The Loosle Chronicles

Ok…so not the best picture in the world, but I promise you this cake was the BOMB.COM!! lol! I LOVE Texas Sheet Cake. It takes me back to living in Chicago with Teri and the Sears familia. I think it was the first time I’d ever had it. Anyhow, those were the days. I think between the three of us we put that entire cake away within 2 days. lol! What heffers! heehee. Anyhow, I used a recipe I got from thepioneerwoman.com. So go and make it now! DELICIOUS!!

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake
(adapted from Ree, thepioneerwoman.com)

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut as desired. And devour! So delicious.

Friday night I got together with a group of my girlfriends from work. We played Mad Gab and had some yummy snacks. I have been dying for an excuse to make cupcake pops (as photographed above) since I saw them posted on Bakerella.com. And then I saw that she had a party at the Pioneer Womans and I knew I had to give in (heehee) and make these! I’ll be honest…I didn’t totally love the flavor of the cake and frosting when I first made it, but I tried it the next day and it tasted a lot better. In the future I’ll definitely not use the entire can of frosting and I want to try new flavors. The girls liked them so I guess that’s all that mattered! It was really easy and fun to make too! Enjoy!

Cupcake Pops

1 Box Cake Mix (Any flavor…I used Devil’s Food)

1 Can Frosting (I guess you could make your own too…I’m not brave enough to do that, but feel free to try it!)

Candy Melts

Candies to decorate (be creative!)

Lollipop Sticks

Waxed Paper

Styrafoam (or something to hold the pops in to dry)

Prepare cake as directed. Once completely cooled crumble into a large mixing bowl. Once completely crumbled add a little less than a full can of frosting. I mashed mine to combine with the back of a large spoon. Then form little balls with the cake and place on lined cookie sheet. Place in fridge or freezer to harden. Then shape and dip into candy melts (melt as directed on package) and decorate as desired. For step by step pictures click here.

Here’s my pic of the day and a recipe! I bought some buttermilk and needed to use it up so I found a buttermilk pancake recipe at foodnetwork.com. It was easy and delicious!! Enjoy!

Cakey Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Blueberry Maple Syrup, recipe follows

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except 2 tablespoons butter until evenly combined and moistened thoroughly (some small lumps will remain). Set mixture aside to rest while griddle heats or cover and store in the refrigerator to rest up to 12 hours before using. (If batter rests, stir briefly before using.)

Heat a large seasoned cast iron skillet, frying pan, or griddle over medium heat. To check that the pan’s properly heated, sprinkle a few drops of water on pan or griddle and water will “dance” around before evaporating.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in pan. When it foams, ladle 1/4 cup batter for each pancake and cook until bubbles cover the top, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown, another 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately topped with Blueberry Maple Syrup.

Blueberry Maple Syrup

• 3 cups blueberries
• 1 cup maple syrup

Combine 1 1/2 cups berries and syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until berries are slightly softened, about 2 minutes, then mash using the back of a spoon. Simmer until mixture foams up a bit, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat, strain to remove blueberry solids, stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups berries, and use to top pancakes, waffles, or French toast.

Here’s a picture I took of my neice, Selenalei. She’s such a happy baby. Don’t you just LOVE the flower on her head. While we were in Vegas we made a ton of hair clips for our neices. The one on her head is the biggest of them all. I also love this angle because her lashes look cute! I hope you love this pic as much as I do!

My pic of the day is of my neice, Liaina. She doesn’t ever sit still. We were trying to get her to take pics with her Mom and sister, but she kept running around and climbing on rocks. So, we decided to give in and just follow her with the camera. I absolutely love this picture. I’m still in Vegas. We leave tomorrow. I’ll miss this little girl and her sister, Lei…and of couse their fabulous mom, Lini.