There are certain things that automatically bring a smile to your face…puppies and their sweet puppy breath…babies and their itty-bitty baby toes…and these colorful creations – the Rainbow Cake in a Jar. I discovered this creative cake concept on my new favorite site (and everyone else’s)…Pinterest. I must give credit, where credit is due – Thanks Brooke Mclay for posting this unique treat.

Not only are these jarred cakes adorable, they last longer than a typical cake.  Sealed and refrigerated, these cakes will stay moist and delicious for at least 5 days. The jar and metal lid are the perfect vessel for shipping.  The old school Mason jar makes for a great presentation, and allows for numerous ways to dress them up.  You can add a pretty ribbon, or a personal label or perhaps a piece of twine with a little card attached.  The possibilities are endless.

It is the perfect recipe for a child’s birthday…I tested it out for my sons 10^th birthday…and he loved them. The best part of this project was the fact my son was super excited to help!

Here’s how you start…

First, gather all of your ingredients and supplies – this includes the jars you will use. My local grocer carried a variety of mason jars.  I chose the Ball wide mouth pint sized jars. Any sized jar will work, simply adjust amount of batter and cooking time.

I used 2 boxes of cake mix for these simply because I knew “cake mix” was a sure thing

Make the cake according to directions.

Divide the cake mix up and color.  I divided all the batter into 6 bowls.  I then used Wilton Gel food coloring to tint each bowl to the desired shade. Gel food coloring is a MUST for this project. You will not achieve the desired saturation needed to make the colors pop if using standard food coloring.  Once you have all your colors it’s time to assemble the jars for baking.

I used 2 cake mixes and 12 wide mouth pint sized jars.  Be sure to generously spray each jar with cooking spray. To keep your colors in the right place, use disposable pastry bags. You could even use Ziploc bags to easily distribute each color into the jar.  You want even, mess-free, layers.

Keep in mind – the cake will rise. Do not overfill the jars! This means filling no more than half the jar. Once you have all the colors layered into your jar, they are ready to go in the oven. I followed the temperature directions on the cake mix box.  Keep a close eye on them; you don’t want to over bake them. I would say anywhere between 30-40 minutes is the norm.  Be sure to space jars equally to allow even baking.  Once baking is complete, let cool completely.  Then you can top them with your favorite frosting and sprinkles….YUM!

We decorated ours with felt stickers and colorful ribbons.  They turned out really cute, and they tasted even better.  My son was so proud of what he helped create – as he should be.  Since discovering these rainbow cakes I have come across other cake in jar recipes…looks like I better get busy baking.  Let us know your versions of Cake in a Jar.

Yes, it has been some time since our last post…but we are jumping back into it.  I have some parties and dishes to post from the last several months.  So here we go…

Each New Year’s we host a small party and each year I stress over the menu.  This year was no different…fancy? casual? pizza and wings? UGHHH…what to make?

After much consideration, I settled on “mini”.  I love mini themed foods – you know, miniature bites of your favorites – mini pizzas, mini burgers, mini sandwiches. The “mini” party menu theme works for several occasions including a kids parties or an upscale cocktail party.  And of course, it worked perfectly for my New Year’s party.  Your guests can graze all night and sample several of these mini treats. 

You will need to do a lot of planning and prep work to make sure you can pull it off and still have time to socialize with guests.  I suggest prepping everything ahead of time so that you can simply assemble everything before your guests arrive.  I also recommend splitting your “batches” up so that you can put out warm seconds halfway through the night.  

Mini Party Menu

Mini Taco Salads

"mini" taco salads

Mini Burgers

Mini Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese

"mini" tomato soups

Mini Macaroni and Cheese

Black Eyed Pea Salad (for luck)

"mini" black eyed pea salad

Mini Hot Dogs

"mini" hot dogs

Mini Potato Latkes with Corned Beef and Gruyere

"mini" potato latke with corned beef and gruyere cheese

Mini Party Desserts

Mom’s Cookie Platter

Mini Milk and Donuts

"mini" milk and donuts

Mini Cheese Cake Bites

Plan your own “mini” food party - get ideas from the following mini food party links:

Mini versions of your favorite party foods

Martha Stewarts collection of Pint Sized Foods

The Galley Gourmets Three Cheese Mini Mac Recipe

Here is some info from the website…

Food Writing Seminars now offered at the Fabulous Food Show!

