Month: January 2020

Hacked and Twisted Nothing Bundt Cake White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

This past Christmas I convinced one of my sisters to forgo taking the time and effort to make a dessert for our family Christmas feast. Instead of cooking, I convinced her that the biggest impression would be made if she ordered a cake from Nothing Bundt Cake. Having experienced their yummy deliciousness at several bridal and baby showers recently, I was seriously yearning for a super moist and sweet treat from there.

Being a good sister she came thru after standing in line with all the others who did not pre-order their selection and showed up with a White Chocolate Raspberry cake that was “to die for, after selling my first grandchild”. I am not sure if anyone else got any cake but I swear that I totally indulged in it.

A couple of days later while daydreaming of that same cake, I decided that I could surely replicate and recreate that cake experience in my kitchen. In the past I have had some degree of success after searching the internet for all sorts of useable hacks for other products. So I set out to find the perfect recipe to replicate that yummy deliciousness in my mouth again (incorporating lazy steps, of course).

In my first ever post I promised to share both my epic fails and successes. My first attempt at hacking the Nothing Bundt Cake experience was an epic failure. My final recipe looked pretty straightforward and prominently featured a box cake mix as a lazy alternative for me. I could avoid all the measuring of flour, sugar, leavening, etc. and only add six easy to assemble ingredients.

Being overly confident, I decided to double the recipe; making one for testing, two smaller ones to freeze for later consumption. Not sure what I did wrong; doubling the recipe resulted in a river of cake batter overflowing from all three cakes in the oven. I was so glad I had the forethought to place a long jelly roll pan under the cakes just in case. Having set the timer for the recommended time, I was shocked and disappointed to realize that my cakes were not set after the time called for and required additional time in the oven.

They came out of the oven finally and impatience overtook me. I couldn’t wait for the cakes to cool long enough before turning them out on a sheet of parchment. Bits and pieces were still stuck on the inside of the pan (sad face Emoji here). They still looked great though and once finally cooled, I gathered my test tasters for the big reveal as I cut into one of the cakes.

The outside surfaces of the cake cooked perfectly but the inside looked like a purple gummy tube running thru the center of the cake. The texture was super moist, too moist as a matter of fact. Maybe it was a mistake to substitute butter for oil in the recipe. The taste was right on with the white chocolate and raspberry flavors coming thru. Being lazy but not a quitter, I decided to continue on my search and compare the various recipes to replicate both the taste and texture of the original cake.

My twist of that cake replaces the cream cheese frosting with a raspberry cream cheese frosting to further reinforce the raspberry flavor.

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake

This produces a beautifully moist white chocolate cake swirled with raspberry jam and topped with thick raspberry cream cheese frosting. A recipe worthy of mastering, makes quite an impression

1 Box White Cake Mix

1 Box Instant Pudding Mix, White Chocolate Vanilla Bean flavor

4 Large Eggs, bring to room temperature before incorporating into cake mix

1 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Water for cake mix

1/2 Cup Oil

1 1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips, finely chopped

1 Cup Seedless Raspberry Jam mixed with 2 Teaspoons water

Frosting

2 Packages of Cream Cheese 8 Ounces each

1/2 Cup Butter Softened

3 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste

1/3 to 1/2 Cup Raspberry Jam (depending on your taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a large Bundt cake pan. Remove excess flour from pan and place pan in refrigerator until ready to fill. Use the large pan to prevent your batter from running over the pan while cooking. Put cake mix and pudding in mixer bowl and stir with fork to combine. Add sour cream to dry mixture and stir together on lowest speed of mixer to combine. Place eggs, water and oil in a cup or container and add liquids to dry cake mixture 1/3 at a time until well combined, stir in the chopped white chocolate chips.
Remove Bundt pan from refrigerator and pour 1/3 of the cake batter into your pan. Top batter with 1/2 the raspberry jam mixture randomly around the cake. I use a teaspoon to form a ‘well’ in the batter to hold the jam mixture. Swirl the jam mixture through the batter with a chopstick of wooden skewer. Circle the perimeter twice to swirl. Any further circles will probably create a marble pattern rather than a swirl pattern. Repeat with another 1/3 of the batter and the last 1/2 of the filling (be sure to swirl it through and then finish with the last 1/3 of the batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes. (at 55 minutes… pull it out and test it with a toothpick or skewer. ) It is cooked throughout when the toothpick comes out dry.
Remove the cake from oven and allow it to cool completely before inverting onto a parchment covered surface. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. This step will help keep your frosting in place when you pipe it onto the cake.
For the frosting; place room temperature cream cheese and butter into mixer bowl and cream together until they’re smooth ( you can use a hand or stand mixer). Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl at intervals. Add raspberry jam and beat until it is incorporated and color is uniform. Slowly add all 4 cups of powdered sugar to creamed mixture. I like to place a clean towel over the top of my bowl when incorporating powdered sugar and flour to a mixture. Once sugar is mixed in, add 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste and whip it all together until it’s fluffy.

