key lime cupcakes*

Sprinkles. I don't understand the dang things. They are just a crunchy, hard, tasteless, useless ornament that I just simply don't get. Which brings me to funfetti cake. I don't understand funfetti cake, either. I know, I know, you are thinking - OH MY GOSH I LOVE FUNFETTI CAKE! That's fine. Love it all you like. I am sure that Pillsbury appreciates you. Me on the other hand, not a fan.

Which brings me to these cupcakes. I am a HUGE fan of these cupcakes! They are the bees knees! The original recipe doesn't add any lime juice in the frosting, but I can't imagine it without it! I don't think the lime flavor would be nearly as prominent in just the cake alone. I also have a secret, I used regular limes! I wasn't about to zest and juice a million key limes. I've got things to do people! You must, I say MUST, make these for your next BBQ, family function, church activity, or heck - just make them for yourself and eat the whole batch!! I won't tell, I promise :).

Key Lime Cupcakes
adapted from My Madison Bistro, whom adapted from Bon Appetit, Sept. 2008

chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes*

It's about time that I shared this recipe with you guys! I have a rule. I never make the same dessert twice for the students. Although I have not broken this rule, I have made these for parent conference, a family dinner, a girls night out, and for a couple of my new neighbors! I think it's safe to say that I am obsessed with this recipe!

The only change that I made from the original recipe was that I thought cookie dough in the middle as well as a cookie dough frosting may be a little overkill, so I didn't freeze my cookie dough balls. I formed them and put them straight into the batter. A couple of times I put them in the fridge for a few minutes just so they weren't so sticky. I LOVE the cooked cookie in the middle with the yummy frosting! I'm looking forward to making these yet again hopefully in my near future!

Chocolate Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes
from Java Cupcake

raspberry filled vanilla cupcakes w/ vanilla buttercream frosting*

Last night I finally broke down and downloaded the Draw Something app on my phone and made the hubby play with me. Oh, my cute little husband. He is so funny and doesn't even try. If you have never played before, it is just like Pictionary. It lets you watch your opponent draw their picture and make mistakes and erase and start over until they finally have their finished product. Well, I was watching the hubs draw his word with my thinking cap on, just trying to get it in record time. He kept erasing over and over, and each thing he tried to draw was completely different, just leaving me more and more confused. And then I thought for sure I got it. He was drawing a dinosaur with a spiky mohawk! Then he erased and drew an American flag with "42 cents" written in the corner. Evidently his word was "stamp". So I asked him where the dinosaur came into play. What I thought was a dinosaur, was actually the Statue of Liberty. Oh man...hahaha. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Definitely my new favorite game! If nothing else, it cracks me up!

These cupcakes were the dessert at the sports banquet on Wednesday. The blog I got the recipe from suggested ways to make your store bought cake mix taste homemade, so I followed those instructions. Although, I think each store bought cake mix is different because all of the extra ingredients just made my cupcakes fall apart easily. You live, you learn. Homemade is the way to go!

I think I also kind of got anxious with my filling, because I don't think I let it boil long enough and get as thick as it needed to be. Once it cooled down and I added my raspberries, it wasn't as thick and I wanted it to be. So I added some whipped topping to make it thicker. So if you find yourself in the same predicament, I would suggest adding about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of whipped topping to your filling. It still tastes amazing!

Raspberry Filled Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Tidy Mom

lemon bundt cake*

Well, the other day I had to part with my beautiful HTC Evo. You see, since we moved to our new house my phone seldomly worked from my place of residence, and it's never worked from the house we stay in St.George or the in-laws cabin. So today I got the iPhone 4s from Verizon, which is where I am blogging from currently! At the house in St. George! Score! I still love my Evo and it will be greatly missed, but I must say that it is nice to receive phone calls on the couch. I am much too lazy to go outside in the corner of the lot in order to conversate (yes, spell checker is telling me this isn't a word - but it is now. Take that spell checker!) with people.

So on Sunday I turned 25. Scary huh. This was the first year where I didn't get the least bit excited that it was my birthday. I wasn't depressed about it, but it truly felt like just another day. The first sign that I am getting old. Now that is depressing.

