S'mores Cake Bars

Gooey, Yummy, Easy.

S'Mores Cake!

I was asked to write a guest post, earlier this week, for a sweet friend! What a better fall recipe than an indoor s'mores?

Visit This Hungry Mama Bakes to check out my post on S'Mores Cake Bars and tons of other recipes Tammy has posted!
Your tummy will be glad you did! :)

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School Supply 'Cake'

There are several ways to create a 'School Supply Cake' if you were to search how-to's.

Here is my version. 

Short and Sweet. 

I think pictures tell it better than paragraphs of words.

{I'm not giving an exact list of 'What You'll Need' like I usually do. The supplies will vary with the size of cake you are aiming for and your own creative touches!}

I started with a round, silver charger as my base. (You could also use an actual cake base).

The center of the cake is a (1/2 gone) roll of paper towels and 4 one subject notebooks.

Space out the notebooks around the paper towel roll and secure with rubber bands.

My idea with the rubber bands, was that after this cake serves as a center piece, it could be taken apart and its' contents used.

I surrounded the bottom with packs of crayons and attached with rubber bands.

Then I topped the crayons with bottles of glue. Again, more rubber bands. :)

To give it a little more, I put glue sticks in between each box of crayons.

You want everything to be tight so it doesn't shift.

Then the cake topper.....
I had these cute little boxes leftover from Halloween.
They originally had a monster on top and candy inside.

I hardly ever keep things 'just in case' one day I might need it.  But, in this instance, I'm glad I did!

I cut a thick card stock square, bigger than the top of the box  and painted it all black.

Can you guess where I'm going with this???

I didn't want the cake topper box to appear empty so I decided to cover the window with crayons.

Every good graduation decoration needs a tassel, or two.
I made these out of yarn I had on hand.

A hole in the top of the 'hat' was a perfect fit for these tassels.

Wha-la! Cake Toppers Graduation Hats!

I finished the cake with ribbon to cover the rubber bands.

And here is the finished cake displayed on the beverage table of 

Reese's Kindergarten Graduation!

Click HERE for the adorable and FREE Teacher Subway Art printable!

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Valentine Recipes

Chicken Bruschetta Skillet

This was the first time I made this, but certainly not the last!
It's an easy, delicious meal that is sure to become a great, go-to, weekday meal!

What You'll Need:
1 can diced, Italian tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese, plus more for topping
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 can (8oz.) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Here's How:
1. Pound chicken until even in thickness. Slightly brown over medium heat in a buttered, hot skillet.
2. Remove chicken and add tomato sauce and garlic to the pan. Return chicken to the skillet. Top the chicken with the can of drained, diced tomatoes and the cheese.

3. Bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

I topped mine with more cheese and served it with hot buttered noodles.

 The original recipe called for crushed croutons at the end. I had intentions of this, but honestly forgot. You can see the original recipe here.


Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Here's What You'll Need:
Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. distilled white vinegar
1 Tbs. instant coffee granules
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
Icing:
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Here's How:
Cake:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350* with the rack in the center. Spray two 8x2 inch round cake pans with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

3. Combine water, coffee, oil, vinegar and vanilla in a large measuring cup.

4. Add coffee liquid to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Divide batter between pans, then bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

5. Cool cakes on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the rack. Leave the cakes upside down to cool completely.

Icing:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Stir in sugar and cocoa. Mixture will be thick and grainy.

3. Combine heavy cream, sour cream, and coffee into a large measuring cup. Mix until smooth.

4. Gradually add cream mixture to chocolate until blended and smooth. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and hot to the touch, 6-8 minutes. Do not boil.

5. Off the heat, add vanilla. Cool icing at room temperature until spreadable, 2-3 hours.

Ice your cake and eat it too!

(And yes, I need not let you know how D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S this was. Just look at the picture.)


I pretty much followed the recipe step-by-step but the original recipe is found here. I spotted it in a free Cuisine At Home magazine I received in the mail.

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