Pink Cake Three Ways

Our special four year old was lucky enough to have three celebrations this year... one at school, one with family (on the very day), and one with friends (the weekend after). And, each got her a different version of my go-to cake recipe, Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes from More from Magnolia, with Rachel Ray's icing recipe—which, by the way, is honestly the best cupcake frosting I've ever had. I make half the recipe.

I made mini two-layer cakes for her birthday dinner at home. She shares her birthday with her Nona, so they each got one—with their own mini cake-banner, too. I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch, baker's twine and my ubiquitous Cavallini and Co. Alphabet Stamps.

Out of the same batch of batter and frosting, I made ice cream cone cupcakes for her to bring to preschool. These were the traditional treat for my husband's school-birthdays, so we decided to carry it on. I got mini ice cream cones (at Target) to make them more preschool portioned.

[Oh... late night school-cupcake baking. A rite of passage, I think.]

To make these, stand the empty ice cream cones in a muffin tin (or a mini-muffin tin), fill them two-thirds or so with batter, and bake as usual. 

I piped the icing on and dipped them in sprinkles to make it look like (pink) soft-serve. 

AFTER they were baked and cooled, I put tin foil over the empty muffin tins and poked holes to secure for the cones in (BEFORE I iced them, so that they wouldn't be tippy when I decorated and transported them.)

Finally, for the friend party, I made regular sized cupcakes—same recipes, of course. The ballerina toppers were by Meri Meri (although I bought them last year).

We decided to go with the age=number of guests rule (4 friends for a 4-year-old) this year, and had a simple sprinkler/kiddie pool/trampoline party in the backyard. She had a blast and we did too.

Three Layer Chocolate Cake

For my mother's birthday, I baked her favorite chocolate cake. She tore the recipe out of a magazine many, many years ago and I just have a xerox of it, so I can't even say what magazine it was, but they called it "Hard-to-Resist Chocolate Supreme." She used to always make it for other people, so now it is nice to make it for her--second year in a row. Also, the frosting is especially delicious.

Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saw a pomegranate at our local grocery store today, and I just couldn't escape trying Dana's double dark chocolate pomegranate cookies. Yum. Next time I might try all butter, but this time I followed her recipe. When I made bigger balls (heaping rounded tablespoon), they took 13 minutes to bake.

Deodorant Update: Men's Edition

Same recipe, less girly packaging.

Happy New Year

[Sunday Brunch Jacket]

Homemade Deodorant

For a few years AJ and I have been on a search for non-toxic deodorant. AJ is actually really sensitive to traditional antiperspirants and deodorants, and considering I've been pregnant and/or nursing for the last three and a half years, I've been trying to minimize the number of chemicals and carcinogens I smear on my skin...

We were happy with Arm & Hammer Essentials "natural" and unscented deodorant for a while, but it was discontinued at the Crozet Great Valu and we couldn't find it anywhere else locally. Then I found Soapwalla's deodorant cream on etsy, which I still love and highly recommend (her pregnancy body oil is also fantastic). It works great, but when an old friend directed me to Amy's recipe on angry chicken, I figured it made sense to make my own.

I've been using it for several months now, and it really does work. AJ uses it too. So now I am giving it to a few special people for Christmas. I have to admit, during the hot months at our non-air conditioned house, I keep this in the fridge. Shea butter gets soft even at room temperature--but that is part of what makes this deodorant so quickly absorbable and easy to use.

To dress it up a little, I found some pretty pink generic deodorants at Dollar General, and cleaned them out for the containers. (Our trashcan still smells of "cucumber melon.")

Then I made some labels, and in a pinch, sized them down to packing-tape width, printed them out and taped them right on. Not exactly waterproof, but they'll hold up okay.

Martha Stewart Multi-Grain Bread

From the February 2010 issue. Yum! I have to admit I had never made my own sandwich bread before. Turned out well, and even with organic ingredients it is much cheaper than the local organic bread I usually (and will most likely continue to) buy at the store.

Bruno's First Birthday Cake

Carrot Chicken Cake




1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup softened butter
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 jar chicken baby food
1 cup finely shredded carrots
cottage cheese

Combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter until smooth. Add eggs and oil; mix well. Add chicken baby food and shredded carrots and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into greased, 8" round cake pan. Bake at 325° for 45 - 60 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Place on a serving plate and spread cottage cheese on top. Garnish with shredded carrots and other doggie treats! Double recipe to make a layer cake.



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