Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Amusing Chocolate Bars

Welcome to Chocolate Friday! Another weekend is beginning - I hope you have a fun one planned!

I wanted to tell you about these chocolate bars I recently discovered. My friend L.A. gave me this one as part of my birthday present:

In case you can't read it, it says: of course there's more to life than...instant gratification...just not right now. Cute and funny!

I found out that she had purchased it at Safeway. I stopped there a while back and happened across a display case of these bars. It just so happened that they had Easter bars on sale for 50 cents each (reg. price $4.99) - hello frugal chocolate deal that cannot be passed up! :)

Here is one of the bars I purchased:


It says: Easter Hunt - chocolate that's so cunning, not even the kids will find it. Now that is a good idea - camoflauge chocolate that the kids can't "see"!

Here is the other bar I got, which I found even funnier:


I won't put all the words here for you, but basically it gives you directions how to turn this bar of chocolate into a chocolate egg. There are instructions to carefully melt the chocolate and pour into a mold (which they notify you is not included!) and all the rest of the steps. It would take a lot of work - LOL!!

The chocolate bars come from Bloomsberry & Co. and the chocolate is really creamy, smooth and delicious - definitely high quality. They like their boxes to be fun. If you go to the website, you can look at some of the funny boxes. There's actually a No Weight Gain chocolate bar that is hilarious and an emergency bar that I think I need. :)

You can check out your local Safeway to see if they have them. I think they make a great gift!

What chocolate do you have for me today?? C'mon - you have to share! Find or write a family-friendly chocolate post and come back to link it up to Mr. Linky. You can find more info here. If the links aren't working, then please leave your link in the comments. Thanks.

Have a beautiful blessed chocolatey weekend!

Friday Funnies: How To Annoy People

Since I'm crazy double-posting girl this week, I'm not just doing Chocolate Friday. I'm also linking up to my friend Kim's Friday Funnies! You have to go over to Homesteader's Heart to get your laugh for today and link up your own funnies!

I'm sure you've seen these on the internet or on e-mail, but they always give me a good laugh!

25 Ways To Annoy People

1. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."

2. Speak only in a "robot" voice.

3. Start each meal by conspicuously licking all your food, and announce that this is so no one will "swipe your grub".

4. Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper, 98 copies.

5. Sniffle incessantly.

6. Leave your turn signal on for fifty miles.

7. Reply to everything someone says with "that's what YOU think."

8. Claim that you must always wear a bicycle helmet as part of your "astronaut training."

9. Forget the punchline to a long joke, but assure the listener it was a "real hoot."

10. Follow a few paces behind someone, spraying everything they touch with Lysol.

11. Finish all your sentences with the words "in accordance with the prophesy."

12. Do not add any inflection to the end of your sentences, producing awkward silences with the impression that you'll be saying more any moment.

13. Drum on every available surface.

14. Staple papers in the middle of the page.

15. Repeat everything someone says, as a question.

16. Repeat the following conversation a dozen times: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, its gone now."

17. Stand over someone's shoulder, mumbling, as they read.

18. Inform others that they exist only in your imagination.

19. Ask people what gender they are.

20. Lick the filling out of all the Oreos, and place the cookie parts back.

21. Deliberately hum songs that will remain lodged in co-workers brains, such as "Feliz Navidad", the Archies "Sugar" or the Mr. Rogers theme song.

22. Lie obviously about trivial things such as the time of day.

23. Sit in your front yard pointing a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down.

24. Ask your co-workers mysterious questions, and then scribble their answers in a notebook. Mutter something about "psychological profiles."

25. Construct elaborate "crop circles" in your front lawn.


Just a few fun things for you to try over the weekend! :)

Have a fabulously funny Friday and head over to Homesteader's Heart!

Rather Random

Wow - Cake Week last week, double posts every day this week - what will happen next week? It might settle down a bit. BUT I will be having a giveaway later next week and it might involve chocolate!

My son won his baseball game last night!! Very exciting as it's only their 4th win this season. We are spoiled with such a nice Little League baseball park. It's always nice to hang out there and watch games, even when it's hot!

