Cake 5: S'mores Cake

This week I took on a request from a co-worker for a S'mores cake. Instead of searching for recipes, I decided to make this one up as I went along. For the cake, I made a simple butter cake and mixed in graham cracker crumbs.

When the cake cooled, I sliced each cake so that I would have six total layers (two per cake). In between each layer of graham cracker butter cake I alternated marshmallow fluff and chocolate frosting. The cake started as a five layer cake, as six seemed to be just too much.

For the exterior frosting I wanted to do a marshmallow frosting. In retrospect this was not a great decision. The frosting I made was tasty and fluffy, but it was not stiff enough to stay on the side of the cake. As a result it kept falling off the cake and pooling at the bottom. After a few times in and out of the fridge and still no good looking cake, I decided to remove the fifth layer.

The shorter cake made it easier to manage the frosting, but it was not keeping the frosting on the cake. So my final solution was to push graham crackers on to the side of the cake to hold the frosting in place. To finish the cake I placed marshmallow's on the top and used a torch to brown them slightly.

Poll Results: Favorite Desert

The poll results are in and we have a tie between Cake/Cupcakes and Brownies.

This makes me wonder what a brownie cake would taste like, or if anyone would even want to eat that. My co-worker just suggested a brownie layer, which lead me to brownie filling. All interesting ideas, worth trying.

Meet the Couple

Meet my sister, Lara Halverson, and her wonderful fiance, Matt Shepard.

All this time talking about cakes and I started to think, it may be nice to spend a little time talking about the bride and groom. After all, with out them this blog would not even exist.

I asked the happy couple a few questions so you (and I) could get to know them both a little better.

What is your favorite color?
Matt: Green
Lara: Pink

What is your favorite food?
Matt: Mexican
Lara: Eggs

What is your favorite desert?
Matt: Blondie Bar
Lara: Cookies

What you love most about your fiance?
Matt: I love Lara's attitude/outlook most
Lara: Matt is such a caring person, he is so full of life and can make anyone laugh. He makes me happy everyday and is so full of love. He has changed me for the better.

What are you looking forward to most about the wedding?
Matt: Gifts.....and seeing her in her dress. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I hope she doesn't wake up from the spell I have on her....
Lara: I am so excited to able to spend the rest of my life with him. I am looking forward to being able to spend the day with all of our family and people that have made us the people we are today. We have both been blessed to have grown up surrounded by wonderful people who love us and who we love.

I must admit when I read Matt's responses I got a little choked up. They truly are so in love with each other.

Cake 4: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

What is better than Peanut Butter and Chocolate together? For me, very little. So this week I decided to make one of my favorite cakes, Chocolate cake with Peanut Butter frosting. This is one I have made many times before - but only ever in cupcake form.

For the cake I tried a new recipe that called for a cup of strong coffee. The cake came out very moist with just a hint of coffee in the flavor. I will post the link once I can find it again :)

Peanut Butter frosting has become something I no longer need a recipe for. Just mix 1 cup butter with 1 cup creamy peanut butter until smooth. Then blend in powdered sugar until it is very thick, almost crumbly. Add milk until you get to the desired consistency. It turns out so creamy, goes on smooth and is not overly sweet.

I made one batch of cupcakes and one, two layer cake. The cupcakes made their way into my client's office and to project runway viewing on Thursday and the cake came with me to work today. Sadly, for the first time ever in 4 years of bringing cakes on the bus, I dropped the cake. Have no fear, I was able to save the cake (I only lost minimal frosting to the bus bench) and judging by my co-workers feedback, this one turned out quite well.

"Re: CakeIt tastes wonderful!! Chocolatey, but not overpowering. And the peanut butter frosting – not too sweet, but really complements the chocolate." -Janet

"Re: CakeThumbs up! I had a little taste. Nice job!" -John

"Re: CakeFreakin delicious – mmm frosting..." -Sarah

"That cake was awesome!! Now...if it only had jelly filling.... :)" -Tom
Re: Cake ( Maybe I should try a PB&J cake!)

Cake 3: White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling

To continue the Denver baking adventure, after we finished the Vanilla cake with Lemon filling we moved on to our second cake of the weekend. Sadly, this cake proved to be even more challenging.

We again had trouble removing our baked cakes from their pans. With the vanilla cake we were able to salvage each layer - unfortunately this time one layer made it out in noting more than crumbs. So our three layer cake quickly became a two layer cake.

The frosting, although delicious, never thickened to the consistency that is needed to nicely frost a cake. We attempted to add a few cups of powdered sugar (although this was not called for in the recipe) but it did little to improve the consistency. So, we decided to put the frosting in the fridge overnight and hoped for the best.

Making the filling was easily the best part of this cake! As my sister did not have a cloth to strain the seeds out of the boiled raspberries we used a nylon instead. This worked wonderfully and gave us more than enough raspberry liquid to use for our filling. Not to mention it was fun to do and made some great pictures.


Getting to the final product was a slight challenge, and I must admit it did not quite meet my standards in terms of look. But the taste was exceptional! The combination of white chocolate, cream cheese and raspberries melted in my mouth. I would highly recommend this cake recipe - but warn, it may not look like you envision.