No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream Topping

Yield: One 8" cheesecake
Ingredients

• 1 no bake cheesecake mix
• 1/2 cup 100% pumpkin puree
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 8 oz. of heavy cream

Directions

• Follow the package directions on the cheesecake mix, but add 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice to the milk called for in the directions. 
• After mixing the graham cracker crust, set 1 Tbsp. of crust aside in a small bowl. 
• While the cheesecake is setting up in the refrigerator, pour 1 cup of cold heavy cream into a mixing bowl. 
• Beat on high until the cream begins to thicken slightly. 
• Gradually add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. 
• Continue to beat on high until the cream thickens and forms creamy, stiff peaks. 
• Spoon onto the cheesecake filling and spread evenly. 
• Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of reserved graham cracker crust over the top. 
• Refrigerate until time to serve. 

Enjoy a slice of homemade happiness on a plate!

Two going on twenty.: "Some Pig!" cupcakes for Charlotte's Web

Two going on twenty.: "Some Pig!" cupcakes for Charlotte's Web: The one thing I love baking for as much as preschool snack day are school bake sales! ESPECIALLY when there is a theme involved.  My bonus ...

SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole

I love any dish that contains potatoes, ham, eggs, and cheese.
When I found this make and bake casserole recipe, I was thrilled to try a new recipe using four ingredients that I LOVE. Of course, I had to give it my own twist - cream cheese. 

Who doesn't like cream cheese? 
The addition of cream cheese makes this an indulgent and hearty version of a crust less breakfast pie that is not low calorie, but is low in carbs. It is perfectly suitable for breakfast or supper. 

I want to repeat what I already said though - This is not a low calorie dish.
However, I am tracking carbs AND staying below 2000 calories a day. I save calories to enable a calorie splurge that satisfies my craving for ham and potatoes surrounded by luscious, cheesy eggs without having them fried in oil, or butter. Baked is better, don't you agree?

An 8"x1" round cake pan yields four wedges of  hammy, cheesy goodness with 10.5 carbs and 387 calories a wedge.

Remember, I said it was low carb and the entire pan only has 42 grams of carbs! 

Two Tips to Use With This Recipe 

1. Have a left over baked potato? Remove the skin, dice the potato, and store it in the refrigerator for a day or two.  Add the diced potato to a soup or casserole.
2. Mix the casserole ingredients up to 24 hours ahead of time. After spooning the ingredients into the pan,  wrap it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. When you want to bake the casserole, remove the plastic wrap, and pop the cold casserole into the cold oven and let it preheat with the oven. Set your timer for 25 minutes once the oven temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole  Recipe                              Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of cooked ham, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 large eggs and 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 baked or microwaved potato, peeled and diced about 1 cup
• 1/3 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease an 8"x1" round pan and set aside.
• Put diced ham, onion, potato, shredded cheeses, and cottage cheese into a medium bowl.
• Stir gently until the mixture is blended well.
• Combine the beaten eggs and egg white with the cream cheese pieces and stir until the cream cheese pieces are well coated with the beaten eggs
• Pour the eggs and cream cheese over the ham mixture
• Add seasonings and stir gently until blended well
• Spoon the mixture into greased 8' round pan and put the pan into the preheated oven
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and bubbly.
• Change the oven setting from bake to broil.
• Broil the top of the casserole for 2-3 minutes, or until the top looks like the picture. 
• Take the casserole out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing into 4 wedges. 

Enjoy a slice of homemade happiness on a plate!

Oat Flour Sweet Potato Pancakes - A Gluten-Free Recipe

Golden brown and delicious oat flour sweet potato pancakes.
These pancakes are approximately 3.25 inches in diameter.

This morning Bill and I tried out this recipe that I adapted from superhealthykids.com. My changes are the gluten-free oat flour, ground flax seed, and honey. 

The pancake texture is denser than a traditional pancake and reminds me of bread pudding. The cinnamon, sweet potato flavor is only enhanced by the slightly nutty flavor of the ground flax seed. 