I was supposed to tell you about Phase 2 of my Procrastination Project today. Um, I didn't get it done...yet. I'm giving myself 2 more weeks to finish Phase 2. It has just been too busy around here this time of year, but summer vacation approaches.

I have a guest post up at My Wooden Spoon! I submitted it using Lori's cool new form. Only took me a day to realize that it had already been published and that she had even tweeted it. It's amazing how I keep up with what's happening all around me , isn't it? :) I would love it if you would stop by and leave a comment on my guest post! Plus, My Wooden Spoon is chock full of good stuff to look at anyway.

Y'all or Dude as they say in my state! You have got to slow down the blog posting! I am getting further behind and I don't like that feeling. So if everybody could just put their lives and blogs on hold until I catch up, that would be great (she says as she types up her second post for the day of double post week - LOL). :)

Tomorrow is Chocolate Friday already! Do you have a post ready to link up? I hope so because I don't...yet. Hmmm, I am sensing a pattern - maybe I should have named this week Procrastination Week!

I guess that's enough randomness for today. Tell me something random about yourself today!

8's Great

My friend Mel at A Box of Chocolates tagged me for this 8 meme, and I finally had the chance to play along. It's been a while since I've done anything like it, so here I go...

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Summer Break - it's almost here -Woo Hoo!
2. Losing some weight with WW
3. My son's 10th b-day this summer
4. Coffee & tea with friends
5. Blogging
6. Chocolate - must make it work with #2
7. Montana trip
8. Camping - I hope!

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Volunteered at son's school
2. Had McD's salad and iced coffee for lunch
3. Video taped hubby vacuuming the dog!
4. Prayed
5. Blogged
6. Had leftover Memorial Day food for dinner
7. Made plans with friends
8. Stayed up too late

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Lose weight quickly!
2. Go on a cruise
3. Earn money through blogging
4. Be crafty
5. Be more consistent with Bible reading
6. Get organized
7. Attend Blissdom 10 (a blogging conference)
8. Play the piano better

8 Shows I Watch
(Disclaimer: I don't watch every episode of these shows with the exception of LOST and that won't be on again until next year. Sigh.)

1. Amazing Race
2. LOST
3. American Idol
4. The Office
5. Forensic Files
6. The Tonight Show
7. Dancing With The Stars
8. Nothing else I can think of that I regularly watch - no cable now

8 Bloggers Tagged
(These are all newer blogging friends!)

1. Lisa from Living Upward
2. Melissa from Frugal Creativity
3. Beth from Tea and Thee
4. Jessie from Muthering Heights
5. Jen from Many Blessings Equals Busy Life
6. Ginger from Here's My Cup Lord
7. Jendi from Jendi's Journal
8. Auntie E from At Home With Auntie E

There you have it - just what you wanted to know, right? Have you already done this meme? If you're not on the list of tagged bloggers and want to participate - don't feel left out! Go ahead and do it and let me know so I can come read all about you!

Have a blessed Thursday!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Dog Shedding Solution

My hubby just came up with something that is really helping the dog shedding problem (it's that time of year). I bet some of you have even thought of this idea, but haven't actually tried it. Well, we tried it and it is working for us! The dog (Buster) likes it too!

Check out the video here for a demonstration.





I hope you enjoyed that! Are any of you going to try it now?

For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips, stop by We Are THAT Family!

Wordless Wednesday: The Deck That Hubby Built

Our back yard has an area that grass won't grow in because of shade and tree roots, so we decided to put in a small deck. Hubby had never built one, but he researched and figured out how to do it! There are just a few pics of the process and our son even helped a little.

Back yard before

Deck in progress

Deck getting closer to done

Son helping out

Finished - though he added a step on the front after this pic

Great job honey! Your deck-building skills ROCK!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, stop by 5 Minutes For Mom!

What I Learned This Week

Usually, I let my friend Kim do all the learning for me so I don't have to use any extra brain cells. :) But this week I did actually learn a few things (whether I wanted to or not). I thought I better share them with you - it's good to share important knowledge when you have it, right?