New this year are two great food writing seminars led by Dianne Jacob and Laura Taxel. Jacob is a writer and writing coach, editor and author of  Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More.

Laura Taxel is a food journalist, professional blogger, and author of Cleveland Ethnic Eats, A Guide to Authentic Ethnic Restaurants and Market in Greater Cleveland, currently in its 8^th edition. 

Friday, November 12th at 10:30am: For Pros Only: Should you Write a Cookbook or Start a Blog?

This 2 hour workshop is for chefs and cooks, restaurateurs, culinary entrepreneurs, and anyone else in the food industry. It will teach the basics of what to expect when writing a cookbook including whether to use a collaborator; who pays for photography; recipe development and testing; what subjects publishers want; what an agent does and how to choose one. Also learn the value of a blog, the steps for starting one, and what it takes to get followers! 

Saturday, November 13th at 10:30am: Food Writing for Food Lovers

This 2 hour workshop is for writing novices and people who want to express their personal interest in food, cooking and/or eating in written form.  Topics to be discussed include how to start and maintain a blog; how to write a recipe; food writing from the senses; writing a cookbook and breaking into freelancing. 

The cost for each session is $50, and includes the price of a single, same day ticket for entry to the Fabulous Food Show.  Click here to purchase your tickets!

In addition to this exciting seminar (exciting to some, but probably not to most) there will be so much more including visits from several of your favorite Food Stars (Michael Symon, Anne Burrell, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown and more). Tasting pavillons, food related seminars, product sampling,  kitchen equiptment showcases and so so much more…a foodies dream essentially.  Check out the Fabulous Food Show website for full details on all that the Fabulous Food Show is.

So what better way to celebrate and honor the 2010 Winter Olympic Games then with a collection of the best Winter Olympic inspired goodies I could find.  Really, this search was prompted by one shining example, Marian’s Olympic Mascot Cookies from Sweetopia.net.  She is a true sugar master.  The time that goes into these cookies is incredible.

Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Miga and Mukmuk

Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Quatchi

The mascots this year are comical.  Quatchi is  a sasquatch – how funny is that?  A sasquatch that wears boots and earmuffs no less.  And Mukmuk…a marmot. “Hey, nice marmot!”

Another great example of an Olympic inspired sweet is this is Olympic mascot cake done by Anne Elizabeth Cakes.  I love the mascots – she did an excellent job.

Anna Elizabeth Cake's Olympic Mascot Cake

Of course we need a cupcake – so here it is…the Olympic Ring cupcake done by Clever Cupcakes in Montreal, Canada.

Clever Cupcake's Olympic Ring Cupcake

Since the Olympics are being held in Vancouver, British Columbia we should probably have a native dessert as well.  The Nanaimo bar is named for the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia and consists of wafer layer, a custard layer and then is covered in chocolate.    Here, The Kitchn shows us their version of this Olympic inspired treat.

Yum...Olympic Inspired Nanaimo Bars

I hope this inspires you to make your own Olympic themed treats  to eat while cheering on Team USA, of course.  Win Big Team USA – you make me proud to be an American!

It's delivery...no, it's a Pizza Cake!

A hot trend in cake decorating right now is creating a cake that mimics something from everyday life.  Food shaped cakes are some of the most popular. 

My brother-in-law, Joe, just celebrated a birthday… and what better excuse to bake a cake than for a birthday!  Joe, like everyone else in my family, has a love for great food.  He and my sister have traveled and ate their way around the globe.  However when it comes down to the basics, pizza is his go to food.  With that information in hand, I decided a pizza cake was the best bet for him.  This was a fun cake to make simply because…who doesn’t like pizza? 

I started with size and shape.  I knew the cake would be round, but how just how big of a round?  I opted for a 12” round not because there were going to be a ton of guests, but because I thought it would be the most realistic size for a pizza shaped cake. 

Cake baked, cooled, and sliced; I needed to get busy with my plan for decorating the cake to look like a pizza. It had to look realistic. So I started with the obvious…crust first.  In order to give the cake a great crust, I piped a very thick wavy line of buttercream all around the edge of the cake.  After the buttercream was piped, I placed it into the fridge to set up while I worked on the fondant.

