Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream

Super moist layers of lemony cake are frosted in an amazing homemade buttercream flavored with lemon curd & fresh lemon zest in this Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream...

Who else seems to be stuck in spring limbo (aka, what I am deeming as sprinter) where you live?? It is almost mid-April, & we have had snow flurries off & on over the past few days. Tomorrow it will finally feel like spring here in West Virginia with some sunshine and temps in the 60's. 

The weather man is predicting a high of 79 for both Saturday & Sunday (sprummer, anyone?), and then we are headed right back into the 40's with possible snow by the beginning of next week. I really wish Mother Nature would get it together already! 

In the meantime, I am just going to go ahead and create a little sunshine of my own with this luscious and bright Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream. ;) I actually made this cake for Easter dessert this year, and it was a huge hit with my family. 

You just can't go wrong with these super moist layers of cake bursting with lemony goodness, all frosted in an amazing buttercream flavored with homemade lemon curd & fresh lemon zest...

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake

With its rich & chocolaty cake layers frosted with a fresh raspberry buttercream, you certainly cannot go wrong with this crowd-pleasing Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake for your next party or celebration...

Let me start this post off by first offering an apology to any of my Instagram followers who may have seen the teaser photo I posted back in August for this insanely decadent cake. You all have been waiting almost two months for this recipe, and I didn't mean to make you all wait that long for this one. 

But you know, life & work & the kids starting back to school got in the way. But today the wait is finally over, my friends!

I actually whipped up this cake for my son's 20th birthday party in August. And yes, I did say TWENTY. I mean, how does that even happen anyways? 

When they say the years go by fast, they are not exaggerating, you all. One day you are planning a Blue's Clues themed party for their first birthday, and then the next thing you know they have officially left their teen years and are in their twenties. I can't even wrap my head around it sometimes.

Frosted Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Bars

Stuffed with Candy Corn Oreos & topped with a rich candy corn buttercream, these soft, thick Frosted Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Bars are fall perfect...

Am I the only one who cannot walk past a shelf of candy corn in the store and not pick up a bag?  It is the smell that gets me every single time.  I can be 5 feet away from the aisle that has the candy corn in it and follow the scent to that orange, yellow, and white deliciousness.  

And there is nothing like picking up that first bag of candy corn each fall and breaking into it before you have even pulled out of the parking lot of the store. 

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream

This week I am creating two delicious recipes from just one box of Spice Cake Mix.  First up?  These decadent & moist Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream...

So, here is my one & only big complaint about boxed cake mixes- who needs 24 cupcakes all at once??  

I mean, seriously.  That is just begging to go straight from my belly to my waistline and hips.  

Every time I pull out a box of cake mix from the cabinet, I sigh and ask myself... "Which of my family & friends can I make it out to in the next few days to hand some of these off to?"

Then I had a light bulb moment the other day...

Who says I HAVE to use the entire box of cake mix all at once??

That's right! No one! :)

Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches

A rich champagne buttercream is sandwiched between two thick & soft sparkling sugared cookies in these Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches...

Ever since I made my White Chocolate Peeps Cookiewiches for Easter earlier this year, I have kind of had a thing for coming up with decadent cookiewiches just for special occasions and holidays. 

My Easter cookiewiches were followed up a few months later by the Blue Velvet & Raspberry Buttercream Cookiewiches I made for the 4th of July. 

And since it has been over 5 months since I have posted a new cookie-wich recipe, I thought why not come up with one that would be perfect for celebrating New Year's Eve with? ;)

I had a vision in my head for exactly how I wanted these cookie-wiches to look, but I ran into one tiny snag- I couldn't find the exact sparkling gold and silver sugars I had pictured in my mind! I searched my local craft store and all the area grocery stores. I even searched Amazon to no avail. 

Then I remembered my good friends over at Chocoley and thought why not click on over there and take a look? And sure enough they had exactly what I was looking for in their Gold & Silver Sheen Metallic Sugar Crystals Set! Sparkling perfection, folks.

These Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches are rich, decadent, and fun, just like how every New Year's Eve celebration should be... :)

Blue Velvet & Raspberry Buttercream Cookiewiches

A fresh raspberry buttercream is sandwiched between two soft & chewy blue velvet cake mix cookies in these perfectly patriotic Blue Velvet & Raspberry Buttercream Cookiewiches...

My luck with bringing patriotic recipe ideas to fruition hasn't been very good in the past couple of years.

Until today, I literally had one- just one- 4th of July themed recipe on the blog.

My Red, White, & Berry Cupcakes are fun & absolutely delicious, but you will have to excuse the photos if you click over to take a peek at them.  

But after those cupcakes, my red, white, & blue recipe mojo went kaput. 

Some of you all may recall the Patriotic Pie Fail from last summer.  It looked amazing and like a real winner before I cut into it... but after I cut into? One big delicious, goopy mess.

And I was about to give up on this Fourth of July as well.  Two recipe fails in a row this month- one was a burnt tart and the other was cake bars that refused to bake all the way through and set up. 

