tiny details

I had dreams about doing this sweet table for my bestie's baby shower. I did a small one during the holidays, and I had been chomping at the bit to do another one.

Loving crafts and being on a budget definitely contributed to and confined ideas for the shower. There were so many wonderful ideas that I came across, but we were working with very specific guidelines.

Because of the venue rules, we were not allowed to hang anything on the walls or from the ceiling. This really limited what we could do in terms of sprucing up the room. So I had to get creative. Seeing various pins of amazing sweet tables, I desperately wanted to do a back drop. Initially, I was going to get some poster board and cover it with fabric. And then I came across an Easter-themed party with lattice decorated with poms. I fell in love. 

Initially, I was going to make the lattice. How hard is it to slap some wood pieces together? But during my visit to Home Depot, the hubs helped me discover that it was cheaper to buy something pre-made. So I did. I made tissue paper poms in various colors and sizes and attached them onto the lattice with floral wire. Excuse my camera phone shot. This was taken after I finished all the poms and arranged them onto the lattice.

I made a 'Sweet Baby' banner hung from twine and clothespins. I found the idea and free printable here. I mixed in some solid backgrounds with the printable ones (which I printed on 'draft' so they came out lighter). These were easy to make, but accordion-folding took the longest, same as the poms. 

I was very proud of the green polka dot cloth drawers holding the cake pops, which I scored from the dollar store -- complete with velcro-attachable dividers. I figured they could be used in the nursery, and if not, they were only a dollar each! 

After all would be said and done, I knew that these sweets would only last a short while. And though I knew mom and dad would appreciate it all, we wanted them to have a little something extra. Fingerprint guest books are more commonly used for weddings, but since a lot of family and friends would be in attendance, I thought it would be a nice idea for the shower and a sweet keepsake for the family.

I enlisted the artistic abilities of the hubs, and he totally rocked it out. I gave him a few guidelines from a couple ideas that I had seen online, and he did everything perfectly! We got a couple stamp pads, put out some hand sanitizer and paper towels for guests to clean up, and now they have a great start to their family tree of love. I suggested they keep it out on their entry table for when people come to visit, since not everyone made it to the shower, but they could still be part of the tree.

For the utensil holders, I covered tin cans with cardstock. I used the cut tops from the lunch bags to create a layered look, then tied some yarn around it and added labels so guests knew what they were grabbing for. Although it's harder to fit into the tin, I put everything with handles up, so guests didn't have to worry about other hands touching their utensils.

Baby's abuela and I made some simple diaper cakes adorned with ribbon to use as centerpieces. We customized a couple of onesies to hang up, and got some fresh flowers and pink and green balloons to round out the decorations. 

And lastly, since we had a buffett-style lunch which included several Filipino dishes, I printed labels for all the food, that way all of the guests knew what they were looking at.

For those who are wondering, we rushed through three of our four shower games. One of the hostesses created a {passive} 'guess the baby's birth date' game. She printed up a couple of calendars and guests signed their name on the date the baby would actually arrive {Nobody won}. The other hostess tapped into her teacher role and made up cute 'gift bingo' playing cards. We used m&ms as our markers.  Baby's abuela did a baby word scramble. We had planned on doing a parents-to-be trivia game, but were pressed for time so we cut it out. 

So many little things go into the success of hostessing an event. It took many hours and was a labor of love ;) and everything turned out great!

malted. and baked.

In the town I grew up in, there's this family restaurant. I loved going there because they had the best sundaes...I mean, really, it has "ice cream parlor" in its name. And one of my favorites had malt powder on it, cleverly dubbed the 'dusty road'.

In recent years, I've discovered baking with malt powder, instead of just sprinkling some onto my ice cream or mixing it up with some milk. I made Pioneer Woman's malted milk chocolate chip cookies for the hubs' family at some point, and now they're always in high demand. Sought after at every family gathering...or even a quick visit to say hi. I'm strongly questioned when I don't come bearing said cookies. And if I didn't make any, it must mean there is a dysfunction in my mental state. 

So now, I always have malted milk powder in my pantry. I also bought some Ovaltine Classic Malt, so I wouldn't dip into my baking products. Now I mix it with some almond milk. Mmmm...so good. And since I'm trying to make better choices, I sprinkle some on my oatmeal. I mean, it can't be all bad...there are vitamins and minerals up in my malt. ;) You should try it. You won't be sorry. 

