The Great Cake-tastrophe

Today has been a very busy day!  Today we celebrated my Grandmother's 82nd birthday.  It was wonderful...except for the one part.  The cake catastrophe.  I have been wanting to make Amanda's rainbow cake for a couple of weeks, and decided that this celebration  would be the perfect opportunity.  I spent all morning pureeing fruit, mixing cake batter, cutting cakes and placing them just right...it was off to a great start....

I even put a couple of wooden dowels down the center of the cake to keep it stable.  Now I am obviously not a professional cake decorator, like some of you, otherwise I would have thought to wait until we made it to Grandmas before I started putting the whipping cream on.   Needless to say on our way to the party, the whole thing fell over in my lap, and I sobbed.

When we finally got to my Grandma and Grandpa's I didn't even want to go in.  I was embarrassed, frustrated and just plain sad!  All my hard work was now mushed in-between my fingers!  My mom insisted that we try to fix it....good thing whipping cream is like a good pair of black pants - very forgiving!

Here are some of the comments it got...

'It looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa!' - Pretty much everyone

'Oh, someone made an upside down cake!' - Grandpa

' How did you get it to be like a cone?  Did you bake it in different sized pans?' - Aunt Kay

I graciously informed Aunt Kay (whom the cake was actually for, she celebrates her birthday two days after Grandma) that if she wanted a cone shaped rainbow cake all she had to do was toss it on the ground and put it together again.  Very simple technique!  Thankfully, the dramatic effect of the rainbow didn't fail me, and every last bite of this cake was gone - imperfections and all...

I have definitely learned my lesson, and will surely be making this cake again.  But for now, here are some pictures to document the real celebration!  Grandma's Birthday!  

I have really been blessed with such a wonderful family, and will miss being able to spend so much time with all of them.  I am a lucky gal!  To top the weekend off,  I was able to finish a lot of sewing projects this week!  Two diaper caddy's, a nursing cover, a receiving blanket and even this new addition to my bag collection...

The fabric is Hunky Dory by Moda and I am in love with it!  I am pretty sure that collecting fabric is hereditary, because my Mom is already rubbing off on me.  The pattern didn't call for the wide strap or pockets...but I decided to add both.  I am really happy with how it turned out...just in time for summer!

PS.  In honor of tomorrow's very special holiday,  I wish all you Moms out there a 

VERY HAPPY Mothers Day! 

 

Recipe Swap: Cookies

Each month the ladies from church get together and have a little recipe swap/exchange.  I thought this may be something fun to start on my blog.  Once a month I will post a recipe I enjoy and you can share with me (or everyone) a recipe you love, of a similar nature.

December Recipe:  Peanut Butter Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies 

These cookies are not for the faint of heart.  They are packed with a delicious (and dangerous) combination of ingredients - that mix perfectly.  A great treat to share with neighbors, or just to enjoy yourself. 

Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Chip-Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 tea vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tea baking powder
1/2 tea salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until well blended.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips, oats and peanuts. 

3. Drop dough in rounded 2-tablespoon portions, 3 inches apart on cookie sheet with cooking spray.  with a lightly floured fork, flatten slightly into 2 - 1/2 inch rounds about 1/2 inch thick.

4. Bake at 350 degrees until cookies are golden and tops feel set when lightly pressed.  12 to 14 minutes (they will feel underdone but will firm up as they cool).

5. Let stand 5 minutes on sheets, then, with a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool.

Now it's your turn!  Leave a comment with one of your favorite cookie recipes, or send me an email at cinderellasews@gmail.com

A Little Cookie Makin Fun

Today is Sunday which also means it's our weekly cookie making day. Well, maybe not EVERY Sunday...but today we decided to make some of my Mom's delicious chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies. YUM. These cookies have been a part of our family since before I can remember...and I have to say, if you enjoy eating your cookie dough before you eat your cookies - this dough is probably the best I've had! So here is the special recipe AND some pics to show how much we love them.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

From: Colette Jorgensen

1 cup Shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tea. hot water

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tea. soda

1 tea. salt

1 cup nuts (optional)

2 pkgs Chocolate chips

2 cups oatmeal

1 tea. vanilla

Mix the shortening and sugars together until smooth. Add eggs and water and mix. Stir in dry ingredients, nuts, chocolate chips, oatmeal and vanilla.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

(*Note: My mom uses a good old fashioned wooden spoon to mix, no electric mixer needed!)

If anyone decides to make them, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Hopefully you love them as much as we do! We gave Noah a tiny taste...well grandma snuck him a taste behind my back...and he seemed to enjoy it. He is always so cute and is getting really close to crawling. Up to this point he has been really happy with just rolling around on the floor, but recently he figured out how to scoot his way around and is starting to figure out he doesn't have to stay in one place all the time. Until he actually starts crawling, I am going to enjoy his immobility (don't think I am horrible for that).

As a side note, I have been a sewing fool the last couple weeks and am so excited to finally learn! Once I get more time I will be sure to share some of my recent projects...until then, happy cookie baking to you!!