(If you happen to follow me on Instagram, you were probably a firsthand witness to those recipe flops of mine.) I was about to throw the towel in and finally accept my fate that I was not meant to publish another patriotic inspired recipe ever again on the blog.

But then inspiration struck...

I spied Duncan Hines Blue Velvet Cake Mix on the grocery store shelf... and then my mind wandered to the White Chocolate Peeps Cookiewiches I made in April... and BOOM! :)

Why not make cookiewiches with blue velvet cookies?

And sure, I could have just made a plain ole buttercream and colored it red and called it a day, but what fun is that? ;)

So instead, I sandwiched a sweet & tart fresh raspberry buttercream between the cookies. 

And whoa! Just whoa, folks...

White Chocolate Peeps Cookiewiches

A Peeps marshmallow buttercream is sandwiched between two white chocolate pudding cookies in this perfect sweet treat for Easter or spring...

I told you all earlier this week when I posted my recipe for S'mores Bunny Graham Bars that I felt like I owed you all some serious Easter recipes this year since I pretty much slacked in that department last year.

I am making good on that promise with this recipe for White Chocolate Peeps Cookiewiches.

Seriously. What says Easter more than Peeps, my friends? ;)

You may be scanning the photo above wondering where in the heck are these Peeps I am talking about. Well folks, I melted them down and turned them into that pretty pink buttercream you see sandwiched between those soft, thick cookies there. Yep, the Peeps are in the frosting! :)

Cherry Cordial Brookie-wiches

You can't go wrong with these decadent Cherry Cordial Brookie-wiches for Valentine's Day! A creamy cherry cordial buttercream is sandwiched between two thick and fudgy brookies...

Before I share this amazing recipe for these Cherry Cordial Brookie-wiches with you all, I have to make one teeny, tiny confession- I am actually not a fan of cherry cordials, aka chocolate covered cherries.

Cherries and chocolate together? Yes. A huge fan.

But the cherry cordial candies themselves have never been a favorite of mine. I think it is that gooey center that they have. No matter how I try to eat them, that super sweet filling always drips down onto my chin and/or my clothes and then I am just left feeling sticky.

I know you all know exactly what I am talking about here, right? ;)

But I do love the flavor of a cherry cordial.  How did I resolve this little dilemma of mine? I came up with these Cherry Cordial Brookiewiches, of course! 

A creamy (ahem, no-drip) maraschino cherry buttercream is sandwiched between two thick & fudgy brookies (Yes, folks. Brookies- the deliciousness that happens when a brownie meets a cookie.). These brookie-wiches are pretty much Valentine's Day dessert perfection... 

Easy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

Inspired by a favorite summertime drink, these Easy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies start with a box of lemon cake mix & are topped with a fresh strawberry buttercream...

Post updated 7/20/17- This tasty Easy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies post deserved some updated photos. I did leave one of the originals below just so you all can see for yourself why this recipe so desperately needed a little face lift. ;)

Biscoff Gingersnap Brownies {& A Cookbook Giveaway!}

Chocolaty, fudgy brownies get a chewy gingersnap crust and are then topped off with a creamy Biscoff buttercream in these Biscoff Gingersnap Brownies...

I think by now you all are well aware of my obsession with and love for Biscoff spread, aka cookie butter.  It started with that very first spoonful. And trust me.... that is all it takes to begin the addiction, folks. ;)

So, you all can probably guess at how thrilled I was to discover that there is a cookbook out there filled with just recipes that use Biscoff spread and cookies!  

As soon as I made this discovery, I ordered my copy from Amazon- The Biscoff Cookie & Spread Cookbook from Katrina Bahl of Katrina's Kitchen.  It was also pretty nice to know that there happens to be another food blogger out there who shares my affinity for all things cookie butter. 

I had been kicking around an idea for a gingersnap crusted brownie for a couple of weeks now. I just love the combination of rich chocolate with spicy ginger.  But it needed something just a little more... 

As I was flipping through my copy of The Biscoff Cookie & Spread Cookbook, I came to the recipe for Biscoff Buttercream and I knew that I found the missing component for my brownie recipe idea.  The creamy buttercream with it's spiced buttery cookie flavor turned out to be just the icing on the cake (ahem... brownies) I was looking for for this new sweet treat recipe... 

Rainbow Bundt Cake & Rainbow Layered Smash Cake

My sweet baby girl turned one this month.  I still can hardly believe this first year with her has already come and gone.  

For her first birthday party, we decided to go all out rainbow.  My main inspiration for her first birthday party came from a term that is used with great hope and love in the infertility community... rainbow baby. 

A rainbow baby is the first baby you are able to give birth to, to hold after the loss of a previous pregnancy or little one.  

Baby girl is our rainbow baby after two previous consecutive miscarriages.  

