Addictive Ice Cream Cake

It's hot out. Let's make ice cream cake.....or ice cream pie! Call it what you want to. I call it ice cream cake because I make mine in a Springform-- you know, the pan you make cheesecake in? If you make it in a pie dish- it is customary that you call it ice cream pie, but SPOILER ALERT-- it tastes the same either way. And it is so darn delicious and addictive. You'll be wanting to make ice cream cake/pie til the cows come home. 

Though, I highly recommend you pull your springform that's collecting dust off the top shelf and make this delectable frozen dessert in it. Springform is lonely and needs some action. My springform hasn't gotten any since I made cheesecake two years ago around the holidays. Poor guy.

You can use any kind of ice cream you want to make this, but my fav combo is mint choco chip. I think vanilla topped with caramel sauce and some toasted nuts would be dang good too. Just make what pleases your taste buds. Here's the formula:

Made in a 9in Springform pan:

1.5 quart of good quality ice cream, in my case mint choco-chip

2 sleeves of oreos from a 15oz pack

5-6 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 cup (ish) hot fudge sauce

-In a food processor, process the oreos and melted butter together until combined and the oreos have a fine crumble. Pour the oreo crumble out into the springform and press it evenly and firmly to make the crust. Cover and freeze for a 1/2 hour- you can also leave it for longer if you need the time. 

-Pull ice cream out and let it sit for 10 minutes to soften. I like to use a large serving spoon to scoop the ice cream into the springfrom- you get nice long pieces of ice cream this way and it is easier to make it even and to spread. Fill springform with ice cream. Using back of serving spoon, spread ice cream around to even it out. 

-Top with hot, hot fudge. Cover and freeze for at least 45 minutes. Before cutting allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes, unfasten the springform and lift off. Use a sharp knife to cut into wedges. Enjoy!

See ya next week, guys! Thanks for stopping in!

images by Briana

Orange-Vanilla Yogurt Cake

Our good friends gave us two large boxes of oranges a few weeks ago!  So I've been having fun experimenting with dessert recipes that have orange in them!  Oranges are not only one of my favorite fruits, but the scent of orange is equally appealing!    One of my favorite perfumes has orange blossom in it!  Anyhu, back to the recipe!  I took the Fresh Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Cake and switched it up for this Beauty!

It worked beautifully!  Not to mention the fact that my whole house had the scent of orange and vanilla flowing through it!  LOVE!  

Here's the line up:
2 sticks salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 ex large-jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, divided
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 medium-large orange
8 oz (1 cup) fat free greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9-10 inch bundt pan.  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix in the orange zest and set aside.  With an electric or stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add your vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice and mix well.  Alternate beating in the flour mixture with the yogurt a little at a time, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and into the oven for 60 minutes.  It should be golden.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then turn out on a cooling rack.  Whisk the powdered sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice and milk together until smooth.  Pour the glaze over the warm cake.  Cover until ready to serve.

Original recipe from aspicyperspective.com
Modified by Kara
Images by Kara

Fresh Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Cake

Okay you guys this cake is AMAZING!  Perfect and tender texture and subtle flavors make it a huge hit!  I couldn't help but smile and think of Spring as I was making it!  Perfect cake for your Easter Sunday Brunch???  I think YES!  I know it will be apart of ours!  Enjoy!

Here's what you'll need:
2 sticks salted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 ex large-jumbo eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
8 oz plain greek yogurt(I used 0% fat greek yogurt and it turned out incredible)
1-1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries(I used frozen and just let them thaw in a strainer)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk


Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.  Sift together 2 1/4 cups(reserving other 1/4 cup) of the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.  
With an electric or stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add your vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and mix well.  Alternate beating in the flour mixture with the yogurt a little at a time, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Toss your blueberries with the reserved 1/4 cup flour to prevent them from bleeding into the creamy batter.  Gently mix them into the batter.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared bundt pan and into the 325 degree oven for 60 minutes.  It should be nice and golden.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then turn out on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Whisk your remaining 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, milk and powdered sugar together.  The glaze should be thin but able to coat the back of a spoon.  Drizzle it over the cake.  Store covered until ready to serve.

