Snickerdoodle Cake

Snickerdoodle Cake

This cake was ok for me.

Joel-****

Brittany-*** (I thought it was a bit dry, but it could have been the baker's fault.)

Philip-***

Jayden-*****

Natalie-*****

Patrick*****

Snickerdoodle Cake

1 plain white cake mix

1 c. whole milk

8 T. (1 stick) butter, melted

3 lg. eggs

1 t. pure vanilla extract

2 t. ground cinnamon

Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing blow. Blend until well combined. Divide the batter between 2 9" round cake pans which have been greased and floured. Bake the cake at 350 for 27-29 minutes. Set the cakes on a cooling rack and let them cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the edge and flip onto a cooling rack allowing the cakes to cool completely.

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

8 T. (1 stick) butter at room temperature

3 3/4 c. powdered sugar

3 to 4 T. milk

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1 t. ground cinnamon

Place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend on low until the sugar is well incorporated, then beat until light and fluffy on medium speed. If the frosting is too thick, add the other tablespoon of milk.

Sweet Potato Cake with Coconut Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok, Joel picked this cake. I really expected him to be wowed by it, but that was not the case.

Joel-***

Brittany-*****

Philip-**

Jayden-*****

Natalie-*****

Patrick-*

I am beginning to think Patrick has something against coconut...LOL

Sweet Potato Cake with Coconut Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

1 can (16oz) sweet potatoes in heavy syrup

1 plain spice cake mix

3 lg. eggs

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 t. ground cinnamon

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl with their syrup and mash them. Add the cake mix, eggs, oil, and cinnamon. Blend until well combined and the batter is thickened. Divide the batter between 2 9" round cake pans which have been greased and floured. Bake the cakes at 350 for 28-31 minutes. When baked, set the pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes then run a knife along the edge and flip out onto the cooling racks. Allow the layers to completely cool before frosting.

Coconut Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese at room temperature

8 T. (1 stick) butter at room temperature

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1/2 c. frozen unsweetened grated coconut thawed

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low until combined. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time, blending with the mixer on low until the sugar is well incorporated. Add the vanilla, then mix until the frosting is fluffy. Fold in the coconut and pecans.

Ambrosia Cake

Ambrosia Cake

Joel-***

Me-*** (lots of work and not the best cake)

Philip-*****

Jayden-*****

Natalie-*****

Patrick-*(LOL! I wasn't sure this was ever going to happen)

This cake seemed like alot of work compared to the other two. I was not overwhelmed by the flavor vs. effort. But it was pretty!

Ambrosia Cake

Pineapple and Orange Filling:

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple in juice, drained

1 c. orange juice

1 c. sugar

Cake:

1 pkg. white cake mix with pudding

1 1/4 c. water

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 pkg (6 oz: 1 3/4 c) frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed

Combine the pineapple, orange juice, and sugar in a medium size saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, 20-25 minutes. Pour the filling into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the filling so it will be completely cooled before using.

For the cake, combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. The batter should look well blended and thickened. Fold the coconut into the batter until well mixed. Divide the batter between 3 greased and floured 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Place the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes then run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake and flip onto wire racks. Allow the layers to cool for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.

Marshmallow Frosting:

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. water

2 lg. egg whites

1 jar (7oz) marshmallow creme

Place the sugar, water and egg whites in a medium sized heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, beating continously with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the marshmallow creme. Continue to beat the frosting on high speed until stiff peaks from, 2 minutes more. Use at once to frost your cake.

Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top of the cake layer with half of the filling, spreading the filling with a rubber spatula up to one inch from the cake edge. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the filling. Spread the second layer with the remaining filling. Top the two layers with the third layer, right side up. Frost the cake with the marshmallow frosting.

Fresh Orange Cake

Fresh Orange Cake

Joel-*****

Me-*****

Philip-****

Jayden-*****

Natalie-*****

Patrick-*****

This cake was very tasty!! We all enjoyed eating it!! Just sweet enough!!

Let them eat cake!!

This summer I am trying something new. By new, I mean LOTS of cake recipes!! I had my mom's Cake Mix Doctor book. I have made a couple of the cakes, but it was not getting much use on the bookshelf. So for the first step of the Summer of Cakes, I paged through the book and tagged each recipe I thought sounded good. I was thinking I would be able to make 1-2 cakes a week for the summer and have tried them all. Alas, I will be baking cakes for the rest of the year possibly next year too!! LOL I have also devised a rating system and will post the results from each family member because we will all have a different opinion about each cake. The best part of baking all these cakes is seeing what Patrick will be willing to try....hahaha

I have not been grocery shopping for real since getting back from vacation, so I checked the book and my pantry and found a recipe I actually had the ingredients to make. The funny part is, it was a cake Joel was not sure he was going to like at all, and it only has 4 ingredients for the cake!! The glaze was very simple as well!! WINNER!!

