Pinned There, Done That: Lego Cake and Happy Birthday, Matt!

Disclaimer: I've never pretended that The Traveling Spoon is an aspirational blog. Rather, I strive to make my recipes and ideas attainable and accessible - and if any post has ever proved that, it's this one! So if you've ever suffered a kitchen snafu or doubted your culinary prowess for a moment, I hope this post this post is a boost to your self esteem - I've been there, too!

Before the 'Happy Birthdays,' the gratuitous cake photos, and the shocking excess of festive food coloring, let me just be upfront with you: I am not a cake decorator. 

Unfortunately, this is a fact I wasn't fully aware of until I began this project (I used to be so good at artistic things when I was younger - what happened?). So as you view the photographic evidence contained in this post, I ask you to remember that this project comes, not from a place of Wilton cake decorating classes and handy offset spatulas, but from a place of love - for Matthew, who loves Legos and who, after a month spent on Army training in the wilds of Louisiana, deserved a bit of a birthday surprise.

And boy, was this cake surprising! I was surprised at how much actual cake I had to bake (two full boxes - and yes, I 'cheated'); I was surprised at how much frosting it required (so surprised, in fact, that I completely ran out of powdered sugar - perhaps I should have cheated); I was surprised at my lack of red food coloring (which is why the 'red' Lego is actually kind of pink); and, most of all, I was surprised at just how much skill this 'simple' cake required (or maybe I'm really just that bad at cake decorating).

But appearances aside, this is a great cake idea (thanks, Pinterest and Betty Crocker!) - and as much as I might have wanted to hide my somewhat botched version from the world, I just know there are lots of Lego-lovers out there who would love this cake.

So enough preamble, lets get on with the process. I should note that I've made a few changes to the original version - most notably swapping out the marshmallow 'nubs' on top for mini-cupcakes, which I trimmed into the appropriate shape. Perhaps the marshmallows would have been a little easier to decorate, and wouldn't require the use of two cake mixes, but I think the mini-cupcakes taste better. You can make that decision for yourself, but my instructions are for the all cake version.

How to Make a Lego Cake

1) Prepare two packages of chocolate cake mix according to package directions. Fill a greased and floured mini-muffin pan with enough cake batter to make at least 24 mini cupcakes. Pour the rest of the cake batter into a greased and floured 9x13-inch baking pan (it's best to use one with straight rather than inclined sides if possible). Bake according to package directions, bearing in mind that cupcakes will cook much quicker than the cake.

2) Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Chill cake at least one hour, until firm.

3) Using a sharp knife, cut the muffin tops off of the mini cupcakes until they are a uniform height, with a flat surface on top. Store in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to decorate. Cut the rounded dome from the top of the full cake to make a flat surface. Then cut cake crosswise into thirds to make the large Lego blocks. Cut one of the thirds in half to make two even squares (these will be the small Legos). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to decorate - at least one hour, or overnight.

Trimming the mini cupcakes

4) Meanwhile, mix your icing using your favorite recipe (I used this one from Savory Sweet Life, which gives a great texture and taste, if a tiny smudge too buttery) and tint to the desired color. You'll need about 1 to 1 1/2 cups icing for each large Lego, and 3/4 cup for each small Lego. Note: I used cheap liquid food coloring, but you can and should feel free to use the posh stuff!

Crumb-coated, re-frozen and ready to go!

5) Place cake pieces on a covered tray and frost each with a thin layer of colored frosting to act as a crumb coat (I did mine one at a time and returned them to the freezer for a bit after icing - same thing with the mini cupcakes). Once the crumb coat has set, add a final coat of frosting to each cake. Using a dab of icing, attach four mini cupcakes to each small block and eight to each large block. Cover smoothly with the appropriately colored icing (use an icing spatula if you have one - I imagine it gives a smoother finish than a butter knife!). Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

And that, my friends, is all it takes to make a Lego cake!

...Okay, so maybe not all, because it's time for a few notes: You may notice that a couple of my blocks are stacked - that's because I ran out of red food coloring and frosting. I'm not sure I'd recommend this method because it makes them harder to frost, but if you've got decorating skills (or you're also low on food dye or frosting) go for it!

Also, let me just say that I'll never disdain fondant icing ever, ever again - I may not like the taste, but I imagine it would make this cake look a lot better. If you have the skill and patience for it, give it a try - and feel free to share some photos!

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Pinned There, Done That: Grow Your Own Green Onions!