For my big quarter-of-a-century day, the hubs gave me a gift certificate to Williams Sonoma (he is so good to me!), and one of the treasures I purchased was a bundt pan. I love it, LOVE it! So I made my own birthday cake! I decided on a lemon bundt cake, and I am telling you right now that it was simply AMAZING! We served it with some french vanilla ice cream, and I ate two enormous pieces. And secretly could have eaten more! I am currently planning the next time I can make this beauty again. Maybe tomorrow... :) So here she is!

Lemon Bundt Cake
from allrecipes.com

mini chocolate trifles*

Back in the day I would make a chocolate trifle in my trifle bowl with chocolate cake, pudding and whipped cream (not homemade at that point. I wasn't that fancy when I was 15). It was one of my favorites that I made on several occasions. Awhile back I needed a dessert for one of the sports banquets that was being held for the students, and I wanted something that looked fancy, tasted great, and wouldn't take me all day. I decided to try and make some little individual chocolate trifles!

I wanted to be able to cut a little circle into the cake to put in the bottom of my little glass, but just knew that any old chocolate cake would probably fall apart the minute I tried to take the circle out of the pan. Then it dawned on me. Sponge cake! Honestly, I had never made sponge cake in my life, but it just HAD to stay together. It's like sponge - right?? Well, the end of this story ends fabulously, and my sponge cake came right out of the pan just as expected! The day of the banquet was the day that I went to Taylor Swift, and I had to leave early and was so stressed that I was leaving everyone hanging that I didn't even remember to try a trifle for myself, but I heard that they were very delicious! And I just loved the presentation!

Mini Chocolate Trifles
Serves 6

chocolate chip cookie cheesecake*

If you are having a hankering for something sweet, this is it folks! I am absolutely in love with the presentation of this dessert, but it's the amazingness of it's sweet being that takes the cake - literally. It might even be too sweet for some, but even if you just take a bite or two, I promise you won't regret it.

If you would like to make it in one 9" springform pan, instead of 6 mini pans, the bake time will take about 20-25 minutes. It might even take longer, because I have made this twice (yes, twice in one week - get off my back) and it still was pretty doughy in the end - even after 25 minutes. So just a heads up, in case you are making this in a rush. Plan accordingly :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake
from In Katrina's Kitchen

dark chocolate cake*

We made this cake for one of the students' birthdays. They wanted a dark chocolate cake, with cream cheese frosting and topped with some Reese's and Oreo's. Luckily some of the cake got stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I got a little smidgen of a taste, and it was amazing! I was excited that this chocolate cake didn't call for coffee, because a lot of chocolate cake recipes do. I added some cocoa powder to the cream cheese frosting, then added some swirlies to the side and topped the cake with the candies. I think it turned out super cute!

Isn't it precious??

I saw the swirly idea somewhere, but I can't remember where. Probably Pinterest. I really cannot get enough of that site. I haven't ventured to anything but the food and drink section. I spend so long just looking at all the goodies that if I were to look at anything else my husband would probably trade me in for a more fun and exciting model :).


Dark Chocolate Cake
from allrecipes.com

2 cups boiling water

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

-alyssa*

cherry cheesecake cupcakes*

I have been wanting to make these cupcakes forEVER! Ok, maybe only a few months, but I should have thought of this idea forever ago! I was thinking that I would just make it with a white cake cupcake, but then I had this thought. I wonder if there was a recipe for a graham cracker cake batter?? And alas, THERE IS!! With some minor adaptations to the recipe, it was the perfect cupcake to house some yummy cherry pie filling with a no bake cheesecake swirl topping, a cherry puree drizzle, then finished off with a piece of graham cracker. AMAZING! My new FAVORITE cupcake - I think I say that a lot...!! :)

The no-bake cheesecake filling I have been using for years. Like-since I was probably 13. It is so amazing and SO easy. Especially with a homemade graham cracker crust and raspberry topping. So you want a quick and easy cheesecake recipe, use that filling and make yourself a yummy cheesecake. I don't know why I never thought of using it as a frosting until now. But it is my new favorite discovery!

better than anything cake*

I am SO excited to have my first post as Croutons and Cupcakes!!!! Why the change, you ask? Well, Cundy's Culinary Creations is SO LONG, and just to rattle it off to someone that wants to look at it really turns into quite the ordeal. First of all, I always have to end up spelling it out because Cundy is not very common. Second of all, there is just so much going on in that title that some people have a hard time spelling it exactly right so that it will work when they type it in. So yesterday I came up with Croutons and Cupcakes!

