Family Bites

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Explosion Birthday Cake

If there’s one thing teenagers like, it’s junk food. Do you remember that from your own adolescence? I vividly recall having adventures with friends that inevitably involved food, specifically the kind that we didn’t get to eat very often with our families. We went out for ice cream, hit up fast food joints, and bought lots of treats to devour during movie marathons via the VHS.

I’d like to say that my own teens are different, and that the food choices of today’s fifteen-year-olds have evolved just like the studies on health and wellness, but that’s not the case. They love their sweet treats just like all the teens that have come before them, and despite the fact that it goes against my natural feeding instincts I enthusiastically endorse allowing them to eat it.

Here’s why: over the years I've learned that if you don't buy the kids the candy they crave they’re just going to go to someone else’s house and eat it there instead. If you want to keep them and their friends hanging around your house – and trust me, you do – then buy the cookies, or the cake, or whatever it is they’re into, and serve it with abandon. Why? Because there are way worse things teenagers could be doing than hanging out at home eating sugar-laden, crazy-making sweets.

My oldest teenager loves candy of all kinds, so including it in his birthday cake this year was a no-brainer. He requested a chocolate peanut butter combination, which I topped with a variety of confections bought at my local bulk store. The verdict? It was a total hit with the kids, but really, was there any doubt it would be?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Explosion Birthday Cake

Serves 8-12

For the chocolate cake:

• Butter, for greasing the baking pans
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cups cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

For the peanut butter frosting:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups smooth peanut butter
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

For the decorations:

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups assorted candies
• Candles, optional

1. To make the cake: preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter paper, then dust the pans with cocoa, tapping out the extra.

2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and stir well. Add the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla and beat with a handheld or electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add the coffee and mix to combine. 

3. Divide batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the centre is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

4. To make the frosting: Place the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

5. To assemble the cake, place one layer upside down on a cake plate or stand and mound 1/3 of the frosting over top, spreading it evenly over the surface of the cake. Place the second layer on top, also upside down, and cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. To create the swirl effect on the icing, use the back of a soup spoon and swipe it over the icing, wiggling it as you go. 

6. To decorate the cake: mound the candy in the centre of the cake and insert candles, if using. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Christmas Trees

The days and week are beginning to blend together, which can only mean that December has officially arrived, right? I’m sure you’re feeling the same way I am right now; outfitted with a to-do list that’s ten things too long, working at a pace that just isn’t doable for most days, and juggling a calendar that’s chock-a-block full of a mix of both fun and obligation.

I’m finishing up the last of my big work assignments before the holidays, but I’m also helping out at the catering company more than usual for the next three weeks, so really I’m just trading one type of work for another. I have thank you cards and gifts to deliver, books to ship out to B.C, and a brand new baby niece to visit, because my sister just had her third little girl (yes, we’ve been pregnant at the same time, which has been fun). 

But somehow in the midst of it all, I woke up on Sunday morning determined to decorate a homemade cake with Christmas trees. We had a lot of little kids join us for Family Supper Sunday this week, and I knew a festive-looking cake was in order, and what could be more seasonal than to find one on the table covered in edible Christmas trees? I had some coloured candy melts hanging out on the counter, leftover from last week’s work project, so I melted them down, and piped misshapen trees onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Jackson informed that they looked okay, but he thought they could use some decorations, so we rustled up a package of silver dragees and scattered them over the chocolate before it hardened.

The cake I whipped up was a one-bowl chocolate kind and the filling and frosting came from the fabulous new baking book What to Bake & How to Bake It by Jane Hornby. Packed with reliable recipes and more than 500 step-by-step photos, I can’t stop looking at this book; it’s wonderful.

On the weekend, Rob told me that I am often my own worst enemy, and at a time when I have no free time to speak of, this is what I make in the morning for our dinner’s dessert. But sometimes a new project actually helps me relax, so I don’t regret it in the slightest. I just wish the cake had been bigger so there were some leftovers to enjoy throughout the week. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Christmas Trees

For the cake:

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

For the filling and frosting:

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 7oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 7 oz. Nutella
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the trees and decorations:

• 1 cup dark green candy melts
• 1 cup light green candy melts
• 1 cup white chocolate candy melts
• Silver dragees
• Icing sugar, for dusting

1. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans and set aside. 

