Baseball Birthday Cake

What kid doesn’t want a baseball birthday cake at some point in their life? Well, there may be some, but for those who do, this cake is awesome!

Picking the design for a birthday cake is actually more challenging than doing the cake itself…most of the time. I will admit, my cakes are not perfect, but I am not trying for perfection. That gets frustrating and takes the fun away from it all. Plus, I am trying to teach my kids mistakes are acceptable and we can always manage to get a good laugh out of them. Like the time I misspelled “birthday” with “birtday”. So guess what? We sang happy “birt-day” and had fun with it. My kids still remember it!

Anyways, my friends little guy, Cameron, turned one back in January and he had a baseball themed party! It was so cute and my friend, Kelly, had the themed nailed down. Hot Dogs, popcorn, nachos at the “concession”, all the good eats for a ball game. What’s more important then the actual food? The cake of course! What’s a party without the cake?!? Be sure to check out the cake decorating video below!

So, I have to be honest. I don’t make my cakes from scratch, at least not for birthday cakes. It already takes so much time to decorate, so using a box cuts the time, and you know, no one knows the difference. Everyone always says how great the cake tastes, so thank you Betty Crocker – you rock! I don’t always make the buttercream from scratch either. It just depends. I did include my recipe below if you are inclined to make it from scratch – it is delicious!!

Cake And Buttercream Recipe

12×18 Sheet Cake great for any Occasion

Cake Decorating Video!

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Oatmeal Cookies

We are officially in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic and I am going crazy in my house. It hasn’t even been a week!! I am working from home and trying to educate my young children – the struggle is real. With that said, we needed some cookies, and the grocery stores are out of everything – like for real…so we baked!! Oatmeal cookies for the win!

We decided that these oatmeal cookies were the way to go, (since we had all the ingredients in the cupboard) and let me tell you, they didn’t disappoint! Nothing fancy here, we didn’t put anything in them, no raisins, no cherries, and no chocolate chips and they were delicious. Instead, we made them into oatmeal cream sandwich cookies, with cinnamon frosting. Yum!!

There are two ways you can do the cinnamon frosting. 1. Homemade, Click HERE for my Cinnamon Buttercream or 2. From a can. Just mix some ground cinnamon with a can of store bought vanilla frosting. Genius!! If you really want to know, we went with the store bought frosting since my kids wanted these cookies immediately! 🙂

I can assure you that these are easy! They only take 8-10 minutes to bake and once you whip up the batter, you will have cookies in no time.

If you so desire, you can do different add-ins like raisins, dried cherries, and chocolate chips. I like to eat these cookies crumbled over vanilla ice cream!!! It’s seriously so good!

Here Is What You Need

Cookies:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups Oats

Filling:

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper you can spray the pan
  • Cream together butter and sugars in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with your hand mixer.
  • Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

  • In a different medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  • Add the flour mixture slowly into the wet ingredients until combined.
  • Add in the oats and mix until incorporated.
  • Roll cookies either by hand or with two spoons into the size desired. These cookies do spread while baking.
  • Bake smaller cookies for 8-10 minutes
  • Bake larger cookies for 10-12 minutes
  • Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2-4 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
  • Let Cool on wire rack
  • Mix together the frosting and the cinnamon in a bowl
  • Once cooled, frost one side of the cookie, but not all the way to the edge. Sandwich together with another cookie.
  • Store in an air tight container so they do not get stale!
  • Enjoy!!

I Hope You Enjoy These Cookies!

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Lemon Trifle

Looking for a light, refreshing dessert? Look no further! This Lemon Trifle is all that! It is easy to make, tastes amazing and is a total crowd-pleaser. I have made a lot of different desserts for parties at work, and this is the most requested for me to make again and again.

This dessert does not take a lot of skill, because you are just layering it into a bowl. The best part about it is you can improvise, and it is not an exact science like a cake.

This dessert travels well, if you have a bowl with a lid, but can also look beautiful in a glass dish. Either way you have an absolutely tasty dessert!

I made this cake this week for my very good friend Robyn who turned 40!! She wanted to make her calories count on her birthday and this is the dessert she chose to use them on! That is saying a great deal – It’s that good!!

Here is what you need:

  • Pieces of Cake – I baked a yellow cake in two 8″ rounds. You can also use store bought angel food cake and just cut it up. Either way its delicious!
  • Two boxes of lemon pudding, prepared as stated on the package
  • Two 8oz containers of whipped topping. Any kind you like; fat free, low fat, extra creamy…any will do!
  • 1 box of Lemon Oreos – crushed!