Yield and Nutrients
6 pancakes, 3.25 inch diameter
112 calories and 19 carbohydrate grams for each pancake
Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup, cooked sweet potato, mashed with a fork
2. 1 cup 1% milk
3. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4. 1/2 tsp.  vanilla extract
5. 1 large egg
6. 3/4 cup rolled oats, blended into oat flour
7. 1 Tbsp. raw flax seed, ground in a blender
8. 2 tsp.  baking powder
9. 1/4 tsp. salt
10. 1 Tbsp. honey

Directions Step 1

• Put 3/4 cup rolled oats into a blender. Use the grind setting and pulse into flour.
• Put oat flour in a medium mixing bowl.
• Put 1 Tbsp of flax seed into a blender and pulse with grind setting
• Add the ground flax seed to the oat flour and set the bowl aside.

Directions Step 2

• Put the first five ingredients into a blender.
• Blend on stir setting for about 20-30 seconds
• Add the liquid ingredients into the oat flour mixture and stir until well blended
• Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken up.
• Add more milk if needed to thin down the pancake batter.
• Then pour 1/4 cup batter onto a hot griddle for each pancake. Use a lower temperature than a wheat bas
• Flip pancake when it begins to bubble and is browned.

 Note: Sweet potato browns quickly so make sure your griddle isn't too hot. 

Homemade breakfast pancakes  = homemade happiness on a plate!

Learning My Carb Counting Range and More

Life-long learner is a term that describes me well. 

A new project, or interest means I will immerse myself into learning and studying how to accomplish the task, or interest. This isn't just a passing phase, this is a part of my personality

Learning a new way of eating means I will devote myself to the initial learning and then keep myself updated. 

Online Research

First, I researched online to find out what types of food I needed to be eating and what type of plan would work well for me. Websites by individuals can be helpful, but my initial search for information was from research-based websites, like the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The article that helped me shape my eating plan is linked to the NIDDK link above. 

Now on to carb counting.

I found a 15 pg. PDF booklet at www.lillydiabetes.com that I am finding to be very helpful and it has links to additional resources included. 

According to the booklet, most women need 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates at each meal. This means the carb counting range for me is a total of 135-180 grams of carbs. 

I can easily count my carbs because I am using the LoseIt! online website and app to help me track what I eat. 

I hope you find this information helpful. I am finding that I can eat more food than I want and I am still losing weight and within my carb range. 

First Time Putting Spinach in a Smoothie

I made my first ever smoothie with spinach in it!
The taste was mango/strawberry with a hint of another flavor and surprisingly good. The luscious, thick smoothie was GREEN.

Go ahead and laugh, I don't mind.
If you have been hesitating about putting spinach in a smoothie, quit hesitating and go for it! The results will surprise you, I promise.

Recipe   Yield: One 10-12 ounce smoothie

• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1 handful of spinach I didn't grab a fistful, just reached into the bag and picked up spinach leaves between my fingers and thumb.
• half of a diced mango
• 3 fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced. 

Directions
Put all the ingredients into a blender, or processor and blend until smooth and thick.
Pour into a 10-12 ounce glass and enjoy your smoothie!

Never tried using a mango and don't know how to cut it up? 
Watch the video below and you will be ready to slice and dice a mango.

#spinachsmoothie #eathealthy 

A New Food Journey Begins

Prediabetes
I have known that I have a high risk of developing sugar diabetes because during my last pregnancy, I developed gestational sugar diabetes. After the birth of my daughter, it went away. However, I recently found out that I have an elevated glucose level and my doctor wants me to eat healthier and exercise more. 

A New Food Journey - The Dinner Plate Eating Plan

After a little research, I decided to adopt the dinner plate eating plan. This plan fits in with my lifestyle and will help me eat consistently no matter where I am. The picture below shows how to mentally divide your plate into sections and what type of food to put in each section.

Today's Breakfast and Lunch Menu

• Breakfast: Overnight oats without any dairy, half of a mango,diced;  two large strawberries, sliced thinly; and  1 Tbsp sliced almonds. I put the half cup of oats on the bottom with an equal amount of water and layered the fruit and nuts. I added an additional 1/2 cup of water. Honestly, it needed a sweetener. Next time, I am adding a tsp. of honey. 
• Lunch Salad: 2 cups of chopped spinach and romain lettuce,  a small amount of thinly diced red onion, 2 large strawberries, sliced thinly; 1 Tbsp. of raw pumpkin seeds, and 1 Tbsp of lite raspberry vinaigrette. I was still hungry 15 minutes after I finished the salad, so I made a folded cheese quesadilla with one whole wheat tortilla containing 1 ounce of melted Colby jack cheese and ate it slowly - 10 chews per bite. 

