Puppy Birthday cake!!

Our little Almond Joy has finally turned a year old. I cannot believe how time just flew by. One minute she was a tiny little thing that could fit almost in the palm of our hands and now she is a very pretty puggy princess with the appetite of a horse. No lie she will gobble anything down. Her favorite word is cookie and she will pretty much ignore our existence when food is present but we still love the adorable mooch face. 

For her birthday we decided to make something special and make her a cake that was eatable for her and for the rest of the family without paws. We made a Whole wheat, peanut butter, and banana cake that was sweetened by honey and the banana themselves. No sugar or salts added. As for the frosting, we mixed organic peanut butter and Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt and it came out delicious. The texture was that of banana bread with a little hint of wheat but all in all, the flavor was good all the way around.

Here is the recipe for anyone that has a little puppy about to turn 1 or for anyone that wants to celebrate their dogs birthday!

Peanut Butter Banana Cake

Need, hand mixer,  parchment paper, 6in round cake pan or cupcake pan and pam so the cake doesn't stick to the edges.

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
1 Cup banana, mashed (About 2 bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Frosting:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
2 cups of Greek yogurt.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 350 degree F
2. Combine all dry together.
3. Combine all wet together
4. Mix ingredients until they are well incorporated.
5. Fill pan with cake mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

Center will still remain a bit moist due to the bananas. Place in the fridge and let it cool down a bit before adding the frosting.

We cut our cake in half and made it into a 2 layer cake.

Fill in or decorate as you would do a regular cake or if using cupcake pan, pipe on the frosting as you would a regular cupcake.

Honey Nut Cheerios Brittle!

Pastry art is not just about cakes, cupcakes, or pies. It also involve making other things like brittle, candies, chocolate work, and sugar works. Some are very simple, and some like almost everything else, require time to learn and technics which take practice. One of those simple recipes is brittle. Sweet, crunchy, and addictive, brittle is just one of those things that people can't live without.

We made the recipe twice but with different corn syrup, light and dark. You will be able to see the difference in the pictures.

For this recipe you will need a medium or large sauce pan, and a candy/deep frier thermometer, and a scale.

Ingredients:

4.5 oz Honey nut cheerios
6 oz sugar
3 fl oz dark or light corn syrup
2 fl oz water
1/2 oz butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Place sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, and salt in a sauce pan and mix to combine.

2. Over medium heat bring syrup to a boil. Wash sides with pastry brush and water to prevent crystallization.

3. Insert candy thermometer and cook without stirring.

4. When temperature reaches 300 degrees F Remove from heat.

5. Stir in vanilla and baking soda slowly, then add cheerios and combine all together.

6. On a sheet pan either lined with parchment or wax paper, spread out the mixture as soon as possible.


7. Let it cook and break into pieces.

 Light Corn Syrup

 Dark Corn Syrup

Cooking the sugar to 300 might take a while so in the mean time:

Or read a book, or try to catch a shiny pokemon! Whatever tickles your fancy.