How to assemble your trifle:

  • In a bowl layer on pieces of cake
  • Mix one tub of whipped topping into your lemon pudding mix. Spread some of that on top of the cake
  • Next spread on some of the whipped topping from the other container
  • Top with some of the crushed Oreos
  • Repeat until the ingredients are gone
  • You will want to end with Oreos on top so it looks finished!

Video Tutorial!!

I hope you enjoy this trifle! Make sure to subscribe to Fun and Frosted for more recipes!!

Harry Potter Birthday Cake

How fun is a Harry Potter Birthday Cake?!! My son is turning eight and he wanted a Harry Potter Birthday Cake! We love Harry Potter we have just finished watching all of the movies with the kids. We even have a dog named Gryffindor!

Besides actually frosting the cake with white, piping the details was easy. For some reason I find it more challenging to get a smooth frosted cake, with out any hiccups. I always find that the frosting pulls up and starts to rip the cake…just being honest here. We definitely had to do some frosting “surgery” on one of the corners.

I like to make things as easy as I can when making cakes. So, yes I used cake from a box… I mixed together Rainbow chip and Cherry Chip. Yes it tasted good, in fact, it tasted really good! I had some dad’s at the party ask me what flavor cake it was, because it was that good!

What Size Cake?

I opted to make a little bit of a smaller cake than I normally do; 15×21. Two boxes of cake mix did the trick and I baked it for about 30 minutes. Definitely check it when the timer goes off because every oven bakes differently.

Colors I Used For The Details

For the details, I used Wilton Buttercup Yellow and Burgundy for the colors. For the black, I bought pre-mixed black in a tube and put it into a piping bag. It’s difficult to get a good black frosting! I had to put a lot of burgundy food coloring in to make it not look like a pinky rose. For the lettering, I Googled “Harry Potter Font” to get the shape of the letters as accurate as I could! See below for my video on how I decorated it!

I hope you enjoy this!! Follow me on Fun and Frosted for more Fun!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes are easy and a great alternative to a regular cupcake! Perfect for parties big or small.

You do not need a lot of ingredients, which is nice, because these use a box of cake mix in the batter! They are part cookie and part cupcake!

The best thing about Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes is that you can top them however you want. There are so many variations.

Different Mix-In’s

  • M&M’s
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Butterscotch Chips
  • White Chocolate Chips
  • Marshmallows
  • Sprinkles

Different Toppings

  • Ice Cream
  • Frosting
  • Whipped Cream
  • Chocolate Sauce
  • Strawberry Sauce
  • Caramel Sauce
  • Sprinkles
  • Cherry on top!

Those are just a few ideas, get creative!

Here is what you need for the recipe:

  • 1 Box of yellow cake mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream or milk
  • 1/4 cup of canola oil
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (or other mix-in’s you want)

Instructions:

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees F
  • Mix together the cake mix, egg, oil, and cream in a bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer
  • Add in the chocolate chips, stir until well combined
  • Prepare muffin tins with 24 muffin papers
  • Evenly distribute the batter among the 24 cupcake papers
  • Bake 18 minutes
  • Let cool
  • Remove the cupcake paper
  • Serve with desired toppings!

These were so so so delicious! I served them for my son’s birthday and the adults and the kids all loved them! It’s a good alternative to a normal cupcake! It was also very last minute, and they were so quick and easy to make. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, so it was a win-win!

I hope you enjoy these Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes!

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Easy Boxed Brownie Ideas

Hey Brownie lovers!! I know I am always looking for a go to dessert for a crowd, for people of all ages. Brownies happen to be that go-to dessert, especially when you are in a pinch! I always use a boxed brownie mix, but sometimes you want to add a little “extra” to doctor them up. Below you will find some ideas to make them a little more special.

I may sound like a broken record with my allergies, but seriously, I cannot eat store bought baked goods! Making brownies from “scratch” or at least from a box, ensures I can have them…Yay! Keep in mind when feeding a bunch of children, you never know what allergies kids might have! Better be safe than sorry!

Betty Crocker’s Fudge Brownie mix is so good. With that, I always use canola oil, to keep them soy free, and the mix is already, soy free, peanut free, and tree nut free. Perfect for me!

The great thing about brownie mix is you can pretty much put anything in it to make it a little more fun. Here is a list of some of the mix-ins and toppings. When in doubt, ask a child what they would want in their brownies and you will get some great ideas!

  • Caramel – for inside and on top!
  • Chocolate Chips
  • White Chocolate Chips
  • Butterscotch Chips
  • Chocolate Syrup
  • Marshmallow fluff or just marshmallows (they will disappear when baked)
  • Cherry pie filling…yup
  • Sprinkles
  • Rice Krispies cereal – for a crunch!
  • Cookie chunks
  • Frosting on top
  • Chocolate Ganache
  • This list could go on!