Original recipe from aspicyperspective.com
Modified by Kara
Images by Kara   

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

When I'm trying to eat healthy and stay away from sugar, a strange phenomenon happens.  At night, my dreams begin and end in butter, sugar, chocolate and cream!  This is no lie!  A few years ago I even had a dream about eating a rich and dark piece of chocolate cake!  I woke up with the "realness" of devouring that amazing cake and all my cravings were squelched for the day!  I guess you could say, I had my cake and ate it too!  With ZERO guilt!;)  That's how real these dreams are!  And because of this, I end up playing in my kitchen a ton more than usual!  Here is the latest!

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake!  In my advanced baking classes we used to make a lot of similar types of mini layered mousse cakes for the French restaurant that was affiliated with the school!  But I promise you, these little beauties are easy, not advanced!  Here's what you'll need:


For the bottom cake layer:
1 Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix ("doctored" to my liking:)
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
Follow the baking instructions on the box for a 9 by 13 in pan.
Once the cake is baked, allow it to cool for about an hour before cutting into it.


For the dark chocolate mousse:
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate(I used 60% cacao Ghiradelli)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Sprinkle the powdered gelatin into the water(this is called blooming) and set aside.  In a small saucepan bring the 2/3 cup of cream to a boil.  While the cream is heating, chop your bittersweet chocolate into small pieces and put in a stainless steel bowl.  Once the heavy cream comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and add your bloomed gelatin, stirring to dissolve it in the cream.  Now, pour your hot cream/gelatin mixture over the chopped chocolate and allow the chocolate to melt for a minute.  Pour the 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream into your stand mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form.  Add the 3 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.  Let the sweetened whipped cream sit and begin to get to room temp.  Also let the chocolate mixture cool down to room temp.  Roughly 10 minutes for each!  If the chocolate mixture has already started to set up and get thick in to cooling process, don't panic.  Just stir it a bit to loosen it up and fold it into the whipped cream until well combined.  Store covered in the fridge until ready to use.  


For the white chocolate mousse:
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 oz white chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon sugar
Follow the same exact method as the dark chocolate mousse above!


Now for assembling the cakes:
Use a round cookie cutter or the rim of a drinking glass to cut out the cake rounds.  I was able to get 8 cake rounds from the 9 by 13 inch sheet.  With foil underneath each cake round, cut roughly 6 inch tall parchment paper strips and wrap them around each cake, securing it with tape like this:

Now, spoon a layer of dark chocolate mousse into each parchment cup, on top of each cake round.  Then do the same thing with the white chocolate mousse.  With the back of the spoon, flatten each mousse layer.  Store the assembled cakes in the freezer.  When you are ready to serve, take a potato peeler and shave bits of bittersweet chocolate on top of the cakes.  Allow them to thaw on your counter for 30 minutes before removing the parchment and serving!

Duncan Hines brownie mix modified by Kara

Dark and white chocolate mousse by Kara

images by Kara

Happy Halloween!!!!!

I saw a picture on pinterest of a cake that I had to try!  I'll just call it the "Halloween Candy Cake."  I used a box dark chocolate cake and added crushed Reese's peanut butter cups to the batter.  Then I frosted it with peanut butter buttercream frosting before adding all of the candy to the outside of the cake.  The beauty is, you can make whatever cake flavor and frosting flavor you would prefer!  Enjoy!

  
And a little somethin' easy on the eyes.:)  My good friend Heather over at Homemadebeanieblog.blogspot.com, made this adorable candy corn costume for my lil Q!  She's the sweetest candy corn I've ever seen!

Happy Halloween Everybody!  We hope it's a safe and fantastic one for you!

images by Kara

Pumpkin Spice Cake

I made this cake for a church meeting/luncheon we had today. Wouldn't you know it, my friend, Cobi was in charge of bringing a dessert as well and she brought the exact same cake! Except hers was a Paula Deen recipe and mine  was Martha Stewart! Everyone sampled a mini slice from each cake and everyone agreed they were equally delicious. I wish I could link to the Paula Deen recipe, but was unable to find it online. I highly recommend both if you  happen upon the Paula Deen recipe. I'm sharing the Martha pumpkin spice cake recipe below. The frosting is my own spin-- I added a little sour cream to my cream cheese frosting this time and I loved the result. Enjoy!

Recipe:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more to grease the pan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground clove)

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 15oz can solid pack pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and melted butter. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix gently until smooth.

