Snow White Frosting

Yummy Note:

I am always looking for frosting recipes that are dairy-free, work well with decorating cakes, AND taste good. :) Sometimes, when you use a dairy-free alternative, that doesn't taste or act exactly like butter, you can get varying results. So I was excited when I came across this one from Wilton. I can't tell you how many times, I refer back to the Wilton site for the best results. Why mess with their expertise! So when I tried the Snow White Buttercream Icing recipe and realized it actually didn't have any real "butter" in it, and it was dairy-free, I was thrilled. This frosting holds up nicely, you can make it ahead of time, and I've had several compliments on it, noting that the taste of this frosting reminds them of old-school wedding cake frosting. I have used it as a thin layer under fondant, but it sets up and dries rather fast, so make sure you keep that in mind when frosting. A note is I have had maybe one bad run of this frosting, where it almost slid off the side of the cake. I am not sure if it was due to the heat, humidity, or perhaps if I added in too much corn syrup, but it wasn't pretty on about day 2 of my cake. However, the numerous other times, it worked great!   

 

 

 

Snow White Frosting

recipe from

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Snow-White-Buttercream-Icing

Ingredients:
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons water, divided
1/4 cup meringue powder
12 cups sifted powdered sugar, (about 3 lbs.) divided
1 1/4 cups solid vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon butter flavor

Directions:
In large bowl, sift all of the powdered sugar. Next, combine 2/3 cup of water and meringue powder together and mix at high speed until peaks form. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, at low speed. If you mix at a higher speed, you will end up with a powdered sugar dust storm and a big mess :)  Mix well, after each additional cup of sugar. After all of the sugar has been added, add the last 3 tablespoons of water, shortening and corn syrup to that and mix well. Add salt and flavorings last, and beat at low speed until smooth. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use, so it does not dry out.  For best results, store in refrigerator in an airtight container. The frosting can keep for about 2 weeks.

I don't have pictures of the actual frosting being made as I've always been in a rush when making it or forget. But I have how the finished cake and frosting is.

In our latest cake effort -
My daughter and I made a minion banana cake for my son's birthday and decorated it using this snow white frosting and fondant.

 

Rolled Marshmallow fondant

Yummy note: I've been using this rolled marshmallow fondant recipe for several years now and it has really held up wonderfully. It is sweet, yet tastes so much better than any store-bought already prepared fondant. This homemade marshmallow fondant is so much easier to work with and roll out. Plus, who doesn't love the taste, and the leftover pieces totally reminds me of those bunny mallow candies from Easter time my grandma used to put into our Easter baskets. This marshmallow fondant quickly goes together, and you could even use your stand mixer if you wish to help knead the fondant, but I think the texture is best when you do it by hand as you can really feel it is done well enough or not. The smoothness can be felt if you knead it by hand, rather than if you used a mixer it just kinda becomes more of a ball, and it's trickier to tell the consistency. I've used this rolled marshmallow fondant recipe for covering cakes, making cut-out cookie toppers, and easy cupcake decorations. 

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant 

 Original recipe here: Wilton

Ingredients:
1 package or 16 ounces of regular mini marshmallows (Make sure you use a good quality brand or else they don't hold up as well.)
2-5 tablespoons of water
2 pounds, roughly 8 cups of sifted powdered sugar
about 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening
optional: flavored extract or food coloring

Directions:
Place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds on high. Stir marshmallow mixture until mixed well and continue to microwave in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Should be roughly about 2-2 1/2 minutes total. At this point, flavored extract or coloring can be added at this point if desired. Next, place about half of the sifted powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into the marshmallow mixture. Next, grease hands with vegetable shortening and counter/board area generously. Pour marshmallow/sugar mixture onto working surface and start kneading the fondant. Continue kneading, for several minutes )roughly 5 minutes) until about all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated. The fondant consistency and texture should be relatively nice and smooth. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is probably too dry, so add a little water at time and then kneading it again until the fondant becomes more firm and elastic like, so you can stretch it without it falling apart. Once fondant is ready, either use right away and roll out as needed, or store in refrigerator. Fondant should be rolled to about 1/8 inch thickness. To store fondant, coat it with a thin layer of shortening, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place in a resealable bag in the refrigerator. It can be stored like this for several weeks. When ready to use fondant, knead the desired amount of fondant until smooth again and then roll out to desired size. If you need to color the fondant, either add it to the marshmallow mixture as noted earlier for a larger batch or for smaller colored amounts of fondant, add color to fondant as needed and knead to incorporate color.

