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Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Recipe: Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownie Cookies (Gluten Free!)

Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownie Cookies Recipe - gluten free, sandwich cookies, copycat butterbing cookies recipe, crumbl cookies recipe

Crisp, chewy brownie cookies are sandwiched with creamy peanut butter buttercream to make these delicious sandwich cookies. A Butterbing copycat recipe that is gluten free and so easy to make. A dessert the whole family will love.


I’m a cheap ass by nature. Anyone who knows me knows that’s true - but it’s saved me a lot of money over the years.


It’s the reason we took up 110 sqm of tile up ourselves by hand. It’s the reason we spent our weekend hammering away at a giant rock in our backyard (also COVID lockdowns contributed to that 😅).


And it’s also one of the reasons I make so many different recipes…. Including this one. 


You see, I’d been seeing advertisements for Butterbing’s delicious gluten free cookies for weeks - and when their online store was launched, I was totally planning on buying some…. Until I realised I would need to spend a minimum of $78 on cookies that I could make myself for less than $5.


Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownie Cookies Recipe - gluten free, sandwich cookies, copycat butterbing cookies recipe, peanut butter buttercream


So what did I do? 


I got to work in the kitchen, of course!


But because we’re also stuck in lockdown at the moment, I didn’t want to go to the shops to pick up any ingredients, so whilst these cookies aren’t an exact duplicate, they may just be even better because they are seriously, ridiculously good. 


Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownie Cookies Recipe - gluten free, sandwich cookies, copycat butterbing cookies recipe, crumbl cookies recipes


So good, in fact, that we did a COVID safe cookie drop to my sister and her boyfriend and we hadn’t even left their street when they called us gushing over how good they were. 


Soooo friends, being a cheap ass totally has its perks. Because for less than $5, I didn’t just have 12 cookies, I had 15 and a whole lot of satisfaction because I’d made them myself.


So let me share the recipe so that you can make them too! >> 

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Recipe: The Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Sour Cream Frosting (Gluten Free!)

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Recipe with Sour Cream Frosting Gluten Free

With a creamy sour cream chocolate frosting and a fudgy gluten free chocolate cake, this easy recipe really is The Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe. Perfect for birthday parties, holidays, celebrations, anniversaries or any moment that could be enhanced with cake!


Sometimes you're in lockdown and stuck at home with nothing to do and you suddenly decide you need to bake a cake.

So you pull the mixer down from the cupboard, set it up on the bench, get out all of the ingredients, preheat the oven, bake said cake and then decide it needs a magnificent frosting.

Only, you don't have that much butter, there's no cream or cream cheese in your fridge and you don't want to go to the grocery store in the middle of a COVID flare.... so you reach for the sour cream instead.

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake Recipe with Sour Cream Frosting Gluten Free


And you know what? Sometimes those last minute recipes turn out to be the best ones.

This chocolate cake is seriously good. It's rich and fluffy with a creamy, decadent frosting. You'd never know it uses sour cream (and if your fridge has no sour cream but you do have cream cheese, you can swap it for that!).

Smother it with sprinkles, cover it with smarties or your favourite lollies, let the kids get creative - the choice is totally yours.

But trust me, this pandemic chocolate cake is totally worth making.

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Recipe: Easy Sorcerer Mickey Cupcakes (Gluten Free!)

Easy Sorcerer Mickey Cupcakes Recipe - easy cake decorating ideas, disney cupcakes, mickey mouse, gluten free, best chocolate cupcakes recipe, kids birthday cake ideas, mickey cake tutorial

The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe becomes Sorcerer Mickey with this super easy birthday cake idea! Boiling water is the secret to making soft, moist and fluffy gluten free cupcakes. Super simple these cupcakes use ingredients you already have in your pantry (and no butter or almond flour!) so you can whip them up in minutes. Inspired by Disneyland, every Disney fan or Mickey Mouse lover will adore these cute cupcakes!


Jesse and I are Disney addicts.

Disney movies are our favourite kind of movies to watch, we talk about Disneyland (our favourite place in the world!) pretty much every day and love anything and everything Disney.

So right now, as every Disney park in the world is closed and life is a little bit crazy, we decided to bring a little bit of Disneyland to our house by making some Disney inspired cupcakes for Jesse's birthday last week.