For this particular batch, I chose to go with caramel inside and out as well as some chocolate chips inside. I used Nestle Tollhouse Simply Delicious chocolate chips. They are made with 3 ingredients: 100% pure chocolate, cocoa butter, and cane sugar. Additionally, they taste delicious and don’t have all of those filler ingredients like soy lecithin!

What You Need

  • 1 Box of Brownie Mix – I used Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie
  • Oil
  • Eggs
  • 3 Tbsp Caramel from a jar (2 for the mix and 1 for the top)
  • 1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

  • Mix together the brownies according to the box. Usually you don’t even need a hand mixer for this. A whisk will do the trick!
  • Pour in the caramel and swirl it around with a knife
  • Add the chocolate chips on the top
  • Bake according to the directions on the box – 9×13 baking dish at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes should do it
  • Drizzle more caramel on top of the baked brownies
  • Cut with a PLASTIC KNIFE. I cannot stress this enough. You will get a clean cut. Metal knifes pull the brownies and the cut isn’t smooth.

Brownie How To Video

Top with whipped cream or ice cream and more caramel or fudge and you have a winner! Delicious.

I hope I have inspired you to be more creative with your brownies. The best part is they are so easy, and you can call them “homemade”!!

Easy Cherry Pie Bars

Do you ever find yourself needing a quick and easy last minute dessert for a party? These Cherry Pie Bars are the answer. They are easy to make, easy to eat and are so yummy. They are great for ANY occasion. Once I start eating these I honestly have a hard time stopping!!

This is one of those desserts, that if you have these leftover in your refrigerator you keep going in for just one more bite…

Honestly I cannot tell you enough how EASY these are to make. I like a quick and easy dessert, and when I am in a pinch I don’t want to have to give it much thought. This recipe would be fantastic swapping out the Cherry filling with strawberry, blueberry, peach or even lemon filling! I am going to try that next time I go to make this.

I served these Easy Cherry Pie Bars up at our Christmas Party with my friends. They were very festive and were perfect for the holidays! They even went well with my Grapefruit Paloma aka Margarita…

This recipe is a great go-to for anyone who has food allergies to peanuts, tree-nuts and soy. I happen to have all three. This recipe can be found in many variations, but mostly people use almond extract, which is an absolute no for me! I just supplemented with more vanilla!!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1-2 cans cherry pie filling 21 oz. Depending on how much cherry you like!

Glaze Ingredients

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • In your stand mixer cream together butter and sugar
  • Add in eggs and vanilla
  • In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients
  • Add the dry ingredients into the mixture
  • Press the majority of the dough into a greased 9×13 baking dish. You will need about 1 cup of reserve for the top. You can use spray or use this recipe for Cake Pan Release. It’s amazing and soy free! Nothing sticks with this!
  • Spread on the cherry pie filling
  • Take the rest of the dough and drop spoonfuls on the top
  • Bake for 30 minutes. Should be a golden brown on top
  • Cool completely
  • Mix together the glaze ingredients and drizzle on top
  • Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve
  • Warm them up and serve with ice cream, or just eat them by themselves!

Like I said before, you can try different pie fillings to change up this recipe!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and come back for more!!

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Strawberry Jello Pretzel Bars

Growing up my aunt would always make Strawberry Jello Pretzel Bars. They were by far, my favorite dessert. They always seemed difficult to make because of the different layers, but they are pretty easy! My mom adapted the recipe and made them all the time! My brother and I could not get enough of these things.

Strawberry Jello Pretzel bars are a go-to dessert for family events. They are a crowd-pleaser! They are sweet and salty, fruity and creamy…and above all they are delicious!

I have thought about trying different jello flavors and different crusts, so keep an eye out because I will try them one day and post them! Get creative!

When making these Strawberry Jello Pretzel Bars you are going to need to let them chill at least four hours or overnight, so plan ahead!

Start out by making the strawberry jello. You will need a big box of it. Follow the ingredients on the box and let that sit a bit while you make the rest of the layers.

For the crust you will need to crush up the pretzels. I use my food processor. You can put them in a ziplock back and smash them too. Either way is fine. Mix the pretzels with the melted butter and brown sugar for the crust. Press the pretzels into a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake for 10 minutes on 350 degrees. Let this completely cool before spreading on the middle layer.

For the middle layer you need cream cheese that is at room temperature. This is very important! If it is too cold it will be chunky. No one wants chunky cream cheese. Mix this together with the sugar and then fold in the cool whip. Once the crust is cooled you can spread this on! Make sure the spread all the way to the edges so the jello does not seep through.