It's Springtime - and that means lots of green, growing things. To be honest, it's felt like spring for weeks around here, but now that the dogwood tree outside our apartment is in full bloom (it's one of my favorite trees - how lucky am I!), I know that the warm, sunny days and increasingly temperate evenings are here to stay.

I love this time of year, when the world wakes up after winter and we can slowly peel off our layers and enjoy the sunshine. I love the first sign of buds on a tree, and the way even the most desolate places spring to life at the promise of warm, wet days (believe me, I spent a few years in the desert in Arizona, and spring there is just as much a marvel as it is on the verdant East Coast).

Ever since I was a child, I've loved growing things - which is why I'm doubly disappointed to have somehow ended up with two black thumbs! I nurtured gardens all through childhood, with great success, but somehow my skill with plants must have gotten lost with my baby teeth...until now.  Early in the year, I decided to give my green thumbs a second chance. That may have been a bit ambitious, given that Matt and I don't have so much as a patch of dirt to our names, but thanks to this simple project, I'm off to a pretty good start.

I've shared my admittedly checkered gardening past because I want to convince you just how easy it is to grown your own green onions. If I can do it, anyone can. And we have Pinterest to show us how!

The Pinspiration:

The Product:

So here's how to grow your own onions:
1. Using your last ever bunch of store-bought green onions, cut off the green flesh, leaving about two inches of white flesh above the root (I cut mine a little too short and they grew more slowly as a result).

2. Fill a shallow glass container with enough water to just submerge the roots and stand the cut onions in the water (you may need to bundle the onions with an elastic band to get the to stay upright at first).

3. Change the water daily and keep your onions in a sunny place. You should see growth within the first day or two.

4. Continue to water the onions daily until they're long enough to harvest. You can repeat the process as often as your onions will keep growing. You may need to start afresh after a few cycles.

From start to salad, it took me about three weeks to grown my onions (I'm sorry I don't have a final picture - we were hungry!), but your timeline may vary depending on light conditions and such. Also, although my onions grew just fine in a Mason jar, I don't think I'd recommend it. A few onions seemed 'stunted' by the sides of the jar - although that could just be the lingering influence of my black thumbs!

Pinned There, Done That: Lofthouse Cookie Bars

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you all my first Lofthouse Sugar Cookie experience. I expected a lot of backlash for admitting that this experience was a little underwhelming - but I should have known that my wonderful readers would be lovely and positive.

In fact, your positive reaction led me to give Lofthouse a second try. I've been seeing Lofthouse copycat bars all over the web (okay, mostly on Pinterest, and here, and here), and since I have a crazy obsession with bar desserts (as demonstrated here, here, and here), and didn't feel like rolling out dozens of cookies, I decided to go this route.

I also thought this would be the perfect opportunity for another Pinned There, Done That - but you may notice that I'm skipping the usual fanfare. That's because I saw so many versions that I can't attribute the final product to a single one. The closest version comes from Two Peas & Their Pod, mostly because I wanted a recipe that used sour cream instead of cream cheese (confession: I was cleaning out our fridge!).

But enough preamble. After all the hours and hours of research spent on Pinterest (tough job, I know), was the Lofthouse rematch a success? Well, yes and no.  These bars are made with butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, so naturally they're pretty tasty, but I'll be honest, I wasn't wowed.

My biggest regret was that I baked mine in a 9x13-inch pan which made them incredibly thick and cake-like (and we all know how I feel about cake things that aren't actually cakes), so I've made the switch in the recipe to a jelly roll pan. I really think this - coupled with a generous slick of icing - should be enough to make them more Lofthouse-like, but if you're a lover of cake, by all means go for the 9x13!

Pinned There, Done That: Lace Earring Tutorial

Okay, so this post isn't exactly 'green', or St. Patrick's-themed, but if you look closely, you'll see little four-leaf clovers in the center of the earrings - which makes them perfect for this week's Pinned There, Done That!

There's something so lovely and romantic about lace - soft and delicate, with intricate patterns that speak to the skill and care of its maker. Of course, lace is just as likely to be made by machine these days, but that doesn't detract from its delicate beauty.

I was swept along on the lace earring trend long before I joined Pinterest, but that didn't stop me pinning a few examples! As far as I can tell, it was a series of pretty lace earrings from Anthropologie  that sparked the DIY lace earring craze. That's hardly surprising - every visit to Anthropologie is like an injection of inspiration - but what surprised me was just how easy they are to make. Just 5 minutes, start-to-finish, was all I needed to craft my own pair of elegant earrings. Naturally, I couldn't stop at just one pair!