But the other day...brilliance! I had some frozen mini vanilla cupcakes that I was looking to fix up. And lo and behold, as I was flipping through one of my Christmas gifts from my sister-in-law, [Baked. Have ya heard of it?] I came across their malted milk chocolate sauce recipe. But since this sounded like it'd be better paired with some chocolate cupcakes, I changed it up a bit.

Normally, if and when I freeze my cupcakes, I individually wrap each one with saran wrap, and then place them in freezer bags or freezable plastic storage. However, for some reason, I just threw these into a freezer bag. So the cake got a little dry. Hence the search for a syrup. And if I have a malted syrup on my cupcake, I gotta have some malted butter cream. Such a good decision. 

Malted Milk Chocolate Sauce

adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Ingredients

2/3 cup heavy cream; I used 3/4 cup and added some milk too
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup chocolate malt Ovaltine; I used Original malt, plus extra for taste
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped; I omitted this
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

*Note: the original recipe is meant to be more of a sauce for various desserts. I wanted mine to run thin in order to moisten my cupcakes, which is why I added more cream and milk. The directions are for what I did in my kitchen.

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, Ovaltine, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir until well-blended. Simmer. Add milk and original Ovaltine until desired consistency and flavor is reached. Heat until soft boil, while stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and mix in butter and vanilla. Let sauce cool. 

Cut out the middle of your cupcake (I did a cone shape). Spoon some sauce into the middle. Replace cake. Drizzle more sauce over the top of it (I poked some holes with a toothpick, just to make sure the sauce got all up in there :D)

And then I finished off the cupcake with the butter cream.

Malted Milk Butter Cream

adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons malted milk powder; I used 1/4 cup combo of malted milk powder and Ovaltine, cuz I'm crazy like that
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa; I omitted this
2 tbsp milk, plus more if desired

Directions:

In mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, malted milk powder and 2 tbsp of milk. Mix. Add more milk for a smoother consistency. Place into piping bag and frost your cupcakes. 

And then I dug through my pantry because I swore I bought some Whoppers at some point. So I chopped some up and garnished these babies. Cuz a little more malt won't hurt you.

I was told that these are "FRICKIN AMAZING!!" and "unreal!!" -- so in spite of my cupcake-freezing mishap, I think I made some good cupcakes. 

I've also now concluded that malt saves everything. And helps you choke down your oatmeal.

distractions.

Did you know that having your basement flood right before Thanksgiving causes one to go berserk?

I went berserk.

I literally just finished an order, and the next morning, we’ve got water in our finished basement like we’re trying to fill up a new indoor swimming pool. That we didn’t want.

Luckily, the hubs and I were home at the time and discovered it rather quickly. So I’m grateful for that. Because it could’ve been much worse had we been at work and found it when we got home. We got a plumber and the insurance guys to come and work everything out, from getting assessed to having our damaged floors ripped out. It all eventually was taken care of.

But it definitely put a damper on my holiday baking.

Well, that and just being a new homeowner period. In addition to our "basement remodel", our house had to be readied for the upcoming holidays…including our first time hosting Christmas. With my parents coming to visit and staying with us.

And in that time between having random men coming in and out of my home (for various flooring visits), I was finally invited to Pinterest. Which for those of you who don’t know already…it’s a time sucker, just like your favorite social networking sites. Only more interesting.

It is quite addicting – finding things that you like, or new things that you never knew you can’t live without, or ideas that you hope to execute someday…and all these things that you want to remember you can pin to virtual boards for you to refer back to at your convenience. Any interest you have, you’re covered. There are recipes, educational tips, vintage cars, fitness routines, hot vacation spots…I mean, I could keep going.

My time had been spent scouring the DIY and holiday boards so I could decorate our humble abode. So wreaths and bows took the place of cookies and cupcakes. It was fun until I realized I hadn’t really baked anything. And then it was the holidays and everyone was at our house, so I couldn’t dwell on it anymore. It’s a new year, and I’ve got new things baking up. After I finish a couple more Pinterest-inspired projects. ;)

And to thank you for listening to my Pinterest babble, let me catch you up on goodies since October. These were the happenings from my kitchen:


Engagement party & Tailgate (with a chili cook-off)
     Sugar cookies decorated with butter cream frosting.

Many guests were Michigan State alum and/or fans.

The happy couple sharing some sugar.

 Thirteenth Birthday 

Sugar cookies decorated with butter cream frosting. I studied his football jersey to make sure I got it right!

