Do you have little boys in your life? If so, you must make these cutie pie Lego men for them. You will instantly become the coolest person ever. Guess how I know this? I made these a few weeks ago for a little fella’s birthday, but my boys were way into them before the birthday boy ever got a look. Once my boys realized I was using a food-safe marker to draw on the faces, they were hooked. They couldn’t get enough giving me ideas for what kind of faces to draw. It was super fun, for them and me.
The process is fairly simple. Make the cake pop mixture by mixing together cooked cake and icing. To make the Lego men, I took a fairly large amount of the mixture and rolled it out using my rolling pin to about 1″ thick. I used a small circle cookie cutter to cut out pieces. Then I used firm pressure to roll the circles in between my hands to make a cylinder (like a tiny soda can). Freeze those pieces for about 15 minutes. Dip a lollipop stick into melted chocolate and insert into the bottom of the cylinder. Squeeze a small dot of melted chocolate onto the top of the cylinder and top with a mini M&M. Freeze those for about 15 minutes. Dip the entire cylinder into yellow candy melts and gently tap off excess. Freeze for another 15 minutes. Use a food-safe marker to draw faces of your choice.
Have fun with the faces. I am not good at drawing, but I let go of that for a little while and used a little creativity – and my little ones – to make some cute faces. Enjoy!!
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Are there recipes you’d like to see on here? New things I should try? I’d love to hear from you.
These are absolutely adorable! Having all girls, I suggest you also make some that are pink and purple (or other girly colors) because they love legos too!!
A few weeks ago, over Spring Break, I made it a point to make a few special breakfasts for the kiddos. I make a lot of cupcakes, cakes, and desserts for other people, and my kids tend to not get many of those treats. As my youngest walked into the kitchen one morning and saw these cooling on the counter, he excitedly said, “Are those for us?” Precious… I was thrilled that I could finally tell him that these chocolate treats were not only for us, but that they were also for breakfast. I wish I had my camera to catch his smiling face. And because these were made with whole wheat flour, ground flax, and yogurt, I didn’t feel bad about letting them have chocolate muffins for breakfast.
The sprinkling of coarse sugar on top really does make a difference for these muffins. It adds a great crunch, so don’t skimp on the sprinkling
These muffins come together very quickly. I’ve since made a few extra batches, cooled on a cooling rack, and put into freezer bags in the freezer. Warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave, you’ve got a quick treat for breakfast or snack. I may have been using these to fulfill chocolate cravings… Enjoy.
½ c butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
⅔ c cocoa powder, I used Hershey’s Special Dark and Dutch-processed
4 Tbls ground flax
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ c milk
⅓ c sour cream or yogurt
2 c white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1½ c chocolate chips
coarse sugar, for topping
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
In bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in cocoa powder, flax, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Mix in milk and sour cream. Slowly add in flour. Stir in chocolate chips.
Using a large scoop to evenly distribute batter, pour batter into liners, making sure each is full. Sprinkle with coarse sugar to add crunch.
Bake 25-30 minutes
Salted caramel… Chocolate… Shortbread… Need I say more??? These tasty morsels pretty much speak for themselves.
Soft, buttery shortbread, topped with a thick layer of caramel made from condensed milk (I could just eat it out of a can, not that I would :0), finished with a layer of decadent dark chocolate, and sprinkled with smoked sea salt. Oh my. My mouth is watering, wishing I had some in the kitchen now. But these are super dangerous in my kitchen. I have no will power when these are around.
The one caution I have for you is to make sure you aren’t doing anything else while making the caramel layer. You must stir constantly so the bottom doesn’t brown faster than the rest of the pot of caramel. Trust me.
Shortbread:
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 c butter, room temperature
½ c sugar
Heat the oven to 325. Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and sugar in an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl if necessary. Add in dry ingredients on low speed, until just incorporated. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Using the bottom of a glass lightly dipped in flour, press in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Caramel:
1 c butter, cut into pieces
1 c sugar
4 Tbls light corn syrup
2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue simmering and stirring until the mixture turns an amber color and thickens slightly. Pour the mixture over the shortbread layer, smooth the top, and allow to cool completely and set.
Chocolate Glaze:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp light corn syrup
½ c butter, cut into pieces
Smoked Sea Salt, Fleur de sel or sea salt
Combine chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute on 50% power, then stir. Continue microwaving in 30 sec intervals until melted. Stir until mixture is completely smooth. Pour over the caramel layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Chill, covered, until ready to slice and serve. Before slicing, sprinkle top with Smoked Sea Salt, Fleur de Sel, or sea salt.