Easy Sorcerer Mickey Cupcakes Recipe - easy cake decorating ideas, disney cupcakes, mickey mouse, gluten free, best chocolate cupcakes recipe, kids birthday cake ideas, mickey cake tutorial


When I started thinking about what kind of cupcakes I'd make for Jesse's birthday, I knew I wanted to make something Disney - but I wasn't sure what.

I thought about Stitch or Wall-E cupcakes (two of Jesse's faves!), but then I spotted the Sorcerer Mickey toy on the top of the cabinet and knew exactly what I wanted to make. 

Fanstasmic is our favourite show at Disneyland and sorcerer Mickey is the star - and I decided for a cake decorating novice like myself, Mickey cupcakes were totally achieveable.. and I was right! 

These may be the easiest cupcakes I've ever made!
So let me tell you all about them! >> 

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

How to Make a Gluten Free Number or Letter Cake

How to Make a Gluten Free Number Cake - Easy Cake Decorating Ideas and Simple Cake Hacks that Look Professional - Number 7 Cake Decorated with macarons, strawberries and frosting

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not a cake decorator. 

I love making cakes and I love eating cakes - but the whole decorating process stresses me out.

Recently, however, we had a milestone birthday in our family and I was tasked with baking the cake. Wanting to make something a little bit special, I took to Pinterest to search for ideas.

First I went looking for easy cake decorating ideas and my page was filled with chocolate cakes topped with plastic diggers and cake crumbs or cakes that looked anything but easy. So then I browsed the number cakes instead.

What I ended up finding was a Pinterest trend I actually thought I could master - and I found a secret weapon that would enable me to do just that...

So let me tell you all about it! >> 

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Recipe: Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Brownie Crust

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Brownie Crust - gluten free, baked cheesecake, dessert

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Baked Cheesecake Recipe with Brownie Crust - Chocoholics pay attention, this is the cheesecake for you! Rich and creamy, this New York style easy baked cheesecake recipe is foolproof and perfect for dinner parties or the ultimate birthday cake. The brownie base and chocolate and vanilla swirl toppings are the perfect mix for this gluten free dessert.


I am one of those people who thinks that cake is never idea.

I mean... 88% of the reason I probably have this blog is so I have an excuse to make cake and desserts all the time and no one bats an eyelid. 

When someone's wondering why I'm making (and eating) cake for the fourth time in a week, I've only got to say it's for the blog! and all is forgiven. 

A similar excuse applies when it comes to birthdays...

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Brownie Crust - gluten free, baked cheesecake, dessert


You see, I may not like celebrating my own birthday (I'd much rather celebrate everyone else's), but I do love cake - so each year I make it my mission to come up with something delicious. 

This year, we had friends over for dinner on the Friday before my birthday and I decided I needed a pre-birthday cake - and thus this recipe was born. 

You see, I asked Jesse what kind of cake he'd like me to make and (as to be expected) cheesecake, his favourite dessert.

But whilst I love cheesecake, it just doesn't have enough chocolate (or any chocolate at all) - so that needed to change.

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Brownie Crust - gluten free, baked cheesecake, easy dessert recipes



Enter the ultimate chocolate swirl cheesecake. With a rich chocolate brownie based and swirled vanilla and chocolate cheesecake topping, it's a chocolate lover's delight you won't be able to stop thinking about. 

And if you don't love chocolate? 

Ermm... I'm sorry. I guess we can only be friends because I'll get to eat your share 😉

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Recipe: Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting - gluten free, nut free, gluten free vanilla cake, easy birthday cake recipes


This Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Cake Recipe will become a new family favorite! Perfect as a birthday cake or for sharing with friends, this soft and fluffy gluten free vanilla cake is topped with whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries for an easy but impressive dessert. Can be made into a sheet cake, layer cake or a single cake.

Click to pin this recipe on Pinterest! 

Today is Jesse's birthday - but I am totally bummed because we don't actually get to spend it together!

You think we'd be used to celebrating birthdays apart after doing it for 5 years... but we're now used to being together, so whenever he's working interstate it totally stinks. 

But because it's not a birthday without cake, we celebrated his birthday a little bit early with plenty of cake - and we're planning on celebrating him again this weekend with lots more cake and a barbecue with friends - so it's not all bad!