Chocolate cake, filled with Oreo butter cream, covered with dark chocolate butter cream.

Sent from my sister: The cake decorated with the sugar cookies.

Thanksgiving Family Get-Together
Pump'kin Patch cupcakes (pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting)
Just Like Heaven cupcakes (chocolate cake, nutella ganache, caramel frosting, toffee bits garnish)

The branches and paper flowers posing with the cupcakes was my first Pinterest project. ;)

Christmas Family Get-Together
Red velvet and chocolate cake pops 

Santa's belt, snowflakes, and holly & berry wreaths for a festive holiday celebration.

How to decorate these cake pops:
I go back and forth with using decorating bags and tips when I'm decorating with candy melts. I feel like I spend more time going back and forth between the table and the microwave because the melts harden more quickly in the tip, even if the rest is still warm/usable. I often just use toothpicks instead.

Santa's belt:

• Use black candy melts, black sanding sugar, and silver sanding sugar
• Dip a toothpick in your smooth black candy melt and "paint" on a line in the middle of the cake pop, about 1 cm thick. Coat with black sanding sugar.  Note 1: I usually would do half of the belt and then sugar, then finish the other half of the belt and sugar. This is to prevent the candy melt from hardening before you sugar it. Note 2: It's best to have parchment paper beneath your workspace, making it easier to save your sugar and pour it back into its container. I also do one color at a time to avoid mixing colors.
• Repeat for remaining cake pops.
• Dip your toothpick in the candy melt again. Paint on a small rectangle for the belt buckle. I made the rectangles thin to prevent them from turning out more square, since it turns out 'thicker' once you add the sugar.
• Coat with silver sanding sugar. (Some people like yellow or gold for the buckle, but I like silver...so your choice!).

Snowflakes:

• Use white candy melts, white sanding sugar, and white snowflake sprinkles.  Note: I used two different types of sprinkles to differentiate cake flavors; i.e. sanding sugar = red velvet, snowflakes = chocolate
• For sanding sugar snowflake. 
• Dip a toothpick in your smooth white candy melts. 
• Draw two lines like a + sign. 
• Add small slanted lines like \/ at the end of each line (it should look like kind of like an arrow's end). 
• Coat with white sanding sugar.
• Add four more smaller lines in between the open spaces in your + and small slanted lines at the ends of these lines.
• Coat with white sanding sugar. 

• For snowflake sprinkles.
• Lay out your sprinkles in the design that you want.
• I made one long line of 5 snowflake sprinkles, then branched out four short lines of 2 sprinkles each (the cake pop gets crowded real quick!) Think of an asterisk shape *
• Dip a toothpick in your smooth white candy melts.
• Dot in the center and place your first snowflake. Note: I used dots versus lines so you can see the snowflakes clearly.
• Repeat with remaining snowflakes. 

Holly & berry wreaths 

• Use green candy melts and holly berry sprinkle mix (in a small shallow bowl).
• Instead of a toothpick, use a small tool to create your circle for the wreath. I used the screw cap from one of my small plastic decorating bottles. 
• Dip the cap (or whatever circular tool you chose) in your smooth green candy melts.  
• Carefully place cap on your cake pop. Be sure that your circle is complete. Repeat dip if necessary.
• Dip cake pop in holly & berry mix, or sprinkle them over your circle. Note: Dipping the cake pop can spread the candy melt out a little bit, making your wreath a little wider. I used both methods to see what worked best -- dipping is obviously not as messy, but sprinkling creates a more defined wreath (If you look at my second picture with all of the pops together, see the front two wreaths? The one on the left was dipped, and the one of the right was sprinkled).

Despite the fact that the winter holidays are now over, I hope you will "pin" my short  tute so you can reference it for 2012's holidays. ;)  And, I wish I could provide images to show each step, but 1, I was still in berserk-dom, and 2, I'm just not that organized when I bake. And 3, I'm terrible at doing a visual step-by-step on my own, and I couldn't dare bother the hubs while he's playing a video game...gasp! 

 

I hope you've enjoyed my 'recent' happenings. Now I'm off to Pinterest to find some more inspiration :D

 

dressing up for halloween.

Sometimes I wish I was crazy about Halloween. I like the idea of getting into costume and/or make-up and being someone, or something, other than myself. However, I'm not creative. And I feel like being Asian and not skinny really limits my pre-made costume options. That and I don't like shelling out $30plus for a costume that I'll only wear once.