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed with a handheld or electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water and pour batter (which will be thin) into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a cool rack. Cool completely before icing.

4. To make the filling: Heat 1 1/4 cups of the cream in a pot until it begins to bubble around the edges. Take off the heat and add the chocolate, Nutella, and vanilla to the saucepan. Let it melt until smooth, then set aside until it has cooled. Stir well. 

5. Pour the rest of the cream into a bowl and add about 1/2 cup of the chocolate ganache , whisking until very thick but not stiff (the consistency of whipped cream).

6. Place one cake layer on a plate or cake board and cover it with a generous heaping of the hazelnut cream mixture, spreading it out to within one-inch of the sides of the cake. Don't use too much filling - if you look carefully you can see mine is kind of oozing out the side of the cake. Top with the second layer, pressing down gently, then spread the remaining ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour.

7. To make the trees: melt the chocolates (use a different bowl for each colour) in the microwave, in 20-second intervals, or in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth and glossy. Allow to cool until it's barely warm, then transfer it to zip top baggie.

8. Cut the corner into a small hole and pipe freeform trees onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. These do not need to be perfect - and clearly mine weren't - nor do they need to be the same size. In fact, make some taller than others in order to create some visual interest. Regardless of the size, ensure there is a long tree trunk at the bottom of each tree, as this is what you'll insert into the cake. Decorate the trees with the silver dragees and allow the chocolate to harden completely. 

9. Remove the cake from the fridge and dust the top with powdered sugar. Insert the trees into the surface of the cake, and serve.

How to Make a Coffin Cake

We are in full-on Halloween mode this week, and I couldn’t be more pleased about. A costume has been decided on, snacks for the scary-movie-marathon-sleepover have been planned, and Elsa from Frozen, and her sister, the friendly Lion (aka my nieces), will be joining us for a pizza dinner before the under 12s head out to do some candy collecting. In other words, Friday night is shaping up to be both a little fun and frightening.

All that’s missing from our celebration is a deadly dessert, and I’m fairly certain this simple coffin cake would fit the bill perfectly. As you can see from the recipe, it comes together lickety-split quick, and if you’re thinking who needs to eat a sweet treat before the kids head out to trick or treat, you’re obviously more rational than I, in which case I say, bake it up and send it into the class for a Halloween party, serve it at your own spooky soiree if you’re planning something fun for this coming Friday night, or have the kids make this themselves at some point this week when they’re bored and looking for a project to sink their teeth into.

Coffin Cake

• 1 – 9”x 13” chocolate cake (store-bought or homemade)
• 2 cups chocolate frosting
• 6-8 drops black food colouring or gel colouring paste
• Silver dragees or candies
• 2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• Gummy worms
• Plastic or candy skeleton heads or bones
• Cardboard tombstone (you can also make one with a cookie, if you like)
• Silver cake board

Place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes.  While the cake is chilling, add the black colouring to the chocolate frosting and mix to combine.

Remove the cake from the freezer and place it on a cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, carve away the top corners and sides of the cake to create a coffin shape.  Discard the scraps and transfer the cake to the silver cake board.

Position the cake on the board on an angle and ice the top and sides of the cake with the black frosting.

Outline the top of the coffin with silver candies and an "RIP" in the middle of the cake. Scatter the cookie crumbs around the base of the coffin and over the cake board.  Press the gummy worms into the “dirt” and distrubute the bones over the surface. 

Build up a small pile of the cookie crumbs and insert the tombstone beside the top of the coffin.

Raspberry Cream Country Cake

The day before we left for South Carolina, we gathered with the Scott side of the family for my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner. Although there was a house to clean, bags to pack, and deadlines to meet before hitting the road, we all wanted to celebrate her special day before our vacation, and fortunately the weeknight worked for everyone in the extended family, a rarity in the summer months when work and vacation schedules can be a challenge to coordinate.

I had grand ideas of firing up the grill and making dishes for a potluck-style birthday feast, but Rob quickly talked me off the ledge I was walking on, and suggested we order pizza instead. With sixteen people in attendance, and a to-do list that rivaled the guest count in size, he was right, of course, so we took the party to his parent’s house, let the local pizza place provide us with dinner, and rounded out the meal with fresh Caesar salad, a cooler full of cold drinks, and a raspberry cream country cake to hold the birthday candles.