This cake totally makes up for it. 

Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting - gluten free, nut free, gluten free vanilla cake, easy birthday cake recipes


A few months ago, when I asked Jesse what he wanted for his birthday cake this year, he mentioned that he wanted a Strawberry Shortcake Cake - so I set to work creating the ultimate strawberry shortcake cake - that was also gluten free, because he didn't want me to miss out!

Creating a soft and fluffy gluten free cake can be a bit of a challenge - but eventually I managed to perfect it and came up with the recipe I'm sharing today. 

My #protip? Buy these cake strips. If you find your cake edges are often too crispy, or your cakes puff up too much in the middle/bake unevenly, these cake strips are a lifesaver. They are seriously my new favourite thing.

Oh and #protip number two is probably don't make a three layer cake, unless you want all the mess that comes with it 😜 It looks impressive, but cutting into it is seriously messy!

Jesse's Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake


Here is what Jesse's early birthday cake looked like (obviously not the photographed recipe version). It's the same cake recipe - only I put the frosting into a piping bag and piped it on top instead of simply spreading it - and did two layers instead of three. Much neater and so much easier to slice. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Happy 10th Birthday Chanel!


10 years ago, a teeny tiny little puppy was born. 

Little did I know, just a month and ten days later, I'd be sitting at home hanging out with a friend only to have my parents walk in the front door and say the words they didn't know would have such an impact; 

"We nearly bought a puppy today"

Those words triggered something in my Pa. He lept up out of the chair he was sitting on at the dining room table, ran to his room and came out with money, telling my parents they needed to go back there right this minute and buy that puppy. 

Why? Because it was my 16th birthday in a few weeks and he was determined that he would buy the puppy I'd so desperately wanted.


Next thing I knew? We were all loading up into the car. Myself, my sister, my friend, my parents - all off to buy that mystery puppy. 

I was seriously overwhelmed. I'm one of those people who doesn't like people spending money on them ever. But a puppy?! That was a pricey gift - and the weight of it wasn't lost on me. 

We walked up to the pet shop (and yes, I know... at the time we were oblivious to why you shouldn't buy from a pet shop - Trixie is from a breeder), hoping that the mystery puppy would still be there.

And there she was. A tiny little white, black and brown puppy snoozing with her white scruffy brother. 

My parents explained that they wanted to buy that little bunch of fluff and they quickly unlocked the door and handed her to me. 

Those doubts I was having about the price? Gone. She snuggled into my chest and wouldn't let me put her down and I was sold. 

Before I knew it, we were leaving the shopping centre with the currently nameless puppy snuggled against my chest with a blue puppy by her side. 

Within a few hours, she had a name - Chanel. There were a few contenders for puppy names - but after calling name after name to her in the backyard, she started jumping around like an excited maniac as soon as I said Chanel, coming running over to me like a little bouncy bunny. 


And for the last ten years? She's been my best friend!

A fluffy, snuggly best friend who has the sweetest soul - and a few bad habits too (but hey! We all do... and I guess a dog sucking their foot is like a baby sucking their thumb?)

One year old Chanel

Chanel in December last year

And whilst that sweet puppy is really cute, she hates having her photo taken and will hide the second she sees me with my phone or camera. 

I think she's probably training me for what my future children will be like.... 

But we still get cute photos here and there.


Funnily enough, we rarely even call her Chanel (unless she's in trouble) because she has so many different nicknames.

Noodle, Nelly, Chanoodle, Noodie, Noo, Noodle Poodle, Belly - the list goes on and on. 


And don't even think you can get away with entering our house without Chanel coming running to the door with one of her beloved soft toys in her mouth. 

There's Uni the purple unicorn from Hawaii, Cookie the frog, Puppy the (you guessed it!) puppy that is her current favourite - and even a random potato toy amongst her treasured collection. 


And whilst she totally hated when a little black and brown ball of fluff (not that you could tell she was ever black and brown now!) arrived onto the scene, her and Trixie are completely and utterly inseparable - and so cute!


Pretty incredible, considering it took us three weeks to convince Chanel the tiny ball of fluff wasn't out to kill her 🤣


Happy Birthday to our Nelly Noodle! (and yes they're both wearing birthday tshirts... Chanel LOVES having her tshirts on because everyone fusses over how cute she is - and Trixie has recently decided if Chanel has one on, she needs to have one on too...)