Even as a kid, I didn't really dress up. I can only remember three costumes:

1) A couple years in a row I was a cheerleader. And it wasn't a cute costume...it was that nylon/polyester material that was stretchy and kinda shiny...and terrible. 

2) Another year I was a police officer. My sister's bf at the time had a sheriff's badge, and I found an old police shirt at a thrift store. I wore black pants and my imitation Doc Martens. I thought I was badass. Hahaha.

3) One year in high school, I was an angel. I wore a white dress and the typical white, wired angel wings with the silver glitter detail. Nothing exciting or original.  

Last year, I discovered that the high school that I work at is very big into Halloween. I was told I *had* to dress up or I would stick out like a sore thumb. So I stressed. What costume could I get where I could still function (and walk through crowded hallways) and not get fired over for being too revealing? Options were limited. So what did I go as?

A newsie. Hopefully you know what I'm talking about.

This year, I couldn't decide what to do. So I walk with a low head as I make my way through the hallways.

Instead of shopping in search of inspiration for a costume, I searched for decor and other such unnecessary items that would make the hubs question: "What is that for?" or "Why do we need that?" But I can't help it. I love going to the stores when they change over their holiday-related merchandise. A month or so ago, I came across these:

And though it may be predictable to use these special marshmallows to make the beloved crispy rice cereal treats, in the spirit of Halloween, I dressed them up a little.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Crispy Treat Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Dulce de Leche:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

hot water

This takes the longest, so it's best to do this first (even a day or so before).

Pour sweetened condensed milk into a 9 inch pie plate. Place plate onto the center of a baking sheet with edges. Place in preheated oven to 425 degrees. Pour hot water around the outside of the pie plate (into the edged baking sheet). 

Bake for an hour, covered with foil. Dulce de leche should be a thicker consistency and caramel-colored. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

Since I pre-made my dulce de leche, I used mine straight from the fridge. This can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for up to one month.  

Crispy rice treats

1 bag pumpkin spice marshmallows

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

~5-6 cups of crispy rice cereal

In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add marshmallows and stir. Microwave 45 seconds and stir. Microwave another 45 seconds, then stir until marshmallows are melted together. Add cereal and mix until it's well coated. 

Press cereal mixture into lined cupcake pan and form a mound with the cereal on top. Repeat until all of the cereal mixture is used up. Let cool.

Spoon dulce de leche over molded crispy rice treats. If you spoon over too much, you may have to use a finger to wipe it up. Just sayin'.

Topping:

white chocolate or vanilla almond bark

Halloween/autumn themed sprinkles

Melt chocolate or bark in 30 second increments in the microwave.

Dip crispy rice treats (already topped with dulce de leche) into melted chocolate/bark. Top with sprinkles.

Let chocolate/bark harden. Then, ENJOY!

Note: These are great minus the "costume", but they're not as festive ;) Besides, the dulce de leche and white chocolate are definitely a welcomed bonus.

of course i eat fruit.

I try to eat healthy. Honest. The problem is, I *love* junk. It's so good to me. I'd rather have a waffle with some pumpkin spice kisses melted on the inside, instead of oatmeal...or anything of that nature. I even try to make my own breakfast sandwiches with whole grain, fiber-rich English muffins and turkey sausage, instead of stopping at the golden arches every morning. I've tried leaving out the cheese, but who am I kidding? (Side bar: My mom once told me to stop eating cheese so I wouldn't be so fat. So I cut it out of my diet for a while. And perhaps it was coincidence that I lost a couple pounds. But then I realized I'd rather be fat and cheesy, than skinny with no cheese. It's made a world of difference. And probably a few pounds.)

So to make up for my lack of "right" choices, I try to eat fruit (veggies are a whole 'nother story). I love my honey crisp apples, so during this time of year, I'm good. The hubs eats a banana and apple every day. So I try to eat a banana every day as part of my breakfast. Only...after Monday hits, I'm usually banana-ed out. Therefore, my uneaten bananas get a little brown. And the hubs won't touch a banana with one speckle of brown on it. Seriously.

On a good week, I'll save the ripened bananas, unpeel them, and freeze them, like so many bloggers do. And I love my banana nutella muffins (I throw some flax or chia seed up in there, just to make myself feel better). But honestly, I can banana nutella muffin myself out too. I know what you're thinking...I must be crazy, right? What can I say though? I like variety.

