Thursday, July 19, 2012

Summertime & Cake Batter

Summertime always makes me think of birthdays. No, my birthday is not in the summer, but birthdays that fall in the summer generally don’t run in to any other holiday or commercialized season, so they seem to just be able to encompass everything birthday and nothing else. My family also has a TON of birthdays in the summer, so we always got together during the summertime to celebrate them.

Birthdays remind me of cake and ice cream, and cake and ice cream make me want to bake something combining both cake and ice cream. So I will be sharing with you my favorite ice cream themed cake recipes! Also, I like to bake a lot of cake batter recipes, and if you are not as obsessed with cake batter as I am, you might be after reading this post. Cake batter anything is so freaking phenomenal. Plus, cake batter treats really are the PERFECT summer birthday dessert. The soft yellow cake color provides the perfect background for the bright, fun, rainbow-colored sprinkles to really pop!

Enjoy! And happy birthday to any summer birthdays out there!

Cake Batter Blondies

Ingredients:
Cake
1 box Funfetti (or yellow) cake mix (add 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles if using a yellow box)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 up milk
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Sprinkles for the top
Frosting
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
2-3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar (more or less depending on how thick/runny you like it)
3-4 drops red food coloring to get desired pink color (optional) or use other colors if desired
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Combine the cake mix, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Add the milk slowly – you want the batter to remain as dense as possible. Mix in white chocolate chips (add the rainbow sprinkles here if you are using them). Spray pan (either 8x11" or 9x9" pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Dump batter in pan and spread to the edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. They will be a little soft/gooey in the middle- just let them sit for about 20-30 minutes and they will set. Frost when cooled (if adding frosting).
To make frosting: Combine all ingredients until well-blended. Spread on top of blondies.
From: girlmeetslife (cake) http://www.sixsistersstuff.com (Frosting)


Cake Ball Cones




Cakesicles!


Just need a standard cake recipe for this one and a cakesicle pan. You can find them online or at specialty stores. I'm willing to bet Williams-Sonoma has one too! Once you have your cakesicle pan and your cute little cakesicles all baked up, put 2 of them together with frosting and then dip them in a candy coating (I like to use Candy Melts, you can find them at Michael's and Hobby Lobby). Before the coating dries, sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles, or whatever sprinkles you are decorating with. Insert a popsicle stick* (you can find wooden craft sticks at places like Michael's, that's where I get mine) and voila! Cakesicle!

Picture from: http://bakingbites.com/2009/03/cakesicles/

*I'm not sure if you can bake the cakesicle with the popsicle stick already in place, but that's what I do with my cookie pops (recipe and pictures for those bad boys later!) and they come out perfect! I know it sounds weird putting a wooden stick in the oven, but trust me, it works!

Alright my hollies, enjoy and happy caking!