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant Picture Guide 

Examples of how rolled fondant covered cakes look like: 

Banana Cake Cupcakes

Yummy note: My friend Mandi made this banana cake for her daughter's birthday last fall and I had one bite and instantly was like I need your recipe! Lucky me, it was a family recipe of hers, that she was willing to share- how fun is that? I love when recipes get handed down generations in a family and then shared with friends. This recipe comes from Mandi's great grandmother. I never met her, but I'm sure she was an amazing baker with the way this cake has turned out. I've made this recipe numerous times now, and we've modified it just slightly by only adding chocolate chips the one time, and other times we've made it into cupcakes instead of a cake. In this recipe, she used a technique here that I've never done before, which was cooking the mashed bananas in a sauce pan for a little bit before adding them to the batter. I thought it was a nice tip, as the bananas didn't have a weird texture or seem lumpy when it was baked.  They were incorporated so nicely into the cake, that the texture truly seemed more like a cake, rather than a banana bread. Each time that I've made it, it has been spot on, and what I love most, is how long these cupcakes stay so moist and soft even days after baking them. 

Mandi's Great Grandma's Banana Cake Cupcakes 


Original here

Ingredients:
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I have used Crisco and an organic non-hydrogenated brand and both worked well.)
1 egg
3 tbsp milk (Any type is fine - I've used soy and coconut.)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) or 1/2 cup chocolate chips


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas and place in a small sauce pan with the baking soda. Cook over medium heat until the banana mixture is foamy. Set aside to cool while you prepare the next part. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices together. In a larger bowl, beat together both sugars and shortening until well combined. Pour in the slightly cooled banana mixture, egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add in the small bowl of flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips or nuts, if desired. Pour batter into a lightly greased/prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake for 22-30 minutes, or until done. Or pour into cupcake liners and bake until done, which was about 20 minutes. Depending on the size of the cupcakes, I usually start to peek in on them at around 15 minutes and adjust the time accordingly. Let cool completely before frosting. For the frosting, I used my traditional buttercream frosting. I can easily adapt this to be a dairy-free frosting as well, if needed. This chocolate frosting is also a nice compliment to the banana cupcakes as well.

Delicious banana cake cupcakes with white fluffy frosting. 

Mixing in some chocolate chips, to make banana chocolate chip cupcakes! 

New York Cheesecake

Yummy note: The February Secret Recipe Club post for me is all about what I love - I love dessert. Many of my Secret Recipe Club posts, I let my kids help me pick or my husband, but this time around, it was what I wanted. Like Margaret from over at Tea and Scones, my Secret Recipe Club blogger, I also really adore cheesecake. No, adore isn't right, I love it. I really never make cheesecake and I'm not sure why. Maybe it is just one of those desserts, I'd rather spend the money and buy a slice of really good cheesecake at a restaurant or bakery instead. Also, it does take up a good amount of bake time, so I think fear of it not setting up right is also in the back of my mind. Or perhaps it is that I'm afraid I would eat the whole cheesecake all.. by.. myself... Picture it, it is one of those late nights, I'm just relaxing, sitting on the couch watching another Golden Girls rerun and then they break out their late-night cheesecake. So I think I should join them and eat my own cheesecake. I can just see myself, half-asleep, polishing off the whole thing without even realizing it. Mmm, yeah, probably not a good idea to have a great big cheesecake in my house. With Margaret's original recipe, l ended up half-sizing it and made smaller, portion-controlled, cheesecakes, just in case ;)  This baked cheesecake recipe on Tea and Scones blog, had an amazing rich, decadent flavor, yet it was fairly simple and not a lot of ingredients to be afraid of. The texture of this cheesecake was perfect, seriously, I am not kidding you. Now, I just wish there was a Junior's Restaurant near me to try out some more of the other cheesecakes! Since there was not, perhaps I need to buy myself the cookbook that Margaret referenced, as this was love at first bite :) 

