid Birthday Cake

by penji1
Harry Potter Cupcakes

Harry Potter Cupcakes

My cute neighbor Eleanor and her mom Tami came over on Monday and we all made Harry Potter cupcakes and then Eleanor made a Hagrid cake on her own for her Harry Potter themed birthday party.  I think they came out really cute.  Eleanor wanted broomsticks, lightning bolts and scarves from all four houses on top of the cupcakes.  Cute right?

And here is the Hagrid cake that Eleanor made on her own

Mini Hagrid Birthday Cake

Mini Hagrid Birthday Cake

Cute right?  Just like the cake that Hagrid brings Harry in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”.

The cupcakes are vanilla and chocolate and the mini cake is a marble cake.  Both the cupcakes and mini cake are made with this recipe here.

The recipe for the frosting on both the cupcakes and the cake can be found here.

The fondant for all the cupcake toppers is Wilton fondant which you can find at Michael’s.

Happy Birthday Eleanor!  Thanks for letting me be a part of the fun!

Little Lemon Drops

by penji1
Little Lemon Drops

Little Lemon Drops

Made these for a little get together last night for one of my friends who is moving into a new house.  They are a perfect little bite of lemon!

for the cake

1 lemon cake mix

1 small box vanilla or lemon instant pudding mix

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1/2 cup milk

for the glaze

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup hot water

1  For the cake, preheat oven to 325.  Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray with flour.

2  Beat all cake ingredients until smooth.  Fill each well in muffin pan about half full.  Bake for 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

3  Let cool in pan for about 2 minutes then remove from pan and place upside down on cooling racks with wax paper underneath.

4  For the glaze, beat together all glaze ingredients until smooth and desired consistency.  Drip/spoon 1 spoonful of glaze over each bite, allowing glaze to drip down sides.  Let glaze set before moving/serving.

recipe from Butter with a side of Bread

Red, White and Blue Sugar Cookie Pie

by penji1
Red, White and Blue Sugar Cookie Pie

Red, White and Blue Sugar Cookie Pie

How was your 4th of July this year?  Ours was delicious!

for the cookie

1 pouch (17.5 oz) sugar cookie mix or chocolate chip cookie mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup red, white and blue M&M’s

for the frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 – 3 tablespoons milk

1  For the cookie, heat oven to 350.  Spray pie pan with cooking spray.

2  Stir together cookie mix, butter, egg and flour until soft dough forms.  If using sugar cookie mix, stir in all M&M’s and press into pie pan.  If using chocolate chip cookie mix, do not stir in any M&M’s, press dough into pie pan then top with as many M&M’s as desired, pushing gently into dough.

3  Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool at least 30 minutes.

4  For the frosting, beat together all frosting ingredients until smooth, about 3 minutes or so.  Spoon frosting into pastry bag fitted with star tip.  Decorate as desired with frosting and additional M&M’s.

recipe from Betty Crocker

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

by penji1
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

It’s delicious and so very easy to make.  Try it at your next barbecue!

2 pounds red potatoes, diced into bite size chunks

2/3 cup Ranch dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup crumbled bacon from bag of real bacon (from Costco or Sam’s Club)

1 – 2 bunches green onions, chopped

1  Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and run under cold water to cool.

2  In a large bowl, carefully stir together all ingredients.

recipe from Cooking Classy

Mom’s Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

by penji1
Mom's Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

Mom’s Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

We’re celebrating Father’s Day with this delicious chocolate cake!  How are you celebrating?

cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

4 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 – 1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar

toffee bits and mini chocolate chips for sprinkling

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2  For the cake, combine flour, sugar and baking soda in mixer bowl.

3  Bring butter, cocoa and 1 cup water to a boil while stirring.

4  Add cocoa mixture to flour mixture, along with buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.

5  Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 30 – 40 minutes.

6  For the frosting, make frosting as soon as cake comes out of oven.  Bring butter, buttermilk and cocoa to a boil while stirring.  With a mixer, beat with powdered sugar until smooth.

7  Spread frosting over cake and sprinkle with toffee bits and mini chocolate chips.

recipe from Food Network

Butterscotch Muffins

by penji1
Butterscotch Muffins

Butterscotch Muffins

Muffins are one of my favs, I’m just going to keep making them until I’ve tried all the muffin recipes.

3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag butterscotch chips

Tubinado sugar for sprinkling

1  Preheat oven to 375.  Line muffin pan with paper liners.

2  Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3  In another bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla.

4  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.  Fold in butterscotch chips.  Scoop into muffin pan and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

5  Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

recipe adapted from Baked New England

Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad

by penji1
Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad

Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad

It’s finally summer, bring on the salads!  This recipe makes a huge salad, great for a party but for a family dinner you might want to cut the recipe in half.

12 cups coleslaw mix

1 (12.5 oz) can chicken, drained and broken up

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups craisins

3/4 cup red onion, finely diced

1 cup sesame sticks (found in bulk food section at the grocery store)

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/4 cup honey or brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1  In a large bowl, layer coleslaw mix, almonds, craisins, onion, sesame seeds, and sesame sticks.

2  Combine remaining ingredients in a blender plus 3 tablespoons of water and process until smooth.

3  Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.

recipe from Reluctant Entertainer