~ I learned something very interesting about honey packets from KFC. Hubby was happy to have "scored" a few extra packets of honey and as I started to put them in the cupboard, I noticed a list of ingredients on the back. Ingredients? For honey? After reading the assorted ingredients, I flipped over the packet to discover that it is actually Honey Sauce. The VERY tiny fine print boasts that it is 11% honey! It really isn't funny, but oh I laughed so hard!! We'll be tossing those (had to keep until I got a pic - sorry pics are so blurry, but you get the idea!).

~ Many of you saw my completed Procrastination Project (and no, I haven't started Phase 2 even though I gave myself this Thursday as a deadline). We had 3 small boxes of paperwork to shred. After considering the cost of hours of time spent shredding and possibly burning up the shredder in the process, we decided it was worth it to pay the professionals to do it for us. But was it? When considering the cost of professional shredding, one must factor in the possibility that a certain husband might drop his keys into a box and then hand it over and watch it being impressively ground up and go back to the car and realize that he does not have his keys. Shredding + Several key copies + New Alarm Remote/Keyless Entry = Expensive. Here is the lone survivor that was found in the shredder later. Please observe a moment of silence for the other lost keys and remote. It should be noted that I am not the least bit upset with my hubby - I figure this gives me a "freebie" for the next silly thing I do!

~ Confession is good for the soul! I made a couple of confessions over at Real Life last week. Oh WAIT, that wasn't actually me, just somebody who seemed like me. I wouldn't really do those things.

~ Dogs don't care who is around when they toot - not even if it is the Bible Study ladies. I am just thankful that they did know it was the dog! :)

~ I can do difficult things. I went back to Weight Watchers this week (and I've been there more than once before - first time was successful). Was tough, but glad I did it and I do feel like I can be successful this time! If you like hearing about that sort of thing, you can check out my healthy blog.

~ People really do win blog giveaways! I have won a few things recently - very cool! I won this great mug from Here's My Cup Lord (thank you Ginger!) and I won a digital camera from the 5 Minutes For Mom Mother's Day Giveaway (thank you 5M4M!) - so exciting! Oh, and I won a handmade scarf from Homesteader's Heart (thank you Kim!)! So do enter the giveaways you come across - you just never know!

~ I'm sure there was more, but my brain can only handle so much and the rest has already faded.

If you need to learn more like I do, you need to stop by What I Learned This Week hosted by Musings of a Housewife and check out what everybody else learned! See you there!

I'm also linking this up to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life - stop over to link up your favorite post from last week and see what everybody else linked!

Tea For Two-sday ~ DaySpring Green

I am loving shades of green lately and these green DaySpring tea things really fit my mood. Aren't they pretty?

The Everything Beautiful teapot and tea cup and saucer are really nice with a green pattern, gold trim and Scripture. You can get them individually so you could even get a tea cup for you and a matching tea cup for a friend!

The tray behind the teapot would be lovely for serving tea, but also makes a really nice decorative piece. It's a fairly heavy tray with a beautiful dark wood. Now I happen to love the picture that's behind the glass right now, but the bottom comes off (like a picture frame) and you can change what you have inside! I didn't get a chance to play with it yet, but I was thinking that some old-fashioned black & white pictures on top of lace would look really nice. What would you put inside?

DaySpring's pretty tea things give tea time the elegant feel that it deserves. I have really enjoyed sharing these lovely DaySpring items with you over the last few weeks. No, I do not work for DaySpring. I wish! They were kind enough to notice my tea posts and blessed me with these lovely items to review.

Now go find a pretty tea cup and sit back and relax for a few moments with a cup of hot tea. Or are you drinking iced tea now that the weather is warmer?

I'm linking this up to Time for Tea Tuesday at Tea and Thee. Go and see some other tea posts or link up your own!

Memorial Day 2009

Too often, our focus during Memorial Day is on a 3-day weekend, picnics, and the beginning of warm weather. These are not bad things, but we should remember why we are even celebrating!

Memorial Day is about honoring the men and women who have died while in our country's military service. Please take some time today to honor the dead and to pray for the families of these men and women who sacrificed so much for us.

To all our military men and women and their families - THANK YOU! We salute you.

Cake Week Winners!