I had exactly 13.2 minutes to get this cake assembled, and believe it or not, it was more than enough time. The key to making this possible was that I had baked the cake layers a few days in advance, and only needed to whip some lightly sweetened cream, bash some raspberries, and put it all together before hitting the road to their house.

You could, of course, use any berry you happen to have on hand, but ten days ago it was the local ruby raspberries calling my name from the market stalls. I imagine this would be equally as lovely with blackberries, which I happen to love. Feel free to play around with the flavours – this is a cake that’s meant for your own interpretations, and the best part is that you only have to bake once in order to make two simple summer desserts.

Raspberry Cream Country Cake 

Serves 8-10

For the cake:

• 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the raspberry cream:

• 2 pints raspberries
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

For the garnish:

• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1-2 sprigs mint, leaves removed from the stem
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

To make the cake: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter and flour the lined pans.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then the yogurt, lemon zest, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using one cake, wrap the second in plastic wrap and freeze.Alternatively, if making the cakes in advance, wrap both in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer until needed. 

To make the raspberry cream:

In a medium bowl, gently mash 1 pint of raspberries with a fork. Stir in the remaining pint of berries.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream and powdered sugar on high until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold raspberries into the whipped cream.

To assemble the cake:

If cake is frozen remove from freezer and thaw at room temperature for 2 hours. Cut the cake evenly through the equator and place the bottom piece on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread half of the raspberry cream over the surface, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Top with other cake layer, and press down gently. Spread the remaining raspberry cream over top, and garnish with fresh berries, mint leaves, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Cake recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

S'mores Sheet Cake

When I sat down to plot the parties I planned for this week (ahem, there are three of them in six days!), the first thing I thought about for each was the dessert. I truly believe that summer parties should be as simple as possible, but I also feel it’s important that the sweet ending of a meal is memorable, as it’s the last taste your guests enjoy.

Now that two of the three parties have passed, I’m happy to report that this s’mores sheet cake fits the bill perfectly. A little more time consuming than the campground-inspired ice cream sandwiches I shared last week - yet easier than any pie or layer cake you could consider - this graham cracker sponge topped with marshmallow frosting, crumbled crackers, and chopped chocolate comes together quickly and can be decorated in less than fifteen minutes, making it equally as impressive as it is easy.

To be fair, the crowd I was cooking for was comprised of eleven to thirteen year old boys, who tastes aren’t overly discerning as they care far more about quantity over quality. But when there was pure silence around the table as Jackson and his friends devoured the cake, followed by cries for second slices, I knew I was on to something, and served the same dessert to Ben and his friends the following night, with similar success.

For me, oven to table cookware is an essential component of my home entertaining arsenal, so I baked this in a rectangular enamelware pan that only improved the rustic appearance of the cake. The fact that it was a single layer made it a snap to serve, and I can see that this would also be awesome for taking to picnics or potlucks, when you're in charge of a show stopping dessert that also happens to travel well.

S'mores Sheet Cake

Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

For the cake:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups finely processed honey-flavoured graham crackers (about 28)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cup buttermilk, well shaken

For the icing:

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 100g chocolate, chopped
• 5 graham crackers, broken into tiny pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9" x 13" baking pan by greasing it with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. 

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add a third of the dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk, a third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk, and the remaining dry ingredients, mixing between additions until combined. Scrape down the bowl, and mix again briefly if needed.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.

5. To make the icing, place the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Add the vanilla, mix again, and use to ice the cake.

6. Preheat the broiler. Place the iced cake underneath for 1-2 minutes, or until the frosting is golden brown, creating a toasted marshmallow effect. Remove from the oven and cool. Cover with the chopped chocolate and broken graham crackers, and serve with chocolate ice cream, if desired.

The Cutest Cowboy Party

Back in May, I put together a cowboy party for SavvyMom and because I was feeling inspired by the season, I came up with a perfect theme for a warm weather get-together: a cowboy party. Designed for kids, this fete can easily translate to a fun family reunion, backyard barbecue, or end-of summer bash before the kids head back to school, and if cowboys aren't really your thing the ideas work just as well for a country fair-esque celebration the whole family will enjoy.

The menu and decor are easy to execute, leaving you lots of time for old fashioned games like three-legged races, water balloon tosses, scavenger hunts, donut eating on a string, red rover, and egg in spoon races. Galvanized containers make perfect serving vessels, and rolls of burlap and a few bandanas are all you need to infuse a little colour into your celebration.

