Today I Made Heart Cupcakes

I took in my 2 nephews a lot this weekend. I wanted to make something Valentines{ish}. Since public schools do not allow homemade treats, I made them for the smaller boy's private preschool.

We decided to make Red Velvet Heart Cupcakes.

We piped in cream cheese frosting. Then we added chocolate frosting with a single chocolate chip. Each boy got to have one for a snack and there are plenty still for preschool. Win, win for everyone!

Superman Cake

I made a chocolate cake in two round pans. Then I made 1/2 a batch of red velvet cake in a square pan. I was planning on having the two circle cakes as a base for the superman logo; cut out of the square cake.

This is where disaster struck! The red velvet cake crumbled to pieces when I tried to get it out of the pan! I was mad! A cuss word or two may have come out of my mouth. By the way I really do not cuss very often! I vow every year that I'm going to stick to cookies! It seems like once a year this happens!

Here's my process: I spray the pan first, sprinkle it lightly with flour before pouring the batter in. The cake is fully done; toothpick comes out clean! Then it's really cool before I decide to pop it out! I even help the edges with a spatula. What am I doing wrong?

I decided to wrap up everything {even the crumbled pieces} and go to bed. In the morning I had a brilliant idea. Why not use the crumbled up velvet cake? One of my worst pet peeves is discarding something that is perfectly edible! I crumbled the cake up even more, added frosting to the cake, and sandwiched the two chocolate cakes together with it. Then instead of using tons of red food coloring for the logo, I used red velvet cake/frosting mixture.

Cakesters

Candy Stick Lane inspired me to make these Caksters. They are yummy!

How to make them:

In a mixing bowl mix 1 box of any cake mix, 1 egg, 1/4 Olive Oil and 1/4 Buttermilk.

*If you have no Buttermilk, here's a substitute: This makes 1 cup, so you can cut it in 1/2 depending on what you are making. 1 Tablespoon lemon juice plus enough milk or plain yogurt to fill a cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using. I used this alternative recipe to make Buttermilk to make the Cakesters.

The dough will be stiff. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. You can make different sizes, but in this case I like a smaller size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

I found that they were a little soft when I got them out of the oven, so the first time I made these I didn't think they were done. I didn't over cook them, but they were not as moist as the second time that I made them. Just insert a toothpick to test if they are done. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are good to go!

Frost them and sandwich.

Here is the Red Velvet Cake with the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Here is the Lemon Cake with the Lemon Frosting:

I make some things like this to get rid of frosting. When I ran out I really didn't want to open another container. I made a few ice cream sandwiches. My boy's LOVED them! You have to work QUICK.