 

Junior's Original New York Cheesecake
http://teaandscones.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/my-favorite-dessert-ever/

 

Ingredients:  
2 packages of 8-ounce cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup and 1/3 cup of sugar (about 13 tbsp of sugar total)
2 tbsp of corn starch
1/2 tbsp of pure vanilla extract
1 extra large egg
6 tbsp of heavy cream

Note: I followed Margaret's lead on this cheesecake recipe adaption and didn't use a crust like she suggested. I agree that this wonderful cheesecake didn't need anything extra for a crust, as the ingredients are simple, yet luxurious tasting when they all come together.


Directions: 
Set the cream cheese out to soften at room temperature. Once cream cheese is soft, put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar, and corn starch in a large bowl and mix until creamy. This may take a few minutes. Next, add in the other package of cream cheese. On medium speed, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, vanilla, and egg. Make sure all of the cream cheese is incorporated well. Then, add in the heavy cream and mix until just blended together. Be careful not to over mix the cheesecake filling. *Prepare 3 mini spring form pans by wrapping the outside of the pans in foil first. Make sure the bottom and sides of the pan are covered with foil so that the water bath does not sneak into your spring form pan. Fill the spring form pans evenly with cheesecake filling. Place mini cheesecakes in the larger pan with about an inch of water in the pan, aka your water bath. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Check cheesecakes after 45 minutes, depending on how the cheesecake it setting up, it may need an additional 15 minutes or so. When the cheesecakes are set, remove them from the water bath and leave alone to cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight in the pan. When ready to serve, remove spring form pans and enjoy! 
*Note: This recipe will fill about 3 of the 4-inch mini pans. If you double the recipe it will fit into the one 9-inch spring form pan. 


 

That's it-- just these 6 simple ingredients to make amazing cheesecake.

I could eat this filling by the spoonful, that is when you know the finished cheesecake is going to rock. 

Cheesecakes in water bath ready for the oven.

Oops, a crack, but don't worry, it still tasted great!

New York Style Cheesecake

Be sure to visit Tea and Scones for other great recipes and for all the fun that Margaret has with her many cooking clubs! I don't know how she does it, but she does an amazing job. My runner-up choices to try out... Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup, Graham Cracker Pralines, and of course, some Scones! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Yummy note:  In this deep freeze weather we've been having, it made me think of ice cream...haha. I know, how can one think of ice cream with this nasty cold weather. However, ice cream is always on my mind. My kids and I could eat it every day. So of course, this summer it was no surprise for my daughter's birthday, she really wanted ice cream treats to take to her party at the park. I said no...I could just picture it.. a hot day, the cooler not keeping ice cream cold at the park and one big hot mess! Oh, and then my daughter and her friends covered in ice cream at the park. Didn't sound pleasant. So I quickly diverted her to another suggestion- "how about ice cream cone cupcakes!" - Thankfully the idea was sold quickly and she loved it since it looked like ice cream but was actually a fun cupcake! Plus, her and her friends could actually participate by putting the frosting on and decorating their own ice cream cone cupcake. For transportation purposes, the ice cream cone cupcakes when plain, are so much easier to package than already decorated. If you do plan to transport them already decorated, there are some fantastic ideas you can get from a Google search. So if you think it is a little too cold outside for an ice cream treat, perhaps this nice baked ice cream cone cupcake is a good alternative! 

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Source: I first remember these growing up from my grandma and my mom. I believe they got it from like the back of a cake mix box, perhaps it was Betty Crocker.  

Ingredients: 

1 box of any flavored cake mix and the oil, eggs, and water as directed on cake mix box

or use a homemade cake recipe

24 flat cake cones (flat bottom cones) 

1 - 2 cans of already prepared frosting or your favorite frosting recipe 

sprinkles or other candy for decorations

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake pans by placing cupcake paper liners in the pan. Prepare cake mix according to the directions on the box or to your cake recipe. Pour cake batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Make sure it is about 2/3 of the way full and then place an empty ice cream cone down into the batter. Make sure they are pushed down into the cake batter well so they don't pop over during the baking process. They will move some when baking, so just try to do your best by making the ice cream cone level. Bake about 15-20 minutes until cupcakes appear to be done, testing with a toothpick. Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool completely before decorating them. 

