Dump Cake

I love this recipe.  So easy, so yummy, and I can't mess it up.  Seriously - a crowd pleaser!  This recipe always makes me think of the midwest.  I don't know if it originated there, but that's what I think of when I make it.  My friend tried it with blueberry pie filling and it worked as well!  I've never tried it with anything besides cherry - I just don't like change!  But I love this recipe.  My husband loves it, too, and he likes it with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.  I like it warm out of the oven, but I especially like it cold out of the refrigerator the next day (like for breakfast - shhhhh, don't tell anyone that) - try it and you'll become a believer!

All you need for this cake is:

• yellow cake mix (any kind)
• cherry pie filling
• crushed pineapple
• two sticks melted butter

Dump pineapple into 11x17 glass baking pan

Spread cherry pie filling evenly over pineapple - don't you love the colors?

Dump cake mix over top and spread around evenly

Melt butter in microwave and pour evenly over top of cake.  Seriously, that's it!  Now into the oven!

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until cake is golden brown on top.

I wish you could smell it through the screen.  So good!!

Yes, it is amazing.  Yes, you must try it!

Enjoy!

**Also, we are now on Facebook!  Search for Cowtown Cooking and you can "like" our page - hope to see you there!

Dinosaur Cake

My son asked me to make his birthday cake for the first time ever this year.  Ignoring my perfectionist tendencies, I agreed, hoping that I would be able to make something that resembled a dinosaur that he would actually enjoy.  I found this recipe online and it was pretty easy for the most part.

I just baked the two cakes,

cut it following the directions, then "crumb coated" the cake to seal in the crumbs before frosting.  The crumb coat was a great tip from the recipe & really helped make the cake look better in the end.  Yes, the dinosaur was whimsical, but the birthday boy loved it!

I used candy melts, m&m's, and a tiny bit of white frosting for the eyes and mouth.  As worried as I was, it was worth every minute when the birthday boy was so happy when he saw the cake!

Have you made your child's birthday cakes?  What have you tried?

Dinosaur Egg Cakeballs

For my son's birthday this week, I decided I would try my hand at cakeballs.  I had heard and read about everyone making cakeballs and how easy & yummy they were, so I thought, "How hard could it be?"  It was pretty easy through the first steps...

Make cake of your choice according to package directions.  Bake.

After cake cools, cut into small squares

Break cake up in a bowl

Crumble cake squares with a fork.  This is the amount of crumbs from the entire cake.

Add an entire jar of your choice of frosting.  I used a Devil's Food cake mix and Cream Cheese frosting.

It doesn't look pretty, but it smells good!  I let this chill for a few minutes before I started to shape the cakeballs.

It makes a ton!  This is about half the batter.  After you get them in balls, freeze them for about 30 minutes.  I found the longer the better.

I used Candy Melts for the coating.  This is where I ran into trouble!  I haven't quite figured out my microwave yet and I just couldn't get the candy melts to melt into the right consistency.  Next time I plan to try the double broiler and hopefully that will yield better results.  All tips are welcome!

I had hoped to use my egg separator as a way of dipping in the coating, but my coating was just too lumpy for this to happen, but I think it's a great idea.

I wasn't super pleased with the way my cakeballs turned out (I wanted them smooth, to better resemble dinosaur eggs), but they tasted good and everyone loved them so that's what matters!!

And there were PLENTY for the party!

However, hubby & I agree, we liked the cakeballs, but my friend Rebekah shared this recipe for Oreo Balls on her blog and they. are. awesome!!  If you like cakeballs, you must check it out!!  We love them more than cakeballs!  And if you like sweets, we have plenty of sugary goodies to share this week!!