Place your sliced strawberries on top of the cream cheese layer. Then pour on the jello very gently. You don’t want to break the middle layer. It will seep into the bottom and you will have chunks of cream cheese floating in the jello…

Refrigerate for at least four hours! I usually make this the night before to make sure the jello has set. This dessert does not disappoint! Enjoy.

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Gingerbread Bars

I have made these Gingerbread Bars for the past two Christmas’. They have been circulating around Pinterest from various blogs. I am not entirely sure where they originated from, but my guess is Six Sister’s Stuff. They always have great recipes and this one is no exception!

The holidays are so busy with gatherings and everyone always expects me to bring dessert! (which I enjoy!) I try to make a variety of desserts and different flavors to mix things up a bit. I can tell you my husband appreciates that! These Gingerbread Bars are an unpredictable dessert, and everyone loves them, including myself. These are one of my favorites…Yum!! I will be taking these to work tomorrow, for a holiday party. I guarantee they won’t last long 🙂

These Gingerbread Bars incorporate all of those spices associated with Christmas smells, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and molasses! This dessert is just the right amount of sweet!

This is definitely a recipe to hold onto!!

Ingredients for the Gingerbread Bars

  • 1/2 Cup butter, melted
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • 1/4 Cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 Cup molasses
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Gingerbread Bar Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  • Grease a 13×9 baking dish. You can get my cake release recipe here. It’s easy to make and Soy Free!
  • In your stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and molasses.
  • Add in the egg, and mix until fully incorporated
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients
  • Slowly add them into the stand mixer, and mix thoroughly
  • Pour mix into baking dish and pat down to get it evenly distributed
  • Bake for 15-18 Minutes
  • Let cool before frosting!

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting Instructions

  • In your stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together. Make sure they are both softened and at room temp. Otherwise your frosting will be chunky
  • Add in the vanilla and mix
  • Add in the powdered sugar slowly until all incorporated
  • Pour on the sprinkles, or cinnamon and serve!

Make sure to store them in the refrigerator!

I hope you enjoy these Gingerbread Bars. If you want more Fun and Frosted recipes, make sure to follow my blog, and my Pinterest page!

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Royal Icing

Royal icing can be intimidating, however is actually quite easy to make! We have a family tradition of making Christmas cookies every year, and a sugar cookie is not the same without icing on the top! Growing up we would always just mix together milk, powdered sugar and vanilla, very basic and no real formula to that, yet still delicious! I was looking for something less runny and something you can actually design with! So here with are with the Royal Icing, perfect for sugar cookies!

Now, I definitely always have to level set my expectations when it comes to cookie decorating. I always see these beautifully decorated cookies on Pinterest that are literally perfection…however with two children, ages 5 and 7, that is not going to happen. Even with my leveled expectations I am always a little shocked at the mess. You’ll find icing in places you cannot imagine, and sprinkles everywhere. You may find sprinkles for weeks. However, depending on your patience you can make some pretty awesome cookies and will surprise yourself!

I then remind myself. Take a step back and look around. My kids are having fun, they are being creative and we are together as a family, making holiday traditions. It’s times like these that we cherish and they will remember forever. The mess can always be cleaned up!

Now for the Royal Icing – This is to outline the cookies…

This recipe makes a lot of icing. You can easily frost 40 cookies…

  • 1/2 Cup of Meringue Powder (I used Wilton)
  • 1 Cup of Water; minus 1 Tbsp
  • 2 lbs of powdered sugar (usually its one bag)

Instructions

  • In your stand mixer, put in the Meringue Powder
  • Add in the water, mix until frothy
  • Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Once its all in the bowl, mix on medium for 4-5 minutes. It should form a stiff peak. Once its the right consistency you can separate out into bowls to add the food coloring
  • Put your icing in piping bags! Make sure to put a rubber band around the top so the icing doesn’t come out the wrong end of the bag
  • TIP – When the icing is not in use cover with plastic wrap because it will dry out fast
  • I used Wilton tip #2 and #3 for the outline

Once your cookies are outlined thin it out a bit with water to “flood” the cookies. I would add a tablespoon at a time. To know if your icing is the right consistency to fill in, take a spoon of your icing and let it drip back into the bowl. Count to 15 seconds and if the line goes away at 15 seconds then it is good to go!

Here is the recipes for both the Royal Icing, as well as my Grandmother’s Sugar Cookie recipe from the 1940’s! Yes, a recipe worth holding on to! Something I have cherished my whole life and have passed on to my children!

I hope your kitchen is as messy as mine when you are all done, that’s the sign of a good time 🙂

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Here are some other posts your might enjoy

Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe from the 1940’s
Easy Buttercream

If you are looking for baking supplies, check out the Prepared Pantry! I just discovered this site and I am very excited for my order to arrive! There are lots of great ingredients you can get as well as baking tools!