Birthday Girl Alicia loves her "mint chocolate chip" ice cream inspired cupcakes! 

Make sure ice cream cone cups are pushed down over the cupcake batter evenly. 

A peek at them while they are baking. Some might tip or fall over during baking, if that happens, just try and fix it by pushing it back up gently. 

Cone cupcakes appear to be done! Ready for transport so the girls can decorate. 

Get ready for the frosting! 

Have fun decorating and mixing and matching flavors! The possibilities are endless! Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, chocolate chip, rainbow sherbet, etc...

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yummy note: When I got this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment, I took a lot of time looking at Sarah's wonderful blog named Sarah's Kitchen.  Many of the recipes she posted are straightforward and pretty good-looking comfort foods that I could see eating night after night. I am sure her husband, Randal, that she blogs about quite frequently, really gets some great eats! Despite some wonderful main dish recipes that I've bookmarked, I keep seeing beautiful cupcakes... and well, more beautiful cupcakes taunting me.. Sarah, congrats, you had me at cupcake. It was like I shut my eyes, and saw these awesome pictures of cupcakes all lined up, with fluffy frosting, yummy and tasty looking. So enough of the gawking, I had to dive right in, and try it out myself. I really had a hard time picking, I really wanted to make these Salted Caramel Mocha brownie ones, but then I thought about these Caramel ones, and finally I came to a realization I can't eat all these cupcakes myself.... So in typical It's Yummy to My Tummy fashion, I got my non-dairy thinking cap on and decided to think rational and pick a cupcake recipe that had the best options to make dairy-free. These chocolate biscoff ones seemed appropriate  Plus, anytime I can use biscoff spread, count me in. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe with adaptions from: 

http://sarahsbritamericankitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/chocolate-cupcakes-with-biscoff.html

Dairy-Free Chocolate Cupcakes 

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

6 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup coffee
1/2 cup soy yogurt 
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, cream sugar, vegetable oil, and egg until smooth, for just a few minutes. On low speed, blend in half of the dry ingredients until incorporated. Next, blend in the coffee, yogurt, and vanilla. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute into cupcake wrappers. Bake at 350 for about 22-24 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes. 

Biscoff Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup butter substitute, softened

3/4 cup biscoff spread
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp soy milk or soy creamer

Directions:
Beat the butter substitute and biscoff spread until smooth.  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add in some soy milk and beat until it is creamy and combined well. 


To make some decorations, I just melted about a cup or so of non-dairy chocolate chips with a teaspoon of shortening together. Then I poured the melted chocolate into mini cookie cutters to set. Then you push out the chocolate when set and you have pretty cut-out chocolates to decorate cupcakes with. 

I need some serious help or therapy though... I couldn't stop at the Biscoff frosting. I had to indulge and make one of these Swiss Meringue Buttercream frostings I've read all about from Sarah. I've never made one like this before, so it was a bit intimating. Trust me, I wish I had a few pictures while making the frosting, but I was freaking out a bit too much. It was a bit more temperamental than I was ready for... but eventually got it to work. It took time for mine to "set up" as it looked all weird, soupy, and then curdled all in a matter of a few minutes, so as my mixer whirled the frosting together, I quickly sought out reinforcements and read up on Swiss meringue frosting.  Go ahead, some day when you are bored, Google it, and be educated about frosting. :) After my, mini freak outs, the frosting came together, and it was pretty and tasted smooth and silky buttery like Sarah frequently mentioned in several blog posts. It was now ready to decorate my moist chocolaty cupcakes!  Here's the link from the recipe I followed for the Swiss Meringue Frosting from Sarah's Kitchen- http://sarahsbritamericankitchen.blogspot.com/2011/12/snowflake-cupcakes.html

This cupcake recipe was so easy to make, that I don't know why you would want to use the boxed mixes, when you can get such great flavor and depth from this recipe! They were super moist and delicious. I will surely make these again. Thanks again Sarah for sharing your great recipes. 

