The process is fairly simple. Make the cake pop mixture by mixing together cooked cake and icing. To make the Lego men, I took a fairly large amount of the mixture and rolled it out using my rolling pin to about 1″ thick. I used a small circle cookie cutter to cut out pieces. Then I used firm pressure to roll the circles in between my hands to make a cylinder (like a tiny soda can). Freeze those pieces for about 15 minutes. Dip a lollipop stick into melted chocolate and insert into the bottom of the cylinder. Squeeze a small dot of melted chocolate onto the top of the cylinder and top with a mini M&M. Freeze those for about 15 minutes. Dip the entire cylinder into yellow candy melts and gently tap off excess. Freeze for another 15 minutes. Use a food-safe marker to draw faces of your choice.

Have fun with the faces. I am not good at drawing, but I let go of that for a little while and used a little creativity – and my little ones – to make some cute faces. Enjoy!!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Are there recipes you’d like to see on here? New things I should try? I’d love to hear from you.

The sprinkling of coarse sugar on top really does make a difference for these muffins. It adds a great crunch, so don’t skimp on the sprinkling

These muffins come together very quickly. I’ve since made a few extra batches, cooled on a cooling rack, and put into freezer bags in the freezer. Warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave, you’ve got a quick treat for breakfast or snack. I may have been using these to fulfill chocolate cravings… Enjoy.

Soft, buttery shortbread, topped with a thick layer of caramel made from condensed milk (I could just eat it out of a can, not that I would :0), finished with a layer of decadent dark chocolate, and sprinkled with smoked sea salt. Oh my. My mouth is watering, wishing I had some in the kitchen now. But these are super dangerous in my kitchen. I have no will power when these are around.

The one caution I have for you is to make sure you aren’t doing anything else while making the caramel layer. You must stir constantly so the bottom doesn’t brown faster than the rest of the pot of caramel. Trust me.

In the end, I really liked how the cake turned out. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a learning experience. I even managed to talk myself into realizing that it was more than a learning experience; it was a life lesson. Yes, I get life lessons while baking cakes.

The technique I used to decorate the top layer of the cake really couldn’t have been easier. Actually, I found it quite fun and much less frustrating than trying to frost it smooth using a frosting that was more on the runny side than it should have been. I used an open star tip, like Wilton 17, and made s curves and c shapes to fill in any open spaces. I didn’t work hard at lining anything up, just making it all kind of random.

I frosted the bottom layer as smooth as I could, given my frosting was less than ideal for that application. Then, I added blue mini M&Ms for fun.
Are you wondering what life lesson I learned that day? No, well I’m gonna tell ya anyway. I have to say this is a lesson that I’ve learned before. I find that even adults have to be taught a lesson more than once before they fully ‘get it’ sometimes. I tend to live my life as a perfectionist. But it’s ok for me to let go of that perfectionism sometimes. And in doing so I free myself up to try new things. Even if things don’t turn out the way I planned, the end result might be even better than what I thought. So give it a try next time something isn’t going as planned; let go of the perfectionism, and try something new. You might like it!

Did you have Funfetti cake mix cakes growing up? I have to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had a cake made with it. Gasp. I’ve seen the boxes at the grocery store plenty of times. The box looks like fun. So, when I saw this recipe for homemade Funfetti cupcakes I knew I couldn’t go wrong.

 And what better pairing for sprinkle-enhanced cupcakes than a luscious, dark chocolate frosting? Fun and decadent…You are very welcome.

I do not generally like recipes that include vegetable shortening, but it works very well in this recipe.

Of all water wells that have been drilled in India in the last 20 years, 1/3 are now broken. Sad. Not having clean water, super sad. Dying from unclean water, absolutely tragic!

The Adventure Project is all about helping people. It’s not just about helping people to get clean water, though. It’s about training people to be able to get clean water for themselves. It’s about helping people to become self-sustaining. It’s about helping people earn a living. It’s about helping people help others.

The goal of The Adventure Project is to train well mechanics. It takes only $550 to train one well mechanic. In the process of training that one mechanic, 50 wells can be maintained and cared for. This, in turn, will get clean water to 5,000 people. That is amazing!!! For $550, a well mechanic will receive training, tools and spare parts, and a one year stipend to help launch a new business. For $550 we can get clean water to 5,000 people and keep 50 wells up and running. Wow!

