Figgy Pudding

You can find tons of great Holiday Treat ideas here and on my Christmas Pinterest board...
Soooo, I thought for the last few weeks of this month I'd feature some traditional Holiday Foods from around the world!
Last week, Little C's teacher mentioned to me that she's like the class to try Figgy Pudding. My first thought was "Rum? Figs? Suet? Spices? Hours of baking?! This NOT a kid-friendly recipe!" However, we put together our own from many of the recipes out there and I sent it off to school...Little C came home happily reporting that the class LOVED it and she wondered if there was any more at home....!
So, here's our "kid-friendly" Figgy Pudding recipe. If your kids haven't tried Figgy Pudding yet, make a batch together, download Bing Crosby's version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and enjoy!

Figgy Pudding
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups dried figs
1/2 cup dried currants (can substitute dates)

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F. Whip butter until creamy then add molasses and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Add buttermilk and mix well. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix well. Add flour and mix well. Remove any stems from figs and chop figs and currants into fine pieces (I used the food processor!). Add figs and currants to batter mixture.
Bake in ramekins (25 minutes at 325 degrees), mini muffin tins (15 minutes at 325 degrees), or a large tube pan (1 hour at 325 degrees). You will know the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean. Serve with Ginger-Rum Whipped Cream (optional).

NOTE: We found that this actually tasted better the second day! The flavors had some time to combine/mellow and the cake had a nice texture.

Ginger-Rum Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rum extract
4 Tablespoons candied ginger, finely chopped

Directions:
Beat cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Fold in rum extract and ginger. Serve on top of Figgy Puddings.
A few fun facts: Figgy Pudding dates back to the 15th century but was most popular during the 1800s. It's traditionally made with suet (an animal fat found near their kidneys) but butter works for us. :) Steaming was the traditional way of cooking and would take 3-4 hours!

Push Pop Cakes

Ever since the Meringue Bake Shop created "Push Cakes", they've been taking the cupcake world by storm! I love this marriage of cupcakes and old-school push pops so we had to make our own... The hard part is finding the supplies, but I finally tracked some down! You can buy the little push pop containers wholesale here. Or, if you are just looking for a few, you can buy them here (more expensive but you can order fewer). I may or may not have just bought 200...which is a little excessive since I've been washing and re-using them. Update: a reader found them wholesale at Culinary Direct, it looks to be the cheapest if you want to buy 100. Thanks, Abby!These are SO EASY to make! Simply bake your favorite cupcake batter in mini muffin pans. Place one mini cupcake in each push pop tube... Top each with a swirl of your favorite icing. I used a Wilton 1M large star tip. Add some sprinkles... Top with another cupcake, another dallop of icing and more sprinkles. (note: the containers do come with lids but I left them off for the photo:)). The flavors we created in this batch were chocolate/chocolate fudge, mint chocolate chip and strawberry vanilla. My favorite was hands down the mint chocolate chip...yummy!

A huge thanks to Gourmet Dad for my fun new Push Pop Cake holder! We bought a 3-inch block of wood at the hardware store, drilled holes about 1/2" deep in it and spray painted it white. It looks so cute on the table, I'll be using it for all our parties and get-togethers this summer! Talk about a sweet centerpiece!

Fluffy Bunny Cakes

Spring is in the air and Bunny Cakes are everywhere! You will LOVE this white chocolate cake mix fix with fluffy marshmallow icing! The best part? One cake mix will make three bunnies! That means this year there will be enough ears for everyone. :) Everyone has felt the pinch of the economy in one way or another. This year, instead of spending a lot of money on expensive table decorations, how about whipping up a family of these bunnies to serve as centerpieces AND dessert?

Fluffy Bunny Cakes
Cake
1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix
1 box (3 oz) instant white chocolate pudding
2 cups sour cream
5 eggs
1 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

Icing
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Food coloring, optional

Garnish
3 large red gumballs
3 large marshmallows
6 round malt chocolate candies

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray or grease bottom of three 9 inch round cake pans.

Combine all cake ingredients except chocolate chips in large bowl. Mix until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter among three greased cake pans (make sure to use three pans or your cakes will overflow!).

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn over on wire racks to cool completely.

In a medium pan, combine sugar, water, cream of tartar and salt. Cook over medium heat until just boiling, stirring occasionally.

Place egg whites in large mixing bowl. Turn mixer on high and continue to beat while slowly pouring in hot sugar mixture. Beat until fluffy and glossy, about 7 minutes. Add vanilla.