Thanks for joining me for Cake Week last week! I know I enjoyed it and I hope you did too. Do you realize that between my recipes and your linked up recipes, there are over 40 cake recipes?? What a great cake resource (how will I ever try them all?!)!

I have each day of cake week listed with its own link on the top of my right side bar. If you missed Cake Week, click on the links to see all the great recipes. If you already saw all the recipes, now you can easily find your favorite yummy cake ideas!

We should announce the winners, I suppose! I did use the random number generator to choose the numbers and it gave me #8, #2, and #1 - isn't that wild?

The winner of the Cake Recipe Book is...

Donna @ Way More Homemade
Congrats Donna!

The winner of the Etsy cake-themed necklace from Our Daily Chocolate is...

Melissa
Congrats Melisssa!

The winner of the chocolate apron from An Occasional Chocolate is...

The Real Me!
Congrats Kim!

The winners have already been e-mailed. Congrats to all!

I am so glad that all of you came to Cake Week with me. I really do appreciate all of my readers and commenters!

I have had lots of giveaways lately and really am trying to slow down on the giveaways for a while, BUT things keep coming my way! You'll have to keep your eyes open for another great giveaway that is coming soon.

Oh, and I think that this week is going to unofficially be double-post week. I am thinking of 2 posts that I feel the need to do each day this week - so buckle up and enjoy the ride!!

Book Review ~ One Wish

I was sent a book to look at a while back. I finally had a chance to tell you about it!

This is a delightful gift book - pretty and inspirational. It's called One Wish by Celia Whitler. It celebrates the women in our lives. It would make a lovely gift for your mother, your daughter, your friend, your teacher or your co-worker.

There are beautiful pictures throughout the book with lovely thoughts and Scripture references to brighten your day. The colors and pictures are soft and soothing. It's a bit like bringing in some Spring flowers to freshen your house. There is a bonus CD included with 5 songs by Celia. One Wish For You is the first song. All the songs are nice, but my favorite is We Believe.

If you'd like more information about the book, you can check out the site here. You can even purchase the book right there (and it happens to be on sale right now!).

Do you already have this book? Are you inspired by some special women in your life?

Enjoy the rest of your lovely weekend!

Cake Week Day 5 ~ Would You Like Cake With That Chocolate?

It's the last day of Cake Week! What better way to end it than with chocolate? Chocolate Friday and Cake Week wrapped up into one day spells Y.U.M! LOL.

OK, stop right there a minute and ask yourself a few questions...

Did I watch Lisa's Cake Week preview video and bring a smile to my day?

Did I comment on Monday's post to enter the giveaways of a cake cookbook, a chocolate apron, and an Etsy cake-themed necklace and did I get the recipe for the German Apple Cake? *ETA - Giveaway now closed.*

Did I admire the cute DaySpring dessert plates and jot down the recipe for Tuesday's easy Yellow Cake with raspberry filling and lemon cream cheese frosting?

Did I get some good creative cupcake ideas and properly drool over all of Wednesday's cake links from everybody and did I link up my own cake post?

Did I look at all of Lisa's cake recipes and figure out who I can share Thursday's Cafe Latte Cake with?

Yes to all?? Good, now we can continue! Today's recipe is the super yummy chocolate cake I told you about in the video. My friend found this recipe and passed it on to me a few years ago. I'm SO glad she did! It takes several steps to make this cake, BUT the end result is chocolate bliss!

Flourless Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Glaze

CAKE
12 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 large eggs, separated
12 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
9 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Chocolate shavings

FOR CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper or waxed paper; butter paper. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, stirring often.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Fold lukewarm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture, then fold in vanilla extract. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until top is puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack (cake will fall).

Gently press down crusty top to make evenly thick cake. Using small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Place 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round atop cake. Invert cake onto tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper.

FOR GLAZE: Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.

