With Sprinkles on Top

A friend of mine mentioned the concept of a Poke Cake to me many, many months ago. I was bewildered. She describe it as, “OK, you bake the cake, and then poke it, and then pour Jello over it, and then stick it in the refrigerator.” Huh? I knew I had to give this one a try. Cake + Jello? Yes, please. This version is specific to the 4th of July, but you could use any Jello flavor(s) you’d like!

Red & Blue Poke Cake
Recipe source: Kraft Foods
Print Recipe

1 package white cake mix (plus required oil, eggs)
1 package red Jello (I used strawberry)
1 package blue Jello
Store-bought frosting or a tub of Cool Whip

1. Prepare cake batter as directed on box mix and bake two 8″ or 9″ cakes. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes. You will need two cake pans for this (if you want to be efficient; if time is no issue, you could use one).
2. Pierce each cake with a large fork or the point end of a meat thermometer at 1/2 inch intervals.
3. Empty the red Jello mix into one bowl and the blue in another. Add 1 cup of boiling water to each Jello mix; stir each color for 2 minutes or until the Jello is completely dissolved into the water. Stir in 1/2 cup cold water into each. Pour about half of the red mixture over one cake (don’t use all of the Jello mixture, as it will make the cake too moist… it’s just too much liquid for an 8″ inch cake). Pour about half of the red mixture over the other cake.
4. Refrigerate the cakes for at least 3 hours or overnight.
5. Remove the cakes from their pans and frost with icing or Cool Whip.

Note: These cakes will be incredibly moist! You can control this aspect by how much of the Jello mixtures you pour over your cakes. The more you use, the more moist the cakes will be.

I live in the Midwest, so the 4th of July is usually hot, sweaty, and humid. This colorful punch is a great way to cool down! Since many 4th of July celebrations include kids, this recipe is alcohol-free.

Ever wonder why the liquids will separate out into distinct layers? It has to do with the sugar content of each beverage used. More sugar = a more dense liquid. You can make many layers, but start your drink with the most sugar-filled liquid and go from there. This is also why a can of Coca-Cola will sink if you throw it into a pool of water, but a can of Diet Coke will float. Science! It’s fun!

Patriotic Punch
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Hawaiian Punch (red)
Gatorade (light blue)
[you can also add a clear layer on the top if you use Diet 7up or Diet Sprite]

This is pretty simple. Fill a glass with ice. Pour your most dense liquid into each glass FIRST. Again, the liquid with the most sugar will be the most dense.. and it will sit on the bottom of the glass. Pour the 2nd most dense liquid into the glass next.

Pour the blue layer slowly and carefully, as this will help to keep the liquids separated. If you pour too quickly, it’ll look like a mix of purple at the point where the two liquids meet [as seen in the photo above! I poured the Gatorade too quickly into the center glass. Lesson learned!].

The 4th of July is almost here! It’s one of my favorite holidays because it involves summertime, explosives, patriotism, and a whole lot of a good food. These cupcakes were inspired by a Betty Crocker magazine that I picked up at the grocery store. You can make them homemade or go super-simple (as I did) and use a box mix.

Sparkler Cupcakes
Print Recipe

1 box cake mix (plus required eggs, oil)
1 tub frosting (or a batch of homemade buttercream)
Red, white, and blue sprinkles
Red and blue candy melts
Wax paper
Piping bag

1. Bake the cupcakes according to box directions. Allow the cupcakes to cool entirely. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the candy melt squiggles.
2. Melt the candy melts in the microwave (or you can use a double-boiler). Be careful with this step otherwise they will burn. I microwaved my bowl of candy melts in 10-second increments and stirred after each increment. They will eventually melt and stir into a smooth mixture. Be patient with the microwaving and go slow.
3. Lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Fill a piping bag with the melted candy melts. Snip off a small corner of the piping bag & pipe out little squiggles of candy melts onto the waxed paper. Allow the squiggles to sit for at least an hour, preferably in a cool location.
4. Once your cupcakes have cooled, frost them with icing. Decorate the cupcakes with red, white, and blue sprinkles if you’d like. Carefully peel the squiggles off of the waxed paper and stick them into the cupcakes for decoration.

Happy almost-Father’s Day! My Dad loves golf more than most things on this earth, so I decided to make him golf in cake form. My Dad (and his side of the family) is where I get my love of food and cooking/baking from. He’s the one that receives my requests for home-cooked meals (my mom can barely boil water without incident)… he’s always first one in line to buy the latest and greatest products at the grocery store… he works in the food biz and has zero tolerance for bad food… and he’s the one who has taught me everything I know about the world of food (and what a wonderful world it is). I’ve learned many things from my Dad: Le Creuset cookware really does make a difference, the more expensive cuts of meat really are worth it, and if possible, get a glimpse at a restaurant’s kitchen (and if it’s a hot mess, turn around and leave). But most of all I learned to cook and feed people with love.

So here’s to all the great fathers out there. Enjoy your day!

And to my Dad, thanks for doing all of the holiday cooking at our house (if you hadn’t, our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter meals would be pizza); thanks for making me hamburgers and blue jello as a kid; thanks for making me an Easter bunny cake out of coconut, chocolate chips, and Chiclets; and because of you, I will always associate the smell of a home-cooked meal with love and good humor. Love you!

Father’s Day Golf Cake
Print Recipe

2 boxes cake mix (I made a three-layer cake, so I needed two boxes; if you want a two-layer cake, 1 box will be fine)
[plus required oil and eggs for box mix]
1 stick unsalted butter
1 stick salted butter
1 stick Crisco
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
4-6 Tablespoons milk
Green food coloring (I used Wilton’s gel coloring in Leaf Green)
1 grass piping tip (I used Wilton’s #233 tip)
1 shot glass
1 golf ball

1. Bake three 8″ cakes according to box directions. Allow to cool completely.
2. Make a batch of green buttercream icing. Cream the butters and shortening together. Slowly add the powdered sugar until well-mixed. Add the vanilla and mix. Add milk until you reach a desired consistency. Add small amounts of green coloring until you reach a nice, pretty grass green.
3. Assemble the cakes and spread a thin layer of frosting between each cake. Frost the entire cake with green frosting. Cut a out a small circle of cake and insert the shot glass into the cake. The shot glass isn’t absolutely necessary, but I found it helped to keep the inside of the cake from getting stale.
4. Using the grass tip, pipe “grass” around the bottom of the cake as a border, as well as on the top of the cake. Place a golf ball near the hole and you’re finished!

[My Dad’s family used to own a potato chip factory and potato chips remain one of my all-time favorite foods; the aforementioned bunny cake.. along with me sporting a stylin’ pink sweater vest and glasses; my Dad and I in New York last summer; also, my big secret is now out… I’m not a natural blonde!]

Hi all!

I am taking a mini, teeny, tiny hiatus from my blog. I will be back sometime in June with tons of fun summer treats & recipes! Reason for said hiatus is that I recently moved to Milwaukee and just need some time to get my ducks in a row and my life settled. Milwaukee is pretty great so far – yummy food, German heritage, and more beer than one knows what to do with.

See you all in June! And until then, enjoy this photo of the Italian sausage falling flat on his face at a Brewers game. Yes, we do sausage races at the bottom of the 6th!