Tag: Baking

Categories
Party ideas

Adventure Time Party Prep

The kids have asked to have an Adventure Time themed birthday party this year. So of course I said yes. However then they both asked for a Lumpy Space Princess Cake. Have you seen Lumpy Space Princess? If you have you will know that she is an odd shape and not very easy to do in a cake. See image of LSP (Otherwise known as Lumpy Space Princess) below:

Lumpy Space Princess. Now you see what I mean about the odd shape. Of course the twins want a cake like this! I hope I can pull it off.
Lumpy Space Princess. Now you see what I mean about the odd shape. Of course the twins want a cake like this! I hope I can pull it off.

I have thought long and hard about the cake issue and the shape that LSP needs to be and wondered how to achieve it. I have concluded that the only way I can do it is with a whole bunch of cupcakes strategically positioned to look like LSP. I of course will have them with purple icing and one will have the yellow star and others with have the eyes and mouth. You get the idea. I have not practiced and plan to do it the day before the party. So that does not give me a lot of time. I’m being positive and I am seeing that all be fine… at least that is what I am telling myself.

Have you made a cake this shape before? Did you decide to do cupcakes and put it all together like I’m planning? Let me know.

So other than the cupcake birthday cake that I am going to create, what else am I going to serve for this party.

Food Ideas

  • Chips
  • Fairy bread
  • Dip with carrots, cucumber and crackers
  • Vegan chocolate cupcakes (these taste like mud cake and are so yummy)
  • Chocolate that has all sorts of sweets and eyes on it (it looks like it comes from the land of Adventure Time)
  • Fruit – Watermelon and Strawberries
  • I also have some sweets on offer that are standard at birthday parties and for the thank you bags

I also have 100% juice poppers and water for the kids as well.

Saw this online and had to give it a go. Step 1: Melt chocolate. Step 2: Pour chocolate onto baking paper. Step 3: Add decorations. Step 4: Wait for chocolate to dry and harden, then crack into little bits to serve for your party or as an addition to a cake. ‪#‎kids‬ ‪#‎partyfood‬ ‪#‎foundonline‬ ‪#‎birthdaypartyideas‬ ‪#‎kidsbirthday‬ ‪#‎twins‬ ‪#‎cooking‬ ‪#‎birthdayparty‬
Saw this online and had to give it a go. Step 1: Melt chocolate. Step 2: Pour chocolate onto baking paper. Step 3: Add decorations. Step 4: Wait for chocolate to dry and harden, then crack into little bits to serve for your party or as an addition to a cake. ‪#‎kids‬ ‪#‎partyfood‬ ‪#‎foundonline‬ ‪#‎birthdaypartyideas‬ ‪#‎kidsbirthday‬ ‪#‎twins‬ ‪#‎cooking‬ ‪#‎birthdayparty‬

 

 

Party Game Ideas

  • Princess Bubblegum says. I saw this on another website and it is just another variation on “Simon Says”. Instead of Simon you have Princess Bubblegum and she/he runs the game.
  • Scavenger Hunt or Quest. Place prizes around the park or yard and have clues to get to the next one. The last one is the biggest prize or just have a lot of little prizes to give everyone a little something.

 

I created 48 cupcakes today so that the kids could have a birthday celebration at school. Due to them being in different classes this meant double the cupcakes, however it will be nice that the kids have a moment to enjoy their birthday on their own in class.

Cupcakes all ready for school tomorrow.
Cupcakes all ready for school tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have a whole day of baking, tidying, and sorting things out to be ready for the party on Saturday. I will post a picture of the finished cake. All I can say is that I am sure it will be purple and of course lumpy. If it is exactly or more like the picture that will be a good effort, however we will see.

Have you been asked to make a weird shaped cake? Was it LSP? (Lumpy Space Princess) If so what did you end up creating? I would love to see photos.

If you would like to share your cake creations, please post the photos on Mummy to Twins Plus One Facebook Page.

 

Categories
Recipes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

For Christmas my mother in law gave me a box set of cupcake recipes. I have been wanting to try them out and especially the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe. I have never had red velvet cake or cupcakes so was very keen to give it a go.