Turn batter into baking pan and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a just a few moist crumbs attached, 45-50 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn it out right side up on a rack.

Make the frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick), room temp

8oz cream cheese, room temp

2 teaspoons sour cream

1 1lb bag powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Leaving mixer on low, add in powdered sugar. When the powdered sugar is incorporated, add vanilla and sour cream. Whip until blended and smooth. The consistency should be near perfect, but if it is too stiff you can always add a little more sour cream to thin it.

Frost cooled cake with cream cheese frosting. Cut into squares and enjoy!

images by Briana

Cake Celebration

A lot of family was in town last week for my cousin, Matt's wedding. My grandparents made it into town all the way from Oklahoma too! We all got together and had a Cake Celebration. We celebrated a bunch of birthdays and anniversaries and had a blast just being together eating cake!

Everyone brought a homemade layer cake. I think we had something like 12 layer cakes all lined up! It was amazing. I especially loved my cousin, Em's Angel Food Cake. I'm hoping to get the recipe so we can share it with you.

How is your week going so far?

images by Briana - Instagram

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Our Momma has had a craving for Pineapple upside down cake!  So when some of the fam came to dinner a few weeks ago, she went about business in my kitchen making one!  It turned out superb and so beyond easy to make!!!!

Here's the breakdown:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9-10 inch cake pan with non stick cooking spray.

2.  Turn your grill on medium heat and grill 5-6 pineapple rings for a few minutes per side to get those nice grill marks!  You can use fresh or canned pineapple!  The grilling is optional!

3.  Take a boxed yellow cake mix and follow the directions on the back, except lowering the oil to 2 tablespoons and adding a 3.3 oz box of white chocolate pudding.

4.  Place your grilled pineapple rings around the bottom of your prepared cake pan and sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar in and around the pineapple rings!

5.  Pour the cake batter in the pan and into the oven for 30-40 minutes until the center of the cake is set!

6.  Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes.  Then carefully turn out on a cake plate or cake stand, slice and enjoy!

images by Kara

Coconut Cream Cake

Yesterday I was in a baking sort of a mood!  I wanted to make a tres leches cake from scratch and then my idea ended up evolving into something a little different! I used an old fashioned white cake recipe that was given to my Momma years ago by a neighbor and it is seriously a never fail recipe!  I "threw" in a little sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, white chocolate pudding and toasted coconut and viola!  The flavors came together beautifully!  Our buddies M and B brought dinner over last night YUM!  And then my fam came over and we all enjoyed a laid back Sunday evening!  We were all anxious to try the coconut cream cake yesterday evening so it wasn't chilled to my complete liking but still very tasty!  Well, this morning I came downstairs and decided to indulge for breakfast and oh man! I wish everybody who tasted this cake last night would come back over to taste it fully chilled!  It really is just like a coconut cream pie, only in moist cake form!  Enjoy!

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pam or crisco and flour a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.


In the bowl of an electric mixer, add and mix: 
3 cups flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Add and mix in:
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pour finished cake batter into your prepared 9 by 13 in pan and into the oven for 30-40 minutes until top of cake is no longer jiggling but firm!


Okay, so I know this cake recipe seems a little backwards and instinctually you would want to cream your sugars and fats, then add the liquids and add the dry ingredients last!  And here is a little factoid for ya!  Doing things in the order I have just mentioned above is called a basic muffin method!  If you ever don't have a set of instructions to go a long with a recipe, whether it's a cookie, muffin, quick bread, brownie, cake, etc, you can generally follow the the muffin method and your finished recipe should turn out great!  Now, throw what I just told you out the window for a minute and follow the recipe above the way it is written!  Amazingly, it will turn out beautifully!


How to make this scratch white cake a coconut cream cake:
Once your beautiful and golden baked cake is out of the oven, poke holes with a toothpick or skewer every inch or so and pour 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk over the top.  Use a rubber spatula to spread evenly and make sure the condensed milk seeps down into all of the holes!  Then, take 1/4-1/2 cup (depending on how moist you want the cake.  I used a 1/4 cup but next time I would use a 1/2 cup) of evaporated milk and with a pastry brush, brush evenly over the cake.  I used a pastry brush to keep it consistent, not wanting too much evaporated milk to seep into one area and not enough in another!  I hope this is making sense!  Next cover the cake with foil and put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours.  In a teflon coated saucepan, over medium heat, toast 1 1/2 cups of sweetened, shredded coconut to a golden color stirring constantly.  Set aside to cool!  Once your cake has chilled a few hours, prepare a small box of JELL-O white chocolate pudding according to the pudding(not pie) directions on the box.  Take your cake out of the fridge and spread the prepared white chocolate pudding evenly, like a frosting over the cake.  Then sprinkle and pack the cooled toasted coconut on the top!  Serve immediately or put back in the fridge until ready to serve!  Refrigerate any leftovers!  These instructions may seem lengthy but don't let it intimidate you.  The process is super easy, I just wanted to be thorough in my instructions!


Cake recipe from Jean McPherron


images by Kara
           

3!

Helloooooo! Hope you all had a great weekend. We had a birthday party for our little Lily girl on Sunday. She turns three tomorrow and I can hardly believe it (!). Lily is such a vibrant girl and I am so grateful that I get to be her mom. Here are some pictures of her pink birthday party. I have two tutorials that I'll post in the next few days on how to make the dot garland and the hanging yarn balls that you'll see. Both are super easy to make and you'll have fun putting your own spin on them.

Post edit: I neglected to mention the dinner that we ate....Ooops! We had two hot panini machines ready with an assortment of meats and cheeses to build your own panini sandwiches and then we had two different soups! Kara will be posting the chicken and wild rice soup that was served soon and I'll post the tomato basil soup recipe soon as well. I also served a big platter of fresh cut veggies and a homemade ranch dip. It all was really good and fairly easy to pull together. Here is a picture of my cute niece munching:

I used happy tape to make the stripes on the dessert table. The tiered donut cake is something my mom has been doing for birthdays for awhile and I can't get enough of them so I had to do one for Lily (ordered the donuts from a bakery). The lower cake stand has some macaroons and sugar cookies on it (ordered these as well). The birthday cake is white cake with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. YUM. Here are the recipes:

For the cake:

1 box white cake

Follow instructions on the box. In addition to the eggs, oil (I used canola oil), and water. Add one cup of sour cream. Fill 2 greased and floured 8 or 9 in round cake pans (for a three layer+ cake you will need to use 2 cake mixes). Mix and bake as it advises on the box.

Recipe for strawberry cream cheese frosting:

2 sticks butter (not unsalted), room temp

1 8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 1lb bag powdered sugar

5-6 tablespoons strawberries pureed (frozen strawberries thawed then pureed using a blender, food processor or hand mixer)

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy. Turn mixer off and add powdered sugar a few cups at a time until fully incorporated (medium speed), scraping down the bowl as needed. Turn mixer to low and add vanilla until fully incorporated. Now you are ready to add the puree. While mixer is on medium, add strawberry puree a tablespoon at a time. Allow each tablespoon of puree to fully incorporate before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl as you see fit. The frosting can be thinned with a little milk if it needs.

Mom and sisters.

I wrapped some decorative yarn around a pillar and attached pictures of Lily using mini clothes pins. Mini clothes pins are one of those life changing doo-dads...I use them so much. I took this picture the morning after the party when the light was better.

I took this picture the morning after the party, too. Notice the wrapped cake. :)

images by Briana

Buttery Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake

I must first confess, I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie! I know, I know seriously way out of line! Especially this time of year! But of all the pies our Momma sets out for Thanksgiving, I just happen to be more drawn to the chocolate cream or the coconut cream or the blueberry, hmmm decisions. Anyway, you get the idea! Well I was in a baking sort of a mood yesterday afternoon, as the snow started falling outside my windows and with keeping up the theme going on this month on our 'little slice of the internet' I decided to bust out and make something pumpkinny! Surprise! I found a recipe at cooks.com that to me, had tons of promise. I tweeked it only slightly and OH MAN, PROMISE KEPT! It's a super easy and cool take on traditional pumpkin pie! Think of it as pumpkin pie in reverse! You have the delicate pumpkin filling layer on the bottom and a thick slightly crunchy, yet cakey, sweet and salty crust on top! Is your mind spinning from all the adjectives?? Well, your mouth will be spinning too if you try this cake! I'm even sneaking a few bites this morning before my babes wake up because I, in no way, want Ace and Indee to think it's a-okay to eat cake for breakfast!;)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and pam a 9 by 13 inch pan or glass pyrex, set aside.

