Sweet as Sugar-Twice as nice!

So, I made a cake today...mainly because I didn't really want to work on my thesis.  (oops!) I just used a plain ol' chocolate cake box mix, but added a box of chocolate pudding to make it extra moist! To do this, just add the pudding mix to the cake mix, stir it together and then follow the directions on the box. I had to add a little bit of water (about 1/4 cup) extra to get it the normal consistency of a typical cake batter, but you don't have to do that.  Just be prepared it'll be a little thicker.

Okay...That little sucker is right out of the oven and I realise I don't have any frosting. I can handle that I think, I will just make some with powered sugar and milk.  Uh...CRISIS! We are currently out of BOTH powered sugar AND milk! EPIC fail as a house wife! What to do, what to do?!

We are on a no-spend week, so I didn't want to go out and spend money on those things (especially the powered sugar-total non-essential!) So I put on my thinking cap and it dawned on me I could make my own powered sugar!

I "googled" how to make powdered sugar and it was super-de-duper simple! You can check it out on Wikihow.  There are even photos...but I took some of my own! :)

1cup of sugar, 2tablespoons of corn starch, a blender and a little bit of patience. 

Ohhhh-aaahhhh, watch the smoke billow out! SUPER COOL!  I may or may not have done this a couple of times to see the sugar dust come out...leaning more towards the may. ha!

Anywho! Blend the sugar and corn starch up until it becomes the desired consistency.

So after I had the powered sugar, I needed to make he actual frosting.  Easy Vanilla Butter cream here I come! This super easy recipe is from Taste of Home.

However, I still had this tricky little issue of no milk.  But then I remembered we had Non-fat French Vanilla coffee creamer! WOO! That'll work!

Whip up your butter, whip it real good. And yes...I have a hand mixer and a stand mixer-don't judge me!

Add your powered sugar, coffee creamer (or milk) and a splash of vanilla.  Mix it all up and you've got yourself a nice easy-peasey frosting!

The Mister is lucky I need to wait until the cake is cool to frost that sucker...or else it'd be in my belly.

A slice of summer: Strawberry Pie

The weather has been amazing here in Toronto and I've been in the mood for berries.  All sorts, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, you get the idea.  I love them and the warm weather has really been pushing me into summer mode.

I saw a great post on Pinterest ages ago for Strawberry pie: it looked amazing! But when I went to get the recipe today, the site was asking for money to view the site...meep! So I went on a hunt for a new recipe.

I found this recipe called Makeover Grandma's Strawberry Pie on TasteofHome and it looked great! It just so happened that I was talking with my dear friend Cassie and she is a fantastic baker (and cook!).  She made this ahhhhmazing pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and I ate more than I wish to admit. Anyway, Cassie has made a strawberry pie before and I mentioned to her that I was going to make one. She gave me some great advice: COOK EVERYTHING SLOW AND LOW! It's true. Make sure when you are cooking to have patience, the end result will be well worth it.

So, the recipe doesn't have any photos and I am a visual person, so, here we go!

It's a pretty simple recipe and doesn't call for too much! The only thing missing from this photo is the pie shell.  I cheated and had a frozen one! You need to pre-cook the pies shell so it can cool before putting in the lovely strawberry mixture.

So first off, mix the sugar and the corn starch in the pan.  Make sure you mix it all together before adding the water.  The water needs to be cold (so the corn starch doesn't clump).  Add the water in slowly and and keep on whisking.  It will look a bit like watered down milk, but keep on whisking with your heat on low!

Eventually the mixture will start to thicken up and clear up.  Let it boil (while stirring your little heart out: it's a great workout for your arm muscles!!!).  Remember Cassie's advice and keep the heat low!  It'll be a thick consistency.

After it has boiled for about two minutes, take it off the heat and add the gel.  This is where I got a little crazy and added about 1tbs of homemade strawberry jam (from my cousin Heidi, so tasty!) for a little extra strawberry taste.  Just mix it all in until of the gelatin is dissolved and it will turn a lovely red colour.