I love the thought of helping someone to get something they need, like clean water. I know I totally take my clean water for granted every.single.day… But what I really love about The Adventure Project is that not only does it help provide clean water, but it trains people to help themselves. It changes lives.

So, how about helping me help The Adventure Project to help train well mechanics in rural India to help themselves get clean water to 5,000 other people? Today, all donations will be matched, up to $25,000. Can you spare $5, $10, or more? Maybe that Starbucks coffee you are drinking right now (with clean water, I might add) can be your last one for a few days, and you can put that money into helping train well mechanics? Can we raise $550 today and train one well mechanic? I’m up for the challenge. Are you? I’m up for changing lives. Are you? Go here to donate.

To make Pirate cake pops, begin by making a cake and icing. Mix the two together to make the cake pop mixture. I use a Tbls scoop to get uniform amounts of cake for each cake pop. Let those get firm in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Roll each cake pop into a round ball. Dip a lollipop stick into chocolate, and insert into bottom of cake pop. Let those get firm for about 15 minutes. Dip in white chocolate or white almond bark. After that is firm, dip the top portion into red candy melts. Add dots of white chocolate dots. Use an edible marker to make the face. Voila, PI-rate cake pops.

We will be celebrating Pi Day at home tomorrow by having Cheeseburger Pie for dinner and mini apple pies for dessert. So, hop to it and plan a pie feast for dinner tonight.

This time, I chose to top a perfect chocolate cupcake with an equally amazing Vanilla Latte Frosting. Here’s the thing, I don’t like coffee. I am not one of those people that need caffeine to function in the morning. Crazy, right? I sometimes wish I liked the stuff because so much of it smells so good. What’s a girl to do? If it ain’t yo thang, it just ain’t yo thang. This frosting, however, is a-maz-ing! It’s not your typical over-the-top, sweet buttercream frosting. This is an ultra-smooth, just-sweet-enough, silky Swiss Meringue Buttercream, with a hint of cinnamon and coffee.

A Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) does take a bit longer to make. But for me the end result is more than worth the effort, especially for a special treat. You can expect to stand over a double boiler whisking egg whites for a little while as they attain a safe temperature. You can also expect to stand over a mixer slowly adding bits of butter while wondering if the curdled mess in your bowl is ever going to turn in to something edible. But I promise that your patience will be rewarded.

The chocolate cupcake recipe below yeilds 36 cupcakes or 3-8″ layer cakes. I know that is a lot of cupcakes for most people. I need to work on tweaking the recipe to make fewer. In the meantime, make the whole amount and share the love with your neighbors ♥ And I always double the frosting recipe because SMBC freezes beautifully. So the next time I have a hankering for something super special, the frosting will already be done.

If we’re being honest here, I am not a huge red velvet fan. I am from the South, but the first time I ever tried anything red velvet was sometime in the last 3 years. My children love it, though. I gave my daughter and her best friend a cupcake lesson several months ago, and the chosen flavor was red velvet. The recipe we used was ok…meaning not great. The kids liked it just fine. One child even wanted it for his school birthday treat, but I think it was more because his sister could make them for him rather than being an awesome cupcake. Said recipe used no butter and lots of oil. And I totally thought they tasted, well, greasy. I’ve been searching for another recipe to try. Enter this tasty morsel.

This recipe uses butter and no oil. I also used less red food coloring than the original recipe called for to cut back a bit on any funky taste that it can sometimes add. The resulting cupcake is more chocolaty than other red velvets I’ve had, moist, and not at all greasy.

The star of the show for me, though, is this frosting. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I’m going to try to find words to describe this frosting, but I know they won’t do it justice. This frosting is smooth, not too sweet, creamy, and the perfect compliment to these cupcakes. I’ve never made a frosting using Mascarpone and wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. There is a hint of tang from cream cheese. And even though it is a whipped frosting using whipped cream, the texture of the frosting isn’t “whippy” as my friend Beth would say. You really must try it.