Take a Walk on the Sweet Side: My First Cakewalk

 

Until this week, my only knowledge of a cakewalk came from one of the Junie B. Jones books that I used to read over and over again to our youngest daughter.  In the story, Junie B. skipped around with other children until the music stopped and a number was called.  The numbered square she was standing on just happened to be the winner, and Junie B. proceeded to choose a cake from the table.  There was one rectangular cake wrapped in shiny aluminum foil, and that was the one she insisted on taking home.  It turned out to be a fruit cake.  A very dense, heavy fruit cake that her parents tried to dissuade her from picking, but she insisted.  It turns out that she didn't like fruit cake after all, but it was so sturdy that she used it as a booster seat at her kitchen table, so all ended well.  

 

Our children's elementary/middle school had a Back-to-School Picnic last evening and one of the activities was a cakewalk.  Another dynamic mom and I co-chaired it because it sounded like so much fun.  She had cakewalk experience, unlike me, so she knew what to expect.  She and I both did a little bit of baking (the cupcakes, mini-cherry cheesecakes, and brownies above were mine,) but she was bold enough to ask for donations from a couple of the local supermarkets.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures until we were almost finished, but I think we started out with 21 different containers of cakes/cupcakes/cookies/brownies and some boxes of Skittles for those with nut allergies.  There were no fruit cakes though.  I don't think most of the children there had ever done a cakewalk before, so we initially had to practically beg kids to start playing.

 

But once children saw that they could walk away from our table with free cakes, they started lining up to play.  We duck taped numbers on 12 circular stones, and placed a child on each one.  Once the music started, they hopped, skipped, ran, and jumped in a circle from one stone to the next.  One toddler marched to her own beat and repeatedly wandered off the path, but she always ended up on a number once the music stopped.

 

My friend's husband drafted children to help him call out the winning numbers, and each winner came to the table to eye up the loot.  The younger ones were reluctant to choose anything without a parent's input, but the pre-teens jumped right in there with no hesitation.  Interestingly enough, they chose all the store-baked products first...and the Skittles.  Go figure.  After about 70 minutes, we ran out of cakes, so we called it a night and finally got to go mingle with the other 350 school family members who were there.  I would call it a success, and it was definitely a lot of fun.

 

I have to admit though, that I had my eye on this cookie dough cheesecake that our grown son baked from scratch and donated.  It was very tempting to keep it at home in my refrigerator, but I didn't think that would be very charitable.  So instead, I persuaded my youngest two to play the cakewalk over and over again.  

 And I kept the cheesecake under the table in a cooler with ice. 

Because it was almost 90 degrees out, and I didn't want it to go bad, you know.

And my 10-year old son actually landed on the winning number during the first half hour of the cake walk.

So he really did win fair and square.  Honest.

...and he just so happened to choose that cookie dough cheesecake over the Skittles and the numerous store-bought cakes on the table.

So guess what I'm having after breakfast this morning?

 

Summer Sweets

 

With an abundance of goats' milk, fresh summer fruits, and more uninterrupted time at home, we have been indulging in a number of homemade sweets this summer.  With all the summer birthdays, holidays, and visits from extended family, we have all kinds of excuses to make dessert.  This is some of what we've made and consumed during the month of June:

 

Cinnamon Rolls

On the morning of my birthday, my dear husband got up extra early and made these delicious cinnamon rolls from scratch before he left for work.  These are truly the best I've ever had.  Alas, he didn't supply me with the recipe, and I'm not sure he'd find it again on the Internet.  My hubby is not one for actually measuring ingredients or following a recipe closely, so I doubt I could pass along his secret formula anyway.  Every time he makes something, it's never exactly the same as the time before. 

 

 Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

After my birthday dinner, our daughter presented me with this lemon cake with homemade cream cheese frosting.  What a light, summer treat!  I think she was going for preppy colors with the pink frosting and lime and kelly green sprinkles.  This is the frosting recipe she used from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book:

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat together 6 ounces of cream cheese, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla till light and fluffy.  Gradually add 3-4 cups of powdered sugar, beating until smooth.  This recipe is doubled to generously cover a double layer cake.  

