Lime-in-the-Coconut OR Java Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Cake

This quick and easy cake's unique appearance means that you don't have to frost it! The top has a lovely texture that will make it a table-talker.

1 white cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
A splash of vanilla extract
2-3 large handfuls of sweetened, shredded coconut

Topping:
Powedered sugar
Lime juice or frozen limeade concentrate (OPTIONAL)

OR

Chocolate syrup
Instant iced coffee syrup
Milk

Make the cake batter according to the directions on the packaging, add the vanilla, and fold in 3/4 of the coconut. Pour the batter into two round pans, and sprinkle remaining coconut on top of one of them (this will be the top of the finished cake) . Bake according to package directions. Remove from oven, and let cool completely. Serve plain or mix some lime juice/limeade with the powdered sugar until thin and sweet with a limey kick, and drizzle over cake. OR, drizzle the cake generously with the coffee and chocolate syrups, and serve in a bowl with milk.

Cakes!

I feel the title is fairly self explanatory. :)

Made by my 8 year old sister! Strawberry cake with lemon icing, studded with sliced almonds, ringed with sliced kiwis and fresh strawberries, and decorated with spherical rainbow sprinkles. So. Delicious.

Made for my uncle and aunt's wedding anniversary. Hershey's Chocolate Cake recipe with some tweaks, frosted with Hershey's recipe Chocolate Frosting and ringed with skinless slivered almonds boiled in water, milk, and sugar. Decorated with red decorative gel and more almonds.

Mix-made yellow cake and my chocolate citrus glaze (cocoa powder, powdered sugar, a couple drops of oil, and pulp-free orange juice). Adds a rich and citrusy kick to any cake.

I made this for my little sister's 7th birthday. Chocolate cake filled with lactose-free vanilla ice cream (mixed with green food color and peppermint extract), frosted in vanilla frosting and decorated with blue decorating sugar and chocolate sprinkles.

Made for my flamingo-obsessed friend's 19th birthday. Strawberry cake with pink creamcheese frosting, decorated with black decorating icing.

Canvas Pencil Portrait

I did this portrait for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. To make sure the proportions/position of my sketch was the same as the original photo, I used a grid layout on an oval frame canvas. I sprayed it with a fixative after I was finished to prevent smudging, as I sketch with a 0.5mm mechanical pencil.

Henna Inspired Cards

If you haven't noticed yet, henna is becoming quite popular among American girls. Originally an Indian bridal tradition, the intricate designs remind one of lacy shadows on the hands and feet. While making a card for a friend, I decided to use ideas from typical henna designs to create my card and wrapping paper. I used a grocery bag for the wrapping paper, and regular printer paper for the card. I also used a UniBall ink pen to draw my designs. There is a gorgeous henna-style wedding cake at this link: http://peacock-wedding.blogspot.com/2010/11/mehndihenna-style-peacock-design.html.

These have been done freehand. This site is GREAT for inspiration: http://www.hennapage.com/henna/what/lineart/index.html

Fabric Painting

Fabric painting is a great way to create useful, unique gifts for friends and family. You can use t-shirts, blank canvas bags, and so much more! These are a couple t-shirts I did for my youngest two siblings. I'll post photos of the canvas bags later.

First, make sure everything has been washed before you do any painting. You can use a special fabric marker that disappears in the washer to quickly sketch out a design. These sketches took about 5-10 minutes, and provided a guideline for the design so that they did not end up at a weird angle.

Don't be afraid to mix colors! Invest in a cheap paintbrush (like the kind that come in kids' watercolor sets) to help you brush in shades and details and aid in mixing.

Another rough sketch.

Take the time to make sure your mixes are the same shades that you want, or THIS will happen.... :

Ah well, live and learn....at least my siblings liked them haha. :)

Fourth-of-July Cake

So, this Independence Day I decided to make a red, white, and blue cake. It's was pretty easy to do, and tasted delicious. I wish I had had more time to make it look gorgeous and do the cake from scratch, but I was definitely in a time crunch. Oh well!

1 Red Velvet cake mix box
       and required ingredients for the cake mix (most likely: eggs, oil, and water)
1 small tub of cream cheese (I used fat-free)
1 package of white chocolate chips
Some vanilla extract
About 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 tub of whipped topping (I used lite)
Blue food coloring

1. Make the cake mix according to the directions, and bake in two round pans (I used 9").

2. While the cake is baking, Mix together the tub of cream cheese, a splash of vanilla, and the powdered sugar until smooth. (This will be the filling in between the layers.)

3. Mix together the whipped topping and some food coloring until it is the desired blue. Set aside both the filling and the blue whip in the fridge until later.

4. With your microwave on 50% power, melt the chocolate chips in a bowl stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. DO NOT OVERHEAT.

5. On a baking pan lined with parchment paper, drizzle the white chocolate 'soup' into abstract squiggles or star shapes. Stick into the freezer to set.

6. When the cake is done, remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from pans and decorating. I put the cream cheese frosting in between the cake layers, and then frosted them all over with the blue whip. Then I studded the whole cake with the white chocolate 'stars'.

Variations: Make cream cheese frostings tinted; use cream cheese frosting for the whole cake instead of only the filling; fill with vanilla bean mousse; color the white chocolate. And on and on. Be creative! :)

Exotic Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Based off of Quaker Oats' Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies recipe, this is always a crowd pleaser. A few ingredients have been changed here and there, and there is certainly always room for more creativity. Instead of raisins, I used dried cherries, dried blueberries, and Craisins®. Try mixing in coconut, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate chips with dried pineapples, mangos, and papayas for a tropical treat. In reality, the basic recipe is merely a way of holding different flavors together. Instead of vanilla extract, you can try almond extract or other flavors.

A little over 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 snack-size applesauce container (I used cinnamon, but choose flavors that will compliment those of your mix-ins)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup mix-ins


1. Mix wet ingredients together in a bowl, and dry ingredients in a seperate bowl (excluding oats and mix-ins).

2. Combine contents of both bowls until smooth, and then stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake 8-10 minutes at 350°F until golden.

4. Cool for about a minute in the pan, and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when completely cool. Makes about 4 dozen.

Brand New Blog

So, I've finally hopped onto the Blogging Bandwagon. I guess my main motivation for doing this is that I wanted a more consolidated place to put up recipes and photos of how they turned out. And since I am on my lunch break right now, I'm obviously thinking about food. :)