A thick, wavy piping of buttercream helped form the "crust"

I have been making my own marshmallow fondant for some time now and find that it works well for me. Plus, the cost of making your own fondant compared to purchasing fondant is like night and day.  Not to mention, marshmallow fondant tastes much better than “regular” fondant – which is normally inedible. 

Once the fondant was rolled, I brought the cake out and went to work covering it.  The crust of a pizza is a multitude of colors and shades. To give my pizza cake this illusion, I watered down some brown gel food coloring and started sponging it on with a crumpled paper towel.  The crust ended up turning out great; it looked just like a Papa John’s pizza crust.

Sauce was my next task.  I chose strawberry preserves to which I added a dash of red food coloring.  I spread the “pizza sauce” edge to edge. 

The pizza "sauce" is strawberry preserves.

On to the cheese – most people’s favorite part!  I have seen cheese done several different ways, my way was to melt white chocolate and drizzle it in a caddywampous pattern over the top. Then, it was back to the fridge to set up.

Now on to the toppings!  So many to choose from, where do I start?  Of course I chose pepperoni, the classic pizza accompaniment.  Since Joe is a meat lover, chunks of sausage made sense.  I added black olives for their round shape and unique color.  And finally, green pepper, to add a hint of green which rounded out the overall look. 

Anyone order a pepperoni, sausage, black olive and green pepper?

All toppings where made out of marshmallow fondant and then hand painted with gel food coloring. A more random arrangement worked best when it came to the toppings.  The end result was a super realistic pizza cake which everyone adored.

Another thing that fascinates me – sushi.  The skill and time that goes into making it, the beautiful way in which it is presented, all of these things make sushi special.  So naturally, I would be drawn to sweets masquerading as sushi. This is why I am taking on the challenge to showcase my best attempt at “dessert” sushi. 

But before I dive head first into a vat of Rice Krispies, I thought I should showcase some of the best versions of dessert sushi I could find.  There are sushi cakes, sushi cupcakes, sushi candy and the like…all unique in their own way.  All bring a huge smile to my face.

Do you have a unique version of dessert sushi?  Email me your versions of dessert sushi at Megan@LifeWithCake.com – I will feature them on the site.

Sushi Cupcakes

Sushi Cupcakes by Debbie Does Cake 

My absolute favorite version of Dessert Sushi was made by Debbie of Debbie Does Cake in San Francisco.  The white jimmies for rice are ingenious idea.  These sushi cupcakes are a true work of art.  Check out Debbie Does Cake’s gallery for all of her crafty cakes and cupcakes.

Sushi Cakes

Sushi Cake by Whipped Bake Shop

This sushi cake was created by pastry artist Zoe Lukas at the Whipped Bake Shop in Philidelphia.  Check our her creations via Flickr as well as on her website.

Sushi Cake by Kellechu Confections

Kelley Stockton of Kellechu Confections created this amazingly realistic sushi cake.  I love the detail in the maki rolls.  Browse through Kelley’s gallery – you will fall in love with her popcorn cupcakes and her taco and bean dip cake – so darn cute! 

Sushi Candy

Sushi Candy by Koo-Ki Sushi

Koo-Ki Sushi “made” some of the most realistic rice cereal based sushi candy out there.  I say “made” because, sadly, they are now closed for business.  

jglee's Sushi Candy

This great looking dessert sushi was discovered over at jglee’s Food Musings.  She crafted most of the sushi details using marzipan, what an inventive idea! 

Eye Candy's version of "Fake Sushi"

 This “fake sushi” from Eye Candy uses fresh fruit, grapefruit or blood orange slices, to form the  ”fish”.  The blood orange slices resemble the texture of raw fish.  Ingenius!

Dessert Sushi Step by Step Guides

If you are looking to make your own dessert sushi, I suggest the following resources:

1.) About.com’s Step by Step guide to Sushi Candy.

2.) Mommy Knows put up an informative guide for making Sushi Candy along with some gorgeous photography. 

3.) Looking for even more detail?  Check out Family Fun’s video on making “mock” sushi.

My dessert sushi adventure begins today. Check back for my step by step guide to making my version of dessert sushi. 

Introducing the S'mores Whoopie Pie...