 

Wild Black Raspberries

Of course, the best summer sweets of all are the ones that come naturally with no work involved.  The black raspberries ripened this week on our mountain and in our yard, and the children have been picking and eating them daily.  I love it when we can easily forage for food in the woods or just walk outside and find fresh, organic, healthy foods.

 

Black Raspberry Goats' Milk Ice Cream

Since the raspberries are plentiful, we've been eating them plain, on cereal, in waffles, and in our weekly batches of hand-churned ice cream.  I'll share our easy recipe with you again:

Homemade Ice Cream

Cook 1 cup of milk/cream to scalding, but not boiling.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon and salt.  Chill in refrigerator all day.  When you're ready to make the ice cream, pour the cooked milk into the ice cream canister, and add 3 more cups of fresh milk or cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla, and as many raspberries as you like.  Prepare the churn with ice and rock salt, and churn for about 45 minutes.

Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

A week or so ago when the strawberries were for sale everywhere, our teen baker made another double layer cake with homemade chocolate frosting.  She took a large strawberry and cut it into the shape of a rose and used our chocolate mint leaves to adorn the top of the cake.  She and I are trying to experiment with some of our Pinterest pins this summer, and the strawberry rose was pinned to one of her boards.  This was so popular in our family that our youngest son requested the exact same cake be made for his upcoming birthday in a few weeks.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Beat 6 tablespoons butter till light and fluffy.  Gradually add about 2 cups powdered sugar and beat well.  Melt 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, and cool a bit.  Add to the frosting along with 1/4 cup milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Gradually beat in another 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar and additional milk if necessary.

Here's another view.  It tasted as good as it looks.

 

I am a happy camper and am enjoying every aspect of summer, especially the desserts.  Still trying to limit myself to only one per day, as hard as that is sometimes.  Running with my kiddos and Tippy up and down the mountain most every day is enabling me to eat these sweet treats without packing on any more pounds.  Unfortunately, I'm not losing any either. 

Wishing all of you a weekend filled with sweet summer treats of some kind.

4-H and Weekly Summer Cakes

Our 13 year old daughter has been involved in local 4-H clubs for five years, and our family has greatly benefited from the cake decorating classes and projects in particular.  For the past four summers, she has baked and decorated cakes or cupcakes weekly until the youth fair occurs in August.  At that time, all the cakes are placed in an exhibition building to be admired and judged.  It has been so much fun to watch her skills increase and to taste the delicious projects.

  The cupcakes above were made for our tea party last summer, and the fresh raspberries on top were from our farm.

This beach ball cake was made during her third year of cake decorating.

This was one of her first attempts this summer at making more advanced flowers.

These Lego cupcakes were not as involved to make but turned out so cute with the confetti and Lego brick candies on top.

This cake started out as a disaster because I recommended she use cream cheese frosting, since it was a carrot cake.  Little did I know that type of frosting melts easily, and the top layer slid right off the bottom.  She had to scrape frosting and put things back together the best she could at class.  This is why there are some yellow patches in places.  Her flowers turned out quite well, however; especially considering this was only her second or third try at making roses.

Last week we got a treat with chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate wafers and topped with pink basket-weave or pink rose frosting.  We love it when she surprises us with chocolate or peanut butter frosting in the center.

Our daughter used to make all of her cakes from scratch, but this summer we have taken some shortcuts and used boxed mixes most weeks.  Most of the frosting is homemade though.  We share below our favorite frosting and icing recipes.

My Favorites:

Peanut Butter Frosting

Beat 6 tablespoons of peanut butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add about 2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar and beat well.  Beat in 1/4 cup of milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.  Gradually beat in remaining 2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar and additional milk if needed to make the appropriate consistency.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat together (1) 3-ounce package of softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy.  Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  

Our Daughter's Favorites (found in her 4-H Project Book):

Buttercream Icing (for the crumb layer)

Beat 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of Crisco.  Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Gradually add 1 bag of powdered sugar, one cup at a time while beating well on medium speed.  Icing will appear dry at first.  Then add 2 tablespoons of milk and beat until light and fluffy.

Decorating Icing (to use in the decorating bags)

Beat 1 bag of powdered sugar, 3/4 cup of Crisco, 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 1 egg white, and 2 tablespoons of water (more if desired) until fluffy.