For My Not-So-Little Sister

My little sister turned 18 a little over three weeks ago. Crazy.
And now she has officially graduated from high school. Surreal.

I constantly find myself thinking how fast time has passed the last 18 years.
It literally feels like it was yesterday my dad called my brother and I from the hospital to tell us we had a new baby sister. My poor brother, who was hoping and praying for a little brother (apparently, I wasn't all that entertaining as a baby girl) thought my dad was joking..."Really, dad, what's my new baby brother's name?" I, on the other hand, would have been happy with a boy, girl, cat, dog, whatever, I was just ecstatic to have a new sibling.

Once a rough 'n tough tomboy (eh, she's still pretty tough), my sis has blossomed into a beautiful, young lady accomplishing so much in a matter of 18 years.
Happy Birthday and Graduation, Hannah Banana! Love you and proud of you so much. Thanks for being the little sister I look up to. :)

The whole "-4" thing dates back awhile ago. We were celebrating her birthday in Lawrence at my place and I was cheap smart and reused my birthday candles.

Moist Lemon Cake
adapted from Family Circle

1 lemon
3 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c. milk
6 oz. lemon yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line pans with waxed paper. Spray paper with cooking spray.
Zest lemon peel (about 2 tbsp). Juice lemon and set aside for frosting.
In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, yogurt and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at at time, beating well after each.
On low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture. Beat well after each addition. Fold in zest. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
Bake layers at 350 for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed lightly. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cake layers directly onto racks, remove and discard waxed paper and let layers cool completely.

Frosting

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
16 oz. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
yellow food coloring (optional)
(Note-this recipe for frosting did not yield near enough. I will double the amount the next time I make it.)

Once layers are cool, beat butter, 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the reserved lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons) and 2 tablespoons in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in remaining confectioners' sugar until good spreading consistency. Tint with a few drops of food coloring, if desired. To frost cake, place one layer on a plate or stand. Spread top of layer with 1 cup frosting. Stack second cake layer on first and begin frosting side of cake. Continue around side of cake, then finish top, swirling decoratively. Serve immediately or refrigerate before slicing and serving.

Hooray...the April Edition

More things to "Hooray!" for...

Hooray for glorious weather and days at the park.

Hooray for sisters that are beasts on the court. Don't mess.

Hooray for wishes.

Hooray for rockin' sweet shades at night.

Hooray for self-portraits and timers on cameras.

Hooray for coonskin hats.

Hooray for a good book and niece to curl up with.

Hooray for cereal. And fruit. Together. Yum.

Hooray for writing papers...

Psych. It's really quite unpleasant.

Hooray for royalty.

Hooray for Matt and Dave.

And a best friend to enjoy them with.

Hooray for strawberries.

And turning those strawberries into a scrumptious cake!

This is one of my all-time favorite cakes I make. Just in time for Easter lunch, dinner, dessert, whatever. It's the perfect spring dessert, just the right amount of sweetness and strawberries and it's gorgeous to look at. And the frosting...oh, man. I could eat it by the spoonful. But that's just not proper. Eh, forget that, where's my spoon?! Bake it, eat it, share it, enjoy it! :)



Southern Style Strawberry Cake
adapted from Joy the Baker and Sweets

1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix (without pudding)

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry jello

1 Tablespoon self rising flour

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To make the cake, combine to cake mix, Jello, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition Add the water and strawberries and mix well. Divide the batter evenly into three 8-inch round baking pans that have been oiled and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the layers pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the layers from the oven to wire racks. Let them cool, still in their pans, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the inside edge of each pan, then unmold each layer onto the racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

2 (1 pound) boxes powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)

pink food coloring

4 sliced strawberries

To make the frosting, in a bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Beat until soft and pliable and no lumps remain. Add one box of the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Beat until incorporated. Add the second box of sugar and mix until incorporated. If you would like a smoother consistency, and a slash of milk. If you would like a thicker consistency, and a bit more powdered sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.

Once the cake is frosted, you can decorate with the shredded coconut and sliced strawberries, or just one or the other! To die coconut place the coconut in a small bowl and sprinkle with two or three drops of pink die and mix with hands. Let dry then decorate!

Let Them Eat Cake!

My break is officially over. Bittersweet this is. I am glad to be back in town and around my friends. However, the thought of me starting classes tomorrow is daunting. Blah. Semester numero 8 is about to go underway. Hooray. (Are you sensing the sarcasm?) Enough about school, on to happier things.



I recently decorated cakes! Lots and lots of cakes. Ok, only like three, but dang, it was kind of tiring. My high school FACS teacher asked me to come and help decorate cakes for a raffle at a basketball game. I helped bake the cakes (a white, a chocolate and little white cakes) and decorated with the students for two days. I had such a fun time and I think the girls did too! :)

Meet Mrs. Frankenbery, or Frank as she is affectionately called at FHS.

Check out these little guys! Aren't they cute. Baked in a mold my mom got me from Avon.

The girls with their creations.


The decadent chocolate peanut butter cake I showed them how to make. Recipe comes from Bakerella. It's killer.


Basic white cake with snow white buttercream.




My hands were shaking ridiculously when I was piping the yellowjacket head. I'm pretty dang proud of it though.


The next cake was for some friends' birthday/graduation party.


It was a chocolate cake with a peanut butter filling (from the "Doctored Up Brownies!") and the snow white buttercream.




It was pretty dang good. So good I made it a second time. My dad said it tasted like a Butterfinger. I therefore dub it the "Butterfinger cake."


The "Butterfinger cake" was a hit at the party with no leftovers to be found.


My friends Jason, Mike and Bailey, in stick-figure form. They rock.

Oh, Hey, Hi...Cupcake?

Merry "Belated" Christmas and Happy New Year's, 10 days too late. I hope you all had fantabulous holidays with family and friends and got everything your little hearts desired. I've kind of gone off the grid the last couple of weeks and I apologize. To make up for my lack of shared, sugary delights, I give you my signature dessert, that my cousin Chris requests at all family gatherings, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting.


Terrific recipe from the always terrific Joy. A busy baking week lies ahead for me (cake decorating!). So keep an eye out for more posts!

Note, these pics are from this summer, BUT I've made these cupcakes twice over break.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
adapted from Joy the Baker

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tbsp. red food coloring
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. distilled white vinegar


Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in upper third of oven.
In bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Turn mixer to high and add egg. Beat until well incorporated.
In separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until well combined. Scrape sides of the bowl to make sure all of batter is incorporated with red paste.
Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth. Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar. Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.
Spoon batter into a paper-lined cupcake baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then place on cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.


Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Joy the Baker

2 1/3 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
scant 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Beat powdered sugar, cinnamon and butter together in bowl. Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium-high until incorporated. Turn mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until frosting becomes light and fluffy. (Do not over-beat! The frosting can quickly become runny.)