The Cake Tradition

While I was growing up, my mother was constantly decorating cakes for birthdays, holidays, and special events. I was shocked the day I realized people bought their birthday cakes at the grocery store! Now with my own family and our own special events I've started feeling a need to continue this tradition.

For Peter's baptism I was determined to begin my cake decorating adventure. I borrowed all of my mom's supplies and books and started planning. I decided not to get too complicated and only perfect one technique per cake.









I ended up with a HUGE cake since we had several people attend the party. Half of the bottom was chocolate, the other was vanilla, and the cross was red velvet.

For Nathan's birthday I decided to use a cake pan I had sitting around (Betty Crocker's Bake 'n Fill). It was a chocolate cake with cherries in the middle. It turned out great! Since it's baseball season, it was only natural I had to turn it into a baseball!

Back to Normal?

What a whirlwind these last few months have been! Now that things have settled down, as per my mother's request, it's back to blogging!!

Since my last post, we have welcomed a little boy, Peter James, into the world and have been falling in love with him ever since. I have also quit my job and have been adjusting to the world of being a mom. All of a sudden, my marriage vocation has become so clear and I am finally able to begin seeing what my life will entail!

I'm sure there will be plenty of recipes (I cook/bake ALOT now), funny stories about Peter, and random ramblings to follow. Here's to life as a wife and mother!

Instant Craving Fix

Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.

Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate. Or skip the plate and eat right from the bowl!