For those of you that know me, croutons are my absolute FAVORITE food! Yes, that's right - I cannot get enough of that savory stale bread. In my earlier years when I lived with my parents, my mom would shop at Sams Club and would buy the jumbo bag of croutons. I literally ate them out of the bag like chips. Cannot get enough. And it should be pretty obvious where the cupcakes come in play. My blog posts are definitely not lacking in the cupcake area. I just LOVE the things!

So welcome everybody to Croutons and Cupcakes! I am also really digging the new layout! It is so stinkin' cute! Anyway, let's get to this amazing dessert.

So I wanted to start off my first post as Croutons and Cupcakes with none other than a dessert. Surprised? I didn't think so. If you have never tried better than anything cake (a.k.a. better than sex cake), you are surely missing out. It is one of my very favorites. I have been thinking that I need to make it into a cupcake at some point, so be on the lookout for that!

Better Than Anything Cake

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix + ingredients called for on the box
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups caramel topping
1 pkg. whipped topping (or make homemade - that's what we did :)
1 pkg. Heath toffee bits (you can find them by the chocolate chips at the store)

Mix and bake cake according to the directions. Set aside and let cool.

While the cake is cooling, mix sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping in a medium saucepan. Heat over low heat just until the two are well combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

With the end of a wooden spoon poke holes in the cooled cake. You don't have to be exact about your holes, but make sure there is a good amount so that the caramely milky goodness can seep through.

Pour the caramel/milk mixture over the cake so that it goes into the holes. After you have filled all of the holes, continue pouring over the rest of the cake so that it is well covered. Put the cake in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

After cake has completely cooled, spread the whipped topping evenly over the top. Then sprinkle on the Heath toffee bits.

EAT UP - and try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting!

So moist and sweet and chocolaty and crunchy and creamy - I just don't even know. This cake is the epitome of AMAZING! Oh, and by the way, my next post will mark my 100th recipe! Pretty big deal if you ask me :).

-alyssa*

strawberry filled cupcakes w/ laffy taffy frosting*

We made these cupcakes last week for all of the students. It may be selfish, but I actually chose to make these because I don't like strawberry flavored things. I like strawberries, but not most strawberry flavored things. They are just so sweet and..I don't now. There is just something about strawberry flavored things that rub me the wrong way. Anyway, I have been very successful eating healthy and I didn't want to fail so early on :). I did try a little tid-bit, and I wasn't a huge fan, but everyone else I talked to loved them! I think I didn't like it too much because it was strawberry flavored, of course, but also because of the buttercream. I am really beginning to think I am not a fan of buttercream. I am still not ready to make it official, however.

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Laffy Taffy Frosting

adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

1 box white cake mix

1 (10 oz jar) Smucker’s Simply Fruit Strawberry Spreadable Fruit

2 cups whipped topping

red food coloring

Sprinkles

Prepare cake mix according to the directions. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill them 3/4 the way full. Bake according to the directions on the box.

In a medium bowl, combine the spreadable fruit and whipped topping. You will notice the coloring is not all that attractive, so add a couple of drops of red food coloring. Now that's better! This will be your filling for the cupcakes :).

When the cupcakes are nice and cool, hull out the middles. Put your fruit/whipped topping mixture in a pastry bag (I used a star tip) and squeeze in the filling.

Top with the laffy taffy frosting (recipe below).

