Saturday, July 26, 2008

Two for one

Yesterday was the birthday of my twin boys, Devon and Jalen. They turn 12 yrs old and so to celebrate their day I made two different desserts.

The first was Bakerella's Simple Sprite Cake with her recipe for buttercream. I followed her recipe exactly and was not disappointed nor will you be so try it. With the buttercream frosting instead of using vanilla extract, I used vanilla bean paste but added the same amount called for in the recipe. I've had it for a little bit and have been dying to try it. It was worth the purchase...cheaper than actual vanilla beans but you still get those yummy vanilla bean specks. I'm sure there is a difference in the taste between the vanilla beans and the paste but at this point I've yet to used actual bean pods so I don't know the difference.

The Twins didn't want to wait for me to beautify their cake with my new found cake decorating skills courtesy of Wilton's Cake Decorating (I. & II.) so I just threw some candles on it and we sung them Happy Birthday. Joe, the Twins, and Babygirl all loved the cake but Babygirl said the frosting was gross. Yes, those were her exact words. In my house they don't mince words. The kids give it to you, um, me straight. Here's another one to make you cringe, Devon's told me that if I continue to gain weight not to worry 'cause he'll still love me. I'm a SIZE 4! Okay, mind you I have gained some weight but if anything in the past I was underweight. I should also tell you this is coming from someone who has about 2 or 3 percent body fat. He's only 12yrs but he totally cut up. The guy has an eight pack! Okay, anyway, getting back on track. With the exeption of Babygirl and her "gross", the cake and frosting was a hit. This is deffinitely one of those recipes you can tweak to make different flavor combos and not go wrong. No matter how gross Babygirl thought the frosting was it's a keeper. More for me is what I say! Though I am shocked as she normally loves frosting.

The second dessert I made was a brownie recipe I found on the blog, The Crepes of Wrath. I made it my own, sorta, by adding a cream cheese marshmallow "floater" filling that I found on So Sinful it's Sweet. It is the filling for her The Devil Made me Do It cupcakes but the moment I read cream cheese and marshmallow I knew I had to use this in something. I was not disappointed.



*Cream Cheese & Marshmallow Floater*

8 ounces softened cream cheese
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup small marshmallows

Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and egg. Add vanilla and salt stirring and stir well. Fold in marshmallows.
**Side note: If using again for the brownies I'd add MORE marshmallows!


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