Separate icing into bowls and color as desired.

When your cakes are cooled, cut in half. Use one half for the bunny face. Cut ears out of the other half, as shown below. One of the ears is longer, so don’t worry! Cut off the top and flip over to form a “folded ear”.

Divide icing into bowls and color as desired. I like to reserve 1 cup white for ears then tint three bowls pastel pink, yellow, and blue. Or, you can make your bunnies whatever colors you want to match your party!
Frost generously, using your knife to make peaks in the icing. Note: once the icing sets, don’t mess with it! You’ll ruin the smooth gloss. Use candies to create a bunny face, as below.

Lotsa Dots Cake and fun news!

I've met so many cool women participating in the Real Women of Philadelphia contest, among them Christine Buckley, who happens to own the uber-tasty cake mix company Cake Chalet (have you seen their flavors? Chocolate Waffle Cone? YUM!). She offered to join in our Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids project and donate some of ther super tasty mixes. How cool! Here's a cake I finished with my friend Shalece last night--I wish we could be there to see her family's faces when they get it! There are lots of amazing women participating in Real Women of Philadelphia, come join us!

I am just so amazed how much fun we've had with these cakes! It started as a little local project to do with my girls (we are working with Olive Crest) and I've heard of so many of you doing the same thing in your hometowns! Think of how many foster kids are getting some special TLC! Bravo to you!
Now, I think regular fondant tastes terrible, so this creation is covered in Marshmallow Fondant. Recipe is here. Yummy! The finishing touch is a spray of luster dust that really made the cake sparkle. fun, fun, fun!

And now, some amazing news! Our Finger Lickin' Healthy Food Cookoff will be up on Monday and I'll be.....in L.A. with Jenny from Picky Palate at a food day with Bertolli and Rocco DiSpirito! I can't wait! Thank you, Jenny!

Birthday Cakes!

We've had a fun family week of vacation!
We'll have a fun St. Patrick's Day treat idea up in the next couple days.
Here are a few of the recent Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids we've done. I've had lots of emails from you asking how you could get involved in your own communities, that's wonderful! I'll put the information at the end of this post for those of you who are interested.

A chocolate, flower, and ice skating-loving girl gets a chocolate decadence cake (made with Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge mix and this recipe) and all the decorations are made out of....what else...CHOCOLATE!:)

A Kentucky Derby Horseshoe cake for a horse loving girls whose favorite color is blue...

Little H LOVED putting the horses on the cake!
When I asked Little C what she thought of the cake, she looked at it for a long time then said slowly and diplomatically, "I really really like it buuuuut......um, why did you make it shaped like a potty seat??". I realized that she didn't know what a horseshoe was. lol!

My friend Shalece made this one--A "Strawbery and Steel" birthday cheesecake for a skateboard and cheesecake lovin' teen.
So, here's the rundown on our birthday cakes for foster kids experience and the system we've found that works...sorry, this is a lot of information, but I thought I'd share the things I've learned for those of you interested.
Making cakes for foster kids was new territory for us AND the foster care center, so we’ve been learning as we’ve gone along.
If you're interested, try the Yellow Pages to look for foster care agencies in your area. I’d suggest calling them, telling them that you know of someone who has been doing this project and see if it’s something they are interested in. Obviously you can’t make cakes for all the kids, but let them know how many you can do (maybe it’s only 1 per month) and have them pick the kids most in need.

Originally, Olive Crest got together and chose 3 children per month to get cakes (that’s how many I said I could do). They would give me the foster parent’s contact information and have me call and coordinate it. That did NOT work well for me. It was hard to communicate with them, arrange cake drop-off, etc—it was taking me longer to do that than to make the cake and was really frustrating.

At the beginning of 2010, we started this new system and it’s been working GREAT. The foster center emails the parents about 6 weeks ahead of time with the questionnaire below. If the family wants the cake, they have to return it at least 2 weeks in advance. I drop off the cake at the Foster Center at the specified date (by noon) and the foster family picks is up. It’s been great—I don’t actually have any contact with the foster families and it seems to go easier that way. Also, I have the freedom to create whatever cake we want from their responses. It’s more fun for us that way to have it be a surprise. Here’s a sample email below:

Hi ________,
You have probably heard that we have a volunteer who wishes to make birthday cakes for our foster kids. You can see examples at www.gourmetmomonthego.com. Your children have March birthdays coming up!!!
If you’d like to have a cake made for your foster child, please complete the following questions and return it to me ASAP. She likes to have this 1 month before the birthday.
If you do not wish to participate, just let me know.