But tell me, 
Do you have any pets?
How did they come to be a part of your family?
And if you don't have any pets - what's your dream pet?

    
   
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Monday, June 12, 2017

Recipe: Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free & Vegan)

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cake Recipe - gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free, dairy free, nut free, soy free, egg free, clean eating recipe

I love vegetables. I'll eat them raw, steamed, roasted, sauteed, grilled, shredded - you name it, I'll eat it. 

But my husband? Yeaaaaaaaaaah. Not so much. 

To Jesse, vegetables are just something to eat - not something to love... and don't even get him started on the absolute absurdity of putting vegetables in baked goods.

That man can pick a tiny speck of zucchini or a hint of beetroot from a mile off.... or should that be could.... because somehow I've come up with a way to hide it 😉


You see, this cake has a secret - but you'd never know. 

Inside the cake is a whole zucchini, peeled and finely grated so no one would ever know it's in there - and it's actually the secret ingredient that makes this cake so ridiculously good!

It's most, fluffy and oh so ridiculously delicious. 

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Zucchini - gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free, dairy free, nut free, soy free, egg free, clean eating recipe

And the frosting? Why that's a healthy version too. A rich, chocolatey, fudge-like frosting that's made using just dates, cocoa and water. 

But if dates aren't your thing, I've also got a few other frosting options for you to enjoy too! 

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Monday, April 10, 2017

Recipe: Easy Cookie Ice Cream Cake (Gluten Free!)


Soooo, your birthday is coming up and I was thinking....

It's my conversation starter at least 4x a year with my family. 

Some might think that sentence ends with ideas for a magnificent birthday party or perhaps an incredible present... but really? I'm just trying to talk about dessert. 

You see, for me, birthdays are incredible dessert opportunities. No one bats an eye when you suggest pulling together an elaborate dessert creation when someone's birthday is near - so I milk birthdays for all they're worth. 

To the point where, even though I don't love celebrating my own birthday (I'm a lover of giving who is absolutely positively terrible at taking), I'll celebrate it just for cake. 

Or cheesecake... or ice cream... or cookies... or whatever I decide I want to make that year. 

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake Recipe – Simple gluten free dessert recipes, low fat, low sugar option, one bowl recipe, kid friendly, birthday cake, make ahead cakes

Just last week was Jesse's birthday and even though he said he didn't want cake (WHAT KIND OF MONSTER DID I MARRY?!?!?), I just pretended like that conversation never happened and instead went on a mission to create the ultimate birthday treat. 

But I did kind of have to tie it back to Jesse because, yaknow, it was his birthday and all and this wasn't all about me wanting to eat dessert (just 99.99999% of it 😉) and so I decided I would combine his favourite treats into one delicious dessert creation. 

If you've been reading SIL for a while, you'd know Jesse is a cookie monster. In fact, the first time he came to Australia he made himself sick after eating an ENTIRE BATCH of my infamous chocolate chip cookies. It was at that moment that I realised either a) I was a really good baker or b) I needed to impose strict cookie rations on this boy or he'd surely die before the two weeks ended. 

I went with b) and have been rationing cookies ever since.. 

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake Recipe – Simple gluten free dessert recipes, low fat, low sugar option, one bowl recipe, kid friendly, birthday cake, make ahead cakes

But back to this recipe.... Since Jesse is a cookie fiend who also really really loves ice cream - I decided I'd combine the two to create the ultimate birthday treat; a cookie ice cream cake. 

And ohhhhhhhhhh, my friends - the ultimate birthday treat was created. Whilst it's stupidly simple to make, this cookie ice cream cake is beyond delicious and has become a new favourite of our family. 

In fact, my Mum and Dad tried theirs on Jesse's birthday and then I heard; 
"Krissssssssssstyyyy! When are you opening up your shop?"

I looked at Jesse. "When am I going to hop? Something about hip hop? Electric shock? What did they just say?!"

Apparently they are shop worthy.... but I'm pretty sure we'd eat the profits if I ever opened up a cookie ice cream cake shop... 

Instead, let me share the recipe with you! >> 
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