Today was the kind of day where I let my 18-month-old baby fend for himself lunch-wise. He pulled a bag of raisins off the table onto his head, and the whole bag emptied all over the floor. I started to pick them up, but then I realized he hadn’t had lunch yet. And it was approaching 2pm. So instead I let him eat lunch off the floor.
Eric just sent me a link to this article yesterday, which basically says that we should be letting our kids eat dirt for their own good health anyway, so I figure I’m being pretty humane with the raisins. I mean, at least they’re digestible. Don’t worry I gave him some burned bread too. Awesome mom moments happening all over the place these days. (In my defense, I ate pretty much all the rest of that bread. I just pretended that Peeta had thrown it to me in a thunderstorm while I was starving.) ^^If you’ve read Hunger Games, click that link. Just do it. Your endorphins can thank me later.
Today we are talking CAKE. Cinnamon-Cardamom Cake with Maple Pecan Frosting. This is a doctored cake mix, my friends. I saw a picture of someone’s cake on Instagram the other day and it said something like “because only from-scratch cakes are made with love,” and I was like, oh, well I guess all my cakes are sending a clear message of HATRED. “Here’s a cake. I don’t love you.” I’ve just never found a from-scratch cake that I really loved, and I’ll be honest, cake is not my go-to dessert, so I’m not interested in trying a million recipes to find The One. Maybe one day I’ll catch the cake bug, but for now I’m sticking with the box…plus lots of sour cream and oil.
And did I mention the cardamom? And the cinnamon?? I wanted a fall-themed cake that wasn’t spice cake. (I made this for a friend’s baby shower). I was going to make it just cinnamon. I kept adding more…and more… after my 7th teaspoon I decided to go with some cardamom and it was a fabulous choice. 1 teaspoon was plenty. And of course the Maple Pecan Frosting is off the chain. (yep. I just said that.) My friend Lara said that there should be a book written about this frosting. I’ll let her write it. I know it sounds like sacrilege to suggest cake instead of pie for Thanksgiving but…maybe? For this cake I might just consider it. Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more? Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
I use a name brand cake mix, and a generic pudding mix. Lining the edge of the cake with pecans can get a little messy, so I put a large tupperware (or a bowl) of the extra pecans underneath to catch any residual. Definitely don’t skip lining the edge of the cake with parchment paper. That way you don’t get frosting on your cake plate, and you can easily pull away excess pecans, keeping it clean. Fall=Maple. I mean right?: Maple Cheesecake with Roasted Pears:
30-Minute Maple Bars: (for real though. half hour, tops.)
Maple Cinnamon Quick Bread:
Maple ideas from around blog land: Maple Cupcakes from Recipe Girl Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns from Taste’s of Lizzy T’s Glazed Apple Maple Blondies from The Recipe Critic
