Wove, Twue Wove

A few weeks ago I was honored to be a part of the wedding of one of my best friends, Stephanie, to her now husband, Chase. A few months before the wedding, Steph asked me if I would make a groom's cake as a surprise for Chase. She told me that she wanted a Ford emblem made out of cake. Chase works for Ford and has a passion for cars. We decided on Red Velvet cake with a Cream Cheese Buttercream filling. I used fondant to cover the cake so as to give the cake a really clean, sleek finish.

Chase did finally find out that he was getting a cake, but he was not told what it would look like. It was so hard for me to not spill the beans, but I managed! When we presented the cake to Chase he was blown away! It was such a special weekend and I'm so glad to have been able to lend my talents to two very special people.

Old School Made New

I recently found myself craving something chocolaty but not too complicated. I found a box of brownie mix in the pantry but I didn't want just plain brownies. In browsing the internet I came across a recipe for S'More Brownies. I don't remember what the actual recipe consisted of, but I do remember that I thought it was a little more complicated than how S'Mores should ever be. So I made up my own version.

I made a graham cracker crust just like I would for a cheesecake, pressed it into the bottom of my pan, and blind baked it. Once that came out I added the brownie mix (mixed according to package directions, I like the fudgy kind) and baked again until the brownie was done. For the finishing touch, I added a layer of mini-marshmallows on top and put the whole thing under the broiler for a few moments to toast 'em up. The result is delicious!! It is reminiscent of a S'More but it isn't an exact taste replica, almost like a grown-up S'More. I highly suggest that you mix up a batch today. To make slicing easier you can spray a little Pam on your knife before you dig in, it'll help with the marshmallow layer.

In case you need it, here's what I used to make my graham cracker crust:

1 1/2 Cups crushed graham crackers
6 TBSP Melted butter
1 TBSP Sugar
A Pinch of salt

Mix it all together in a bowl or food processor until graham crackers and butter are completely combined. Use a large spoon (or your hands) to press crust mixture into bottom of baking dish. Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes or until it is a buttery golden brown.

*It should be noted that the addition of the broiler step was brought to me by my fantastic mother. I was going to use a kitchen torch but now I think I like the eveness/quickness of using the broiler.