Place cake on rack set over baking sheet. Spread 1/2 cup glaze smoothly over top and sides of cake. Freeze until almost set, about 3 minutes. Pour remaining glaze over cake; smooth sides and top. Place cake on platter. Chill until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; store at room temperature.) Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired. Serve at room temperature. 10-12 servings

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*I showed this cake picture with caramel sauce on the plate, but it's especially good on top of raspberry sauce! And use whatever mixture of bitter- and semisweet chocolate you want. If you use all bittersweet, it will be a very intense dark flavor, not real sweet. If you use all semisweet, it lacks a bit of the richness. So far, my preference is to use half bittersweet and half semisweet chocolate.*

I hope you enjoy this cake recipe! And I hope you had fun here during Cake Week! Don't forget to enter the giveaway - it's open until Sunday night! And you can keep checking out(and linking up) the cake recipes on Day 3.

You can also link up chocolate posts as usual today - it doesn't even have to be cake!

Thank you all for being here during Cake Week and please do share the chocolate and the cake! :)

I'm linking this up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Be sure to stop there for lots of delicious recipes!

Chocolatey businesses of the day:

An Occasional Chocolate (chocolate-making supplies, home of the cute chocolate aprons)
Our Daily Chocolate (cute jewelry, cards, journals, home of the cake-themed necklace)

Cake Week Day 4 ~ More Cake Please

Welcome to Day 4 of Cake Week! Thank you to everybody who linked up fantastic cake recipes and posts yesterday - wow - yum!! You have to go back and look - there are some really wonderful cakes there. And it's not too late to link up your favorite cake post - we'll keep checking back!

In case you're just stopping by, you can get caught up here:
Day 1: Giveaways, Preview video, German Apple Cake
Day 2: Yellow Cake with raspberry filling and lemon cream cheese frosting
Day 3: Creative Cupcakes, Cake post link-ups

I love that Cake Week has been inspiring people around the blogosphere to do a little baking. Look at what Sarah Mae did at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee!! It says Cake Week on that cake - well, it did anyway. Thanks Sarah Mae! :)

You might have guessed that I like cake! Before Cake Week, I already had several cake recipes posted here.

Strawberry Dream Cake

Dump Cake

Amaretto Cake

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Mexican Chocolate Sheet Cake

Chocolate Toffee Cream Cake

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream Cake

S'Mores Cake

Kahlua Cake

So much yummy cake and we're not even done yet!! Finally - here's today's cake. Found the recipe about 3 years ago in a magazine. It is best served within just a few hours after making, in my opinion. It's not too rich and not too sweet - great with a cup of coffee!

Cafe Latte Cake

Oil-and-flour baking spray
3 tablespoons freeze-dried coffee
1 container (6 oz.) coffee-flavored yogurt (Dannon makes some, found it at Safeway)
3 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground nutmeg, plus more to garnish
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter. softened
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat 3 (8.5 inch) round baking pans with oil-and-flower cooking spray. In small bowl, blend freeze-dried coffee and some water until dissolved. Stir in coffee-flavored yogurt until smooth. Set aside.

2. In bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the sugar to medium-stiff peaks. Set aside.

3. In small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In large bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in remaining 1 cup sugar until light in color, about 2 minutes.

4. On low speed, beat flour mixture, alternately with yogurt, into butter mixture until smooth. Fold in half of the egg whites to lighten, then fold in remaining whites until blended. Scrape into prepared pans, spreading level.

5. Bake at 350 about 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of layers comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes. Invert cakes; remove pans; invert again. Let cool.

6. In large bowl, whip cream and confectioner's sugar to stiff peaks. Once cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on a cakestand and spread with 3/4 cup whipped cream. Top with a second layer and 3/4 cup whipped cream. Top with final layer. Swirl remaining whipped cream over top of cake. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg. Refrigerate until serving

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Come back tomorrow for Chocolate Friday with a great chocolate cake and a chance for you to link up chocolate posts!

I'm linking this up to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life. Check the links out and add your own post from the previous week!

Cake Week Day 3 ~ WFMW ~Creative Cupcakes

Wow - Day 3 of Cake Week! Welcome! I hope you are having fun! If you are just getting here, you really should get caught up - I wouldn't want you to miss out on great recipes and giveaways! And once you get to the bottom of this post, link up your favorite cake or cupcake recipes/posts!