At this point I spoon mine into a ziplock bag or piping bag and let it chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before piping it onto my cake.

This cake freezes well if well wrapped in a couple of layers of plastic wrap. I do not frost the cake if I am going to freeze it.

Enjoy your cake and remember to Be Happy and keep on crafting.

Fleece Blanket for TV Watching

Fleece Blanket from ‘No Sew Kit’ using Sewing Machine

I’m sure that I mentioned before that I am lazy and don’t have much patience for projects that have too many steps or take a lot of time to complete. I realized this when I reviewed the number of abandoned and incomplete projects I have in my project closet. My “Main Man, Kin”, reminds me of them every time I start a new project.

These days I try to work on projects that give me ‘almost’ immediate gratification and look like they took days and days to complete. By doing this I am building a catalog of ‘completed’ projects and satisfying my creative needs. This is a win-win!

One of my favorite time of the day is when everyone else has gone to bed or their respective ‘corners’ and I get to hunker down on my comfortable sofa. This is my alone time. Time when I can watch all my guilty pleasure ‘reality shows’ or catch up on my favorite series without sharing the TV or TV controls. I get to throw off all the pressures and stresses of the day and get lost in another reality.

Of course, TV time on the sofa is never complete without that nice, cozy and comfortable blanket that covers side-to-side and head-to-toe. I have gone thru several purchased versions of my ‘dream blanket’ without complete success. Some of their shortcomings included feathers everywhere, too light weight, not long or wide enough, and just plain ugly.

Recently I was out shopping for after Christmas craft deals with my older sister. Now that I am retired, I have the ability to just hang out and even go shopping in the middle of the day. As we approached the front door to one of my favorite craft ‘haunts’ I noticed a 50% off sign on a large bin of “No Sew anti-pill fleece blanket” kits. Being the bargain hunter that I am, I had to investigate. A few mental calculations verified that 50% off would be a good deal for a complete fleece blanket kit. I have read many posts by fellow crafters that verify the anti-pill fleece is the best choice for long life and sturdiness.

The finished size is 72 inches by 60 inches thereby fulfilling my size requirements. The kit included two precut coordinating panels in a pleasing print and colors as well as instructions for assembly. This sounded like the perfect blanket for my nights in TV land. I was not impressed by the idea of finishing the blanket edges by cutting and tying off fringe pieces on all four sides of the blanket. I had visions of losing interest really quickly with tying approximately 80 fringe pieces. If I accomplished the tying, how long would they stay tied under daily use and cleaning?

Upcycling me spoke to lazy me and saying, “you can just sew the four sides together and be done in no time. It’s only straight lines”. Upcycling won and my blanket was born. The sewing requires only minimal sewing skills (did I mention ‘straight lines only’) I am going to share the easy steps I utilized to from start to finish my blanket in one day in time to enjoy it the same night.

If you want to make one, you will need: (1) one kit for a no sew blanket or throw. (2) matching or coordinating thread. (3) Scissors (4) quilting straight pins (5) chalk and (5) sewing machine.

No Sew Fleece Blanket/Throw Kit with Instruction Sheet
Front and Back Layers of Blanket

Let’s get started!!!

Place your front and back blanket layers together, right-side-in and put a quilting pin in each corner securing the two layers together. The corner pins provide stability for the next couple of steps. Once the corners are pinned, line up  the edges as much as you can and trim any edges you need to get the pieces to match up.

Once the edges are matched and trimmed, lay your fabric on a flat surface and place quilting pins every three or four inches all the way around the blanket. Leave a hole about four to six inches wide on the final side – just big enough to turn your blanket right-side-out when the time comes.

At this point you are ready to start sewing your straight lines. I measured in 3/4 inches from the edge to start sewing my blanket. This happens to line up with the marks on my sewing machine plate. I use the marks to help keep my sewing lines straight. Sew the first three sides together in a straight line from one edge to the other. On the fourth side, remember to leave the opening to turn the blanket right-side- out at the end.

