Essence,Fireworks & Birthday Cake

Not only was this 4th of July weekend, it was especially special because it was

My BIRTHDAY!!!! Yeap my birthday is July 4th and I turned 29 years old today.

I actually didn't have any plans for my birthday I decided that I just want to spend time catching up on some much needed R&R ,but to my surprise my sister-n-law, brother, and my nephews came in town and surprised me. They had a whole weekend filled with fun things for us to do, and not to mention it was Essence Festival here in New Orleans. They threw me a surprise party with ALL of my favorite things. Sorry I don't have any pictures I was having to much fun, but I did manage to snap a picture of the cake before everyone dug in(smile)

Today I woke up to over 50 Facebook Birthday messages, WoW! words can't describe how special I felt, So much happend in the year of 28. Let's see, I went Natural, I moved to New Orleans, I started school, I was in a relationship and learned so much from it,and I learned to trust God more. I'm so blessed and thankful for all the good and bad that happend in the Year of 28 and and if I had to do it all again, I wouldn't change anything. The good and the bad has made me a little bit better. I'm SO excited about my future and I'm looking forward to all the things that will come in the Year of 29!!!

Cake Please!

So, if you love cake as much as I do, your going to love this idea. I saw this recipe on another bloggers page and had to share it with my followers, so here you go hope you enjoy:


• Vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
• Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring



Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush six 9-inch-round cake pans (or as many 9-inch cake pans as you have, reusing them as necessary) with shortening. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper; brush again and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add egg whites and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and milk in two alternating additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the milk. Mix until well combined.

3. Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes (working in batches if necessary).

4. Remove cakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack; re-invert and let cool completely.

5. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the purple layer on the cake plate. Spread a scant 1 cup buttercream filling over the first layer with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with blue, green, yellow, and orange layers.

6. Place the remaining red layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

7. Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting

Pass the Pound Cake Please

Sooo today March 4,2011 is National Pound Cake Day and if you like Pound cake as much as I do your really going to LOVE this recipie courtesy of Catherine DeOrio. There called Pound Cake Pops, there sooo cute and even better, so easy to make

Ingredients
1 (16 ounces) package frozen pound cake
1 (12 ounces) bag white chocolate chips or white melting chocolate
20 4-inch lollipop sticks
Bag of shredded coconut, toasted
Preparation
1. Slice pound cake horizontally into 1-inch thick slices.

2. Use one-and-a-half-inch wide round cookie cutters to cut pound cake.

3. Place circles in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each pound cake round. Freeze 1-2 hours.

4. When ready to dip and decorate the pops, place shredded coconut into a separate bowl.

5. Place white chocolate into a large glass bowl in a double boiler set-up. Stir until chips are completely melted.

6. Dip each pound cake pop into the white chocolate, then sprinkle with coconut flakes.

7. Place back onto the cookie sheet. When you have decorated all the pops, chill until firm, about 1 hour.

How to toast the shredded coconut

Spread coconut flakes in a thin layer on baking sheet. Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes until coconut is toasted. Stir frequently as it cooks to prevent burning.