For more information about the Secret Recipe Club, check it out --> http://secretrecipeclub.com

Funnel Cakes

Yummy note: As summer comes to a close, I realized we haven't been to any of those carnivals or community fairs this summer. I mean, I'm not really into it at all, except for well, going and getting the food there. I love the corn dogs, caramel apples, cheese curds, kettle corn, cotton candy, and you know, the deep fried anything. Oh wait, back to the matter at hand... the Secret Recipe Club time!  This month, like many other months, I didn't know where to start. When I began my search for this month's Secret Recipe Club, I really was all over the place with my assigned blogger, No Reason Needed. Carol's site has a mix of family blogging, along with her variety of recipe posts. There were so many great choices that once I began my search, I was torn. My husband wanted the taco dish, I was eyeing the meatloaf as I am always looking for easy and tasty meatloaf recipes.  But I decided to go with what I thought the kids would like too, well, secretly what I was hungry for.. shh..don't tell.. I'd like some of that--> the powdered sugary deep fried goodness.  A recipe that totally reminded me of all of those great feelings of nostalgia of country fairs and festivals would be it. I saw this recipe for funnel cakes, I thought this would be an awesome treat, something I normally wouldn't go crazy and make. I tried churros one time and failed miserably, so I was a little nervous at first. This time around though, in my trusty Le Creuset, I fired up my little pot of oil, and knocked this one out of the park.

Funnel Cakes 

Ingredients: 

1 egg

2/3 cup milk (I used soy milk here.)

2 tbsp white sugar

1 1/4 cups flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

about 2 cups of oil for frying

optional: water, if needed to thin out the batter

Directions: 

In a deep skillet or pan, heat about 2 cups of oil over medium heat until hot while you begin to make the funnel cake batter. Make sure you test the oil later before pouring the batter in. Measure out dry ingredients (sugar, salt, flour, and baking powder) in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, mix the egg and milk together. Once the egg and milk is beaten together, gradually add in your dry ingredients. The batter will become fairly thick. So if needed, add in some additional water to help make the funnel cake batter smooth. Test the heated oil and see if it is ready and make sure it is not too hot. It is is smoking when you do a test drop, turn down the heat a bit and wait.  

Next, pour the batter in a funnel or a large gallon sized baggie. If using the baggie approach, snip off a small corner of it, and begin to squeeze the batter in the hot oil. Squeeze in a web-like pattern, circular pattern until you have reached a desired shape or amount of batter. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, with a flip over halfway. It really doesn't take very long at all, so once they begin to turn puffier and a golden brown, remove the crispy fried goodness from the pan. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar for the classic funnel cake preparation. Get creative, and check out the other options below to top your funnel cake!   

Note, for the caramel apple version above, I used another No Reason Needed recipe I liked. Carol's fried apple recipe made an amazing gooey, sweet topping. It tasted like a warm apple pie, really it was pretty delicious... 

 

egg and dairy-free chocolate cake

Yummy note: So my little man turned 1 this month, and I was on a mission to find a dairy-free cake for him. Ben has had some sensitivities to dairy the last few months since we tried introducing it into his diet, so I knew I needed to find him a dairy-free treat to make. Check out his recipe approval pictures below... :)  I wanted to make him a smash cake for his birthday party, so when I saw this recipe on two fellow blogger sites (both from the Secret Recipe Club), Deeba and Barbara, I knew I had to bookmark it for later to try... and timing was perfect. Tina at Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge sent out this email for the ultimate chocolate cake challenge for the month of February. I knew it was meant to be... I hope you enjoy this egg and dairy-free chocolate cake as much as we did, as the taste was amazing. You would not know that you were missing any of the eggs, butter, or milk in this cake, as the flavor was superb and the texture was moist and almost fudge-like. Next time I might try replacing some of the oil with applesauce, or perhaps more mashed bananas, but overall this allergy-friendly cake rocks.... 

