My First Layer Cake- A Photo Essay

I decided to venture into layer cake territory for my nephew's birthday. The following is a documentary of my trials and triumphs.


I used this recipe for chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I baked the cakes for around 33 minutes in two round cake cake pans. I allowed the cake to cool for about 20 minutes in their pans, then flipped them out on a cooling rack until completely cool.



I flipped the cake onto the pan with the rounded top face down and used a spatula to cover in icing.

Looks like a giant oreo! Or a whoppie pie! Have you ever had a whoopie pie? Please try one. Kthanxbai.


I learned from Barefoot Conmtessa that if you want your cake to be more casual keep the rounded side on top and flat side on top if you want it to look more formal. I went for a more formal look since what's more formal than an 11 year old's birthday?


Voila! Okay, these are the problems I had and would love some help from any experienced cake-icingers. I had the hardest time getting the edges covered. Everytime I ran the knife around them they were completely bare. I ended up just caking on some leftover icing at the end but I figured I was doing something wrong.

It also didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped. But you know what?



It was gooooood.

Wanna Salsa?

Once you make your own salsa you can never go back to those store bought cans of salsa. You will always compare it and those poor cans will always come up short. So beware.

Mi Madre's Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:
7 plum or roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1/2 a red onion
1 T. olive oil
1 lime
cilantro (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
jalapeno pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Half the tomatoes and remove all seeds using your thumb to scrape them out. Chop the tomatoes, green pepper, and onion. You may throw in a food processor but I like my salsa chunky. Add olive oil and sqeeze the juice of the lime over the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste. I usually forget to get cilantro at the store and have subsituted with basil.

2. If you like your salsa spicy chop the jalapeno and add to the mixture. Remove seeds to cut back on the spiciness. Mix everything together and chill/sit for at least an hour.

Basil Chicken

I've been trying to find some more healthy recipes to give us beach-ready bodies. I remembered a great website I used a few years ago during the South Beach Diet phase of my life called 3 Fat Chicks. The website gives great diet tips and has a ton of great recipes that have been reviewed by its users.


After this was done, I was a little hesitant to try it because I figured it would be flavorless. Let's be real. Most "diet" food is. Well this broke ever diet food rule in the book! It had a great lemony flavor and wasn't at all overpowered by all the basil included in the dish. It's a definite must try! I'm including the link for the original recipe and posting the recipe I changed up.

Basil Chicken

Source: 3 fat Chicks

Ingredients-
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar or splenda
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions-


1. Pound chicken to 1/2″ thickness. Add oil to pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan. Cook, turning to lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.


2. Chop basil leaves. Add 1/2 basil to pan, along with garlic and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until chicken is white in center of thickest part, 6 to 7 minutes, spooning juices over chicken often. Transfer chicken to a platter; keep warm. Boil pan juices, uncovered, over high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in remaining sliced basil and pour over chicken.

Shrimp Scampi

This is one of the staple dishes in our house. It's incredibly easy and very good. I do recommend adding a bit more white wine so its a bit more wet.

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients-

8 oz linguini ( I used whole wheat penne)

2 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

2 t red pepper flakes (I omitted)

1 pound shrimp, peeled

2/3 cup white wine ( I used 3/4)

3 T fresh parsley, minced or 2 T dried

salt and pepper

Directions-

1. Prepare pasta according to directions on package.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes and saute until soft.

3. Add shrimp and cook until firm, about five minutes. Remove shrimp. ( I left them andf lived to tell the tale) Add wine to the skillet and bring to simmer. Add Parsley. Let simmer gently for a 2 minutes. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

I don't know why I even bothered taking a picture. It looks like plain ole vanilla ice cream but I can assure you....IT IS NOT! I've been on a white chocolate kick since making the Blondies so I used a chocolate ice cream recipe from my ice cream maker manual and switched it up with white chocolate. The result is the most wonderful tasting ice cream I've had in a long, long time. My husband has this thing about all ice cream needing a topping of some sort so he added the only thing we had to his: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

I hate to admit it but it was genius. So good!

White Chocolate Ice Cream
Print this Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk (used skim)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 oz white chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat the whole milk until it is just bubbling around the edges (can be done on your stovetop or in a microwave).


2. In a blender or food processor, pulse the sugar with the chocolate until finely chopped. Add the hot milk, process until well blended and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and let the chocolate mixture cool completely.

3. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Chill for 30 minutes or longer. Follow directions on ice cream maker, let mix until thickened.

Stuffed Strawberries

All I can say about these is OH MAH GAWD. They were really great and a hit at the party I made them for. They are really simple except when using a ghettofied cake decorating tool consisting of a plastic baggie with a corner cut out. It worked but the filling ended up blobby. Luckily, my friend Laura came to the rescue with her cake decorator and saved the day! WHEEEE!

They will definitely be my new staple picnic item!

Stuffed Strawberries
Source: Amber's Delectable Delights
Shout-out: Vicki's Healthy Eats and Sinful Treats

Ingredients-

1 pint fresh strawberries
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur, or to taste (I used vanilla extract instead)

Directions-

1. Cut the tops off of the strawberries and stand upright on the cut side. Make two cuts 3/4 of the way down from the tip of the strawberry towards the bottom.

2. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and liqueur until smooth in a mixer or a food processor. Place into a piping bag with a star tip.

3. Pipe into each strawberry and arrange on a serving platter.

** I used 4 pints of strawberries and 3 servings of mixture***

Broccoli, Chickpea, and Tomato Salad

I was getting sick of taking the plain ole salad to work for lunch everyday so I was excited to try this recipe out of my new cookbook. It's both tasty and healthy! Score!

Broccoli, Chickpea, and Tomato Salad
Source- Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli
1 T dijon mustard
2 T red-wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1/2 small red onion, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Directions:

1. Cut the florets from the broccoli. In a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add the broccoli in a single layer. Cover; steam until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and onion; season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and broccoli; toss to coat. Serve chilled or at room temperature.