I like to follow craft blogs - they are both fun little escapes and an occasional source of inspiration. And unlike Pinterest, the good ones always have step-by-step instructions for creating the craft (usually by the blog author, detailing the minutia and mistakes alike). Please note, however, that I have discovered there are essentially two different kinds of craft blogs - those whose ideas I see and think
Ooh, I could do that - perhaps even better! (see one of my new favorites,
Dollar Store Crafts) and those whose ideas I see and think
I'd like to take a shot at that, and we'll see how it goes (see any DIY craft from my bestie
Martha). This cake craft was definitely one from the latter category, but I'm still pleased by it. That being said, no, I will not show you the
inspiration image. You'll have to leave this page and go see it for yourself because I'm not offering up a side-by-side comparison. ;)
At any rate, I've been baking cakes since I was a kid - don't ask me about my frozen dinner last night (and the night before, and the night before...), but I have a solid set of baking skills that will get me through many a future potluck. So, without further ado, here's my basic set of skills put to use to make a speckled egg cake in honor of spring (yeah, that theoretical concept).
Step One: Bake a cake! Seriously, pick up a box of Duncan Hines or Pillsbury (whatever is cheapest, imo) and follow the directions. We (my mom and I) made two round chocolate cakes because thanks to our brief stints in the food services industry, we now know how to assemble layer cakes. Golden Corral ftw.
Tip: Line the cake pans with parchment paper beforehand - it makes it easier to pop out the layers.
Step Two: Frost the cake! While the cakes were baking/cooling, I scooped the vanilla frosting out of its tub (we had an extra-large one - otherwise you will need maybe 1 and a half normal tubs of frosting - layer cakes are a bit high maintenance when it comes to frosting, I know) into a bowl and added blue food coloring. My mom had the paste kind, which I haven't worked with much, so I ended up putting too much in my first time, and there's no going back! So, our cake is a bit more vibrant than the inspiration image, which isn't a big deal.
After the cakes have cooled, simply frost one cake entirely (you can keep the top thin and imperfect, since it's the layer part), then stack your second layer on top of your first and frost it. I ran my knife under warm water a few times to get the icing looking as smooth as possible, since we aren't professional cake-bakers like my friend
Ashleigh who bakes cakes for clients on the side (of teaching high school and working on her Masters!). And here's our finished result:
Step Three: Speckle the cake! First I had to whip up the paint. Yup, there's chocolate paint in this recipe! The mixture from my inspiration site is as follows:
In a small bowl, mix together 1 TB of cocoa powder with 1 1/2 TBs of vanilla. Stir well until cocoa is completely dissolved and you have a thin, chocolate paint.
Once it's all mixed up, take a clean (unused) paintbrush or toothbrush, cover the surface of your work space (i.e. kitchen counter), and flick your paint mixture on your cake. You should probably test it out first, and watch out for drops of the mixture from your painting tool - definitely had a few of those happen. And, yes, it's messy! Also - the chocolate paint is NOT like icing, meaning you shouldn't taste the leftovers afterward. My mom found that out the hard way.
Step Four: Decorate the cake! For our finishing touches we added
Whoppers Robin Eggs around the edge to cover up the messy bottom (and heck, more candy is always better!) and made a nest out of chocolate icing on top, with more Robin Eggs inside. Pretty easy recipe - the only additional work was dying the icing and the speckling part. And picking your favorite cake/icing flavor combo pretty much guarantees your satisfaction with the finished result, even if it comes out a hot mess.
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| The menfolk of our family were duly impressed, except my grandfather didn't eat his Robin Eggs. Lame. |
My mom sent me a recipe for pumpkin cinnamon cupcakes the other week, and I thought it looked pretty easy and tasty (my two main baking/cooking prerequisites!). I gathered ingredients and whipped up a batch, which proved to yield 30+ cupcakes! I brought a dozen into work for my coworkers on Oct. 8 (awesome coincidence, since I had no idea this day existed). They were a big hit, and two colleagues asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it below! I was also able to use these ADORABLE owl cupcake toppers that I'd picked up at Wal-Mart a few falls ago, so it would have been a major win no matter what. ;)