Tonight I took a picture of my dinner plate. 

• The top half is filled with homegrown green beans and diced tomatoes, the non-starch vegetables
• Bottom left quarter has baked sweet potato fries, a starchy vegetable
• Bottom right quarter has my protein, Melt-in -Your-Mouth BBQ pork ribs that are baked in foil, unwrapped and brushed with BBQ sauce, then broiled on each side for about 2 minutes.

Drinks
I already drink black coffee by choice during the morning. For afternoon and evening,  I am now adding lemon juice to my water because the lemon juice will help lower my blood glucose level.
Exercise
A formal workout isn't part of my day at this time. To add more walking to my day, I am parking my car at the end of each store parking lot that I visit. Push mowing for 20 minutes instead of using the riding lawn mower the whole time has added more exercise into my day. Another way I am planning on incorporating exercise into my daily routine is to do leg lifts while watching TV in my recliner and to do some walking in place while watching TV. 
Two Weeks and 6 Pounds Later
I started my new meal and exercise plan two weeks ago. Yesterday, I decided that my clothes had definitely become a little looser around my midsection and hips. With some hesitancy, I took out  the bathroom scales to see if I had shed some pounds. I am happy to share that the fit of my clothes was from being six pounds lighter! 

I am still serving some homemade happiness on a plate; it is just a lighter version of homemade happiness on a plate!

 #prediabetes #dinnerplateplan 

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July 2017

Father God I ask that you protect Americans everywhere as they travel and go about their holiday business. Let us remember that this is a Christian nation, under your Lordship Father. Amen. 

Pineapple Mug Cake

Enjoy pineapple mug cake in or out of the mug! 

The texture of this mug cake isn't nearly as dense as most of the made-from-scratch mug cake recipes that I have tried. I feel like this is a great way to make small servings of cake.
Yield: about 2 - 12 ounce servings, or about 4 - 6 ounce servings

1. Two 12 oz. mugs
2. Crack a large egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork until the yolk and egg white are blended fairly well. 

   

                                               One large egg makes about 3 Tbsp. of beaten egg.

Measure the following ingredients into each mug:

• 6 Tbsp pineapple cake mix
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp melted butter, or melted shortening. Canola oil may be used too. 
• about 1 1/2 Tbsp. beaten egg
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

  

  Ready to stir.

Directions

• Stir ingredients in each mug together for about a minute, or until smooth and well blended.

  

  Smooth and well blended. Ready to microwave.
• Place mugs into microwave  and cook for 3 minutes. Cooking time is for a 900 - 1000 watt microwave. 
• The cake will rise to the top of the mug.

  

  Immediately after microwaving 3 minutes.
• Remove the mugs from the microwave and allow to cool 2-3 minutes.

  

  After cooling 2-3 minutes, the mug cake can be turned out of the mug. 
• At this point, you can turn the cake out onto a plate, or you can leave the cake in the mug.

  

  The mug cake slips out of the stoneware mug easily. The mug wasn't oiled or greased.
  Top with a topping of your choice and enjoy!

Cake Mix Mug Cake - A Five Minute Mug Cake

I decided to Google the phrase, cake mix mug cake.
Yep, a few of you have tried this idea out too, BUT I don't think anyone else has had such excellent results as I have.

Why? Because I actually use ideas from more than one mug cake recipe. Yep, I did what I do best...take inspiration from more than one recipe and combine them into a new recipe.
Storing Cake Mix for Mug Cake Use

• Measure out 6 Tbsp. of cake mix into an individual, zip top sandwich bag. Repeat.
  
• Roll the bags tightly and zip the tops closed. 
• Place the rolled bags of cake mix back into the cake mix box to store for use at a later time. 

A 15.25 ounce package of cake mix will make about 7 mug cakes.
A 16.50 ounce package of cake mix will make about 8 mug cakes.

I hope you will try my cake mix hack - Cake Mix Mug Cake.

Recipe for a Five Minute Mug Cake

Yield: about 1 - 12 ounce serving, or about 2 - 6 ounce servings

Directions:

• Crack a large egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork until the yolk and egg white are blended fairly well. 
  
  One large egg will yield about 3 Tbsp. of beaten egg, just enough for 2 mug cakes!
• Set aside.

Measure the following ingredients into a 12 ounce mug:

• 6 Tbsp cake mix, any flavor
• 3 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp melted butter, oil, or melted shortening 
• about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the beaten egg 
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

• Stir ingredients in the mug together for about a minute, or until smooth and well blended.
• Place mug into microwave  and cook for 3 minutes. Cooking time is for a 900 - 1000 watt microwave. 
• The cake will rise to the top of the mug.
• Remove the mug from the microwave and allow to cool 2-3 minutes.
• At this point, you can turn the cake out onto a plate and slice it into two portions, or you can leave it in the mug for a 12 ounce serving. 
  
• Top with the topping of your choice and enjoy!

Sallee's Six: July Pie Crust Designs

Use this technique with star cookie cutters for a 4th of July pie.

Pretty pies feed your eyes.
Just looking at pictures of gorgeous pie crust designs makes me want to get my rolling pin and bake a pie or two.

Listed below are five sources for pie recipes and pretty pie crust designs that I like.
Not a pie lover? Look at number 6.

1. MarthaStewart.com has 12 piecrust designs to share with you.                           Click Here
2. Sally over at Sally's Baking Addiction not only has an American Flag piecrust, but the pie has a blue fruit filling and a red fruit filling.                                                           Click Here
3. How about a Blueberry Peach Pie with a gorgeous crust?                                   Click Here
4. Food Network has some great new designs for apple and pumpkin pies.          Click Here
5. Ashton over at Something Swanky has a great recipe for a 4th of July Berry Pie that uses two purchased pie crusts. The top crust has cut out stars and the pastry star cutouts are layered on the crust.                                                                                                        Click Here
6. Not a pie lover, but you love crust? Bridget of Bake at 350 will show you 4 new ways to use pie crust.                                                                                                                   Click Here

Here is my never fail pie crust recipe     Click Here for the recipe

SalleeB's Pizza Casserole

Looks like pizza, but it has a pasta crust!

Bill is not a fan of casseroles. 
However, this casserole won him over because the bottom layer is a tender, angel hair pasta "crust" topped with pizza toppings. A perfect bite contains an even amount of the pizza toppings and the angel hair pasta.
Wow, what a way to make your mouth happy!
Customize this recipe to make your favorite pizza in a casserole! 



Simply substitute a pound of your favorite meat, or a combination of meats. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients   
This recipe can be downsized from a 13" x 9" pan to a 9" round or square pan.  Simply use half of each listed ingredient.

• 8 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into thirds and cooked
• 1 pound ground chuck or sirloin
• 3-4 oz. pepperoni slices
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 1 -  24 oz. can spaghetti/pasta sauce
• 6.5 oz. can mushrooms, drained or  6 oz. of fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup

Directions

• Grease your casserole pan. Set aside.
• Break 8 oz. of angel hair pasta into thirds. Place in salted, boiling water. Turn heat down to simmer and cook pasta for five minutes. 
• Pour half of the pasta sauce into the greased casserole pan.
  
• Drain the pasta and place it in the casserole pan.
• Spread the pasta into a layer.
• Layer the remaining sauce over the pasta.
  

• Place the ground chuck and onion in a skillet. If using fresh sliced mushrooms, add them now.
• Begin to brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• When the beef is about half way done, sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper over the meat and onions. Using a spatula, work the seasoning into the meat and onions.
• When the beef is almost done, add the drained mushroom slices to the skillet. 
• Stir briefly with the spatula until the mixture is well blended. 
• Drain excess grease from the skillet.
• Layer the meat mixture over the sauce in the casserole dish.

  

  Pepperoni can be mixed into the meat mixture, or placed on top of the cheese layer.
  I prefer having in on top of  the cheese layer as shown in the first picture.

• Put cheeses on top of meat mixture
  
• Top the cheese with pepperoni slices as shown in the first picture. 
• Cover with foil.
• Large Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes; Small Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes
• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

Your pizza casserole is ready to serve!

Pantry-Style Tomato Beef Vegetable Soup

I have been suffering with a sore throat for a couple of days. Vegetable soup was the only thing I felt like making and eating. Additionally, I knew the tomato beef soup would be quick and easy to assemble because my pantry contained all of the ingredients that I needed.

Makes about 4-1 cup servings.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 2 beef bouillon cube
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can of green beans, drained
• 1 piece of bacon, finely diced 
• 1 tsp basil, dried
• 1/2 tsp. parsley,dried 
• 1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce 
• 1 pkg of crushed ramen noodles, do not use the seasoning packet

Directions

1.  Put the water and bouillon cubes in a medium sauce pan
2. Add the whole can of diced tomatoes, juice and all
3. Drain the corn and green beans, put into the pan
4. Put everything except the crushed noodles into the pan and simmer until the bacon is cooked. 
5. Put the crushed ramen noodles in and let them sit for 3 minutes. 

This is a thick, veggie soup. If you like a thinner soup, add an additional cup of water and 1 more bouillon cube.

No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert with Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

Hot summer days are here again!
I don't know about you, but I don't even want to think about turning on my oven and heating up the kitchen. Instead, I like making no bake desserts that are quick to make and require minimum time in the kitchen. 

I believe this is the perfect recipe for beginning cooks. 5 ingredients is all it takes to make an easy and elegant chocolate cheesecake dessert. Your friends will think you worked for hours!



No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert with Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust
Ingredients
2 - 3.4 oz pkg of instant cheesecake pudding mix
2 - 3.4 oz pkg of instant chocolate pudding mix
6 cups of milk
12 chocolate chip cookies, crushed to fine crumbs
4 Tbsp. of melted butter

Directions

• Blend, process, or crush 12 chocolate chip cookies into fine crumbs.
  

• Add 4 Tbsp. of melted butter to the cookie crumbs.
• Stir until mixed well. Measure out 2 Tbsp. of the cookie crumbs and set aside.
• Press the remaining cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan
  
• Pour 3 cups of cold milk into a bowl. Add the packages of chocolate pudding and beat for 1 minute. 
  
• Pour the pudding into the cookie crust and spread evenly.
  
• Set pudding into the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
• Pour 3 cups of cold milk into a bowl. Add the packages of cheesecake pudding and beat for 1 minute. 
  
• Pour the cheesecake pudding on top of the chocolate pudding layer. 
• Garnish with the reserved 2 Tbsp. of  crumbled chocolate chip cookie
• Chill until firm, about 2-3 hours
• Gently loosen the spring-form pan sides and lift away from the dessert.
• Slice and serve. If desired, top each slice with 1-2 Tbsp. of whipped cream, or whipped topping. 
  

Enjoy a slice of homemade happiness on a plate!

Link to Thirty Frosting Recipes

I have been following Cookies and Cups, for several years now and wanted to share this link with you. I can always use another great recipe for frosting.

30 Frosting Recipes

My First Ever 4 Tier Wedding Cake.

Tier sizes: 12 inch, 10 inch, 8 inch, and 6 inch
Yield: about 100 servings of cake

I volunteered to make a wedding cake for a friend's wedding as my wedding present to her. 
My experience with making wedding cakes is limited to 2 - two tier cakes and 2 - three tier cakes. However this is my first, four tier cake. 
Despite losing electricity for almost eight hours, baking the cake layers went somewhat smoothly until I started baking the 12 inch rounds. After throwing away 3 layers of cake due to fallen middles and falling apart,  I managed to end up with 2 usable layers of vanilla cake.
Why did I have so much trouble with the 12 inch layers? 
After thinking about it, I believe the cake mixes that I bought on sale were old and just didn't bake as well as they normally do. Even the smaller layers had one or two issues, but nothing like the large, 12 inch layers! 

