Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

My boyfriend ate this Oreo ice cream sandwich cake at a friends house and our friends grandmother gave my boyfriend the recipe because he wanted me to make it for him. I'm not sure what magazine she found the recipe in but I know that it is on the Kraft foods website also. I make this ALL the time and we never have leftovers! The only thing that i don't like about it is that it melts extremely fast. So there is no way that you would be able to bring this as a dessert to anyone elses house, unless they live really close.

Recipe-

I still have the original lol



Ingredients-

-1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping, warmed
-1 eight ounce tub Cool Whip whipped topping, Thawed, divided
-1 package chocolate Jell-O instant pudding powdered mix
-8 Oreo cookies, Chopped, Divided
-12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches


Directions-

-Mix 1/2 container of Cool Whip, hot fudge, Jell-O powder mix and most of the Oreos in a bowl







-Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on a piece of aluminum foil





-Top with half the Cool Whip mixture




-Repeat with one more layer and top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches





-Frost top and sides with remaining Cool Whip





-Top with a handful of the chopped Oreos





-Bring up the sides of the foil and wrap the sides of the cake





-Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving


This is what it looks like after its been cut into! =]

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Poppy Seed Bread

I made this bread for my mom. When I was younger we went to The Dansbury Depot, In Pennsylvania, and she loved their poppy seed bread. She liked it so much that she got a few loaves and froze them. The other day she was talking about how she wanted to order a few more, So I said that I wanted to try and make it for her. I didn't think that it would come out exactly the same but I figured I could give it a try and maybe she would have something else that she liked. She said she liked it.. That means a lot coming from my mom because shes kind of picky with things that I make. Personally I'm not a fan of things like this so I didn't taste it but a friend of mine did and he liked it also. Maybe you'd like to give it a try..

Ingredients-
-3 cups flour
-2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-3 tablespoons poppy seeds
-1 1/2 cups milk
-1 cup & 2 tablespoons oil
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions-
-Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds

-Then mix milk, oil, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract to the dry ingredient mixture

-Pour into 2 greased loaf pans

-Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes


This is before it went into the oven


After the oven
The edges browned a little more than I would have like them to so I would start checking on it around the 1 hour mark.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This cake is unbelievable! I really wasn't sure about whether or not i liked it right after it came out of the oven.. It was SO much better the next day. I think it just had to sit for a while so the frosting could seep into the cake.. and the wait was worth it! lol

Here's the recipe for the cake:
Ingredients-
-2 cups flour
-2 cups granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-3 cups FINELY shredded carrots
-1 cup oil
-4 eggs

Directions-
- Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
- Then mix in carrots, oil and eggs to the dry ingredient mixture

- Put into greased and floured 9" x 13" pan
- Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes

Icing-
Ingredients- This makes a lot of frosting. You could probably half this recipe and still have enough.
-1 eight ounce package of cream cheese
-3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions-
- Cream together all ingredients
You could add the icing onto the cake when the cake is hot or cold, I did it as soon as the cake came out of the oven. I think the fact that the cake was hot helped the cake absorb the icing.
Here are some pictures..
Before it went into the oven


When it came out of the oven

The icing
The frosted cake
The end result (=

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I've always loved baking and cooking for people, but I used to think that I wanted to do hair and makeup but that got old to me pretty quick. I feel like baking and decorating will never become boring because there are so many different things that I could make or try and the biggest plus is that I could torture my family and friends by making them try all of my different creations whether good or bad.. lol. I plan on going to culinary school in the near future but first I'd like to see what I could do on my own and how far it will take me. I also just want to keep track of the things that I'm making so a blog will help with that. All comments and opinions are appreciated, I like constructive criticism, I feel like it will help me to improve.. Sooo...

I came across Bakerellas blog a few weeks ago and I absolutely love the idea of cake pops! They taste great, you could make them into basically whatever shape you like and they just look cute! So I decided t
hat I would make my own for Easter and I think they came out pretty good. I sent them to a friend or two and they loved them. I definitely plan on making them again in the near future, I've actually made them twice already. The first time I wasn't really prepared because I didn't have the Styrofoam to hold them up to dry after i made them so i put them in a cup and they all wound up cracking.. They still tasted good though! The second time I was prepared, I took a trip to the craft store.. picked up the Styrofoam, extra candy coating and some extra lollipop sticks. For some reason I go through lollipop sticks like water.. Well i know why, I like to stir the candy melts while they're melting with them and I had a few trial and error chicks.

Here are some pics (=

I get a little messy when I don't read directions lol


Chicks.. Everyone liked the guy with the glasses.. I liked the girls =P



Cupcake pops without the stick..

Tulips, Flowers and butterflies

Up close chicks..





Flowers



Tulips

Butterflies.. These didn't come out so great. They weren't thick enough to dip..


Up close stick less cupcake pops