So while you are waiting for the gelatin mixture to cool (15 minutes), slice up your berries. I used two containers (including the few I ate.  They were just too tempting not to eat!)  Once you've let your gelatin cool, pour it over the berries and make sure everything is nicely coated. 

After it's all coated, add it your lovely little pie shell. And then the waiting game begins.  You have to wait for FOUR HOURS for everything to set.

But me oh my is it worth the wait....It is amazing and tastes just like summer should.  Add a little homemade whipped cream on top and be prepared to fall in love.

Soda Cake

I love love LOVE sweets and put that together with my desire to bake...well, needless to say I'm surprised I don't weigh 1,000lbs.  I like to find ways to have my cake and eat it too without it going to my thighs!! I've made this recipe on several different occasions and it still amazes me how easy and tasty it is.

My Saturday night was spent with this handsome little fellow (the Mister was being ultra Canadian and watching Hockey...eh!)  A piece of guilt free chocolate cake and a little scoop of fro-yo!

All you need is a cake mix and a can of soda! That's it, I swear!!! In this recipe I've used Diet Pepsi, but I've made "Yellow" cake before with Ginger Ale or 7up! I would like to try Chocolate cake with cherry Pepsi. Oh...you could do Vanilla and Orange Soda for a Creamsicle cake...with a nice orange glaze...Or maybe a root beer float cake...mmmm

Back to the cake at hand: Chocolate-Diet Pepsi :) So as I said earlier...all you need is a can of soda and the cake mix! Make sure you pre-heat the oven to the specified temperature on the box (should be around 350 C)

Add the soda to the mix (in the bowl, of course).  It will be fizzy, which is pretty cool, but just keep on stirring and it will mix right in.

Choose your pan, oil said pan and pour it on in! It took me less time to mix everything together, grease the pan and pour it in than it did for the oven to heat up! That's how quick this is!!!


Put the little guy in the oven and make sure you watch it: it will take less time than specified on the back of the box.  This bunt cake usually says it takes around 40-45 minutes...it took 30 minutes with the soda.  So, make sure you watch it.   Burning a dessert should be considered a crime ;) Also, the top will won't 'spring back' like a normal cake does, so you're going to want to stick a knife in it and make sure it comes out clean.

Here is the sweet thing out of the pan, up close and personal! The texture is a little different than the traditional cake, but me-oh-my so good.  I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on it and called it a day.  Give it a try and let me know what combinations you come up with!!

Let your imagination run wild-it will be a tasty experiment!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Even though I'm not Irish (at all!) I still love St. Patty's Day...actually, I love ANY holiday that you bake for! :)

I've seen these delightful little rainbow cupcakes all over Pinterest and blogs and knew they would be perfect for today! Check out this recipe from Disney's Family Fun, so I figured I'd give it a go while the Mister is away...which also means that I have all of these cupcakes to myself...eek!

The recipe called for a plain white cake mix (which I didn't have), but I did have a Funfetti mix on hand and I figured more colours would only make it more festive!  I also didn't have any eggs (double eek!). But I did/do have egg whites, so I just used that (3tbs & 2tps = 1 large egg). 

I mixed everything up, per the directions on the back of the box then divided up the batter into 6 different bowls. 

I added the dye to the bowls (ROY G BV...I didn't forget indigo, I just didn't have enough plastic bowls! :) ) 

I put just under a teaspoon of each colour in for each cupcake and I only got 18 cupcakes.  However, I think I could have added a little less of each colour and made it to the 18.  It was really helpful to have the colours lined up how you want to put them in and do all of one colour at once (it'll save you a TON of time!).  Seeing as I had empty spaces on the second tray, I spaced them apart and put water in the empty spots.  My mom always said this helps to prevent the empty ones from burning.

So, in the oven they went and I waited (rather impatiently, but it did give me time to do the dishes) for the end result...and needless to say, they were worth the wait!!! I let them cool and frosted the little lovelies with store-brand vanilla frosting.  They would also be fantastic with some homemade whipped cream on them! :)

Oh! If you're anything like me and get food colouring all over yourself...nail polish remove works a treat!:)

Happy St. Patty's Day! I hope there is a treat at the end of your rainbow! :)