Carter's 1st Birthday Cake!

Saturday we celebrated my nephew Carter's first birthday party :D

I asked if I could make the cake. Being a perfectionist, I instantly became nervous that I would not make it to my own or anyone else's standards. But I was excited to take on my first fully decorated 3 tier cake. Carter's theme was "Monkey Boy," and instead of overdoing the monkeys on the cake I went with a simple idea: incorporate banana flavoring.

I started by baking the cakes and home-making the frosting on Wednesday. The bottom tier was a vanilla cake with a banana frosting in the middle. The banana frosting was delicious, but almost more of an icing consistency so I decided to add a thicker chocolate frosting into the banana for the sides and top, to make a sturdier "wall" for the fondant. This was a good idea, and the chocolate banana was so yummy! The top tier and personal cake for Carter (the mini) were both chocolate cake with a rich chocolate frosting.

On Thursday, once the cakes and frosting had chilled overnight in the fridge, I covered them with fondant. I used the Wilton pre-rolled 5lb box of pure white fondant which was enough for all 3 tiers and plenty left over for decoration. I also used the Wilton fondant gel coloring, which saves a lot of money compared to buying already colored fondant.

Friday morning we did detail work. My hubby and I cut out circles using metal icing tips. We used shaped scissors for the border work (not my favorite tool- I wouldn't suggest it because it leaves marks where ever you stop cutting, and made it hard to keep a consistent width throughout the entire border. Go with a tool specifically for fondant!) I used alphabet shaped cookie cutters to cut out CARTER for the front of the cake. Luckily, the detail work was pretty simple so I didn't feel overwhelmed. My only wish was that I had used wooden dowels to hold up the top tier. It started to cave a tad bit (not overly noticeable, but again, I'm a perfectionist) and pulled the fondant.

And, finally, the finished cake. We packed this sucker in ice and it made it from Sacramento to Clearlake, then Clearlake to Santa Rosa. So apparently, it was sturdy. Everyone enjoyed the cake and I received a lot of compliments... now I feel ready to take on another!

Vegan Lasagna (For Whitney) :)

So, I have been quite negligent with my blog but have things to share! And many more coming up these next few months...

I am starting with a vegan lasagna I made two weeks ago. For one whole week, I did a vegan diet. No dairy, eggs, honey, etc. I actually read labels for things like "whey." This challenge was harder than it seemed at first, then easier than it seemed after a day or two. My biggest vice is cheese. I can snack on it all day and incorporate it into every meal. Halfway through my vegan week, I started craving (of course) LASAGNA!

Now.. how does one go about making a vegan lasagna, you ask? Easy.

I started off with my ingredients, all purchased at Sprouts:
One package pre-cooked lasagna noodles (I chose rice lasagna noodles because I like their texture)
One jar tomato sauce (sauce can be homemade also, but since this was my first go-round I decided to stick to jarred in case I hated it. Plus, it was my first shopping experience at Sprouts so I tried their own brand of sauce)
One 15 oz package of soft tofu (some recipes use firm, but I've read this makes it dry. Yuck.)
One package Daiya "shredded mozzarella" cheese substitute
One bag of fresh spinach
Italian seasonings, salt, pepper

I purchased the pre-cooked lasagna noodles that do not need to be boiled ahead of time. This saves a lot of time! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, or what the noodles say on the package. I used a glass casserole dish for the lasagna. In a medium bowl, I squished all of the tofu into a ricotta like texture. I seasoned it well with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings. It will taste somewhat plain on it's own, but it takes on the flavor of the tomato sauce and maintains its creamy, ricotta like texture. I first layered sauce on the bottom, as you want all of the noodles to be covered in sauce (otherwise they will not cook and soften properly). Next, I put down a layer of noodles. I then alternated layers of sauce, tofu mixture, spinach, and shredded cheese substitute between every layer of noodles like a normal lasagna. I topped everything with a generous amount of sauce and a layer of the cheese substitute. Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

I must say, this lasagna was pretty good! I doubted the tofu would even come close to ricotta but with the sauce it wasn't plain or dry at all. I would definitely make this again, but add more flavors like fresh mushrooms, rosemary, basil, sliced tomato, and more GARLIC! This is a perfect "Meatless Monday" meal and you can add as many veggies as you like. The Daiya "cheese" was a bit of an acquired taste, but not bad. Just don't eat it on its own ;)

I forgot to take a picture of this one, but it looked very similar to a "real" lasagna.

(Now, Whitney, you HAVE TO make this and tell me what you think!! Add the ingredients I suggested like mushrooms or sliced tomato.)