Laffy Taffy Frosting

***This frosting is enough to cover all of the cupcakes but if you want it piled on on the cupcakes like I did in the photo then you will want to double this amount.***

• 10 pieces of strawberry Laffy Taffy candy (the fun sized ones)
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar

In a small sauce pan, melt the taffy and the heavy cream together stirring until the mixture is smooth. 

Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

While the mixture is cooling, begin preparing the frosting. In a mixing bowl, whip the butter until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, whipping until fluffy. 

Then add the melted and cooled laffy taffy a spoonful at a time.  You don’t want it too thick.  If needed, place it back on the stove for a few seconds to soften it just enough. After each spoonful of the laffy taffy, turn the mixer up to high and whip the frosting until it’s fluffy. You can also add a little pink or red food coloring to get the desired shade but I was happy with the color as it was.

Frost the cupcakes with the laffy taffy frosting and top with sprinkles. Makes 22-24 cupcakes.

And last, but not least, DIG IN!

-alyssa*

german chocolate and funfetti cake pops*

I bet you are all dying to know if I am doing well on my new eating healthy way of life. Well, before I keep you in suspense any longer, I am excited to tell you that I am doing GREAT! And, to top it all off, I ran a mile today! I seriously felt like I was going to die, and when I was finished I was sure I was going to throw up, but I made it. I felt like one of the contestants on the Biggest Loser. Right when they get there some of them end up losing their lunch after their first couple of workouts because they are so out of shape. Well folks, that was me today. I actually decided to run a mile today because I am going to run the 5k at work on Monday. Well, I shouldn't say "run". Let's be honest, if I almost died after one mile, a 5k would probably really put me 6 feet under. So I will be walking/running, mainly walking :).

I made these cake pops I think the day that I decided that I need to lead a much healthier lifestyle. But I will be honest, I had a tiny bite of both so that I could report to all of you the verdict. We had a smoothies day for all of the staff, and naturally we just had to have a yummy treat to go along side! And ever since I made these for my sister's baby shower, I have been dying to test out some of my other options!

Now, german chocolate cake is probably my all-time favorite. My mom used to make me a home made german chocolate cake sometimes on my birthday. You can't beat that. So, obviously the german chocolate cake pops were to die for! Then adding on the hardened chocolate shell and some bits of pecans was just the cherry on top. I wanted to do some with some toasted coconut, but forgot until after we had already melted the chocolate. By then it was too late :(. The funfetti cake pops were also good and a favorite of nearly everyone in my department. However, the overall favorite of the rest of the staff was german chocolate :).

German Chocolate Cake Pops

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 container Coconut/Pecan Frosting
Chocolate melting chocolate
Pecan bits
Candy sticks

Cook cake mix as directed on the box. Let cool completely. In a medium bowl, crumble cake. Then add 1/2 of the container of coconut/pecan frosting.

Mix until well combined and the mix sticks together. Then form into balls, about the size of a golf ball.

Melt the melting chocolate as directed. Dip the very tip of the candy sticks in the melted chocolate, then place in the cake ball. Put cake balls in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the melted chocolate has hardened. This helps the stick adhere to the ball so that it doesn't come out when you try to coat it in the melted chocolate.

Dip each cake pop in the melted chocolate until covered completely. Place on wax paper so that the stick is pointing upwards (or you can put the stick in some styrofoam if you want your cake pop to be like a lollipop). Sprinkle pecan bits immediately before the melted chocolate begins to harden.

Let sit until the chocolate has completely hardened. Enjoy!


Funfetti Cake Pops

1 Funfetti Cake Mix
1 container Funfetti Frosting
White Chocolate or Vanilla melting chocolate
Candy Sticks

Cook cake mix as directed on the box. Let cool completely. In a medium bowl, crumble cake. Then add 1/2 of the container of the funfetti frosting. Set the sprinkles aside to decorate the pops later. Mix until well combined and the mix sticks together. Then form into balls, about the size of a golf ball.


Melt the melting chocolate as directed. Dip the very tip of the candy sticks in the melted chocolate, then place in the cake ball. Put cake balls in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the melted chocolate has hardened. This helps the stick adhere to the ball so that it doesn't come out when you try to coat it in the melted chocolate.

