Rice Crispy Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday Eric!

Yesterday was Eric's 27th birthday. Before I give you the recipe to his birthday cake, let's take a minute to walk down memory lane. When Eric saw his cake, he smiled and laughed and made a comment that I always make him unusual birthday cakes. Thinking back on it, he's right.

There was the orange-cranberry bread cake with blue royal frosting. It was made from a Pillsbury quick bread mix. I can't remember why I made this for his birthday, but I do know it was before I had a large repertoire of recipes in my arsenal. However, Eric loved it.

Orange Cranberry Bread Cake

Then there was the strawberry cake (also from a mix) with the candy clay decorations. We had friends over to celebrate and they all wanted to eat the candy clay roses. I also made cheese puffs and cream cheese rangoons as appetizers.

Strawberry Cake

Last year was the apple cider cake, which is one of my all times favorite cakes. It's a doctored spice cake mix. Sadly apple cider isn't in season in February so I had to use an apple cider mix--which is good but not nearly as good as the real thing. The following autumn, I made apple cider cupcakes with real apple cider and they were amazing.

Apple Cider Cake

And that brings us to this year, a rice crispy cake. A few weeks ago, Eric mentioned that rice crispy treats sounded good (his hint that I should make some). That's when I remembered seeing a Martha Stewart rice crispy cake and knew I had to make it for him. I used Kellogg's rice crispy treat recipe and made a minor change to Martha's chocolate marshmallow frosting.

Rice Crispy Cake
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
8 cups mini marshmallows
12 cups rice crispy cereal

Directions:
Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans generously with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a stock pot, melt butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are completely melted then remove from hear. Add rice crispies and stir gently but well until the cereal is well coated.

Divide the mixture between the two cake pans and evenly press the mixture into the pan.

Allow to cool then remove from pans.

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
4 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat. Add marshmallows and stir. Just as the marshmallows begin to melt, add the chocolate chips. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

While the frosting is still warm, frost the top of the first cake layer. Let the frosted cake stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Set the second cake layer on top and gently press down. 

Decorate as desired. Martha used different cereals to decorate her cake. Eric's cake looks a bit Christmasy just because I used what I had on hand--black, green, and red gels. 

I have to admit, this makes a pretty cool cake. It's quick, easy, and different. I know I will be making this again.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Fluffernutter Mug Cake

Marshmallows make anything better, at least in my opinion. When Eric and I were up north at my parents' cabin last summer, we stopped by Dairy Queen for some ice cream. For the first time I saw marshmallow fluff as a sundae topping. Best sundae of my life. So I saved my favorite mug cake for last.

This recipes comes from here with some minor alterations. 

Ingredients:
1 egg
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons self-rising flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk
2 large marshmallows

Directions:
Add all the ingredients except for the 2 marshmallows into a large mug. Make sure you use a large mug. I learned this the hard way when making my chocolate-hazelnut mug cake. With a fork, whisk the ingredients until well combined. On high, microwave the cake for 1.5 minutes. Add the 2 marshmallows on top and microwave the cake for another minute. The marshmallows will expand. Keep in mind that baking times will vary with each microwave.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Mug Cake Sample Platter

Also Check Out:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake

A large part of the reason I tested out so few recipes last month was because I was working away on my next novel (if you're curious, you can see my work here). In fact, I've already finished a rough draft. However, all that non-stop typing has aggravated my carpel tunnel something fierce. In order to give my poor hands and wrists a break and get away from the computer, I decided to spend a day in the kitchen. Not that baking is necessarily great for the hands and wrists either, but it's better than typing and surfing the net. For whatever reason, I decided I wanted to make mug cakes. So for the next week, I'm going to share a mug cake recipe with you each day.

S.L.U.T.S: Southern Ladies Under Tremendous Stress.

What is a mug cake? It is a single serving-size cake made in a coffee mug and baked inside your microwave. Yes, you can really bake a cake inside your microwave in three minutes or less. (You can also make a chocolate chip cookie, potato chips, and zucchini chips in your microwave). They are perfect for kids, college students (I would have killed to know about these tasty desserts when I was in college), and a late night sweet tooth.

I will begin the week with a chocolate-hazelnut cake from here. Normally, I like to use my own homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread, but I had smeared the last of it on my morning banana. Thankfully, while out running errands with Eric, we discovered that Jif now makes a chocolate-hazelnut spread. It's delicious and cheaper than Nutella. (I still like mine the best though).

Ingredients:
1 egg
4 tablespoons self-rising flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread.
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions: 
Mix all the ingredients together in a large coffee mug. It is very important that you use a large coffee mug. I didn't and this was the result:

At least it still tastes delicious.

With a fork, whisk the ingredients until they are well combined and the batter is smooth. With the microwave set on high, cook for 1.5 to 3 minutes. Keep in mind that all microwaves cook differently. Mine cooked in 2 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool. Eat in the mug or pour the cake out on a plate. While I think the cake is plenty sweet enough on its own, you could add frosting, cool whip, or even ice cream to the cake.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Mug Cake Sample Platter

Also Check Out:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting