Zombie Brain Cake

AMC is holding a Walking Dead marathon on New Years Eve (Today). I fought a mental battle for the longest time of whether or not to watch this show. People were raving about it and I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon so quickly when it comes to TV shows or new products.

One late night, Sam and I were looking for a movie to watch. I was in no mood for anything, really. Just something good. Sam suggested The Walking Dead and I grudgingly agreed.

"One episode, Sam. I'm not gonna get wrangled into this crap."

"Okay. Just one."

"I'm tellin' ya.. it's gonna be like every other zombie movie or show out there--lame and overdone."

"Okay, just one episode!"

Three episodes later....

My eyes are glued on the TV, fully engrossed in the show.

Could it be?!

YES!

It's a show I enjoy AND it includes zombies!

So. Now that AMC is hosting a marathon of ALL the episodes, Sam and I realized we had to throw a Walking Dead marathon Zombie party.

For this party, I made bacon wrapped smokies (crusty stubby toes), Zombie brain cake, Puree of zombie brain (salsa), and zombie blood (strawberry lemonade) along with some oreos (kneecaps) and cheetos (sunburnt pinkies).

Here's the zombie brain cake!

I started off by baking two large chocolate cakes in two separate springform pans. They are thick and sturdy!

I layered them together with some pink buttercream in between. I didn't do it all in the center as I knew I'd be shaving away those sides pieces to form the brain.

Covered the two layers of chocolate cake with a bright pink crusty frosting.

Time to start forming the brain! I used a light pink buttercream in a plastic baggy with a hole cut in the corner, and started making zigzag type swirls all over.

It needed to look a bit more gooey, so I mixed light corn syrup with pink food color (red would work too) and drizzled just a bit on the cake. Wonderful!

Tada!

I look forward to making another one of these cakes in the future. It was just TOO much fun. After I was finished making this, I exclaimed "This has got to be the coolest thing I've made in my life!" Sam just laughed. It's probably not THE coolest, but it sure ranks up there.

Have a WONDERFUL new year! Accomplish all your goals and I know I will enjoy creating more delectable treats!

Oreo Stuffed White and Milk Chocolate Cookies

First and foremost, the most lovely cheesecake I've ever made.

Lovely. Trick? Bake at 320 for 40 minutes, turn off oven, and leave in the oven for another 20.

Now onto the real stuff:

It has happened.

I never thought it would.

I had doubted once before, but never again.

I have lost my sweet tooth.

Can't find it anywhere.

After baking nearly nonstop, chained to the stove, for the past five years, I've lost my desire for sweets. I look at this as a good thing! Besides, who needs those extra cavities or calories?

In an attempt to revive my limp and dead desire for sugar, I made a vanilla bean cheesecake and oreo stuffed white chocolate and milk chocolate chip cookies. Say that five times fast!

I have plans for these cookies...I'd like to sub an Oreo for Andes mints, peppermint patties, Hershey's kisses, etc.

Oreo Stuffed Cookies

thanks to this lovely lady.

1 Cup (2 sticks) butter: Softened.

3/4 Cup brown sugar: Packed

1 Cup white sugar

2 eggs

3 tbsp vanilla

3 1/2 Cups Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 bag of chocolate chip (or half a bag of milk chocolate, half a bag of white)

Half to 1 pkg. Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix.

Add in the soda and flour. Mix.

Drop in the chocolate chips. Mix.

If you have a cookie scoop, use it now!

Scoop out two decent sized balls out of the dough. Place an Oreo between the two balls and squish squish squish until the Oreo is covered! Place on your baking stone/cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Wouldn't these be great with peanut butter kisses or mints inside?!

I hope you don't lose your sweet tooth after trying these. They are so sweet and scrumptious.

Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Very buttery and cinnamon-y....

Fresh from the oven!

Finished cake with vanilla glaze on top!

I adore pinterest.com. It's a fantastic site created just for the purpose of wasting time looking at beautiful and helpful things.

A picture of a cinnamon swirled cake caught my eye and I had to try it!

It turned out swimmingly.

Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Thanks to Cookin' Up North

Cake:

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp.salt

1 cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

Cinnamon Swirl:

1 cup butter, softened near melting

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix all cake ingredients together except for the butter.

Stir in the butter gently right before transferring to a large greased pan. Transfer to pan.

Mix all cinnamon swirl ingredients together and drop onto top of cake. Swirl with a knife. Make a lovely design.

Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Vanilla bean Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar

5 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla bean extract or 3 vanilla beans

Mix all ingredients and drizzle over cake.

Here's a few things I altered:

I split the recipe into two 9 inch springform pans.

I also didn't add all of the melted butter to the batter before I put it all in the pans.

I just drizzled the butter over the top of the cake and then added the cinnamon swirl. Seemed to work out okay.

I ended up baking them both at the same time for about 26 minutes.

I also only made a half recipe of the glaze and it seemed to be sufficient, not drowning in it.

A great and simple recipe. I think this cake recipe could be a base for general vanilla cakes, or even lemon cakes.

Try it! Get in the kitchen and be creative!

8 Cheesecakes and new art

Dear friends!

Life, once again, has happened. I've come to realize just how much I value diversity in my hobbies. Art and doodling, working out, and spending time with friends has taken over my spare time. I haven't had an amazing baking adventure in quite some time!

This weekend is a wedding for which I agreed to make 8 cheesecakes. They're all vanilla bean and will be covered in milk chocolate ganache. Yum! I am so excited to have been asked to do such a big thing.

In addition to this big project I have a few smaller projects going on as well including art projects.

On a side note, check out Pinterest and Society6 for some great art and crafty ideas.

In addition to projects and art, I've been doing school and preparing for Sam to come back. It's been a long 6 months. It really makes the heart grow fonder--being away from your loved one. I am so thankful for the love and life I have with my husband. He's all I want and my constant in chaos.

A friend of mine shared this quote with me from Steve Jobs:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Be the absolute best you can be. Love God, love others, and love yourself.

Paleo Results

After 30 days of eating nothing but paleolithic foods (lean meats, occasional eggs, fruits and veggies, no processed foods, dairy or sweets), I've felt amazing results.

I've lost 12 pounds.

I've gained stamina.

I feel so focused and energized.

On the negative side (which is really a positive)---- When I try to eat something normal (mac and cheese, cookies, ice cream, whatever), it wrecks up my stomach and I feel sick and horrid for at least a day after. It's a good thing to train your body to feel so healthy and cleansed!

I highly recommend that you give it a try--just for a month. 30 days. Really. You'll feel so amazing afterwards.

Raw food and Paleo?

Any raw foodies out there?

Caveman eaters?

I've been eating paleolithic foods for the past 3 weeks with great success--- I feel so energized and focused. I've lost excess weight and have broken the bonds I've made with food! Funny isn't it, coming from a person who loves to bake sugary sweets?!

Paleolithic eating is fruits, veggies, lean meats, and some nuts. No grains, no dairy, very few eggs. I realize this is the version I am doing and there are lots of variations. I've found that dairy and grains are my problem.

Life is about connections. I'm tired of connecting only with food. I would eat when I was happy. Eat when I was sad. Eat all the time. Enough! I've been able to make so many more connections and attachments with my emotions by breaking away from food and what I had tied to it.

Give raw food or paleolithic foods a try!

Online Cheesecake Business

I love to bake cheesecake.

I love to watch people eat my cheesecake.

I love to hear people sigh and moan after eating my cheesecake.

There are a few things in life that I'm good at. There are some things I won't ever be good at (whistling and enjoying intense roller coasters). One of the things I know I enjoy and am good at is baking. Specifically, baking cheesecakes is a favorite past time of mine.

Starting a brick and mortar business really isn't a good idea for me right now. With Sam in the military, it's hard to set my roots down in one place. Who knows when we'll be off to another duty location?!

An online business seems viable. An online cheesecake business seems possible.

It is a lot harder than I thought to find the right shipping containers for cheesecakes. I have to find ones that are insulated and contain cool packs or ice packs to keep it from getting all sorts of grody and melted. I am not excited about the prospect of having to pay upwards of $40 for the box alone. I'd have to pass that cost to the customer and on top of shipping and the initial cost of the cheesecake, we're look at a $80 cheesecake. No bueno.

So. I'm in the very early stages of preparing for an online cheesecake business. I very much look forward to seeing where this takes me!