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe
Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

As I have never cooked this before and had no idea what the outcome would be. I collected all ingredients to create my cupcake masterpiece and enlisted my two cute little helpers to help make a big mess in the kitchen. You can image the kids would be messy but it was me that was the problem. I managed to put a mixture of beetroot, water, lemon juice and vanilla extract onto the walls of my kitchen. Not only did I give my walls a nice purple addition, the kids got some of it as well. I was very happy that it all came off and no one is the wiser. Well they are now, since I have told you about it. (So be careful if you give it a go)

redvelvetcupcakes2,1

The girls were very taken with the fact that we were adding beetroot. I was wondering if you would taste it? In the recipe you do add cocoa and other things that will help take the edge off the beetroot taste. I was also keen to see if they looked a deep red like the recipe told me they would. Only time would tell… I had to continue making them to see if the instructions were right.

The kids helping me cook the red velvet cupcakes
The kids helping me cook the red velvet cupcakes

After all the mixing and adding the wet ingredients into the dry, the moment of truth was upon us. Will the mixture taste any good? As you can imagine the kids had to dip their fingers in for a taste. Lillian decided to go and have a spoonful and took a couple of goes and like it until it got a bit much for her. I tasted it and it was a bit sweet, but I thought due to cooking it might not be as sweet. Julia did not like the mixture and let me continue my test batch of red velvet cupcakes.

Trying the mixture.
Trying the mixture.

In the recipe it did mention that you can add more cocoa, and I did think of this but wanted to see how the recipe came out when you followed all instructions.

Cooked Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cooked Red Velvet Cupcakes

So what was the outcome?

I was not taken with them, but think I might need to try different ways of making red velvet cupcakes. Maybe more chocolate would take away the tartness or sweetness from the beetroot. Maybe less beetroot?

Do you love red velvet cupcakes? Do you add more cocoa to take the edge off the beetroot? What is your favourite recipe? How do I get them to be bright red?  Send in your tips and tricks.

Continue the discussion on our Twitter and Facebook Pages.

Categories
Recipes

Yummy Banana Bread

I made banana cake ages ago and it did not turn out just right. Today I ended up having so many over ripe bananas and thought, what can I do with these? Make banana bread? Banana cake/muffins? I did not want to just throw them out, so I gave it another go.

A new recipe was found and I have to disclose that I used Donna Hay’s recipe for Basic Banana Bread (I have not been paid to endorse this recipe or Donna Hay just tried it and thought it was great to share) and it was in fact very easy to follow and do with kids as well. My girls wanted to help me cook and one in particular was very fussy today and wanted to help mummy and stay close.

Over ripe bananas, just ready to be made into banana bread.
Over ripe bananas, just ready to be made into banana bread.

Before I knew it Lillian had jumped up onto the counter tops and was ready to help me make the banana bread. I helped Julia up as one could not just be up there. I was still organising all ingredients and did it while I followed the recipe as it made it easier.  The girls helped me.

The girls helping prepare the ingredients & sifting flour
The girls helping prepare the ingredients & sifting flour

The recipe called for the following(You can find this also on the link to the recipe above):

  • 125g butter, softened
  • 1 cup (175g) brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups mashed banana
  • 1¾ cups (255g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup (115g) golden syrup
  • butter, extra, to serve
The girls sifting flour
The girls sifting flour

The girls wanted to add an extra ingredient. What do you think they wanted added? Yep you guessed it chocolate. Hubby thought that banana bread would not be proper with chocolate bits, but I thought what the hell, why not give it a go.

One major failing was that I did not put in the golden syrup like the recipe asked for. This was neglected as I was too busy making sure super eager kids were not doing something they should not have! I only realised this fact after the tin with the mixture had gone into the oven. Oh well, I hope it tastes o.k.

I had a long wait until after dinner and then had to taste my banana bread. Will it be o.k? Will it be something that really needed the golden syrup, would the chocolate bits work? Who knew? It ended up being very yummy and I did not miss the golden syrup that I had missed out adding. Maybe when I make it again, I will add it. This way I will know what the taste should be and if I like it better without or with it.

The banana bread was delicious and the missing ingredient and the added chocolate worked so well. How good am I, and of course my wonderful assistants.
The banana bread was delicious and the missing ingredient did not seem to matter, and the added chocolate worked so well. How good am I, and of course my wonderful assistants.

Have you made a winning banana bread recipe? Did you change it to suit you and the family? Or did you accidentally forget something that made it different and more you? Send in your comments. Thanks to Donna Hay for the wonderful recipe and giving us a yummy desert tonight.