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Happy 40th birthday to my cousins Amy & Ryan! 

Here are some pics of the cake I made for their birthday celebration. 

I started by making two 6" and two 8" round cakes and leveling them with a knife.

Then I filled the cakes with a homemade chocolate ganache and buttercream icing.

Next I iced the cakes.

I recruited my husband to help roll out the fondant.

Once the fondant was rolled, I covered both of the cakes.

I then cut off the extra fondant and smoothed out the bumps.

For the decorations I used these black Wilton Sugar Sheets.  I found these at Michaels and they come in a variety of colors. 

It was super easy to use and looks really nice on the cake.  To start I peeled the sugar sheet off the plastic.

I then used a cutting board (a clean one, of course) to cut black strips for the cake.

Once the strips were cut, I used a paint brush to brush each strip with water so it would stick to the cake.

After brushing the strips with water, I placed them one by one onto the bottom layer of the cake.

After the bottom layer of the cake was decorated, I stacked the smaller layer on top.

I rolled white balls of fondant to use as the border around the top layer of the cake.  I used a little bit of frosting to hold them in place. 

For the top layer of the cake, I used a knife to cut 4s and 0s from the black sugar sheets.  I added rolled white fondant balls to the top of the cake and added the fun, twirly wires with hanging jewels to the top of the cake.  You can find the wires and jewels at Michaels also.  I think they make a fun addition to any cake.

Zucchini Bread

Does anyone have a lot of Zucchini from the garden that they don't know what to do with?  We recently got a bunch so my mom and I made Zucchini bread using my Grandma's recipe.  For this recipe you will need:

3 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

3/4 C. Applesauce (or cooking oil)

2 C. Grated Zucchini

1 1/2 C. Sugar

3 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3 C. Flour



Start by grating the Zucchini.  We grated all of the Zucchini and put the leftover in freezer bags for future use. 

 Beat the eggs.  Add oil and sugar. 

 In a separate bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

 Add grated zucchini and flour mixture alternately to the egg, oil, and sugar mixture.

Pour mixture into baking pans.  We used miniature bread pans to make several loafs.  We added walnuts and chocolate chips to some of the loaves.  My favorite was the chocolate chip zucchini bread!

Here's a picture of the zucchini bread fresh out of the over.  De-lish!  Do you have any other recipe ideas for zucchini?  We also tried zucchini noodles for dinner that night.  Turned out pretty good!

Back to School - Brownie Bites

Our nanny recently went back to school, so we made her these de-lish Mini Treasure Brownies which you can find the recipe for on the Tasty Kitchen website.  How we miss her already!  We are already looking forward to next summer when she will be back. 

 Start by mixing the sugar, vanilla, and oil in a bowl. 

Mix in the beaten eggs.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Once mixed, stir into the liquid ingredients.  Pour mixture into a lined, mini muffin tin and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 350.

 While the brownie bites are baking, unwrap the Hershey Kisses.

Remove brownie bites from the oven.  Let cool for a few minutes and then press one Hershey Kiss into the center of each brownie bite. 

 For a fun way to package your brownie bites (or other miniature treats), place in a clean egg carton. 

Add your own personal touch, by decorating the egg carton.  Or use one of these cute egg cartons that can be purchased from Bake It Pretty.  I plan on ordering some of these for future projects!  Hope everyone has a good first week back at school!

S'mores Dessert Guest Feature

Did you know that yesterday was National S'mores Day 2011?  In honor of this campfire treat I am featuring a S'mores Dessert that my mom made.  This isn't your traditional campfire S'mores, but an ice cream S'mores Dessert.   A refreshing treat for this hot, humid summer that we're having in Minnesota.    

To make this de-lish S'mores Dessert, start by layering graham crackers side by side in a 9x9" pan (4-6 whole crackers for the bottom and top).  Next spread hot fudge topping over crackers (about 1 cup).  Sprinkle with mini marshmallows.  Spread 2 cups of softened ice cream on top. My mom used chocolate chip ice cream.  Top with graham crackers.

Freeze dessert and enjoy!

Have you seen these marshmallows in the store yet? 

Take a closer look.  They are square shaped marshmallows, perfect for S'mores!  I haven't had a chance to try roasting these marshmallows over a campfire, but they would be perfect to use in the S'mores ice cream dessert.  I hope you have a chance to enjoy a S'more over the campfire this summer.  Happy Camping!   

Target Cake Guest Feature

How adorable is this cake?  My friend Kristi decorated this cake for a friend of hers who works for Target.  

Bullseye, the Target mascot, is so cute.  The Bullseye Kristi made looks exactly like the real Bullseye.  Great job Kristi!  You are so talented!

Twin Cities Bakery Tour - Yum! Kitchen and Bakery

This week's bakery feature is Yum! Kitchen and Bakery.  Yum! is located in St. Louis Park at 4000 Minnetonka Boulevard. 

I've been to Yum! several times and have tried out many of the desserts.  Yum! also has a kitchen which offers soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and more.  I haven't tried the food, but if it tastes anything like the desserts its to die for.  The cupcakes and desserts are packaged in these bright blue boxes with a Yum! logo sticker.  I love the red with blue lettering.  See below for some of Yum's de-lish bakery treats.

The signature Yum! Cupcake...

...with a creamy filling.

Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcakes

Yum! always has a specialty cupcake featured.  One I've tried is the Peanut Butter Cupcake.

Another is the Muddy Mousse Cupcake.  The chocolate mousse was amazing.

Per my friend's recommendation I also tried a slice of Patti Cake.  This cake was amazing!  The chocolate cake was very moist and the frosting was perfect, not too sugary.

I also got a Nut Goodly Bar for my husband.  This was very rich and creamy.

If you are ever in the area, you definitely need to check out Yum! bakery.  It won't disappoint.

4th of July Trifle

Happy 4th of July!  Doesn't this look de-lish?  I made this trifle for the 4th of July pool party that we went to.  It's super easy to make and tastes wonderful.  I know this post is too late to make this dessert for this year, but I just had to share. 

Start by baking a vanilla cake.  Using a fork, poke holes randomly into the cake.

Next prepare a package of blue Jello and a package of red Jello.  Mix each pacakage of Jello with 1 cup of boiling water and stir until the Jello dissolves.  DO NOT add the cold water called for by the instructions on the Jello box. 

Once the Jello is prepared, pour over the cake.  Pour the blue Jello on one half of the cake and the red Jello on the other half.  Use approximately 1/2 cup of the Jello mixture on each half of the cake.  Cover and let set in the refridgerator.   

Once the Jello has set, remove the cake from the fridge.  This is what the cake will look like when you slice into it. 

Cut the cake into small cubes, keeping the blue and red pieces separated.

Now its time to make the Trifle.  You will need your cake (cut into small cubes), a large tub of Cool Whip, blueberries, raspberries, and a Trifle bowl (or any other type of glass bowl).  Start by layering the blue pieces of cake on the bottom of the bowl.  Top with a layer of Cool Whip. 

Next, add a layer of blueberries.

 Layer the red pieces of cake on top of the blueberries.

 To complete the Trifle, add another layer of Cool Whip and top with raspberries.  And there you have it, a 4th of July Trifle!  This dessert is always a hit and very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Happy 4th of July!

Check out my trifle, posted on Sweet As Sugar Cookies on the Sweets for a Saturday post.