1) child’s name:
2) birthdate:
3) date you would like to pick up the cake at Olive Crest in Bellevue (we will have it there by noon):
4) child’s favorite colors:
5) child’s favorite flavors:
6) any flavors they don’t like or allergies in the family?:
7) Child’s favorite hobbies:
8) Anything your child is passionate about?:
9) Other suggestions:

Penguin Party!

When it came to planning Little H's birthday party, I turned to one of my very favorite resources, BettyCrocker.com. They have so many fabulous birthday ideas, including instructional videos, shopping lists, party activities and games, and even invitations that can be printed from your home computer! I was trying to decide which way to go....a Fire Engine Party? a Perfectly Pony Party? Or, my favorite, Panda Bear Party. Well, for Little H it was Penguin Party or nothing! Hold on to your hats, we're packing in a LOT of PARTY in one post!:)

Fortunately, I found this adorable cheeseball on the Betty Crocker site! They also had tons of adorable penguin ideas! I began to think we might actually be able to pull this off!

For the cake, Little H wanted Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate with Vanilla icing. Good choice!
Inspired by the cheeseball, we made an igloo cake with penguin cookies. Instead of cream cheese blocks, we used marshmallows to decorate it. This cake was a snap!
I bought an igloo cake pan, however you could really just bake a cake in a bowl and use a single cupcake to form an igloo.
But, I bought the pan because it did double duty as the invitations, too!! We froze blue water in the cake pan with an invitation and a toy penguin inside (placed in a ziploc baggie). We dropped them off at friends' houses and told them to take it in the tub or melt it in the sink for a surprise. Cake? Check. Invitations? Check. Let's get on to the food!
Here's my verion of the penguin cheeseball. Definitely not as cute as Betty's but the kids loved it!
We also whipped up some rice krispy sushi for those fish lovin' penguins. Shape rice krispy treats into ovals, place a small swedish fish on top and wrap with a piece of green fruit roll-up. I used raspberry candies for the "roe" on a few pieces.
Easy and cute! These were a big hit with all the little penguins in attendance.
We also served ham/cheese and PBJ sandwiches cut out as penguins and fish (the girls gave me a penguin cookie cutter for Christmas and my friend Jean bought a fish one for the occasion!). Speaking of Jean, she did so much to help make everything, thank you!!
Blue Jello-Jigglers cut into cubes...these were "ice blocks"...
We served it all up with a table covered in rainbow popcorn! For activities, the kids each got to color and customize a grocery bag to hold all their game prizes. This kept the kiddos busy while everyone arrived.
With a little spray paint, posterboard, and craft foam, we turned a large cardboard box into a penguin! Not only did it serve as a fun decoration, the kids got to try to "feed" it by throwing fish shaped bean bags into its mouth.
Everyone had fun making her own penguin scarf. The Birthday Girl was very excited about them!
Gourmet Dad magically turned pieces of foam board into "icebergs" for Musical Icebergs. Here little A is anxiously waiting to see if her number is the winner!
A note on the "icebergs"--they were actually my favorite part of the party! Whenever I needed the kids to sit down or listen to instructions, I told them to go "find an iceberg" and sit down. They loved it! Great job, Gourmet Dad!
Penguin Bowling with a little set I found on clearance at Target...

...a strike!

Last, the kids went "fishing" by nibbling sweedish fish off strings without using their hands.

In addition to their game prizes (we wrapped every prize then let the kids open them after Little H opened her presents--they loved having their own "presents", too!), we sent home some black/white polka dot swag bags filled with goodies...

I even got crafty and made a few things for the bags, Organza Rose headbands (tutorial here) and personalized magnetic bookmarks (tutorial here).

The big question is, was it a hit? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words....

Happy Birthday Little H and special thanks to BettyCrocker for all the birthday ideas!

Betty Crocker, through MyBlogSpark provided us with VIP coupons, a gift card, and camera to document our birthday planning adventure. The opinions expressed in this post are honest and not influenced by any source. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Cars Birthday Cake & Giveaway

We haven't featured one of our Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids in awhile, so how about this super-cute Cars cake that went out today for an adorable little guy turning 3?

