cake

Too Much Fun Stuff

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 10 Comments

Well, I think we outdid ourselves this weekend. In just 2-ish days, our weekend included (and not in this order):

  • 2 Indians games
  • A date night
  • Cookie baking
  • Muffin making
  • A visit to a new local bar/brewery
  • A block party
  • A family birthday dinner
  • A 5K race
  • A nature walk

See what I mean? I didn’t even include work, which took up a few hours of my weekend as well! Good thing I like being busy.

Friday night started out with a date night! B and I went to the new Southern Tier and grabbed drinks. I of course had to get a Pumpking- they had a coffee stout kind that was amazing!

We will definitely be back.

After that, we were off to the Indians game! This is our 9th game of the season together.

It was just the 2 of us at the game for the first time all season! It was nice to just relax and enjoy the game.

Saturday morning FW and I let LM and B sleep in, so we started off the morning by making muffins!

Later in the morning, we took a walk to the nature center. It was packet pickup for a race we had planned for Sunday. FW enjoyed checking out the turtle.

And then we went fot a short nature walk.

That afternoon included some cookie baking.

And then we took said cookies in our wagon and headed to our block party!

Everything was really kid friendly. FW loved the chalk.

And the donut game- you had to try to eat it on the string without any hands!

There was also a game that involved eating whipped cream with no hands.

And an egg toss.

Not a bad block party, right?

Sunday morning started early with a 5k race around the Shaker Lakes.

It was my first race pushing the stroller the entire time – B pushed LM and I pushed FW – and it was fun!

My goal was to do under 10 minute miles and we did it – so I was happy.

In the afternoon, we headed to another Indians game. This time, with FW.

After the game, it was time for dinnernat B’s parents’ house. We celebrated his birthday with his favorite- steak for dinner and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert.

And that’s a wrap! Some questions for you:

  • Do you like chocolate cake?
  • Did you get to do any races this weekend?

I’m linking up with the weekly wraps

Still Feelin Like Fall!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’m not gonna lie, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. Yes, it was Halloween, but I was getting over a cold (thanks, air travel!), and feeling tired and not too in the mood to do anything exciting.

Friday night included Souper Market takeout and catching up on Netflix. No photos needed – I mean, don’t you know what soup and old How I Met Your Mother episodes look like?

Saturday morning, B had signed us up for a Halloween themed 5 mile race. B dressed up as Ron Burgundy and I dressed up as a dinosaur. I still can’t believe B ran 5 miles in a turtleneck, blazer and grey slacks. That’s commitment!

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After the race, we decided to do our typical Saturday routine. We hadn’t been in town in a while, so it was great to go to the Market and grab some tea. Warm ginger tea and honey with a cold = amazing.

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Saturday afternoon, I did some baking and B did some cooking. We had plans to go to Dave and Anson’s house for trick-or-treaters and scary movie night. B made amazing deep dish pizzas to bring – they were so good I forgot to take a photo until we had eaten half of them.

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For our annual scary movie night, we opted to watch Saw. It’s a movie I’ve seen a few times, but Dave and Anson hadn’t seen it and since it was going off Netflix Nov. 1, we decided to watch it.

Sunday morning, thanks to Daylight Saving, we got up pretty early and decided to get some brunch at Phuel. I’m a big fan of their yogurt and granola parfait.

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After brunch, since it was 60s and gorgeous, we decided to get in a long walk in the Metroparks. The fall colors were looking beautiful and I enjoyed a free Starbucks beverage on the walk. It was pretty much a the perfect fall scene – and the RED CUPS are out already! I’m not ready for red cup season yet.

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After the walk, B and I watched the Browns game and may have taken a nap. That’s two naps for me in one weekend – a new record! I’m taking advantage of getting sleep when I can, especially with this cold.

Family dinner on Sunday night ended with a great dessert – B’s mom made carrot cake and it was AMAZING. I’m not a huge cake person (I prefer cookies and ice cream) – but carrot cake. Oh my. And this one was delicious!