Now, one of my favorite restaurants is The Melting Pot. (There's a connection here, I swear it.) If you've never heard of this restaurant, it's all about fondue. It's especially great when you're catching up with your besties or old friends...some go for a romantical night out -- unfortunately, the hubs hates TMP (blasphemy!).

Anyway. The restaurant offers different flavors of chocolate fondue for dessert. A few years ago, they started offering a bananas foster fondue. Y.U.M. I'd never had bananas foster, but ohmygoodness was that fondue delicious. And immediately I thought, I *totally* want to make this into a cupcake! Fast forward to recent times, and naturally, I am not the first person with this brilliant idea.

So a few weeks ago, when my uneaten bananas made their way into the fridge to prolong their ripeness, I decided I was finally going to do it. I was going to make bananas foster cupcakes.

I always like to start with a search, and then piece together and adapt what I want. What did I search, you ask? Bananas foster cupcake. And then I searched bananas foster fondue. You can't be disappointed. Initially, I wanted to make a little fondue bowl out of the cupcake, but decided against it since the fondue would have no way of staying warm. But tell me how fun it would be to dip your extra cupcake piece into your bananas foster fondue cupcake bowl.

The actual result? Banana cupcake, lightly drenched in a banana rum sauce (the fondue "sludge" minus the white chocolate), topped with white chocolate butter cream, a couple of banana slices, and more sauce. Um, yah. EXACTLY that.

 

Thankfully, I had a couple of small gatherings with friends, and then I brought some in for my co-workers. I'm pretty sure I was everyone's favorite person. And that's always nice. To be the bringer of fruit, cupcake, AND happy feelings? Life is good. And so is this cupcake.

The fresh bananas on top and the banana cake balance out the rich, sweet taste of the white chocolate butter cream. And the banana rum sauce gives the cupcake a little something extra, without making it soggy. It's a perfect way to get a portion of your daily fruit intake! Now if only I had some left over...

  

baking baby.

If you follow me on Facebook, then you may (or may not) know that the hubs and I just moved a couple months ago. As I packed up my old kitchen, I dreamt about the cake plates and platters and such that have been stored in the garage over the years. And then I organized my baking supplies into gigantic storage containers, dreaming of using it all, and having it all easily accessible to me, now that they would have a dedicated place in our finished basement.

For a couple weeks after we had finally moved in, I was still in denial about having to cook again...I was under the impression we could get take out for dinner every night, despite the fact that our entire kitchen was unpacked, organized, and clean (oh yah, and that we now had a mortgage to pay).

Slowly but surely, though, I began getting to know my new oven. I started by acquainting myself with her friend, the stove. Then I worked up the courage to start courting her, with easy things, like frozen french fries (seriously people...the hubs and I have been eating out since May...I've kinda forgotten what real veggies are). 

Rather quickly, things got a little more serious. We spent more and more time together, as I worked my way up to a casserole and meals of the sort. And then...we decided...it was time. Our first time together was magical, and we made beautiful chocolate chip whoopie pies. 
So. Good. 
It almost made me forget about the past four years that I spent with my old oven. And what makes this relationship more exciting is the fact that I get to use all the things I had been longing to break out.

We've been baking together as much as my schedule allows, and I got my first official order based out of our new location. Baking with my new baby for a new baby. 

One little buggy adorned the sweet invitation, so naturally buggy cookies had to be made.

And of course some onesies.

Stripes, houndstooth, and polka dots. Perfect patterns for baby boys.

S'mores cupcakes: graham cracker crust, graham cracker and chocolate chip cake, marshmallow frosting .

Caramel Mocha cupcake: vanilla cake, caramel filling, mocha butter cream, chocolate covered espresso beans garnish.

Cupcake toppers to display a sweet message for the shower guests.

I must say, it was nice getting prepped to bake, since everything was organized much better than I had it in our other place. All of my icing bottles were in one place. My treat bags and boxes were all together. It was lovely. I could definitely get used to this.

 

It's nice to finally feel settled. Perhaps I'll go make s'more whoopie with the hubs my oven. hee hee ;)

s'more cake please.

What's your favorite s'mores-related memory?

Growing up, I made s'mores over a stove flame...no fire pits or camping for me. But this was just as well, as I could make as few or as many as I wanted, with less trouble, yet still got the perfect char on my marshmallow. And honestly, I made some s'mores in the microwave too. I liked watching it expand like a little balloon, and then deflate once the microwave stopped. [Being easily entertained was a necessity growing up in my house.]