*I have successfully halved this recipe using an 8″ x 8″ pan.
I made this cake for my daugther’s best friend. She turned 13 a few weeks ago. This little girl, yes I am in denial about her being a teenager, is as much like my child as my biological children are.
This is not what I had in mind for this cake to look like. But… I was having one of those days. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones where it seems like the kitchen gods are out to destroy you, where you make silly mistakes that almost ruin your frosting, where nothing you want to do works out how you envisioned. Please tell me I’m not the only one that has days like this.
In the end, I really liked how the cake turned out. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a learning experience. I even managed to talk myself into realizing that it was more than a learning experience; it was a life lesson. Yes, I get life lessons while baking cakes.
The technique I used to decorate the top layer of the cake really couldn’t have been easier. Actually, I found it quite fun and much less frustrating than trying to frost it smooth using a frosting that was more on the runny side than it should have been. I used an open star tip, like Wilton 17, and made s curves and c shapes to fill in any open spaces. I didn’t work hard at lining anything up, just making it all kind of random.
I frosted the bottom layer as smooth as I could, given my frosting was less than ideal for that application. Then, I added blue mini M&Ms for fun.
Are you wondering what life lesson I learned that day? No, well I’m gonna tell ya anyway. I have to say this is a lesson that I’ve learned before. I find that even adults have to be taught a lesson more than once before they fully ‘get it’ sometimes. I tend to live my life as a perfectionist. But it’s ok for me to let go of that perfectionism sometimes. And in doing so I free myself up to try new things. Even if things don’t turn out the way I planned, the end result might be even better than what I thought. So give it a try next time something isn’t going as planned; let go of the perfectionism, and try something new. You might like it!
I need to start with a confession today. Sprinkles make me happy. Ok? I said it. It’s true. And I’m not ashamed. I have a rather large assortment of sprinkles. Hoarding them may be an issue for me. Well, I guess it’s not technically hoarding because I do use sprinkles frequently. I just keep buying more because I’m afraid I might run out one day. What a sad day that would be! Sprinkles are so colorful and fun. I am a lover of color and of fun, so they are a perfect match for me. Ok, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about my obsession with these tiny little ‘sprinkles’ of happiness…
Did you have Funfetti cake mix cakes growing up? I have to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had a cake made with it. Gasp. I’ve seen the boxes at the grocery store plenty of times. The box looks like fun. So, when I saw this recipe for homemade Funfetti cupcakes I knew I couldn’t go wrong.
And what better pairing for sprinkle-enhanced cupcakes than a luscious, dark chocolate frosting? Fun and decadent…You are very welcome.
I do not generally like recipes that include vegetable shortening, but it works very well in this recipe.
1 c whole milk, room temperature – I used 1.5% milk with great success
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp Lorann Princess Cake Flavor or almond extract
3 c cake flour
1½ c sugar
1 Tbls + 1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
6 Tbls butter, softened, and cut into cubes
6 Tbls vegetable shortening – I used Crisco
½ c sprinkles
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two muffin pans with baking liners and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, whole egg, ¼ c of milk, vanilla, and Princess Cake Flavor or almond extract. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together cake flour, sugar, and baking powder together on low speed for 30 seconds. Add butter and shortening, and blend on low speed for about 30 seconds. Add remaining ¾ c milk, and mix on low speed until just moistened. Increase to medium speed and mix for 1½ minutes. Mix in the egg/milk mixture until well combined. To make Funfetti cupcakes, fold in sprinkles until just combined.
Spoon mix into cupcake liners ⅔ full. Bake 15-18 minutes, being careful not to overbake.
Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting
½ c butter, softened
½ c cocoa powder – I used Hershey’s Special Dark
4 c powdered sugar
¼ c milk, or enough to reach desired consistency
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on med-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add cocoa powder and 1 c powdered sugar. Mix on med speed 1 minute. Add a few Tbls milk and remaining 3 c powdered sugar. Mix until well combined. Add more milk, if necessary, to reach desired consistency. Mix on med-high speed 3 minutes.
Welcome to my Sassy Sweet world. My name is Jessica, and I live in CO. I am a mom to three amazing children. I enjoy sharing my love for baking and all things creative with others. This blog is my attempt at sharing with others the things I love. Come on in and bake up some sassy goodness.
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