Egg and Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake

Thank you to Barbara from Barbara Bakes and Deeba at Passionate about Baking for this egg and dairy-free recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons less of 1 cup sugar (about 16 tablespoons)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

*Yummy note: This recipe is halved, but can be easily doubled to the original recipe proportions as done on Deeba and Barbara's sites.


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350º with rack in the center. Spray one 9 inch round cake pan (I ended up using 3 mini springform pans instead) with non-stick spray. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl by hand.

In a large measuring cup or small bowl, combine hot water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.

It can be a bit lumpy still, don't overmix.

Divide cake batter between pans or pour into the one 9 inch pan. Bake for about 20 or so minutes if using smaller pans or 35-40 minutes if using a larger pan.

Test cake to see if it is done by inserting a toothpick into the center and see if it comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan sitting on a rack for about 15 minutes, then invert them onto the rack to cool completely.

I frosted this cake with dairy-free chocolate banana frosting and added in sliced bananas.

Dairy-free chocolate frosting

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Crisco, melted
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mashed bananas
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp water, if needed

*Yummy note: Original recipe called for 1/3 cup of milk instead of the mashed bananas, so if you do not need to make it dairy-free you may opt for this instead. Either way, it is delicious.




Directions:
In a saucepan, melt Crisco. Remove from heat after melting and add cocoa and salt. Stir in vanilla. Alternate adding in the mashed bananas and powdered sugar. Keep adding in all of the bananas and powdered sugar until incorporated. Add in a few tablespoons of water if needed to achieve a smooth and creamy consistency.

To assemble cake, cut cake into even layers and add in sliced bananas between thin layers of your chocolate banana frosting. Assemble and top with more frosting and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Note many chocolate chips are NOT dairy-free, so be sure to watch labels.

Happy Golden 1st birthday on the 1st of February, Ben. 

Check out all of the others and their chocolate cake challenge!

We Bake to Remember.. Big Apple Cake and Caramel Apple Muffins

Photo I took the summer of 1996 while visiting New York

Yummy note: Marla of Family Fresh Cooking has asked the blogging community to join her and others in baking a remembrance cake to remember all those who lost their lives in the life changing events of 9/11/2001. So in a tribute, I made a Big Apple Cake and Caramel Apple Muffins in honor of all. 

Some days, I can't remember where I last placed my phone, and that literally was like ten minutes ago. But then again, there are some things we are meant to never forget. Ten years ago...I graduated from college, got engaged, and I moved away from home. Ten years ago, I recall exactly where I was that morning of September 11, at 7:46 a.m. I was in my normal work routine of the day, sitting in traffic on the expressway, listening to the radio, just within miles of the Chicago O'Hare Airport.. I am pretty sure I know where exactly on the expressway I was, as I think everyone else around me did too, when we heard the news a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. Working in a suburb close to O'Hare, it was typical busy with sounds of plane after after plane flying over, that day though, it was such an eerily silence. The only thing we seemed to hear that day was the sonic boom of one of the military fighter jets that shook the building we were in. Recalling that day, it was just crazy to think that our United States of America was being attacked... listening to the horrific events unfold on news radio and catching the events on the internet and later when I got home from work, all seemed unreal. No matter where you were that day in history, you were touched by these events...all I can do is look back and just thank God that everyone I personally knew was safe...and pray for and honor those who gave their life that day. 
/~ Please join us in remembering all of those who were lost on 9/11, and bake a remembrance cake, post about it and link your remembrance post here and check out the others on Marla's site.

Big Apple Cake and Caramel Apple Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs (beaten)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups peeled and chopped apples
optional: 1 cup chopped nuts or caramel bits

Directions:
Beat eggs together and add in sugar and oil. In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Then add dry mixture to liquid mixture. Next, add in vanilla, chopped apples, and optional nuts/caramel bits to dough. I split my dough in half, and added caramel bits to the one half for muffins, while I left the other half of the dough for a simple apple cake. Bake in two prepared loaf pans, or bake in muffin tins. Sprinkle top with sugar and bake in preheated 350 degree oven. If baking the cake, bake for about 1 hour. If baking the muffins, bake for about 25-30 minutes. 

Caramel Apple Muffins