Our rating system is as follows:

*****-Mom please, please, please make this cake again!

****-Mom, bake this cake once every few months.

***-Mom, this cake would be okay once a year.

**-Mom, if you never make this cake again, I'm cool with that.

*-Mom, ewwwwww, nasty!! Worse than your creative dinner ideas!!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake- So simple and so delicious!!

Joel-**** (WOW!! I was impressed with this rating!)

Me-****

Philip-****

Jayden-*****(No surprise here!)

Natalie-*****(She was also the apprentice baker on this one)

Patrick-*****(Rated before he even finished his first bite :))

If anyone would like for me to post the recipe along with the reviews, let me know!

An Update!

Man, life just seems to fly by without any resistance. I haven't updated in a long time, so I am doing it today. Better late, than never.

Philip-He is getting so big! He is at my chin level. I cannot imagine how my little string bean can get so tall! He is forever coming up with funny ideas and loves reading comics. I can't tell you how many Family Circus or Zits I have read that just crack him up. Yesterday, I was running my daily errand to Sonic, and I received a text from him which said,"I've got a thing for mechanics" Made me laugh....and wonder what he was doing with mechanics while I was not at home!!

Jayden-He is getting big too!! He still tries his best to please all those around him, excluding his siblings. He loves drawing pictures and making up stories. He has quite an imagination. It has been interesting with the kids doing a fundraiser-more on that in a bit-that he is big enough to walk around the neighborhood selling. I remember when he used to sneak out the front door during quiet time, me taking full advantage and napping, and try to walk to Grandma's house. Luckily, a nice lady brought him home. How did she know where he lived, you might ask. He told her the red house. Our house is NOT red, but the trim is....LOL

Natalie-A DIVA in training. I have to admit I am at fault for some of this. She has been dying to do a beauty pageant. She has always been very girly! Well, she is getting her wish. She will be doing the beauty pageant in Shamrock, TX. She is beside herself with excitement!! While she was getting her hair and make-up done by Whitney, I mentioned I would not go as far as getting her flippers-fake teeth-but I would get her eyebrows waxed. She jumped on the opportunity!! I told her we could go together, but it really hurts!! She said,"Mom, you go first and let me know how much it hurts." I said,"Sweetie, I get my eyebrows done all the time, it hurts. It will make your eyes water. Remember getting your ears pierced?" Natalie's response,"Well....I am strong, I can handle it." Talk about beauty hurts!!!

Patrick-Wow, talk about a grower!! He is doing really well in Pre-K this year! I am really proud of him! It is tough for him to not be with mom, or maybe it is the PS3 and Wii he misses. But most morning he proudly trudges into the school and starts another day! His Uncle Kevin picks him up on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Much to Patrick's delight. Unfortunately for me, Kevin has introduced some bad habits. Upon leaving the school on Wednesday of last week, Patrick announces a stop to Easy's Pop Shop. I told him no we were not going there. He told me Kevin takes me there and he is the best uncle in the world. He thought a moment and then said and you are the worst mom in the world because you won't take me there. LOL! I assured him if that makes me the worst mom in the world, he hasn't seen anything yet!!

Joel-He is still working at Titan. He is a machinist now and likes it! As for being a police officer, well the drop in pay is not very attractive! After I graduate, he might look more seriously for a job in that field, but I am trying to get him to go back to school to become a coach. He really knows his sports!

Me-Ahhh...busy!!! With 1 husband, 4 kids, 2 dogs, 1 fish-which I forgot to feed this morning-and 12 hours of classes and 2 days a week in Canyon, I don't really have much time for anything else. If you have been to my house, you would see first hand!!! Life is crazy busy, but even if I were not in school, I have a feeling I would be busy regardless. Life is good!!

The Crime

A crime was committed sometime during the night at the Monds house. I will post the pictures in the order in which began to find out something was going on.

The Evidence: Odd Hair Found on the Carpet in the Den

The Victim: A poor Barbie from Natalie's room

The Suspects: Abby (my mom's dog) and Shadow (my sweet new Mother's Day gift)

Neither of the accused were willing to speak up and take responsibility for the poor dolls new hair do or her amputated arm. More evidence could be examined, but let's face it, that is just gross....LOL This crime will remain unsolved, and both dogs will have to sleep locked up.