Livin' and Learnin'

For my second Pinterest project, I found a “Christmas Wreath Cake” that seemed pretty easy to do, and it was so cute that I decided to try it out!

You will need a bunt cake pan, one box of white cake mix, a can of white “whipped” icing, red and green food coloring, and your choice of sprinkles.

First, mix the cake mix according to directions. (I’ve always used a blender to mix cake mixes. Put the eggs and oil in first, followed by the cake mix, then the water on top. And blend! Viola! Cake is mixed in a pourable container, too!)

Second, pour 1 cup of cake batter into two cups.

One will be colored with green food coloring, the other with red. The remaining portion will stay white.

Next, mix the necessary amount of food coloring into each respective cake batter. It needs to be a solid green and red. No pink! 🙂

Give your bunt pan a through coating of Pam, or grease as you like.

Pour about half of the white batter into the greased pan, followed by all the red, then all the green batters. Finish off by pouring the remained of the white batter. DO NOT MIX, just layer one over the other.

(The bubbly yellow stuff is the Pam)

Now, bake according to the box directions, and cool throughly.

For the icing:

Divide a can of white whipped icing in half. Use green food coloring to color one of the halves. Leave the other half white.

Put the icings in the microwave for a few seconds, just until it gets a little thin. Alternate drizzling the green and white icing over the cake, letting the drizzle collect on the cake plate. Once all the icing is used, cover the cake with the sprinkles.

Finished product:

View of the top:

According to the Pinterest page I read, when the cake is cut, there will be a swirl or layering of the red, green and white cakes. I can’t cut it now because it’s going to my Maw-In-Law’s house for Christmas, but I’ll be sure to get a pic once it’s cut!

UPDATE:

The cake was a hit, and it went fast. I was able to get a pic when it was cut, and this is how the center turned out…

All in all, I am pleased with the look and taste of the cake and I will surely make it again.

Merry Christmas!!!

I saw a variety of Christmas trays made from Starlight Mints on Pinterest, and I absolutely loved them! I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to make, so why not give it a try?

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap the mints (I used Publix brand Starlight Mints. They were the only ones that I could find a week before Christmas.)

Ok, The next step is a very important one according to other bloggers on Pinterest. PUT PARCHMENT PAPER ON A COOKIE SHEET. If you do not use parchment paper, the candy will be forever stuck to your cookie sheet!

Arrange the mints into the desired shape. (I wanted a circle.)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. (I baked mine for 10)

When you take the candy out, it’s not runny, but tacky and HOT. Be very careful!

Mine did not create a circle to my over achiever’s compulsive standards, so I decided to make a bowl! A candy bowl, haha!

So I cut the parchment paper around the candy and left about an inch extra around so I could use it to move the candy. I put a small glass bowl upside down on the counter and slid the candy over it and used the parchment paper to mover the candy into the shape of a bowl.

I let it cool for about 25 minutes. And here is the finished product:

Ok, so it isn’t perfect, but I could put wrapped candy in it at least. I was my first try, after all. 🙂

But, I did learn what tweaking needs to be done for next time!

Merry Christmas y’all!

And Thanks Pinterest!