a day off to relax?

No, not me... I take a day off to bake! I know, I am a glutton for punishment. If the cakes didn't turn out so well, I would regret my decision. But they were AMAZING! Check out this spread, and you can imagine how lovely my house smelled!

Well, I decided to make a trip up to see my cousin, Nikki. I realized her daughter had just turned 3 and I hadn't even met her yet! Yes, my entire family is horrible about staying in touch with relatives but I am hoping to change that. 


She said Pineapple Upside Down cake was her favorite but I don't like it. I have a rule, I have to make something I like or I won't be able to tell if it came out good or not! Makes sense, huh? That, and I LOVE sweets and if I am slaving away in the kitchen, I want to be able to reap the rewards! So, I decided to make mini ones to satisfy the birthday girl, but also make a Hummingbird Cake. I have made one before and it was surprisingly good even though I don't like fruit in my cake.


So, I found a recipe for mini Pineapple Upside Down cakes on allrecipes.com and made a few adjustments. WARNING: Put some foil down in the bottom of your oven or you will have a smokey mess from the abundance of brown sugar/butter mixture overflowing.  The extra mixture is worth the mess! BELIEVE ME!

MINI PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKES

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 (20 ounce) cans sliced pineapple
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package pineapple supreme mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 12 maraschino cherries, halved

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter; mix well. Spoon into 24 greased muffin cups. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Trim pineapple to fit the muffin cups; place one ring in each cup. Push cherry into middle.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oils and 1 cup water and 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice; mix well. Spoon over pineapple, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
3. Let rest for 5 minutes in pan before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely. 

For the Hummingbird Cake, I couldn't find the original recipe that I used so I just found something similar. I don't think it was as good as the first one I made, but it's still worth sharing the recipe.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Ingredients

• 3  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 2  cups  sugar
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 3  large eggs, beaten
• 1  cup  vegetable oil
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 1  (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1  cup  chopped almonds
• 2  cups  mashed bananas
• Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, almonds, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; Store in refrigerator.

For the almond flowers, I just toasted some slivered almonds and then formed the flowers with a mini M&M for the middle.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients

• 1  (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2  cup  butter or margarine, softened
• 1  (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preparation

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

But, that's not all! Saturday was Pete's BFFs birthday, Dennis! His wife said he likes anything with chocolate and peanut butter. I could have made the 8-layer cake that I made before with Reeses but I like to try something I have never done before so my blog will stay interesting! (You're welcome)

So, I decided to try and make a chocolate/peanut butter marble cake. I have never made a marble cake before and they always look so fancy! I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and then added 2 different frostings (chocolate and peanut butter, of course) and a sprinkle of Butterfinger to add some crunch!

Here's the recipe for the cake:

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MARBLE CAKE

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup smooth REESES peanut butter 
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). With a non-stick cooking spray, coat two 9 inch baking pans. Dust with flour and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the cocoa, confectioners' sugar, butter and 2 tablespoons hot water until smooth and set aside.
3. In microwavable bowl, place peanut butter chips and shortening. Microwave on high for 1 minute, or until chips are melted and smooth when stirred.
4. In large bowl, combine cake mix, brown sugar, 1-1/4 cups water, eggs and reserved melted peanut butter mixture; beat on low speed of electric mixer until moistened. Increase speed to medium, beat 2 minutes until smooth. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the batter and add it to the reserved cocoa mixture; blend well.
5. Pour the peanut butter flavored batter into the prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter on top. Swirl with a knife or spatula for a marbled effect.
6. Bake at 350 degree F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and frost as desired.

For the frosting, I could have just bought it at the store already made but it's not as impressive. Frosting is actually really easy to make and tastes so much better! For the chocolate frosting, I used the recipe that I always use when I make chocolate cake:

THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake.

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 
  

Combine 1 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup butter or margarine cream together until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar. Mix in enough milk to make the frosting of a spreading consistency. Apply to cool cake.

I decided to cut my 2 layers in half so I would have a 4-layer cake (the lazy way). By doing that, it made it hard to see the marbling effect that had drawn me to this recipe to begin with. But it was soooooo good that I didn't care! I alternated the 2 frostings between the 2 layers and I sprinkled some Butterfinger on the peanut butter layer. Then I frosted the sides of the cake with chocolate, sprinkled with more Butterfinger and then mixed the 2 frostings together for the top of the cake. I was hoping to make a swirled effect but I don't think I added enough milk to the peanut butter frosting so it wasn't wanting to cooperate. But it didn't matter cause it was so freakin yummy! VERY VERY VERY GOOD!