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And that was it! See, a pretty uneventful weekend.

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite type of cake?
  • Do you have a favorite scary movie?
  • Do you like naps?

Another St. Patrick’s Day Dessert: Baileys Cake with Irish Cream Glaze

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

I’ve been on a baking and cooking crusade lately. Baking, cooking and running are my outlets when I am stressed, and I tend to go overboard when that’s the case. Anyway, I decided to bake one more St. Patrick’s Day dessert just in time for the holiday – this time, a Baileys Cake.

What? More Baileys desserts? — you’re probably thinking. Well, yes. One of my favorite things about our trip to Ireland this summer was the people and the scenery, not the food (sorry!), but I did love the ever present and available Irish Cream, so that’s exactly what I’m planning my recipes around.

baileys cake with an irish cream glaze

Baileys Cake with Irish Cream Glaze

adapted from this Baileys Pound Cake Recipe

Here’s what you need:

For the cake (loaf)

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 stick low-fat butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs (or 3/4 cup Egg Beaters, which of course I used)
  • 1 cup Baileys (I used the caramel kind. because it’s my favorite)
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

For the glaze

  • 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 1/4 c. Baileys

Here’s what you do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with Pam.
  2. Cream together butters and sugar.
  3. Mix together eggs and Baileys. Add to butter and sugar mixture.
  4. In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add to liquid batter, about 1/4 cup at a time. Mix batter well until super smooth and evenly combined.
  5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
  6. Bake for 1 hour. Test at about 55 minutes by sticking a toothpick into the loaf – when it comes out clean the loaf is done! Mine took about 62 minutes.
  7. While loaf is baking, make the glaze! Combine powdered sugar with 1/4 cup Baileys. Feel free to use a whisk and combine until a smooth glaze forms.
  8. After loaf is removed from the oven and cooled slightly, drizzle glaze on top.
  9. Enjoy!

baileys cake with an irish cream glaze for st. patrick's day

baileys cake with an irish cream glaze

Feel free to enjoy with some Baileys on ice .. or in your coffee!

Apple Picking = Apple Baking!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

A few weeks ago, B and I went apple picking! Growing up in Upstate New York, apple picking is something I remember doing every fall. We’d go to my favorite Indian Ladder farms, pick a bunch of apples, buy some cider donuts and call it a day. My dad would make my Grandma’s apple sauce recipe, and that’s when I knew fall was really here.

I haven’t lived in NY for quite a few years, but I’ve been working to bring the tradition with me. So this year, B and I went apple picking at Patterson’s. While it’s no Indian Ladder, it will certainly do while I’m in Cleveland 🙂 We picked mostly Golden Delicious and Jonathans and brought home two bags!

After making apple muffins, eating an apple (or two) a day, it was time to get rid of the 6+ apples we still had left, two weeks later.

Luckily, I still happened to have a recipe laying around from last year, given to me from my coworker, Gail. Gail had brought in a delicious, moist apple cake and I HAD to try it out – with my own twists* of course! The result? A delicious, sweet, moist gooey cake. I’ll definitely be making it again!

Ooey Gooey Apple Cake With Vanilla Glaze

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the cake:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 6 diced apples

For the icing:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2-3 teaspoons milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Here’s what you’ll do:

  • Mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Combine eggs with oil and sugar. Slowly mix in flour mixture.
  • Fold in diced apples. (*i didn’t do this, but Gail also folded in 1 c chopped nuts)
  • Pour mixture (it will be sticky) into 13x9x2 pan and bake 350 for 35 min or until done.
  • While the cake is baking, blend together ingredients for glaze. Add in powdered sugar slowly so that it doesn’t become too thick.
  • When cake is cool, drip glaze over cake.

Enjoy! Try not to eat the whole cake at once 🙂

*To make Gail’s recipe as is, add 1 c chopped nuts to the batter and ditch the glaze. If you can!