Coconut Cream Bundt Cake

1 box vanilla cake mix (15.25 oz.)

1 box instant coconut pudding (3.4 ounce)

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

2 teaspoons coconut extract

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Melted chocolate for drizzle. optional 

1. Place the cake mix, dry instant pudding mix, sour cream, extract, eggs, oil, and milk in a mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute on low speed and 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir the shredded coconut in by hand.
2. Spoon the batter into a greased 12 inch bundt cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a plate to cool completely.

1.  Store cake in a sealed container. Makes about 14 slices.

* I thought that this was good. If you really love coconut this is the cake for you. I thought that it had a little to much coconut taste so if I was to make it again I would either only use 1/2 coconut flakes or just leave them out all together. But it was a really moist cake and lasted for a few days still tasting fresh. I give it a 4

Sweet N Salty Cashew Chex Mix

1 c. butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1 (14 oz) box of Rice Chex cereal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 (8 oz) can of cashews

1 c. M&Ms (I used peanut)

3/4 cup craisins

1.In a small saucepan bring butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

2.In a brown paper bag combine cereal,craisins and cashews. Pour caramel mixture over cereal in bag. Fold top of bag over and shake. Place in microwave and microwave 2 minutes, remove and shake again. Repeat two more times.

3.Pour onto wax paper and sprinkle M&Ms on top of snack mix. Cool.

30 min Chicken Cordon Bleu Skillet Pasta

1 (12 ounce) package bowtie pasta
2 T butter
1 C chicken broth
2 C half and half
2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
2 tsp honey mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper
3 Tb sour cream
2 C cooked rotisserie chicken, chopped
2 C deli ham, chopped
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 1/4 C Italian Panko bread crumbs

1.Pour hot water into a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and cook  noodles according to the package directions.
2. Grab a deep skillet  Heat it up over medium high heat.
3. Add 2 tablespoons butter and allow it to melt completely.
4. Add 1 cup chicken broth, 2 cups half and half and 2 cans cream of chicken soup. Whisk it all together to combine.
5. Add 2 teaspoon honey mustard 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and some salt and pepper. Stir and bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Allow it to simmer for 4-5  minutes or until slightly thickened.

5. Chop 2 cups of cooked rotisserie chicken 2 cups of ham. Add the chicken, ham and 3 tablespoons sour cream to the skillet.
6. Add the cooked and drained noodles and stir everything together. Taste it and add more salt and pepper according to your own personal taste.

7. Lay 8 slices of swiss cheese over the top of the saucy noodles.

8. Grab some Italian Herb Panko Bread Crumbs. Sprinkle 1 cup of the Breadcrumbs over the top of the cheese.
9. Turn your oven to broil and put pan in the oven. Allow the cheese to melt and the breadcrumbs to get golden brown. This will only take a couple of minutes in the oven.


* I got this recipe from jamiecooksitup It was really easy to put together and tasted great I needed to add a little more salt and im not sure if I would use the panko next time but that was just personal preference I give it a 4

Berry Shortcake Cake

1. Cake
2. 2 cups all purpose flour
3. 1/4 cup + 2 tbs. cornstarch
4. 2 cups granulated sugar
5. 1 tsp. salt
6. 1 cup boiling water
7. 8 egg whites
8. 1 tbs. baking powder
9. 1 tsp. cream of tartar
10. 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Whip cream
2. 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3. 3 tbs. powdered sugar
4. 1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups berries I used strawberries and raspberries.

melted chocolate to drizzle if desired.

1. For the cake; preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
3. Once sifted slowly stir in the boiling water.
4. Allow batter to cool.
5. In the bowl of your stand mixer whip together egg whites, baking powder, cream of tartar, and vanilla until stiff peaks are formed.

1. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the cooled batter until combined.

1. Pour batter into three 8 inch cake pans.
2. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
3. Allow to cool.

1. For the whipped topping; allow stainless steel bowl and wire whip to chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Once chilled, on high combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of your stand mixer. And whip until stiff peaks form.
3. Place in refrigerator until needed.

1. To assemble; top first cooled cake 1/3 of the whipped topping.
2. Then top with 1 cup of the diced berries.
3. Repeat until 3rd cake is topped off with the remaining whipped topping and berries. And chocolate drizzle if desired.

* I got this recipe from sweetasacookie it tasted great. I added the raspberries and the chocolate. This was a messy cake and hard to cut but was really good :)

Minion Party

My baby just turned 4 and we had a huge minion party for here. Here are some of the items that I made for it. We had both the happy and evil minions at the party.

Vanilla Butter cream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)*
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if desired)

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl. Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.
• Note: if you want an alternate flavor of frosting, coconut or almond extract would be a great substitute for the vanilla extract, just add it to taste.
• *I use half salted butter and half unsalted butter (3/4 cup of each)

* This recipe makes a ton for frosting so you can easily half it and still have plenty for some cookies or a cake. But it was really smooth and tasted great.  You can store in refrigerator (up to 4 days) or freeze it for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator – never microwave to thaw).

Here are some tips for great butter cream frosting.

1. Really whip the butter. I am talking until it’s basically white. Really pay attention to the shade of the butter when whipping, making sure it becomes very very pale.
2. Use heavy cream. Cream makes everything better, and creamier of course.
3. Lots of butter.
4. Ratio is important, don’t add any more powdered sugar than listed or the proportions won’t be right and your texture wont be what I call perfect.
5. Don’t overdue it with the vanilla, add no more than 1 1/2 tsp. If anything reduce the amount. The beauty of the flavors of the buttercream comes from the butter. Basically it makes it taste like ice cream, it doesn’t need to be enhanced, just lightly highlighted.
6. Whip it some more. Once you add the cream you still want more air and fluffiness in there. This isn’t a one minute frosting recipe but I’m telling it’s well worth the time and patience invested.

* I got this recipe and all the tips from cookingclassy

Baby Shower Cake

Here is a cake that I made for a baby shower. I thought that I would share the idea. I used fondant to cover the cake and hand made all the fondant daisy's to cover the cake. Then used giant shimmer gumballs for the outsides and topped the top flowers with junior mints. For the cupcakes we used a vanilla bean frosting with more of the fondant flowers to top them with.