Dip each cake pop in the melted chocolate until covered completely. Place on wax paper so that the stick is pointing upwards (or you can put the stick in some styrofoam if you want your cake pop to be like a lollipop). Sprinkle on the funfetti sprinkles immediately before the melted chocolate begins to harden.

Let sit until the chocolate has completely hardened. Enjoy!

So so easy, and the options are endless!

-alyssa*

root beer float cupcakes*

When I had my little sister's baby shower, my mom brought me this recipe. I thought that it would be perfect for the students because most of them seem to love root beer! I also thought it would be the perfect way to kick off some better weather! Lately it has actually been quite nice. The past month or maybe even more I think it rained everyday but maybe 4 or 5. I could never live in a state where rain is frequent. After this last month I am 100% positive that I would have major depression issues, not to mention I would not be a very pleasant person to be around. I need my sun. It does miracles for my mood.

I went to a cooking class last night at the Blue Lemon in Highland. I have yet to eat there, but I have been to a couple cooking classes and they are so fun! Chef Todd (executive chef of Blue Lemon and also a culinary professor at UVU) teaches the class and he is so awesome! This class was on summer salads and he did an antipasto, 3 different types of bruschetta (my favorite), a shrimp louis, a roasted red pepper dressing and citrus vinaigrette, and a watermelon and jicama salad. All of which were pretty amazing! He is so funny and really gives you good tips when cooking. Then, the best part, he lets you taste all of his creations! Last night he actually plated up each one of his dishes for each person in the class. The classes I have been to previous we just went up and helped ourselves to the dishes, but last night he must have been extra rambunctious. It gave me some great ideas in different ways that we can present our food when we do the sports banquets and other events around campus. I wanted to take pictures of all of the amazing salads that he made, but I thought people would think I was psycho so decided against it. Maybe next week (which is dutch oven cooking - mmmm!).

Ok, back to root beer float cupcakes. Sorry, I get side tracked easily. These cupcakes were so easy to make! They really had a very distinct root beer flavor, which mainly came from the root beer buttercream frosting. The cupcake had a slight root beer flavor, but it would definitely have more if you added actual root beer extract, maybe even on top of the root beer. I'll be honest though, I don't know if I would make this cupcake again. I think I discovered that I am not the biggest fan of buttercream frosting. Or maybe just the last couple that I have tried from various recipes. I would much rather have a cream cheese or the flour based frosting that I use. But I haven't ventured off to all of my avenues, so I am not ready to make my buttercream dislikingness official.

Rootbeer Float Cupcakes

from 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes and as seen on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix (I always use Duncan Hines)
1 cup of your favorite root beer
1 recipe buttercream (here's a link to the confession's of a cookbook queen's recipe)
1 teaspoon root beer extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.

Mix together root beer and cake mix (yes, just those two ingredients). Pour into paper liners and fill 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

In a separate bowl, mix the buttercream frosting and root beer flavoring. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Then you can top them however your little heart desires. I picked a mini marshmallow and a drizzle of caramel. I just looked up what other people have done and one of the favorites seems to be a marachino cherry. There was even one person that made a well in the middle of the frosting and did a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream! Now THAT would be a rootbeer float cupcake! I have said it once and I will say it again, I love people and the amazing things that they do! They never ceased to be absolutely and jealously amazed me!

-alyssa* 

cake pops/baby rattles*

Cake pops are the new fad. Do you want to know why? Because they are AMAZING - that's why! I don't know who thought up this brilliant creation, but they are my new favorite thing. And even better - they are SO easy to make! You can decorate them however you want, and the flavor creations are endless. I really want to make a carrot cake pop with cream cheese frosting and a white chocolate shell. That sounds like heaven! I think I just created a monster in myself...

These cake pops were made for my little sisters' baby shower. I have never made them before, so it was all a mystery as to whether or not they would turn out. I also didn't know how I would decorate them, because I didn't want them plain old chocolate. Then I got the idea of throwing on some polka dots and tying on a ribbon. I didn't realize until after I was done that they actually look just like a little upside down baby rattle! How fitting!