The shape and design of your earrings will depend on the lace you use, but even a single piece of lace will likely offer you enough possible variations for several pairs of earrings. The process is so simple that it's almost addictive. Pretty soon you'll be making lace earrings for all your friends and relations!

The Pinspiration:

The Product(s):

To make your own lace earrings you'll need lace, scissors, pilers (I use round-nose), and ear wires. If you want your earrings to be stiff (or your lace is very soft or fragile), you'll also want some water and Elmer's glue.

Here's what you need!

1. The first step is to cut the desired shape from the lace. Here's where your creativity can shine through - all the earrings in this post were made from the same piece of lace, cut in different ways.

2. Once you have your lace, you have the option to paint it with a few coats of watered-down Elmer's glue. I left my earrings uncoated, but if your lace is very delicate, this will make it stronger and stiffer. Allow the lace to dry before proceeding.

3. Thread the lace onto the bottom loop of the ear wire. You may need your pliers to open the loop. After the lace is attached, be sure to close the loop with the pliers.

And that's all, folks! If you want to make pendant/drop earrings (like the one shown above), you'll need some jewelry wire to attach the pieces of lace together, but otherwise, it's as easy as 1-2-3!

Pinned There, Done That: Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

After yesterday's sweet and indulgent Thin Mint Brownies, I decided today's post should skew to the healthier side of the 'green' spectrum - and what better choice than a new twist on my favorite vegetable, the humble brussels sprout.

Several weeks ago, I shared my go-to method for producing delicious sprouts but, I dare say this version is just as good...if not better. Instead of roasting the sprouts with olive oil and salt, they're sliced thinly and caramelized with garlic on the stovetop. The flavor is much the same but this version is quicker, which makes it a valuable tool in my weeknight cooking arsenal - and you can be sure this one will be a regular.

This method of cooking also opens up more options for different flavor combinations. I kept it simple for the first go-round, but I could see this recipe benefiting from the addition of some chopped, toasted walnuts, or perhaps some crumbled bacon or pancetta (but really, isn't almost everything elevated by bacon?).

Pinned There, Done That: Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken

If you're new to The Traveling Spoon, you can read more about my 'Pinned There, Done That' feature here. I'm working on a button for the series, but that's no reason you should miss out on updates in the meantime!

Sorry to disappoint those of you who are here for boozy chicken - this dish isn't alcoholic (it actually gets its name from the famed Bourbon Street in New Orleans), but it's pretty amazing nonetheless. If you've ever eaten Chinese food in a mall food court (go on, you can admit it - I won't judge) you've probably encountered this dish. It's the one being passed out on toothpicks to entice you to buy - and I have to admit that on more than one occasion, it's worked.

This dish is a perfect blend of sweet and salty with a really savory kick (I love umami!), so when I discovered a recipe circulating around on Pinterest I just had to give it a try. In the past, I've sated my Bourbon Chicken cravings with my own Honey Chicken recipe. That tangy dish makes a great meal, but this recipe goes in the crockpot and, well, sometimes convenience is king.

Pinned There, Done That: Meltaway Cookies

Last week, I took the plunge and finally joined the rest of the world on Pinterest, and while I've already pinned dozens of things I'll probable never make or do, I decided to make a concerted effort to actually give some of my pins a try - and share the results with you on the blog!

Source

From now on, I'll be sharing my real-life renderings of Pinterest finds in these 'Pinned There, Done That' posts. It won't be a regular feature, and I can't promise that my attempts will turn out anything like the original - but really, isn't that all part of the fun?

So, without further ado, here's my first attempt at putting a Pin into practice: Meltaway Cookies from Landee See, Landee Do.

The Pinspiration:

The Product:

So, what do you think? Differences in lighting aside, they're pretty close, right?

I'm on Pinterest!

Well, folks - I finally took the plunge. I joined Pinterest last night, and I'm ashamed to admit how much time I've spent on it since. It's just as fun as I had imagined (which is why I'd resisted joining), although it will be a while before my boards are filled and fleshed out.

In the meantime, feel free to track me down (you may notice my bright red, shiny, new Pinterest button on the sidebar!). I'd love to see what you all have been pinning!...And if you you have any tips for this somewhat overwhelmed newbie, I'd appreciate them!

One more thing: don't forget that tomorrow is the last day for the My Memories Suite giveaway! Entry is still pretty low so your chances of winning are good!!