The gorgeous birthday cake you see above was made for a party a few months back by my friend, Courtney, who is an amazing baker! Her cookies are to die for and if you have a party you always ask her to bring dessert. Well, when we cut into the cake a fun surprise came spilling out! Her baking and creativity never disappoints!
Fast forward to a few weekends ago and I was bringing a cake to my friend, Nancy’s, 70th birthday get together. Now, I am so NOT at all a baker, but I loved the fun and whimsy of Courtney’s cake so much that I had to try to recreate it. Her cake was a “naked cake” whereas mine was a “half naked cake.” “What is that,” you say? Well, they’re only frosted between layers, not on the outside or top….or are only partially frosted, scraping the sides and top so you see parts of the cake. It’s a Pinterest-y thing!
I should mention that Courtney actually makes her yummy cakes from scratch…did I mention she’s an amazing baker?…and I go the easy route and buy the box. You’ll need at least two boxes of cake mix, some confetti sprinkles and some M&M’s. I suppose you could get even more creative and fill it with other fun stuff, but this is what I used.
Bake the cakes as instructed on the box. I have two 9″ round cake pans, so I made two vanilla and two chocolate cakes. Let them cool completely.
Cut the top off of of both chocolate cakes and one of the vanilla cakes…. just enough so they’ll lay flat on your cake display stand/plate and for your layers. Place one chocolate layer on the cake plate.
Then, you’ll need to cut a circle in your next two levels, one white, one chocolate. I happen to have some of those rings for making fancy layered appetizers, but I’m sure you can just use an upside down glass. Once you do the first vanilla one, place it gently on top of the other chocolate one and press down a bit so you’ll know where to cut the whole in the chocolate one so they line up. I guess if you had a tall enough glass you could just go through both at the same time? My cylinder is smaller, so I had to do them separately. (…or make bigger/higher cakes, like Courtney did and you’ll only cut through one level)
(note: I cut my tops off after I put the wholes in them, that’s why they look so rounded. You can do it before or after)
Assemble your cake, frosting between the layers.
….then pour the candy in the middle
Put the final layer on top and frost it whatever way you’d like. I used vanilla, with some funfetti and sprinkles thrown on.
Voilà….cake done!
Surprise!! Want more inspiration? Click over to Pinterest for even more pinata cake ideas.
….and if you want to see the original naked cake, and some awesome desserts/pastries, the new season of Chef’s Table on Netflix just came out this past week (thanks to my nephew Noah for the heads up!) and the first episode is about Christina Tosi of Milk Bar fame.
Being grateful at Thanksgiving is something we consciously pay attention to and verbalize around a table of family and friends….but why not do it year-round? I’ve written about it before, but I think it’s always good to re-visit the subject to remind us that it’s something we need to nurture, in order to sustain it.
It’s been scientifically proven , many times, that being a grateful person is very beneficial to your health and overall well being! Here are some reasons why…and a few ways to increase your gratitude meter….
Gauge where you stand on the subject in this quick 6 item gratitude questionnaire.
One more thing…A bit off-topic….but a recent study shows that singing in groups reduces anxiety and depression. Of course it does….. you’re singing and you’re with a group!! That would probably help improve your gratitude meter too. So go join a choir! …or better yet, sing with your family, like this one does… (thanks Taylor for the link)
The was-band and I had flown over the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch a few times back in the day in our small plane, but I’d never actually wandered through them. They, understandably, look much smaller from the air, and I was curious to visit them in person after seeing beautiful pics on Cest Christine’s instagram feed and blog….and Taylor mentioning she wanted to see them.
So, last Sunday I asked Taylor, Dan & Rowan if they wanted to go…”yes!” was the answer…and off we went. It’s about an hour south from me and I wanted to get there when they opened at 9 to beat the crowds. I assumed we’d stay for about 1/2 hour and just wander…how much strolling can you do through a flower field. Well, we didn’t leave until almost 11!! As one of my neighbors said, “So, it was a 2 hour photo shoot?!” and that it was!
This definitely is better said with pics….enjoy!
fun morning in the flower fields
I’m so glad we went early. By the time we left the parking lot was packed and the crowds were pretty big. It’s around $18 (incl service charge) to get in and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. What a beautiful way to start a Sunday…and the week! If you have some time this weekend, head down to Carlsbad and romp through the ranunculus…’cause they’re only open until May 13th and I’m thinking they’ll only really be great for the next two weekends and then start dying off. You’ll be glad you did!
