Cake Bites

These little cake bites seem like they are all the rage right now. I made these to go along with my son's birthday cake. They are very rich; but delicious and very versatile. You can pick any cake mix flavor and any frosting you want. Mix and Match. Be Creative. Here's how I did it:

First bake the cake mix (I used the party chip flavor) in a 9 x 13 pan according to box directions. Wait until it is COMPLETELY COOLED, (I waited several hours even), and then just spoon out the cake mix into a big mixing bowl.

Spool a whole jar of frosting into the bowl and mix together. I used a small cookie scoop thing to scoop out the cake into balls, and then put on a cookie sheet to chill in the fridge. Let chill for awhile.

I used white melting chocolate to do this part, but you could use whatever you like. I melted it and then rolled the chilled cake ball into it and put some sprinkles on top. Then I also melted some milk chocolate, put it in a bag, snipped the end and made the zig zag design over the cake balls/bites.

Let the cake bites chill again until the chocolate has set. Then enjoy! My kids loved helping me make these.

Angel Food Cake with Fruit

So we have all had the well-known strawberry shortcake, and if you love that, but are looking for a new spin on it, this is your recipe!

Ingredients:

One angel food cake (I just bought mine)

2 (12 oz.) packages of frozen mixed fruit (mine was strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)

water and sugar (to make a simple syrup)

whipping cream and powdered sugar (if you are going to make homemade whipped cream)

First, to make a simple syrup, boil one cup of water and add 1-2 cups of sugar, depending on how sweet you want it. Let it boil for a minute while continuing to stir, till the sugar is dissolved. Then turn off heat and let it cool. Put the frozen fruit (semi-thawed) into a bowl and when the simple syrup is cooled, pour it over the fruit and stir.

To make homemade whipped cream, just add whipping cream (I usually add about 1 cup) to your kitchen aid (hopefully you have one or this will be a sacrifice of the arm to make), and whip it for about 5 minutes or so until it is light and fluffy. Then add desired amount of powdered sugar (I like it sweet so I add about 2/3 cup). You can add almond or vanilla extract (about 1 teaspoon each) to add a little flavor zing to it.

Fruit Cobbler

1 can of pie filling (I usually use peach, but any will work)

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cake mix (dry) (I usually use vanilla or yellow)

1 cup melted butter

In a 9x13 pan, layer ingredients in the order above. Bake 325 for 45 minutes. The original recipe calls for cherry pie filling with white cake mix. You can mix and match to make different creations.

Watermelon Cake

I thought this was a cute summery cake for fun, a party, whatever! It is super easy.

1 box cake mix (i used strawberry for the pink, but you can use vanilla with food coloring).

frosting (I used vanilla and colored half pink, half green

mini chocolate chips

Mix up the cake mix according to directions on the box. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Bake in the two 9" circle pans also according to directions on box. Cool completely and frost top with pink frosting and sides with green frosting. Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top.

Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

This is a very good recipe that is very fallish. I got it from

Rookie-Cookie.. Very cool blog, anyway, here it is:

Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

6 oz. (1/2 bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup boiling water

Whipped cream, for serving

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside. Melt chocolate chips in microwave.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix until incorporated. Stir in molasses and pumpkin. Finally, stir in the boiling water.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Blob half the chocolate in a swirl pattern. Pour on the remaining batter and then top with the remaining chocolate. Run a butter knife through the batter to better swirl the chocolate, but not until fully incorporated.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.