birthday cake #1

Addilyn had a rainbow-themed birthday...mostly because I wanted to make this cake.  It wasn't super hard to make, just time consuming, but it was so pretty that it was well worth the wait.

I started with enough cake batter to make one 8-inch double layer cake.  You could double it and get much thicker layers (and therefore a lot more cake) but for our little party, this would be more than enough.  I used the white cake recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook but you could just as easily use a cake mix.  I divided my batter into six dishes and tinted them (I promise there was six; I just didn't take pictures until my first set was in the oven).  Despite the yellow lighting in my kitchen, the colors were really quite pretty.  After dividing and tinting came the tedious part.  I cut out a circle of parchment to fit in my pans and then greased and floured and parchmented  (I may have made up that word) my two pans.  I added two colors to their respective pans and baked them.  Since these layers were so thin, they took less time to bake so I had to watch them carefully to make sure they didn't burn or overbake.  Then I let the cake layers cool in the pans and removed them to cool completely on racks.  I repeated this two more times (wash pans, parchment, grease, flour, bake, cool, remove, cool) for my two other sets of colors. If you happen to have 6 pans that are the same size and shape, that would make this much less work.  It's doubtful anyone does though, so this tactic works just as well.

After all the layers have baked and cooled come the fun part: assembly and frosting.  I used the white frosting recipe from the same Better Homes and Gardens cookbook but, again, you could use the stuff from the can and be just as happy.  Look at all those pretty layers all stacked up! This could be another fun and attractive way to serve this cake...with all the layers exposed.  So pretty!

Now all the layers are hidden and ready for the surprise upon cutting.

My husband calls this view "Flamboyant PacMan".  I love it!

Here it is all cut up and ready for eating.  Such pretty colors and such rainbow fun!  This idea has been floating around out there for a while so if you haven't tried it already, get going!  It is fun for birthdays or whenever your day needs some brightening.  Enjoy!

Honey Roasted Chickpeas

Here is another Asher-friendly snack...although the other kids love them as well. They are especially great because of all the protein they pack into such a sweet and delicious form.Honey Roasted Chickpeas
Barely Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves (any or all are good)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Let dry completely on a paper towel (don't skip this step!).
2. Whisk together oil, spices and sugar in a small bowl. Add chickpeas and stir to coat. Spread on a large baking sheet and cook 40-45 minutes.
3. Place hot chickpeas in a bowl and coat with honey. Spread coated chickpeas back on baking sheet and allow to dry.

The final product: these are a wonderful snack to have around. They make your house smell divine while they are baking. They are just a little bit sticky but if you wanted to coat the honey-coated chickpeas in some granulated sugar, I'm sure that would solve the problem and be absolutely delicious. As I would like to avoid the extra sugar for Asher, we'll keep the recipe as-is. Enjoy!

Kettle Corn

I'm not going to completely ignore the fact that it's been 3 months plus since my last post. I moved. That's the only excuse I have to offer. I'm going to restart though and we're going to ease our way back into things with this super-light, yet really fun recipe. This is an Asher-friendly snack that the whole family loves. It's super simple and makes your house smell amazing. Enjoy!!

Kettle Corn
from sweetsavorylife at tastykitchen.com

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt

1. Add the oil to a large (but light) pot. Throw in a couple of kernels and turn heat to medium. Wait for the kernels to pop and then add your sugar and the rest of your popcorn. Stir. Cover with a lid and wait for kernels to start popping again. Once they start, lift the pot off the heat and give it a quick shake every 3-4 seconds and then return to heat. Do this until the popping subsides. Immediately transfer popped corn to a big bowl and stir in salt. Enjoy warm (because it's heavenly that way) or store in an airtight container.