Carefully snip the corners off, being sure to not cut the thread. Then turn your blanket right-side-out. Push the corners out nice and square with your fingers or a pencil eraser. Lay it out on a flat surface to make sure it’s all lined up right.

At the unsewn corner, fold in the fabric and make sure it lines up with the sewn edge. Pin in place and sew it closed. Place pins all around the four edges. Optional: put several pins across the center of the blanket to keep the layers from shifting while you work. Sew a topstitch all around the outside of the blanket with a 1/8″ seam allowance.

Unsewn edge of blanket with pins after turning right-side-out

Because my blanket came with two built in borders as part of the print, I decided to use that as my guide for the next process. This next step will provide extra stability to your blanket by preventing the layers from shifting from use and cleaning and give your blanket a longer life.

Once again, lay your fabric on a flat surface and place quilting pins every three or four inches all the way around the top of the inside blanket border. Starting at one corner, follow the straight lines to sew a border on the blanket.

I use the following trick to make it look a like it was done by a professional and took more time: once you reach the edge/corner of the border make sure your needle is in the down position, lift the sewing foot and pivot your fabric to the new direction, lower the sewing foot and continue sewing. Repeat this step for all corners.

Depending on how lazy you are you can stop here and have a perfectly presentable and useable blanket or you can repeat the last two steps above to sew the bottom of the inside border lines. I chose to complete the inside border top and bottom to give it a quilted appearance.

If your chosen fabric does not come with preprinted borders, you can create your own borders. Measure in and pin your fleece two to four inches from the seam on all four sides. Starting at the measured distance from the first corner, sew in straight lines to sew the top-inside border on the blanket. Make sure to use the trick mentioned above to turn your sewing at the corners

To create the bottom of the inside border, measure in two inches and mark with chalk at two to three inch increments in a straight line and sew to create a border on the blanket. Once again put needle in down position and raise foot to turn fleece in new sewing direction.

I was really pleased with way my blanket looked and not at all frustrated sewing straight lines.

Alternatively, if sewing the inside border seems too complicated, you can try this for your blanket. Because your blanket measures (60) sixty inches across from side to side, you can measure and mark intervals with your chalk across the top every (10) inches and sew (6) six channels from top to bottom on your blanket.

Snip off any stray or extra threads and ‘magic presto’, you are now ready to snuggle under your beautiful, comfy blanket to binge on all those “Did she really say that??” episodes. With the 50% off sale, it cost me about $17.50 and less than two hours to make this blanket. Stopping to document and photograph the process added to my original blanket time.

I was so thrilled with the ease of making this and the outstanding results that I immediately went out the next day and purchased another one. I have now completed it and plan to give it to my “Main Man, Kin” for Valentines day (he is always cold and I have caught him using mine several times). Because he is my ‘Sweetheart’ I took a little extra effort and picked one of the hearts on the front of the blanket to quilt around. That’s another blog and project I might cover in the future.

That’s it for now from this Lazy Crafter, remember to keep crafting and “Be Happy”.

My First Blog

Hi I am Fran and I am totally new to blogging. I have spent the last forty some years in the 9 to 5 (sometimes 9 to 9) work world in various management positions. The last five of those years I spent planning what fun I would have in retirement doing two of the things I really love: crafting and cooking.
Nine months ago I finally pulled the plug and retired from a great job to a greater life. I now spend my days pursing my passions and not worrying about resolving work issues, controlling overtime, staffing shortages or whether or not I would make it home in time for important family celebrations or appointments.
In this short time I have learned so much about crafts, food, and myself as a crafter and cook. I definitely realized that I have so much more to learn but I want to start now sharing what I have learned with other’s of similar interests.
In this journey, the biggest ‘Ah Ha’ moment for me has been the realization that I I love end results that are awesome, jaw dropping, and delicious but I do not have the patience for long drawn out processes. I love the final product to be of high quality and beautiful, but do not want to take the time to meticulously produce a finished product that requires hundreds of work hours or steps. If I can replace some steps with a already prepared item of quality, I have so much more patience with the project and will likely see it to completion. That is how the Lazy Crafter’s Blog was born.
In the coming days, I will be sharing some of my recent adventures involving crafting and cooking. I am in the process of making a TV watching blanket and Valentines Day cookies and candy. Check back next week to see my adventures and what progress I am able to make.
Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you, Fran.