Cake Pops/Baby Rattles
as seen on Little Miss Momma (cake pops)

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
     *ingredients called for on the box
1/2 package milk chocolate frosting
Dark/Milk Chocolate Candy Melts
1 tsp. shortening
Gel Food Coloring (Michael's carries it. Do not use liquid.)
Candy Sticks (I used wooden ones that I found at a store called FunFinity)

Cook the cake mix according to directions. Let cool completely. When cool, put cake into a bowl and crumble the whole cake. Then add the milk chocolate frosting and mix in thoroughly.

Form the crumbled cake/frosting mixture into balls. Mine ended up being about the size of golf balls, but you can make them as big or little as you would like.

Melt your chocolate according to the directions. Add shortening so that the chocolate covers your cake balls evenly. Dip the end of your candy sticks in the chocolate, then stick that end into your cake ball. This will serve as a glue for your stick so that it doesn't come out of the cake ball when you coat it with chocolate.

Stick your cake pops in the fridge for about 5 minutes, or until the chocolate around the stick has hardened. I tried to dip some of them too early, and the stick comes right out and the cake pop falls apart. It is very important to make sure that the chocolate is completely hardened. Refrigerating also hardens your cake balls, so they are less likely to crumble apart while being coated with chocolate.

Take the cake pops out of the refrigerated and now it is time to dip! I dipped mine on an angle and then swirled it all the way around until the entire cake ball in coated. You can either set them down onto wax paper (like I did), or if you have styrofoam you can let them dry straight up. Lastly, decorate your little heart out with more melted chocolate and make these cake pops your own!

So easy! These little guys seriously taste so amazing! First you bite into the hardened chocolate to find a moist, melt in your mouth, perfect little cake ball! The combination of the chocolate shell and the cake ball are honestly the most brilliant combination ever! I WILL be making these for the rest of my life, and I'm looking forward to it :).

-alyssa*

ice cream cake revisited*

Have I ever mentioned that I am a food addict??? I am. The first step is admitting I have a problem - and world I HAVE A PROBLEM!! Especially with ice cream. I will literally be watching TV at night with my husband and something funny will happen on a show and Landon will laugh and I'll look over and say "what"?? He is always so amazed at how I will be looking right at the TV but miss as much as I do when it comes to what is going on. The reason? Ice cream. I am thinking about ice cream. This is no lie nor exaggeration. The minute we are done eating dinner my brain goes on ice cream mode. It's a serious problem and if you have any sort of solution/idea of how to solve it please - don't hesitate to let me know.

Now on this note about ice cream, remember this cookies 'n cream ice cream cake?? We have improved on this recipe and now we make it all the time, and in about 20 minutes flat (if our chocolate cake is already baked and cooled that is). Remember the issue I had with the crust being hard as a rock and cracking? Well, I took the suggestion that someone gave me (who were you by the way?? I cannot think of who told me this for the life of me!!) to use cream cheese with the Oreos instead of butter. This was the best solution I could have never thought of! The crust was miraculously soft and SO AMAZINGLY YUMMY!

Here are some updated pictures of officially my new favorite cake as of now!

Easter ice cream cake anyone??? CUTE!

Volcano cake for my staff Jordan's birthday

(this cake actually has no cake - only ice cream and hot fudge!!)

*Notice the lack of cracking when it was cut into!!! WAHOO!

Jordan amazed by the volcano cake.

Mmmm...as you can probably see there is a piece of Oreo at the bottom. We lined the bottom of the ice cream cake with halves of Oreo's. An extra yummy surprise!

I beg and plead everyone to try this ice cream cake! With or without cake it is simply amazing! I am absolutely in love with our new Oreo crust and I am so thankful that someone told me about the cream cheese idea! Without it I probably wouldn't be making this cake on a weekly basis and loving it at the level that I do! So thank you and please everyone prepare this and enjoy!!

-alyssa*

carrot cake cheesecake*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER! Today is my little sister's 21st birthday! I still can't get over it. It seems like yesterday we were both in dance class and she was just so cute and little. Then all of the sudden she was driving and I was scared to death and could not believe that she was old enough to actually be behind the wheel. Now she is 21 years old, married and pregnant with a precious little boy! My life is passing me by! Happy birthday, Shea. I love you :).

I made this cake for my favorite (only) sister. I came across this recipe the other day and just had to make it. Fortunately I had a very special occasion coming up! I guess this is another one of the amazing creations that is made by those geniuses at the Cheesecake Factory. It's a good thing there isn't one of those very close to me, because I could really do some damage there!

Overall I was very pleased with how this cake turned out. I am confused about why you need to layer the carrot cake batter, then the cheesecake batter, then carrot cake again, then top with more cheesecake - because after you bake it all of the carrot cake batter goes to the bottom and the cheesecake on top. But whatever works! It baked beautifully and I was very pleased that it didn't crack and it wasn't even cooked in a water bath.

The one thing I was kind of disappointed about was how mushy the carrot cake ended up being. I think there may have been a tad bit too much pineapple. Maybe next time I will only do 3/4 the amount. Other than that though this dessert was amazing! The cheesecake was perfect and I am always in the mood for some cream cheese frosting! Give me a bowl of that stuff and I am good to go! (Again, I apologize for the pictures. My house has a serious lighting issue and most of these were taken when it was dark outside.)

Cheesecake Factory Carrot Cake Cheesecake
from RecipeZaar

CHEESECAKE
16 ounces cream cheese (at room temp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

CARROT CAKE
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash salt
1 (8 1/2 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained with juice reserved
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I left this out since my company did not like coconut. I added a dash of coconut extract to make up for it and a little bit more carrots.)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

PINEAPPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (*I doubled this)
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice
dash of salt

To make cheesecake, in large bowl of electric mixer, beat together 2 pkgs cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 tablespoon flour, 3 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Meanwhile prepare Carrot Cake: In large bowl, combine oil, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla, blending thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup flour, baking soda, cinnamon and dash salt, mixing well. Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts.

Spread 1 1/2 cups carrot cake batter over bottom of greased 9-or 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Drop large spoonfuls of cream cheese batter over carrot cake batter; top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife. Do not marble with a knife.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 50 to 65 minutes or until cake is set and cooked through.
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

When cake is cold, prepare Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting.

In a bowl of electric mixer, combine 2 oz cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice and dash of salt. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frost top of cheesecake. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEA!*

-alyssa*

football cake and AMAZING chocolate frosting*

I cannot believe I have yet to give a shout out to my phone! I would say a good 90% of the pictures of the food that I take for this blog were taken on my phone. I have the HTC EVO, and really I am completely and utterly obsessed with it. I had the iPhone previously, and really there is no comparison. There is not enough time in the day (or maybe just in my day) to explain all the reasons why I love it, but everyone should own one. Enough said.

Now, this phone that I should get paid for saying good things about (HTC do you hear this??), well, let's just say I didn't do it any favors today. I went to get gas and had just called the husband to tell him I was on my way home and set it on my lap. You can probably figure out the rest. I was wearing a skirt and I went to get out of the car and CRACK. There went the screen. I cried. I cried A LOT. I came home bawling and Landon probably thought I wrecked the car. Anyway, I hope I can get it fixed/replaced for less than $400, but I don't have much luck when it comes to this sort of stuff so I won't get my hopes up.

Now, for the highlight of my day, which happened before the cracked screen incident, was this football cake! I was walking into work this morning and one of the students asked me if I was going to make his birthday cake today. I said OF COURSE and went in to see his request. I immediately got SO excited and ran in my office to get a recipe! He wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in the shape of a football!!

Let's talk football for a minute. I LOVE FOOTBALL!! Now, some people will say I just love it because my husband loves it. Let me first say, yes I did start to like it because of him. I knew that he would want to watch it every Sunday, so I figured I might as well give it a shot and at least TRY and like it. Well, what happened from there is nothing short of a miracle. I really truly LOVE it!! My big accomplishment over this past year was learning what offsides and false start was. Well, I knew what they were but I never knew which one was on the defense and which on the offense. My accomplishment the year before was being able to spot a blitz.

