It's been quiet on the cake front so I've had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my family the past couple of weeks. It's been really nice! We went to St. Jacob's last weekend. My goal was to buy a Dutch oven, and I had heard that they had some great prices out there, but also a family ride and some shopping. It was hot and muggy, but I try not to complain too much because I can't stand winter.
And then near the end of June, everything started picking up, which is also nice. I spoiled my oldest son one evening by making his favourite dessert, Chocolate Trifle. I made this religiously for years, since he was two or three, and then I couldn't find the chocolate bars I use in it anymore, so anything else just didn't seem right. And then my husband found them while we were shopping, so I had to make it!
To make it, you will need:1 box of brownie mix, prepared, cooled, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 container of frozen whipped cream, thawed
1 package chocolate instant pudding, prepared
1 4-pk of Crunchie chocolate bars (or your favourite)
In a glass bowl, or trifle bowl, layer half of the brownies, half of the pudding, one crushed chocolate bar, half of the whipped cream, spreading it to the edge of the bowl. Then layer the rest of the brownies, pudding and whipped cream, and two crushed chocolate bars on top (last bar can be enjoyed later on). Serve immediately or chill, covered, until serving time. Perfect for dessert at a BBQ! If you have any leftovers, cover and refrigerate.
After that treat, I got my bake on. One of the things I enjoy most about doing cakes is that I get to make fun and original cakes for my family. I know, and respect that not all moms have the desire, interest or time to do this, but for me, personally, taking classes for cake decorating is probably one of the smartest and best things I have done for myself. If you're a fellow decorator, you know what I'm talking about! And if you aren't, I can make your cake for you! ;) (See what I did there? A shameless little plug for Denise's Custom Cakes... oops, there I go again! lol)
In my family, we watch a lot of movies. We love all the older movies like Short Circuit, Indiana Jones, The Neverending Story, Ghostbusters, Encino Man, Wayne's World, Home Alone, the list goes on. At first my kids aren't always receptive to watching something that's not JUST OUT, but within a few minutes, they're enthralled in the plot and clap like mad at the end of it lol... I feel it's important for them to see some of the movies my husband and I watched as we were growing up. So our youngest adores the Ghostbusters movies, I've lost count how many times he's watched them on DVD. So I decided to make him a cake with the Staypuft Marshmallow Man, since one of his other loves has always been marshmallows. This was the result:
My original plan wasn't to use fondant on it, but the cake thawed so fast in my non-air-conditioned house, and crumbs were all throughout the icing. Not pretty. Fondant hides things very well, so ta-da! Staypuft was easy and fun to make... just blobs of white fondant, held together with toothpicks... he was heavy though, and already starting to wilt as I was finishing him up... so, he took a snooze on a paper towel and stayed in the fridge for a rest. I propped him up on the cake quickly before snapping a couple of pictures, and presenting it to my son, whose jaw hit the floor when he saw it. He was picking out what parts of Staypuft he wanted to eat, only to be pleasantly surprised when I told him the whole thing was his to eat :) Of course, that made his day even better! (and he hasn't delved into it yet...)
And I am really liking the use of ribbon on my cakes... sometimes I don't want to use buttercream or fondant for trim, so this is a nice, clean way to add a little extra detail. The cake itself was a two layer yellow cake, with Jell-O No-Bake Cheesecake mix combined with whipped cream, and cherry pie filling in the center. Thinly iced with vanilla buttercream, and covered in black fondant. Letters and number are courtesy of Tappits, which can be purchased at Golda's Kitchen in Mississauga.
I have two more cakes to post this weekend, but not until Sunday... Stay tuned and stay sweet! ;)
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