The rainbow birthday party theme was just destined. :)

When I first started looking for inspiration for her party, I stumbled upon the blog Wine & Glue.  I have had a bloggy "love" affair with Lisa and her blog ever since. ;)  She was definitely the inspiration behind baby girl's smash cake with her Rainbow Heart Cakes, although I went a slightly different route with how I created mine.  (Plus, I think her's are so much more brightly colored and pretty than mine so you should click over & check out her post too. ;) )

For baby girl's party, I created a rainbow bundt cake, a heart shaped layered smash cake, and also baked extra rainbow swirled cupcakes when I realized my guest count was a *a little* higher than I had originally anticipated.  The bundt cake will serve about 12-15.  I made about 18 cupcakes as well. If you plan to make cupcakes, just pick up another box of cake mix & double the recipe. But if you are having a smaller party, the bundt cake should be sufficient. 

What you will need:

1 box of your favorite vanilla cake mix

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sour cream

various food coloring (I would suggest gel food colorings if you have them.  The liquids can get kind of messy with a project of this undertaking.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, water, oil, and sour cream.  Divide the batter into 6 different bowls- putting the most batter in the first one and then progressively putting less in each bowl as you divvy it out.  

Now color each of your bowls of batter with your food coloring.  I did yellow, orange, red, purple, green, and blue.  I added a few drops at a time until I had the color that I was going for.  

Be sure to grease and flour your bundt cake pan and your heart shaped pans.

Before you start the bundt cake, pour your batter into a heart shaped baking pan (similar to the one I have pictured below). I just did four layers for her smash cake. This is probably the perfect time to look for heart shaped pans since many of them will be included with the Valentine's Day clearance sales. ;) 

After you have your smash cake layers poured, start with the layering of your batter for the bundt cake.  I started with my red since it was the batter I had the most of and poured it into the bottom.  Then I layered all the other colors in.  I do suggest that you make sure you pour each of the colors of batter from the outside in so that the rainbow layers also show up on the outside of the cake.

I found a lot of helpful tips for layering the rainbow bundt cake batter from this post on Shane's Killer Cupcakes.

You will bake the bundt cake for about 35-40 minutes.  After 30 minutes or so, check the cake with a toothpick.  When the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.  The heart shaped cakes took about 20 minutes to bake.

Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, and then turn them out on wire racks to cool completely before frosting.  If the cakes won't come out very easily at first, just work a butter knife along the outer edges of the cakes & then try turning them out again.

I had an idea in my head that I wanted the frosting on the bundt cake to just run along the bottom so that it would look like clouds at the end of the "rainbow" when you cut into the cake.  I needed a buttercream that was fluffy, but that was stiff enough to not slide down.  I remembered seeing a recipe for a Marshmallow Buttercream on Shaken Together that she had used on Rocky Road cupcakes, and I knew it would be perfect!

What you will need:

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

One 17 oz jar of marshmallow fluff (I actually used two 7 oz jars because that is what I had on hand, & it worked perfectly.)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Just cream the butter and sugar together.  Then hand stir in the marshmallow fluff and vanilla. 

I simply used a pastry bag & decorative frosting tip and piped the buttercream in 2 thick layers, one right on top of the other all along the bottom of the bundt cake.  I then carefully tossed on rainbow sprinkles all around on the "clouds".  

For the rainbow smash cake, I used the same frosting tip and simply piped heart shaped dollops of buttercream between each heart shaped cake layer, and then put a pretty dollop on top with a dash of rainbow sprinkles.

Voila!

If you opted to make cupcakes in addition to the bundt cake and smash cake, this frosting recipe is almost enough for all of them.  I actually had 3 cupcakes that were not frosted because I ran out of the buttercream.  But they were not actually needed for the party, so no biggie.

I couldn't wait to cut into the rainbow bundt cake to see how it looked on the inside!  It turned out beautifully even if they colors were not perfectly rainbow layered.

The smash cake was also a huge success.  Well, with everyone but baby girl. ;)  She really wasn't sure exactly what to do with it, I think...

Be looking for the next colorful party post on the blog soon.  Here is a little hint...

It just may go hand in hand with birthday cake.  ;)

Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies

Soft & thick cake mix cookies are loaded up with rainbow sprinkles & then topped with a perfect buttercream frosting in these Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies...

As some of you all may recall, my daughter turned four last month. (Yes, hold me. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up!) 

Her birthday happened to fall on one of the days of the week that she attends preschool, so I asked her if she would like to bring in a special treat to share with her friends at school that day. Of course, she was absolutely ecstatic about it. 

And to be perfectly honest, I was pretty excited about baking up a fun sweet treat for her classmates as well. ;) 

You see, my son is an August baby. And his actual birthday is always towards the end of summer break, so I never really got to bake anything for him to take to school and share with his class.

When I asked Little Miss what she wanted me to make for her class for her birthday, she had just two requirements- she wanted cookies and she wanted pink frosting on them. Okay. That was something I could definitely handle. :) 

Cake mix cookies happen to be one of my favorite cookies to bake. They are soft & thick, taste like cake, and happen to be crazy easy to make. 

So, I took a basic cake mix cookie dough and loaded it up with LOTS of rainbow sprinkles (because you can never have too many rainbow sprinkles!). Then I topped each of these cookies with a perfect pink buttercream and even more rainbow sprinkles. 

Let's just say that these Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies were a HUGE hit with her preschool friends and teachers...