In a large bowl mix together:

1 large 29 oz can of pumpkin

1 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

Pour the pumpkin mixture into your prepared 9 by 13 inch pan or glass pyrex and spread evenly.

Next, take a box yellow or white cake mix and sprinkle the mix evenly over the top of the pumpkin layer. Melt 1 cup of butter in a glass measuring cup and pour little by little evenly over the dry cake mix layer. Then into the oven for 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool for at least 30-45 minutes before serving so it can continue to set up. Believe me, it will still be nice and warm and ready for that big dollop of whipped cream!

image by Kara

Zucchini Cake

One of my best pals, Jen, introduced me to this cake a couple years ago. I remember paying her a visit and her house smelled amazing, like cinnamon and Fall. I think I must have had three pieces of that cake-- I couldn't shut up about how good it was the whole time I was there. She even came to my house the following week and made one for me in my kitchen! What a friend.

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups oil! That's a whole lotta oil, so I've made a few substitutions and additions. Don't worry, the cake is just as delicious. Plus, I like to work buttermilk into a cake batter anyway I can. Wink.

**You can substitute finely grated carrots for the finely grated zucchini in this recipe. I haven't tried it but definitely will in the future**

Recipe:

2 cups flour

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

Roughly 3 cups finely grated zucchini

4 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a jelly roll pan (rimmed baking sheet) very lightly with butter. Set aside. Sift together baking soda, salt, flour, sugar, flour and cinnamon into a large bowl. In a small bowl rapidly whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour this mixture into the large bowl with dry ingredients. Following the buttermilk mixture, add your 3 cups of grated zucchini into the large bowl. Using a rubber spatula stir and fold the mixture until just combined. Be sure and scrape the sides and the bottom of bowl to pick up any dry ingredients that have settled and need combining. Pour batter into buttered jelly roll pan. Evenly spread batter. Place pan in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Keep an eye on it as every oven bakes things at varying times. The finished cake will be somewhat dark because of the cinnamon. If you'd like, use a toothpick or a butter knife to place in the center- if it comes out clean, it's done. Remove from oven and allow to cool, preferably on a wire rack. While the cake cools, make the frosting.

Recipe for cream cheese frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 1 lb bag of powdered sugar + an additional cup

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Milk to reach spreading consistency

Cream together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar and mix until the mixture comes together and isn't crumbly. Add vanilla and mix. If needed, add milk tablespoonfuls at a time until desired spreading consistency is reached. Spread evenly over cooled cake. You may have a little left over depending on how thick you frosted the cake.

**Frosted cake will last on your counter covered for a few days and still be moist and taste delicious!**

image by Briana with loads of help from Kara adjusting my camera settings :)

Model: Kara

My Lil Gal's 1st Birthday

First let's talk food! Indee's Birthday cake was a six inch, 3 layer, Pillsbury Funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream frosting! And the rainbow sprinkled and coconut cake donuts were from Days market.

Buttercream frosting:

2 sticks salted butter, softened

5-6 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-3 tablespoons milk(to get to good spreading consistency)

Whip the softened butter until it is fluffy and pale yellow using a stand mixer or handheld. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time to make sure it incorporates well. Add vanilla. Then add milk a tiny bit at a time while mixing until you get a creamy and spreadable consistency.

We served mini burgers (sliders) for dinner.

The burgers were equal parts ground chuck to ground sirloin at 20% fat. I used 3 pounds of chuck and 3 pounds of sirloin. We made the patties slightly bigger than golf ball size and flattened them out. We sprinkled both sides of the patty with Lawry's seasoned salt and coarsely ground black pepper. They went on a hot grill for roughly 3-4 minutes per side.

In order to shorten an already lengthy post I have decided to break them up into 2. This post shows the fabric flower headbands worn by the little girls and the fabric flowers in general. I will be doing a follow up post to show you how I made them!

My Baby Gal!

All the little gal's

Cake time!

All of the wonderful pictures are courtesy of the talented Breanna of www.bemephotography.blogspot.com

The ideas for the flowers came from www.natalienortonblog.com