Hello, friends! It's been awhile since I've been on the blog. Did anyone even notice I was gone? I certainly missed all of you. I've had so many things going on lately (more on that in another post) that something had to give. Unfortunately it was my blog writing and blog reading. It feels great to be back!
One of the many things I had going on during the past few weeks was helping my older daughter prepare for her confirmation. After a year of planning, last night was the big night. I would have loved to have had an elaborate celebration after the mass, but we knew it wouldn't be over until around 9:00. I haven't gone to a party that started at 9:00 since I was in college - I can't imagine hosting a party that starts that late on a school night (are you picturing me with a shawl around my shoulders and a pair of granny glasses perched on the tip of my nose?). Instead of throwing a big party, we came home and celebrated quietly with the grandparents. The star of the celebration (besides my beautiful daughter) was a yummy bundt cake dressed up especially for the occasion.
If you've seen my daughter's recent room re-do, you know that her current favorite color is coral, so it had to make an appearance. I threaded a piece of coral ribbon left over from the bedroom makeover through the lattice detail on this white cake stand (purchased at Kirkland's about a year ago). The crosses are actually letter "t"s I printed out on card stock.
I suppose I could have found some cross clip art online. but I wanted to choose my own color, so using text was ideal. I just threaded the crosses onto some embroidery floss, and tied the floss to some kabob skewers I had on hand. Easy peasy.
Now that you know how I embellished the cake, let me give you the scoop on the cake itself. It's called fudge ribbon cake, and it is sooooo good! I got the recipe from my friend and neighbor, Kathy. I did a little research on the recipe, and discovered that the recipe originally appeared on the can of Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk. It has a pretty consistent five star rating on all the recipe sites on which it appears, and with good reason. Not only does it have a chocolate cake base, but it also has a yummy, moist, almost cheesecake-like vanilla layer.
Anyone who knows me even a little knows I'm chocolate girl, but I have to tell you that my favorite part of this cake is that vanilla layer.
So, are you sold? Do you want to know how to make it? It starts with a boxed cake mix, so it's really easy. At least I think it's easy. I have to admit that I've never actually made it myself. Every time the fudge ribbon cake has been made at our house, it's been by my 11 year old daughter, without any help from anyone else. It's so nice to have a mini-Martha in the house. I figure that if an 11 year old can make this cake unassisted, you can make it, too. And if you can't, I'm sure mini-Martha will make you one for a price. :)
FUDGE RIBBON CAKE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box chocolate cake mix, plus all ingredients required to make it (we used Betty Crocker chocolate fudge)
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 (14 ounce) can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare cake mix as package directs.
- Pour batter into well greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan.
- In small bowl, beat cream cheese, margarine and cornstarch until fluffy.
- Gradually beat in condensed milk then egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over cake batter.
- Bake 50 to 55 minutes until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- Cool thoroughly and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Store covered in the refrigerator.
There you have it - my simple method for dressing up an ordinary bundt cake for a special occasion. Instead of crosses, you could use numbers to celebrate a birthday, little pumpkins at a Halloween party, or mini flags on Independence Day. The possibilities are endless. That's a good thing because once you try this cake, you'll be looking for excuses to make it.
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