SOFTBALL CUPCAKE DEBACLE

I wanted to share with you one of those ideas that didn't quite come out ok.  This posting was written at the end of softball season.

I know most of you have seen the sites on Pinterest that show what a customer orders and what they receive.  Well, I can now join that club.

I was preparing a Senior night for the softball team and a lot of planning had gone into making the gifts, having team pictures made, creating a special gift wrapped presentation and ordering a cake.

I found this beautiful cupcake cake on Pinterest.  I took a picture and headed off to the bakery, which shall remain unnamed.

After showing the baker the picture, she wrote down, 24 cupcakes with neon yellow rosettes in a circle with red baseball lacings.

Of course, the day I picked the cake up was unseasonably hot.  I bought a ten lb. bag of ice and loaded it into a plastic tub.  I was ready to keep this cake on ice.

When I walked up to the counter to pick up my cake, this was the site I viewed.  Absolute horror on my part......

This was a BASEBALL cake with 3 yellow roses on it!!  I was devastated.  It was too late to make another one. When the counter clerk asked me if I would take it for $10.00 instead of $25.00, I didn't have much choice.

I took the cake to the car and put it on ice.  On the way to school to pick up the softball players, I was on the verge of tears.  I had wanted this Senior Night to be so special for the softball players.  Once I got to the park, I showed the coach and she smiled and something to the effect of 'the girls will love it!'

In the midst of getting the cake out, I forgot to place the miniature banner with the seniors name on the cake.  It was time for a do-over.

We still had the tournament game and I decided to try to make it myself.  I made a batch of vanilla cupcakes and placed them in my round Tupperware container.

I got out my Wilton cake decorating tips and piped the frosting on in a rosette pattern.  Not bad.

Using red frosting gel, I piped the lacings onto the cake.  That was a bit more challenging.

The banner was placed amongst the cupcakes and the cake was complete.

This cupcake design was so easy to create.  I will be using this design again.

FILLED ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY CREAM

A great make-ahead summer desserts that is cool on the palate is on the plate for today.

I got this idea from a great friend of mine back home.  You can make a twist and change the flavor very easily.

Today we are making a strawberry cream freezer cake.

The ingredients I will be using are the following:  one angel food cake, one lb. of fresh whole strawberries, 3 c. half & half.(I had it in the fridge, otherwise I would have used heavy whipping cream.) This dessert will have fewer calories using the half & half. Two containers of prepared whipped topping and a 1/4 c. of sugar.

Using the food processor, I cleaned and hulled the strawberries and pureed them with the sugar.

Using the immersion blender, whip the half and half.  It will not whip like whipping cream, but it will thicken after a few minutes.

Place in plastic container and put in freezer until the liquid becomes more solid.

Don't worry about separation of the liquid.

Meanwhile, take your store bought angel food cake and cut the top third off horizontally.

Tunnel out the bottom piece of the cake being careful not to tear a hole in the base.

Sorry about the next blurry picture.  Here is the filling removed from the freezer.

Fill the tunnel with the filling.

Sorry, another blurry picture.

Place the top back on.

Take three pieces of foil and lay them out on the counter.  Place the cake in the middle.

Begin frosting the cake with the whipped topping making sure to cover the hole in the middle.

This is the crazy part.   Carefully, wrap the cake in the foil.  I promise you it won't smush the frosting whipped topping. Place in the freezer.

A side note on the filling.  It wasn't very sweet with 1/3 cup of sugar.  If you want it sweeter, I would add a 1/2 cup of sugar the next time.  But Mr. Thrifty doesn't like desserts too sweet, so I am sure he will like it just the way I made it.

Place the cake in the freezer.

I wanted to make a strawberry sauce to serve with the cake.  I took my remaining strawberries and smashed them with a potato masher.

Add a 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Then cook on stove until the sauce becomes a light syrup.  Place in container and freeze.

When ready to serve, take the cake and syrup out of the freezer.  

 Thaw the strawberry sauce and place in a sandwich bag.

 Snip a small corner out of the bag and drizzle the sauce over the cake.

What a refreshing dessert!

This is an awesome make ahead dessert to serve on those hot days of summer.

COTTON BRANCHES IN SILVER FOR SUMMER

 A great plant arrangement for the deep south is to arrange cotton stems in a vase

These stems can be pricey.  After purchasing these, I found a site online that shows you how to make them out of tree limbs, pinecone seeds, cotton balls and hot glue.  I think I will make a cotton ball stem wreath later in the season.

But for right now, this arrangement looks great in the foyer.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY- PRESENT FOR YOUR MAIL CARRIER 2016

Here is a great idea for your post person(?) for next Christmas.  I wrote this post back in December, but with this much time ahead, you can be thinking ahead for this year.

We have an awesome mail carrier and I wanted to give her an extra treat this year.  I normally just give her a monetary gift, but since I make a great deal of cookies, I wanted to pass on a few to her too.

I was shopping at my favorite Dollar Tree and came upon this cute metal decorated mailbox.  It was the perfect size to place into our mailbox so she could pick it up when she gave us our daily mail.  Even though it isn't the holiday season, Dollar Tree usually carries this type of mail box.  In order to put that Christmas touch on it, you could mod podge Christmas wrapping or scrapbook paper on it.

I placed a paper doily in the bottom first.

I filled it with a variety of Christmas treats.



The gift envelope and miniature mailbox(with the flag up of course) were placed in the mailbox ready for delivery.

Now, that's what I call a personal present.



JULY 4TH 2016

 It just took a quick change up to make the porch a bit more festive for the July holiday. I removed the lavender pink geranium from the bicycle basket.  In its place, I placed a basket of red, white and purple vinca plants.  Draping the flag bunting finished up the porch.

I took the bunting from the large buffet in the kitchen table area.

And hung it on the porch post.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY.  ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH YOUR FAMILIES.

JULY MANTLE 2016

So sorry but I thought that I had posted this on Thursday.

I hadn't planned on creating the July mantle in May, but I came across a red, white and blue mixed flower plant at Walmart and it started the plotting for the mantle.

I came home and pulled out one of my favorite pots to set the plant into.  My sister, Sharon had given us each a copper pot for being in her wedding many years ago.  All I needed to do was clean the copper and I was ready to begin.  Setting it on one of my older projects, a French blue step stool was the perfect place to stage the plant.  All the plant needed was a few American flags.

A close up of the planter.

After retrieving the flag post I made last year, I set it and my clearance red leather letter V-for victory next to the mantle clock.

A close up of the flag post and mantle clock.

I love the combination of the red, white and blue flowers.

I will be leaving this mantle up for the summer as it can take us to July 4th and Labor Day.