This week I came upon some disturbing news; sources say the Whoopie Pie is the “new cupcake”.  Could this be true?  How could anything take the place of America’s sweetheart?  I’ll be the judge of that…

My brain was on overload looking through several recipes for Whoopie Pies.  Which one, which one?  There seem to be so many. 

The chief question among Whoopie Pie fans seems to be – should it be more cake like, or more cookie like?  After much intense research and three cups of Joe, I decided to mix a couple different ideas. Pumpkin, Chocolate, and Red Velvet seemed to dominant the Whoopie Pie world, so why not something a bit different? 

On a recent visit to my local market I came across Solo Toasted Marshmallow creme, and of course it ended up in my cart. Original Marshmallow Fluff is great, but toasted marshmallow creme just makes it that much better. This is where the S’mores Whoopie Pie was born!

Whoopie Pie - Cake or Cookie?

The result was something not quite cake, not quite cookie.  The pie has a dense texture with a bit of chew, and the filling is sweet and gooey.  These were not the dry Moon Pies I was lured into buying so many times before.

Do I think they will replace the cupcake? Doubtful…but the Whoopie Pie has certainly found a place in my recipe box.

S’mores Whoopie Pie Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

S’mores Whoopie Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter brought to room temperature
• 7oz. jar toasted marshmallow crème
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 pack graham crackers, crushed

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

1.) Blend butter and marshmallow crème together until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, blend until creamy.

2.) In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a minute or so, until well combined. It will have the consistency of wet sand. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3.) In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa and salt. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into 1/2 cup very hot water until dissolved.

4.) With the mixer on low or stirring by hand, add about a third of the dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk and half the baking soda mixture, mixing each time just until blended. Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk and baking soda mixture, and then the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing each time just until combined.

5.) I chose to make these pies smaller than the classic…feel free to increase the size to suit your needs.  Using a small scoop (small Ice cream style scoop) drop batter onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the tops no longer appear wet and just spring back when lightly touched. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6.) When completely cool, spread the bottom of one cookie with frosting and dip into graham cracker crumbs.  Spread a very small amount of frosting on other half of cookie just to make them stick. Viola – S’mores Whoopie Pies!

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans

I am currently in South America – Buenos Aires to be more precise.  So far, I am pleasantly surprised.  The people are warm and inviting; the food has been amazing; our hotel is surrounded by small shops, markets and trendy restaurants.  More details on my trip, the food and everything else that goes along with the travel experience to follow in a later post. The point of this post is to discuss cooking with the ancient “grain” quinoa, from South America, and it just so happens I am in South America.  There…I have made the connection.  On we go.

I discovered quinoa (pronounced Keen – wah) a few years back while looking for a vegetarian filling for stuffed peppers that was more nutritious than rice. For most, quinoa is known as a type of grain, not entirely true though.  If you want to get techinical, quinoa is actually a seed; it is referred to as a grain because of its cooking characteristics. 

Quinoa has a very delicate flavor and a lovely texture.  People have said it is similar to couscous – I disagree.  The texture is soft, yet there is slight bite from the spiral tail of the quinoa.  Spiral tail?  Yes, as quinoa cooks the outer germ around each grain twists to form a white spiral tail.  This tail is what gives it a pleasant bite or crunch.  The texture combination is why I love quinoa – it is heartier, more nourishing than other grains.  And thanks to its recent exposure in cooking magazines and shows, you can easily find quinoa at most supermarkets and at natural foods stores. 

Quinoa - Close Up

Quinoa is high in fiber, calcium and iron, low in fat and is very easy to digest.  Compared to other grains, quinoa is the highest in complete protein which makes it an ideal ingredient for vegetarians.  Quinoa is so nutritious in fact, that it was used to sustain Incan armies who would march for several days on a simple mixture of quinoa and fat, or “war balls” as they called them.  As I stated previously, quinoa is an ancient grain; records show that quinoa has been cultivated in the South American Andes since around 3000 BC.  Quinoa has only been grown outside of South America for a relatively short period of time.  In the US, most quinoa comes out of Colorado.

So, how do you cook this stuff?  I cook my quinoa in a saucepan, a 2:1 ratio of liquid to quinoa.   For the liquid, I usually substitute stock for water as the grains absorb so much of the flavor.   Rinse your quinoa before cooking to remove any leftover residue.  I bring my stock up to a boil, add the quinoa and reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover.  I usually let it sit for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.   Then I fluff with a fork and set aside.  Don’t worry too much if there is a bit of excess water on the grains – it tends to evaporate as it sits.  If you feel compelled, you can always drain in a wire strainer.  I suggest reading the instructions on your box as each variety of quinoa cooks differently.  Trial and error works best when cooking quinoa. 