Once the power was restored and the cake layers were cooling, I set about making the buttercream frosting with 10 pounds of powdered sugar, 2.5 lbs of butter, and 2.5 cups of solid, vegetable shortening, 3 Tbsp. and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, about a quarter cup of lemon juice, and about 1.5 cups of water. 
Like Making Four Cakes of Different Sizes
When I began to work with the two inch layers, I quickly discovered that making the wedding cake was the same as making four, separate layer cakes. Each tier had two cake layers that had to have the tops leveled before they were cut in half, filled with frosting, stacked, and crumb coated with icing. THEN, each tier had a final coat of frosting applied and smoothed. 

Each sunflower was individually piped onto a square of parchment that was attached to a flower nail.

Sunflower petals and buds: Wilton #366 leaf tip

Sunflower centers: Wilton #21 open star tip

Sunflower leaves: Wilton #125 petal tip. 

Cake borders: Wilton #21 open star tip

Sunflower Tutorial

Smoothing Crusting Buttercream
The following tutorial will show you the basics of frosting a cake and then smoothing the crusted buttercream frosting with a Viva paper towel.

• For best results, wait 10 to 20 minutes after frosting your cake before you begin smoothing the frosting. 
• If your work area is warm, put the frosted cake into a refrigerator for about 10 minutes before you begin smoothing the buttercream. 

Believe me, it took several attempts before I figured this out for myself!

Spring Blooms Cake Pictures

An original, SalleeB's Kitchen design for a spring half sheet cake - blooming red bud branches, daffodils, narcissus, hyacinths, and yellow, drop flower clusters.

The daffodil and narcissus blooms are piped using Wilton petal tips #104 and #102. Use a square of parchment paper on a flower nail to shape each blossom. Put the blossoms into the freezer until you are ready to place them. 

The narcissus petals are made using the Wilton #104 tip and the ruffle was the Wilton  #102 tip. 

The green centers were formed with a #3 piping tip.

The red bud branches are made with a Wilton #10 piping tip and the blossoms are a Wilton 2D tip. 

Narcissus and daffodil leaves are formed with a Wilton #352 leaf tip

Hyacinths are made with a drop flower tip. Layer the clusters to get a rounded, 3D look. In the pictures the hyacinths shown have 3 layers of blooms. 

The cake top is textured with the end of a spatula. 

Move the spatula from side to side in about 2 inch, vertical strips, long side to long side of the cake.

Don't measure anything exactly so you can have a more random look. 

The borders are made with a #16 star tip. . 

And that is how to create a SalleeB's Kitchen Spring Blooms cake. 

Rubber Ducky Smash Cake

Right to Left: Beginning to End

It has been 364 days since my youngest grandson was born! His mom asked me if I would make his smash cake.

Of course I said YES!

Step 1

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Make a white cake mix according to the package directions.
• Grease and flour a 1.5 quart crock pot insert - see the picture below.

• Put liners for 2 jumbo cupcakes into  jumbo cupcake pan.
• Filling the jumbo cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter and pouring the rest into the greased and floured cake pan.
• Cook for 20 - 24 minutes. Check the jumbo cupcakes by inserting a toothpick into the cupcakes about halfway between the edge and center of the cupcakes. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cupcakes are done.
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. 
• Cook the cake for another 16 minutes and check the cake for doneness with a bamboo skewer about halfway between the edge and center of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, your cake is done.
• Remove cake from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. 

Step 2

• After cooling the cake and cupcakes, wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer until good and firm.
• Remove wrapped cupcakes and mini-cake. 
• Cut the rounded tops off of the two jumbo cupcakes to form a flat surface.
• On one of the cupcakes only, cut off 1/3rd from the bottom end. This will be the bottom of your duck head.
• Pipe a dam of frosting around the top, outside edge of the trimmed cupcake, then fill with a thin coat of frosting inside the dam. Place the whole jumbo cupcake, topside down, onto the top of the frosting. Apply a thin base coat to the cupcakes and put back into the freezer until the frosting is firm. 
• Apply a base coat of frosting to the duck head and the mini-cake. Finish frosting the head and the body of the cake. and chill until the duck head can be handled  and attacked to the mini-cake as pictured below.