So, as you know, adorable granddaughter, Jude, was born on my birthday in December, so I’ll be visiting Austin, Kate & Jude a bit more often than my usual two or three times a year. As I’ve said to them before “if you can’t live closer, in California, at least you don’t live in the middle of nowhere”..and I love visiting Brooklyn/NYC! With that in mind, I try to plan a few things to do while I’m there so they have a chance to do their own thing and don’t need to worry about entertaining me…while also babysitting Jude so they can have a few date nights or just a walk by themselves away from their parental responsibilities. This is basically my way of saying that there will be even more frequent Jude/NYC blog posts, but always with something new in mind that you can discover the next time you’re in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Win/Win!!
I had a week off for Spring break and my home-exchange friends happen to be going out of town, so I booked a couple of nights at an Airbnb around the corner from A, K & J and spent the remainder of the week at my friend’s awesome place with a view of Manhattan.
My sister, Mariellen, joined me on this trip and we had so much fun. My younger sister, JoAnn, was also in NY for a day, doing a whirlwind college tour with her daughters, so we met up with them at the Macy’s flower show. It’s a gorgeous display of flowers in the middle of Macy’s..including some displays on the second floor. It’s only around Easter time for two weeks, but I think it’s worth seeing their creative displays if you happen to be in NY at that time.
The next day we borrowed A&K’s car and drove to see my friends/neighbors, and their new grandbaby, from California who have moved to Connecticut for a few years. It was great seeing them in their new environment, with all the blessings of a new baby.
Next, we drove over to Breezy Point, Queens, to see the area and home where my mom spent her summers at the beach. It was pretty much obliterated in hurricane Sandy, and they’ve rebuilt everything, but it was cool to see the place that was such a big part of her childhood…and we scattered a small amount of her ashes on the beach. I’m thinking she was smiling down on us.
Next up…our day in the city. I saw something in the NY Times about a Downton Abbey exhibit which looked interesting. Kate, my sister, and my sister’s friend were game, so I bought tickets and we planned a day in the city.
They just extended the Downton exhibition until September, so you can still go!
From here we went on to Bergdorf Goodman’s for lunch, with a stop at the Iris Apfel collection (unfortunately it’s over now, but I’m hoping it travels out here at some point), and then on to my sister’s friend’s apartment with an amazing view of Central Park.
Bye, Austin, Kate & baby Jude! We left early the next day, but I didn’t sob (like the last time) saying goodbye to my adorable peeps…because I knew I’d be back in a couple of months. I can’t wait to see all Jude’s new developments (so many changes in the first couple of years) and to spend time with her fun, awesome parents!
recap…
The earth laughs in flowers….Ralph Waldo Emerson
(…went to the Carlsbad flower fields yesterday…
GORGEOUS!!…more info & pics on Friday)
“Vulnerability is not weakness….and that myth is profoundly dangerous. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change!”…Brene Brown
(ps….you should read Brene Brown’s books!)
You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!
My friend Courtney’s family owned business, People’s Choice Beef Jerky, makes an array of amazing beef jerky. A while back she gave me some of their machaca to try. Machaca is a flavorful, spicy, dried, shredded beef (or pork)…looks kind of like beef breadcrumbs. At the time I used it in some egg recipes that were so good. The flavor that machaca imparts on whatever it’s paired with is awesome, spicy goodness!
So, about a month ago I wanted more protein based snacks to grab & go and decided to place an order with them. I loved their machaca, so thought I’d include that in my order…along with their artisanal sea salt & pepper beef sticks…so good! Courtney had originally given me, what looked like, a medium sized package, so when I went to order I ordered two large, thinking that I could use it in a few different ways. What I didn’t realize was that I ordered 2 pounds of the delicious beef. She texted me later and said, “I can’t wait to see what you do with all that machaca!” Okay, time to be creative!
Weirdly, coincidentally, I realized a few months ago that I was allergic to eggs…which is just wrong! I used to have hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs…you name it…but things seemed to go awry when I ate them. Machaca is probably most known for pairing with eggs…for a yummy brunch dish…but that was not an option now.
As you probably know, I’m a big fan of anything on pizza and I happened to have some dough, mushrooms, caramelized onions, goat cheese and ricotta leftover from Pizza Monday, so decided to make a kind of pizza/flatbread with all the leftovers.
WOW….is all I can say! I texted Courtney a picture afterwards and the PC beef jerky family has since made their own version in their “test kitchen”. As Charles Caleb Colton said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!” and I was honored that they liked the idea.
As I said, I already had everything I needed, so the only thing I really had to do was saute the mushrooms, (I reconstituted the machaca in the leftover mushroom/olive oil left in the pan) and assemble everything. Here’s how it came out….(layered… machaca/mushrooms/onions/goat cheese/ricotta…with some TJ’s everything bagel seasoning sprinkled over the top)….
…and I made an appetizer on crostini later in the week using the same ingredients…with many compliments!
Next up, I think it would be so good to use it on any recipe as a substitute for panko breadcrumbs….barbecued machaca shrimp anyone? I’ll let you know how that goes.
Bon Appetit!