Have you ever tasted a Wacky Cake?  If not, you don’t know what you’re missing.  This cake is really moist and delicious!  It was created during the depression by crafty bakers who had to deal with food rations – when ingredients such as milk, butter and eggs were either scarce or really expensive.  I have never had this cake with any other kind of frosting – it really makes the cake.  This is my Mom’s favorite cake – we make it every year for her birthday.

Wacky Cake

Mix together the following dry ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup cocoa (I used special Dark Cocoa)

2 cups sugar

Then add the wet ingredients

2/3 cups vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vanilla

2 cups cold water

2 tablespoons vinegar

Beat until ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan or 2 nine inch round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Frost once the cake has cooled.

Peanut Butter Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4  cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 * milk – it may take a little less or a little more.  If frosting gets to runny add more powdered sugar to get to the right consistency

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  Frost cooled cake.

I had this brilliant idea about a month ago and posted it on the Peeps Facebook wall.  I said, “You know what would make Peeps even better?  If they were dipped in chocolate!”

Then, the other day I saw an ad in Parents magazine for chocolate covered and chocolate dipped Peeps!  I know I wasn’t the original idea maker behind the new chocolate covered Peeps, but it was brilliant, right?!

I ripped the page out of the magazine to add to my want pile and then today, while at Target, headed to the Easter section to search out the new line of chocolate Peeps.

You can choose between dark or milk chocolate and covered or dipped.  I grabbed the milk chocolate covered and brought it home for a taste test.  Luckily I got just one for the family to share because they are uber sweet.  Had I eaten the whole thing, I would have felt disgusted with myself.

1 Twelve ounce bag of chocolate chips

1 stick of butter

1 10-12 ounce package of colored miniature marshmallows

½ package of coconut

Wax Paper

Before you start, tear two 18 inch pieces of wax paper.  Sprinkle generous with the coconut.  I lay mine sheets of wax paper on cookie sheets.

Melt the stick of butter and chocolate chips over medium heat – stirring until glossy (you can use a double-boiler).  Let the mixture cool a little and then add the package of marshmallows.  Stir gently to coat.  Spread down the center of the wax paper forming a log.  Sprinkle the top with coconut and then wrap in the wax paper.  Gently form the log so it is even in size.  Fold the ends of the wax paper under to seal. Put the log in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until the chocolate is set.  If you seal it tightly you can leave it there a few days.

Remove from freezer – let it come to room temperature and slice.

Give Capies Candies this year for a Special Mother’s Day Gift!

If you know a chocolate lover, look no further!  Capies Candies has scrumptious gourmet chocolates for that special mom, grandmother, wife, sister, or friend for Mother’s Day.  Their scrumptious products include gourmet chocolate covered pretzel drizzle sticks, dark chocolate covered marshmallows, and chocolate covered cookies.

Capies Candies are beautifully packaged that help making these fabulous chocolates the perfect Mother’s Day gift.   Kudos to another Detroit Mommy and her exceptional business!  Contact Lori at Capies Candies today to place your order!   www.capiescandies.com

Every year before Christmas we get the girls an advent calendar.  It’s usually the cardboard type that has chocolates that pop out of the plastic casing after the little door is punched out.  The funny thing is that I never really knew much about why we bought advent calendars except for the fact that we were counting down the days until Christmas, so I looked up the background behind advent calendars.

The first advent calendars came from the German Lutherans who physically counted down the 24 days of Advent, with a piece of chalk, starting on December 1.

The first known Advent calendar was handmade in 1851.

These days, advent calendars come in many shapes and sizes, with or without chocolate, traditional and very non traditional, religious and non religious.

Nonetheless it is a tradition for us to have an advent calender and it is also a tradition for the advent calendar to be cardboard, have chocolates and be purchased usually at the grocery store or at the drug store.  This year was an exception because we purchased our  advent calendar at a HUGE Christmas store called Bronner’s where you can also purchase everything Christmas that your heart desires online.

There are unique advent calendars and traditional advent calendars, but they all do the same thing…count the days until Christmas.

1. Pottery Barn Advent calendar $149.00
2. Hat and Mittens Advent Calendar $78
3. Nativity Chocolate Advent Calendar $2.99
4. Lego City Advent Calendar $29.99

Disclosure: We bought our own advent calendar.  The opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone and are not influenced in any way by anyone.

Did you know dentists choose chocolate as the best candy for your children to eat on Halloween?

“If you want to choose wisely, choose chocolate,” said Dr. Jed Jacobson, chief science officer and senior vice president of Delta Dental of Michigan. “Chocolate melts quickly so it isn’t as hazardous to dental work and it’s easier to brush away. Even better are the chocolates and candies with ingredients like Xylitol and Mannitol. They taste good and have been shown to reduce the risk of tooth decay in kids.”

Gummy and other sticky candies uproot fillings and hard candies and suckers lead to an acid attack on the teeth not only while they are in the mouth but for 20 minutes after eating them.

No matter what kind of treats your children receive this Halloween, following them up with a glass of water will help rinse the sugar away. Eating crunchy fruits and vegetables after candy also can help clean the teeth.

To avoid the sugar overload from kids diving into their bags of goodies at the end of the night, Jacobson also recommends serving a healthy, nutritious meal before sending trick-or-treaters into the neighborhood. That way, they won’t be as hungry when they return with a bag full of sweets.

Parents also should consider giving their kids a brand new toothbrush as their Halloween treat at the end of the evening so that they are excited to brush and know how important brushing is to their health.

“Give kids a new, brightly colored toothbrush to get ready for bedtime with,” Jacobson said. “Children should always brush before they go to bed, but it is even more important after eating sugary snacks.”

Courtney is the ultimate multitasking mom!  She runs  three blogs Giftfully Simple, The Digital Mommy and Detroit Mommies , is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and has 3 girls under 6 years old.  Courtney is the founder of Detroit Mommies.  You can follow her on Twitter @theappleofmyeye.  She has worked with companies like Johnsons & Johnsons, Dove, e.l.f., Stride Rite, Sorel, 20th Century Fox, The Palace, Melissa & Doug, Panera and Tiny Prints (to name a few).  Courtney is a Purex^® Insider and a Max Mom for Office Max.