My own private "party"

Hot cocoa with a scoop of ice cream.

Use your favorite hot cocoa (I like the candy cane Stephen's hot cocoa)

and about 1/4 cup scoop of vanilla ice cream

Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Cake

Would love to have you all sitting around the table with me eating chocolate cake--remember doing that? This might be a little healthier than we used to do, but oh, it still puts a smile on your heart.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Margarine

4 Tablespoons Cocoa

1 Cup Water

2 Cups Rice Flour

1 1/2 Cups Sucanat

1/2 Cup Almond Milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Cup Arrowroot

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Dash of Salt

Combine flour and sucanat in mixing bowl.

Mix together margarine, coconut oil, cocoa, and water;







Bring to a boil.

Pour over flour and sucanat, mix well.
Add soured almond milk, soda, cinnamon, vanilla, arrowroot, xanthan and salt and mix until blended.

Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees in a greased and floured 10 x 15 glass pan. If I have chocolate chips, they go on top, too!








Frosting:
1/2 Cup Margarine
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons Almond Milk

About 3 Cups powdered sugar (You can powder your sucanat in the blender if you are a purist).

Melt margarine; add cocoa, vanilla and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Mix well.    

Frost cake after it has cooled for 20 minutes. 

Enjoy with someone you love, or even alone, just enjoy the healing influence of CHOCOLATE!

Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops

Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops
You've heard of those yummy tasting cake balls covered in chocolate well here is a fun ice cream take on them.

Another take on cake in an ice cream cone is using a flat bottom cone and putting the cake batter right in the cone and baking them that way. Yes, it really works Grammy used to do it! When they're done you just frost the top.


1-Make your cake balls. This can be done several ways. You can either get a specialty pan made just for cake balls which is what I did. Or you can do the classic method where you mix cake crumbs with frosting and shape them into balls. Then and do pardon my pun but, freeze your balls.

(Tips for Cake Mixes that I give to my cake decorating students...so if you want to get the best bang out of your cake mixes always 1-sift the mix, 2-Add a package of pudding mix, 3-Use milk or flavored coffee creamer instead of water. 4-NEVER beat your cake batter with egg beaters!
Always mix all dry ingredients then make a well and put in all your liquid ingredients in that well and beat liquid ingredients with a fork while slowly incorporating all the dry mix. *Don't over beat your cake batter, you will over develop the gluten which will give you a tougher crumb.
5-Glass pans bake at 350*, Aluminum pans up to 8in bake at 350 anything 9in and over bake at 325. Note this will increase baking time.)

2-Cut your cones to the right size for the cake balls.










3-Melt the chocolate/almond bark/candy melt or whatever you plan to use. I like candy melts because they come colored. Then dip your frozen balls (sorry, I just can't stop) in the melted chocolate. Then place the ball on the cone and sprinkle, sprinkles on the top.

*I like to pre-fill the cone with a prize or candy before the ball goes on top.



4-Chill the cones in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens. (takes less then 2 min)










5-Pipe melted brown chocolate on top the place a red jelly bean as the cherry on top.










6- Watch em' disappear before you're eyes!















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Lisa, your pepper steak inspired me to make pepper chicken...I used chicken sausage, red and yellow bell peppers, sweet and sour sauce and left over couscous.

Party, Party, Party!

Mabel and Stella's birthday invitations

The theme this week, in honor of Mabel and Stella's fourth birthday, is Birthday Party!  I was first going to make the theme be Ice Cream since that's the kind of party the girls want.  But I kept thinking of Heidi's first post about Apple Dumplings and Burnt Caramel Ice Cream and I couldn't do that to her.  Unless I send her a new ice cream bucket.
I hope to be spending a good amount of time this week devoted to all things ice cream.  And if you have any good ideas about things for nine 3 and 4-year-olds to do for an hour and a half, please send me your thoughts.  Seriously, email me.


But before I can get to the ice cream party decor and food I need to finish these dang fairies that I want to give to the girls for their birthday.  Here's what I have done so far.  Follow the link below to see what they are really supposed to look like.  I've got a long way to go.  Those curly pink spiders back there are really supposed to be adorable flower houses for the fairies that open and close like a budding flower.

I found the pattern in Knit Simple Holiday 2011.  I fell in love with the little sprites and had to make them.  Flora & Fairies by Susan B. Anderson