colorful

Crazy Color Cake 

I really don’t know what to call this cake. I wanted to make a fun cake out of new food coloring we got a few days ago. This is what I came up with! It’s really just a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. No crazy ingredients or flavors. Just crazy colors. The recipe is for a single tier cake so it’s perfect if you aren’t feeding a lot of people. But if you are, just double it and you can make a 2 tier cake! It came out super moist and delicious. I also changed the frosting recipe a bit from what I usually do. It turned out pretty good! So, let’s go bake a cake!

What you will need:

8 inch round cake pan, greased

For the cake:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Food coloring of your choice

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
2 1/2 +/- cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring of your choice

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl with an electric hand mixer (or you can just use a spoon), beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk until a nice batter is formed.

Divide the batter equally into bowls depending on how many colors you are using. I used 3:

Then add your food coloring to each bowl and stir until the desired colors are reached.

Next, by heaping spoonfuls, drop the batter into your prepared cake pan, alternating colors. Smooth the top and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting. In a bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and the vanilla and beat well. Add another cup of sugar and beat well. Slowly add in more powdered sugar until you get a nice, smooth frosting. Beat in food coloring.

Frost and decorate your cake! have fun and enjoy!

Mini M&M Cookie Bars

Colorful and mini. Perfect for a 1 year olds birthday party, right?! I made these cookie bars just for that reason. Really easy and delicious. So, trying not to eat all the M&M’s… let’s go make some cookie bars!

What you will need:

9 x 13 inch baking pan

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12 ounce bag mini m&m’s divided

Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Grease and line your pan with parchment paper with the edges hanging over the sides.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat the butter and both sugars until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Gently fold in 1 cup of the m&m’s.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. I found it easiest to use my hands. Sprinkle the remaining m&m’s evenly on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the bars are lightly golden brown on top. Let cool completely before removing from pan and cutting. Enjoy!

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