Who is my team, you ask?? The Chargers!! Next year is their year :). Landon likes the Vikings, but they were way too dramatic last year in my opinion. Anyway, we were going to have a super bowl party and I'm sure I would have had tons of snacking recipes on here, but that was the day we flew to Florida for our cruise so we watched the superbowl in our hotel room :(. Anyway, next year I will be making some extra special goodies!!

Ok, ok, back to the football cake. This thing is ADORABLE! Oh man, I love this cake. I was so excited to give it to our birthday boy! I couldn't just make a cake in the shape of a football and leave it at that.This thing had to be awesome! So I made a football field with markings for the yards, the field goals, and the football!

I really liked this recipe for the chocolate cake. It wasn't way sweet, which is why I like it I think. I am a HUGE dark chocolate fan. I would eat it over milk chocolate any day. Milk chocolate is just too sweet. But can we please discuss the chocolate frosting?? This stuff is TO DIE FOR! Oh my goodness gracious. It is so good!! Please please make this frosting and tell me how you like it because my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Football Cake!!


Dark Chocolate Cake
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans (if you are making the football cake, double this recipe and grease two 9 x 13 cake pans). In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs on at a time, then stir in vanilla.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Rich Chocolate Frosting
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
9 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla (might I add that I would sift your powdered sugar before you put it in?? I didn't and there were little powdered sugar lumps). You are going to think there is no way that this is going to turn out smooth and creamy, but just wait!

Oh, and be careful when you are mixing in your ingredients that you have mixer going WAY slow or you will end up looking like this:

Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Once you think it's mixed together, keep mixing for a couple of minutes.

Something miraculous happens and WALAH! You have perfect fluffy AMAZING frosting!!

Football Cake
from Alyssa Cundy

Ingredients
2 - 9x13 inch cakes (I used chocolate, obviously)
Frosting (again, I used chocolate)
Coconut - I would say about 3-4 cups...??
Green food coloring (blue + yellow = green :)
Whipped Topping

Directions
Take one of your two 9 x 13 inch cakes and cut out a football shape (I printed one from clipart, cut out the football, put it on the cake and then followed the stencil with a knife). Remove remaining cake around the sides (it's ok if it doesn't turn out perfect. That's what frosting is for!)

Take the second cake and turn it upside down onto a tray. It should come out easily (hopefully!). Frost the cake with some of the delicious chocolate frosting.

In a bowl mix your coconut with some green food coloring. Start with a couple of drops and then mix it together with a wooden spoon. I had gloves on so I used my hands - it's much easier. Keep adding food coloring until the coconut is grass colored. Spread your green coconut all over the chocolate frosted cake, even on the edges. This will be your football field!

Take your whipped topping and put some of it in a pastry bag with the small round tip. Mark off your cake so that you can make 11 lines. I started mine 1 1/2 inches from the edge for the first line then 1 inch for the remaining. The last line should be 1 1/2 inches from the other end.  Then mark these lines like they would be on the football field for the yard lines. From the edge going left to right they go 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10. Then turn your cake the other way and do those same numbers again.

Then take a ziploc bag and cut off the corner about 1/4 inch. Put some whipped topping in your ziploc bag and on the ends you can write TOUCHDOWN or the name of the football team that you like :).

You are now ready to put your football shape on the field. Place it wherever you would like. With a star tip in your pastry bag, add some more of the whipped topping. Make your lines on the sides of the ball, as well as the lines for the laces on the football. Then, using the same star tip in your pastry bag, add the chocolate frosting and put chocolate frosting around the rest of the football.

Then, if you get real ambitious, make some field goals with some wooden skewers and some tape!

CUTE!!!!!!!! This cake wasn't perfect by any means, but I LOVE it!! I think it will have to be replicated at next years super bowl party!!!

-alyssa*