Now that I'm grown, I still love me some s'mores. And from time to time, I find myself hanging out with friends, roasting some marshmallows over a real fire pit. But last year, when I was unemployed, I baked. And not always for anyone in particular. There were recipes I wanted to try, and didn't really think about who would consume whatever it was that came out of my oven. One particular recipe that I tried was for s'mores cupcakes. I figured I could find someone who would eat them.

I slightly adapted this recipe and loved it. And I wasn't the only one. The hubs happened to invite some of his co-workers over the next afternoon. At first they thought the cupcakes were decor. They were delightfully surprised when I told them it was their dessert. They proclaimed their super-satisfaction with a "this is soooooo good!" And then my nephew came over for dinner. He loved the cupcakes so much, I sent a few home with him. He was grateful...and I'm pretty sure he didn't share one bite with his sister.

So a couple weeks ago was said nephew's birthday. And he was also about to embark on a new journey, going to school near my parents. Starting a new chapter in his life by moving across the country, with the hopes of nothing but good things. And I wish him nothing but great things.

To celebrate, I baked a cake. Remembering how much he loved the s'mores cupcakes, I made a s'mores cake. And though it's not the prettiest of cakes, that fact is easily overlooked.

S'mores Cake (or cupcakes)

(slightly adapted from What's Cookin', Chicago?)

For graham cracker crust

1/2 c fine graham cracker crumbs (about 3 graham sheets)
graham crackers, crumbled (about 4 graham sheets)
1/2 c brown sugar, loosely packed

6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Directions: Prepare one 8-inch cake pan: line bottom with parchment paper, grease and flour sides. (I did not line my pan, and therefore ruined it by taking a butter knife to it in order to get the cake out.) Prepare second 8-inch cake pan as usual for cake batter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix ingredients in a small bowl, until all crumbs are coated in butter. Press into bottom of cake pan lined with parchment. Bake for about 7 minutes. It will look gooey, but will harden upon cooling. Prepare cake batter as crust bakes and cools.

For graham cracker cake

1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c fine graham cracker crumbs (about 13 graham sheets)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 c milk
1 c milk chocolate chips

Directions: Sift together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until incorporated. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, mixing well after each addition. Gently mix in chocolate chips using a spatula or wooden spoon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour half of the batter on top of the cooled graham cracker crust. Pour the other half in prepared cake pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

For chocolate ganache

8 oz bittersweet chocolate

1/2 c heavy cream

Directions: Place chocolate in medium, heat-proof bowl.  On the stove, heat heavy cream to a slight simmer, about 6 minutes. Stir occasionally. Pour cream over chocolate. Let sit room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Stir until cream and chocolate are well blended. Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Ganache should be smooth and easily spreadable.

I may or may not have doubled the ganache for this cake...a little more chocolate can't hurt, right?

For marshmallow cream cheese frosting

16 oz cream cheese, softened

16 oz marshmallow fluff

3/4 c powdered sugar

Directions: Cream together cream cheese and fluff until well blended. Add powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated.

The original recipe calls for a Swiss meringue marshmallow frosting, which I made the first time I made these as cupcakes. I loved it, but I prefer tasty and simple...and the cream cheese frosting is a little easier for me to make :P 

For garnish
12 graham cracker rectangles
12 chocolate squares

To assemble
Cake layer with graham cracker crust will be your bottom layer. Pour half of your chocolate ganache on top of cake. Fend off your niece who's trying to lick the bowl. Then smooth out the ganache. But no need to be perfect. Pour half of marshmallow frosting on top of ganache. Spread out, but again, no need to be perfect.

Carefully place next cake layer on top of frosting. Repeat ganache and frosting. I let some frosting 'drip' down the sides of the cake. Like I said, it's not "pretty", but it's delicious and messy, just like a s'more in its original form.

I garnished with graham crackers and chocolate squares, placed to mark each piece of cake -- 12 slices here. You can definitely do thinner slices, but I actually used a gigantic Hershey's bar for my chocolate squares, and even cut in half, they were still pretty big, so I just stuck with 12 pieces.

My nephew was super-excited about his cake. The whole family enjoyed it -- though I must suggest to have a pitcher of water nearby, as this cake is pretty decadent!

Such a great way to celebrate life and its adventures!! :)


And if you're still wondering where that quote is from... "You're killing me Smalls!!" hehehe