Uncooked Quinoa and Vegetable Stock

Quinoa can be used in hot and cold salads and casseroles, or you can add quinoa to soups and stews for more substance.  This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on Epicurious – Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro.  I used roasted red peppers and ancho chili powder for an even richer, smokier “southwest” flavor.  The fresh cilantro adds a bright flavor to the recipe, you notice it immediately – it screams “fresh”.   

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, drained
• 3 teaspoons ancho chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• Feta cheese, cut into small cubes

Directions:

1.) Prepare your quinoa to the package directions. Rinse before cooking.  Once cooked, drain and set aside to cool.

2.) Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3.) Stir in the roasted red peppers, ancho chili powder and cumin and salt.

4.) Remove the mixture from heat, place in a large bowl and let stand to cool.

5.) Once your onion mixture is cool, add the black beans, ¼ cup of the cilantro and quinoa.

6.) Just prior to serving sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup of cilantro and feta cheese. This dish is served at room temperature.  Taste again, season with salt and pepper as needed.

We love Martha Stewart – so of course we are super excited that today is the book launch of Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes!  This paperback which sells on Amazon for $14.99, has “175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone’s Favorite Treat”.   Everyone could use some cupcake inspiration! 

This cookbook contains several recipes for cakes, frostings and fillings, not to mention incredible decorating ideas.  As with all Martha Stewart Books, the photography is stunning.  Each cupcake is accompanied by it’s own photograph. 

From the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes summary:

“Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes  includes templates and clip art for decorative flourishes, an equipment glossary, and step-by-step instructions for basic and advanced decorating techniques, plus ideas for presenting and packaging the cupcakes in Martha’s trademark style.”   Woo hoo!

Want to get your hands on a copy?  Click here to order yours today!

The Inside of a "Tasting" Cake

Like all girls, I grew up planning how my wedding would look in my head.  I would wear a huge white princess gown and glass slippers as if I were one of the characters from a fairytale.  Let’s just say as I got older my wedding visions changed along with me.  There were even points where I simply wondered will this wedding thing ever happen? 

I have been to many weddings and seen the stress the bride goes through to make it an “event to remember”.  To me it seemed they spent most of the evening saying hello, thank you and making small talk with guests they barely knew.  All that money spent on a party for people I really don’t know, not for me.

I chose a much different route – quick vows witnessed by actual people in my life and then a party with great cake and food to follow.  My mother made all the food, dad picked the wine, my sister baked an incredible cake, and my best girlfriend took the pictures.  Although not that grand of an event, I feel it was something that created a memory for my friends and family.       

Cake Tasting Ingredients

Over the past few months of writing this blog I have become increasingly more busy making cakes and other confections for people.  I was approached with the offer to do a wedding cake for a friend’s sister.  I was excited and terrified thinking about taking on this colossal effort.  Unlike my wedding, this wedding has somewhere between 250-300 people attending.  That is a whole lot of cake!

I spoke with the bride over the phone about her vision, and what she likes and doesn’t like.  I suggested a few ideas from my head and then we set a date for a cake tasting.  I have no personal experience with the concept of cake tasting, so I did some investigating.

Some bakeries you must schedule an appointment and pay a fee refundable upon ordering.  I have also heard of mass tastings held by bakeries in house or at bridal fairs allowing many to taste their confections. 

Typical me, I chose to be different.  I wanted to give her three 3 inch mini layer cakes. Me and my big ideas, ugh!  

Three Mini "Tasting" Cakes

This proved to be more of a learning experience and a lesson of what not to do.  Let’s just say, I bit off more than I could chew and had lots of leftover cake. 

The cakes did taste wonderful, of course, but after all the time baking, cooling, and cutting I didn’t have the time to make them works of art like I had planned.  This however, was a cake tasting, and taste prevailed…I got the job!  Now the work can begin…

In order to keep the brides selections and plans confidential – I am not going to disclose any flavors or recipes.  Let’s just say I am very excited about what she decided on!  Look for upcoming posts on this cake adventure…