For recipes, more décor ideas, and easy activities to execute at your party, head on over to SavvyMom for the details!

A Hockey Party

For puck and stick loving kids, a hockey party is the perfect way to celebrate a birthday during the winter months. Find some ice (either a local outdoor rink or rent an indoor facility), a quiet street, or your basement (for mini sticks) and have everyone bring their own equipment to play. 

Serve some tasty post-game treats, along with this adorable and easy-to-make ice rink birthday cake, or the slightly more ambitious hot chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow frosting, and consider your party hosting duties complete. There really is very little needed in the way of decorations for this party because most of the action happens outdoors, but a plain white plastic tablecloth embellished with blue and red tape, and a few circles drawn with a Sharpie, can easily be turned into an ice rink table covering that is certain to wow the team. 

Head on over to SavvyMom for all the party details!

Food for an Art Party

This summer, the boys and I spent a day traipsing the halls of Toronto's art gallery, in order to take in the new Picasso exhibit. It was an inspiring display of some of his most famous pieces, and I used Design Mom's tip for making museums fun for kids: purchase a postcard in the gift shop at the beginning of your visit, and have your children find the image on their card as you're walking through looking at the pieces. An artistic treasure hunt, if you will. It was so fun, and made the outing much more exciting, I'm sure. 

This month's edition of Party Savvy published this morning, and it's all about throwing an art party for your little ones. I love this theme for so many reasons: it's creative, gender neutral and works just as well for those who are two, as it does for those who are twelve. 

Head on over to Savvy Mom for all the details, including how to make the most adorable artist's palette birthday cake, canvas cookies that can be drawn on with edible markers,and bright colour wheel rainbow fruit cups that will look great on any party table. 

 

Chitchat and Chocolate

This morning I woke up with a little spring in my step. It's been an unusually challenging week, and I'm thrilled it's finally Friday, but more than that I feel a little lighter after spending a good amount of time socializing yesterday. Who knew I was in such need?

First, there was a long overdue and lengthy Skype session with a good friend, which was followed by an evening out with a lovely group of women I didn't know to celebrate a mutual friend's birthday. Plenty of conversation with interesting and charming ladies was just what I needed to bring me out of this funk I've been in lately, and last night did not disappoint.

Cocoa Zucchini Cake

The boys are away on an overnighter at their day camp, and despite a few nerves on Jackson's part, they were mostly excited. One of his ten-year-old goals for this summer is to be braver, and this sleepaway from home is the first step towards developing a little security in having some separation between the two of us.

To ensure he doesn't miss home too much, I tucked a slice of this dark and decadent cocoa zucchini cake into the lunchboxes this morning. The recipe was adapted from The Farm, very probably the best cookbook to cross my desk this year. I've flipped through the pages several times, and practically memorized the titles of most of the recipes, simply because I want to make them all. They are reminiscent of old-fashioned simple cooking, requiring only the things that you're almost always likely to have on hand, without a trip to a specialty store or executive supermarket. 

Inspired by the blooming zucchini plant at the back of my garden, I assembled the cocoa zucchini cake, dogeared midway through the pages of this book, for the kids. I made a few changes to the original recipe, only because I firmly believe that using coffee in a cake, which also calls for cocoa, often results in a perfect flavour pairing. The "whipped cream" frosting was formed from a technique I've been meaning to try, and the results of both literally left us licking our plates.

Cocoa Zucchini Cake with "Whipped Cream" Frosting

Adapted from The Farm

This recipe makes one 9" cake. There is no need for two layers, but if you prefer the look of it, feel free to slice this cake in half though the middle. Keep in mind that you will need to double the frosting if you choose to make a multi-layer cake. 

For the cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup coffee (hot or cold)
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

For the icing:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9" cake pan, dusting the insides lightly with cocoa powder.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Set aside. 

Using an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Add half of the flour mixture, the coffee, the remaining flour mixture and the zucchini, stirring after each addition until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a cooling rack and allow it to rest for 1 hour.

To make the frosting, whisk the milk and flour in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool until room temperature. Cover the surface of the milk with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. 

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.  Add the milk mixture and mix on medium-high for 4 minutes or until the frosting looks like whipped cream. Add the vanilla and stir. 

Spread the icing evenly over the cake and dust with cocoa powder, if desired.