Isn't She Lovely Tiered Cake

This cake was actually for my own daughter's first birthday. Every layer was a different flavor with different types frosting. (Chocoholic with cream cheese frosting, blondie with marshmallow fondant, guava with filling and whipped topping) There was even a personal cupcake topper for my baby girl.

Baby Rattle Cake and Cupcakes

I can't believe I haven't posted these treats yet! These were for my favorite cutie's baby shower. I love how they turned out with the lollipop handles and ribbon bows. They were outside on a warm summer day which literally made these melt in your mouth!!! Shake, rattle and roll!

Graduation Luau Cupcakes

It's that time of year, congratulate your graduates!

This was a wonderfully busy week. I received an order for a graduation luau. I thought graduation=graduation caps, luau=lei's, and chEAT day=celebration.

Aloooooooha and Mahalo!

I also made 150 of these graduation cap cupcakes for a workshop to education teenagers how to apply for and obtain scholarships. I was so happy to help inspire young people to further their education without hindering their wallets.

Baby Boy Cookie Pops

These treats were for one of my very best friend's new baby boy. Baby's father and uncle played football for BYU so of course I had to appropriately add another member to the family team. Yes, I could have made regular cookies, but there's something child-like about eating it off a stick. Wouldn't you love to bring these "babies" to a new mommy?

Tina's Tuesday Tip: Think Outside the Box

...the cake mix box that is. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Betty Crocker (who actually isn't a real person, but a marketing "idea") just not in the way it says on the back of the box. I love using cake mixes to make cookies, as a base for coconut cakes, or even as a chEAT crust for cobbler. All I mean, is don't be afraid to make a cake from scratch. It's not as hard as you might think! I know there are rules out there about temperature, quality of products and adding rotating liquid and dry mixtures and blah blah blah, but just try it, you'll be glad you did. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect, at least you can say you've made a cake from scratch! Here's a great recipe for crumb cake from scratch. I like to make it the night or day before, it ages well on the countertop.

Crumb Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

-preheat oven to 350°

-grease a 9x9 pan, set aside

-cream together butter and sugar

-add egg 1 at a time

-mix in sour cream and vanilla

-in separate bowl combine flour, baking soda & salt

-add dry ingredients (flour/baking soda/salt) to mixture

-pour 1/2 of the batter into the pan, set aside other 1/2

topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

-mix together to the consistency of wet sand

-sprinkle 1/2 the mixture in pan with 1/2 the batter

-pour remaining batter into pan

-sprinkle remaining topping over batter

-bake for 35-40 min (or until a toothpick comes out clean)

*try adding crushed nuts to the crust if you're feeling nutty!

Boy's Toys

What boy doesn't love a sports ball? The first time I made these were for my son's first birthday, and I love reminiscing about his hesitation regarding his "smash cake". However, once he tasted the frosting there was no going back (he's not the only one!).

For Jordan's cake his mom gave me several ideas: cars, characters, sports, balls. With a name like Jordan how could I resist doing a basketball!

This boy's family are big BYU fans :) and knew their son would get a kick over a football cake. I was lucky enough to see his face when he opened the box, he was ecstatic! Too bad he had to wait until that evening to dig in.

This was to help my {other} brother answer his date for their high school dance. She had asked him with sports ball Easter Eggs so he called in a favor and this is what I threw together. The outside of the box said "it would be a..."

Tina's Tuesday Tip: Cool Coconut Cake

It's Tuesday, which means it's tip day. This is such an EASY yet YUMMY recipe that always gets great reviews. I usually keep the ingredients on hand for "emergencies". ;) In fact my 13 year old nephew made it a few weeks ago for a scout cake-off and he won! I usually tell people it's like a coconut Tres Leches Cake. Try it out, make a twist, tell me what you think.

Cool Coconut Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (and it's called-for ingredients)

1 can coconut milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tub whipped topping

1 cup of coconut flakes (optional)

-bake the cake according to box directions

-combine coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk

-when cake is done, poke several (let's say 30 or so) holes in the hot cake with butter knife

-pour combined milks as evenly as possible over hot cake

-let cool

-cover with whipped topping and coconut flakes

-serve chilled

*this is also VERY yummy served warm, just add the whipped topping to individual portions, and either way it pairs amazingly with vanilla ice cream.