My uber-talented friend Shalece made this cake! She heard about what we were doing and wanted to get in on the fun. Boy, did she do an amazing job! She has a "strawberry skateboarding" cake in the works and my family is working on a "kentucky derby winner" cake. We're having a blast! Drop me an email or contact your local agency if you are interested in starting this kind of project with your family. Speaking of Shalece, she also makes these adorable Fortune Cookie Kits and gave me two of them. They have a template, recipe, DVD, fortunes, and are so much fun to make! So, I want to share!This giveaway is now closed.

I LOVED reading all your "fortunes"! Some were funny, some were touching, all were wonderful! This has been my very favorite giveaway. Shalece agreed to send TWO winners fortune cookie kits, here they are! Congrats!

Staci who said...
"I'd love to just find one that says "you are loved." It's always nice to be reminded!"

AND The Sneaky Mommy who said...
"I just found your blog--WOW! Love all the cute things going on here!
Fortune: I have loved you with an everlasting love."

HSM Strawberry Cream Cake

Here's our latest installment of
Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids!
Contact your local agency if you'd like to get involved. We've been working with Olive Crest, they are throughout the Western US and Pacific Northwest.

General Mills also just sent us 10 Betty Crocker Cake Mix and 10 Betty Crocker Icing coupons to support our family project. Thank you so much!

So, what do you put on a Strawberry Cream Birthday Cake for a sweet and sassy 15-year old foster girl?.....
Edible Pearls...

Gumballs...

Gold Sprinkles...

Hmmm...not enough....How about her two favorite Hollywood Hunks fighting over her on the red carpet? Perfect!

I actually printed the image on paper, laminated it, and put it on top. I would have done an edible image but I thought she might like to keep it. I'd want proof that Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu were fighting over me!;)

Now, Miss C is not a chocolate fan so I was a little out of my element. UNTIL, I came across this great recipe on AllRecipes. I tried it out and the taste was fabulous! I wish I could cut into the cake to show you a slice, but you'll just have to trust me. :) I changed up the icing to make it thick enough to pipe out, but this one is good as well.

Strawberry Dream Cake from Allrecipes
INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package Betty Crocker White cake mix
1 1/2 cups frozen sweetened strawberries, pureed
12 ounces cream cheese
8 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 pint sliced fresh strawberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9 inch round cake pans.
Make cake per directions except substitute the 1 1/2 cups of strawberries for the water and add 1 extra egg, (if cake mix calls for 2 eggs add 3), and 8 ounces of the cream cheese at room temperature. Beat well and pour into the prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center will not come out clean when this cake is done since it is so moist. Let cake cool fully before frosting.
To Make Frosting: Heat the heavy cream until just beginning to boil. Pour it over the white chocolate (chopped) and the remaining 4 ounces cream cheese. Mix well and let cool. Once cool fold into the whipped topping. Use to frost cooled cake and garnish with sliced fresh strawberries.
I printed a black damask on edible paper, but had a hard time with it puckering a little bit...that was my only disappointment. I have some ideas to get it better next time!

Great Job, Gourmet Girls!

Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids

So, our family's fun project for this year is....

Making Birthday Cakes for local foster kids!!
How cool is that?! I have been searching and searching for a local community service project that my young kids could participate in and have had no luck. Until......
We heard that there were local kids that had never had much of a birthday celebration and we knew we could definitely help out! I really admire people that are foster parents, they have such a tough job and share so much of their time, love, and talents. It's almost impossible to make every single child's birthday special. So, we have been working with our local agency and will be making a couple cakes a month--we'll feature some here for you.
This is a great family project, it's something we can all participate in! The kids can all help decorate and they have been so excited to help make someone else's birthday happy! Little H was a great helper!

If you're interested, contact your local foster agency and I'm sure you can set something up. If you live in the West or Pacific Northwest, we have been working with Olive Crest. You can contact them here.
First off is a birthday cake for Mr. C, an adorable little guy!
Of course he's never had a birthday cake, he's turning 1! He has 6 foster brothers/sisters living at his house, so we made two separate cakes. The first one is just for Mr. C, a huge fan of trucks:We bought an Eco Truck, filled the back with chunks of chocolate cake (Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge, yum!), and drizzled chocolate ganache on top. I wish I was there to see him get into it!

The family mentioned that they once had an "orange creamsicle" cake that they loved, so we made an orange jell-o cake for everyone (Betty Crocker French Vanilla Cake mix and orange jell-o), complete with an edible picture of Mr. C driving a truck.
Happy Birthday, Mr. C!