Day 1: Video preview, German Apple Cake, Giveaways
(I was having trouble getting my video to play earlier, but you can also check it out here: Video on facebook )
Day 2: Yellow Cake with Raspberry Filling and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

What's working for me today is creative cupcakes! When we think of cake, sometimes we forget that cupcakes are also cake. I even wrote a couple of haikus for the occasion!

Little cupcake says:
Don't forget that I'm CAKE too,
Perfectly portioned.

Cupcakes are cake too
Already perfectly sized
For your enjoyment

Write up your own cupcake haiku and submit it to Cupcakes Take The Cake! Isn't that fun?

Cupcakes can be presented in so many ways, not just cake mix poured into paper cups with a little frosting on top (though I won't refuse one if you offer it to me!). Check out other blogs to find all sorts of great cupcake recipes and unique designs. I have a couple of cupcake blog friends you can start with:

Cupcakes and Crinoline ~ a lovely twitter friend and maker of what I call my BFF cupcakes :)

Susie's Homemade ~ a loyal commenter and a cupcake competitor, maker of this cute tea cupcake

I have a few creative cupcake ideas for you today!

Have you tried Cupcake Cones?
These are so fun for the kids! And I have decided I am a huge fan of these because they are so easy for the kids to carry around and much less messy for them to eat.

Cupcake Cones

1 package Cake Mix
ice cream cones
Frosting

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Make cake batter as directed.
3. Fill each cone about half full.
4. Stand cones in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool. Frost.
Makes 24-36 cones.

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You can also try using molds to make your cupcakes pretty! My favorite thing to use to make fancy cupcakes is my Pampered Chef Silicone Flower Mold. You can get the recipe for these delicious Powdered Sugar Poundcakes (my son's fav) from Pampered Chef. They're really nice for serving at a tea or giving as gifts.

Another creative presentation is to serve your cupcakes in cups! Take a look at how you can serve up these Mochaccino cupcakes! Cute, huh? The recipe is from a Cupcakes cookbook.

Mochaccinos

MOCHA MUD CAKE
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons butter, chopped coarsely
3 1/2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg

DECORATIONS
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, the water, liqueur and coffee in small pot; stir over low heat until smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; cool 15 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours and cocoa, then egg. Divide mixture among baking cups.
4. Bake about 50 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.
5. Remove baking cups from cakes. Place cakes in coffee cups, top with cream. Place chocolate syrup in piping bag with small plain tube, pipe spirals over cream; feather and fan cakes by pulling a skewer through the spirals or, dust cakes with sifted cocoa.

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I hope I have inspired you to give cupcakes the respect they deserve - LOL! What was your favorite cupcake idea today?

Creative cupcake ideas work for me - to see what's working for everybody else, stop by Works-For-Me-Wednesday at We Are THAT Family! And creative cupcakes can be part of a beautiful life, a series at The Inspired Room!

Now, make sure you're entered in the giveaways and go find a cake post, then come back here and link it up. I want to see a lot of recipes shared here today - for some strange reason I'm feeling like having a piece of cake. :)

See you tomorrow with a cake that goes well with a cup of coffee!

Cake Week Day 2 ~ Tea For Two-sday

Welcome back! Here we are at Day 2 of Cake Week and it's Tea For Two-sday, so I made sure that today's cake would be nice to serve with tea.

Are you enjoying Cake Week so far? Have you commented on Monday's post to enter the giveaways? Have you watched my Preview Video? Well, if you watched the video, you would already know that today's cake is only one round layer and easy to make!

First thing I have to take care of today is announcing a winner from last week's Tea For Two-sday post. The winner of the lovely DaySpring tea notecards is...

#7 Lori Ann
Congratulations Lori Ann!!

Speaking of DaySpring, they have some very cute dessert plates which will work very nicely for our cake today! These are Anita Renfroe dessert plates, so they have style, humor, and Scripture. And I keep discovering how smart DaySpring is - these plates are pretty, but functional too. They're thick and microwave and dishwasher safe. Shop DaySpring for all kinds of pretty gifts!

OK, grab your plate and let's get some cake!

I found today's cake recipe in a cookbook - Perfect Recipes For Having People Over by Pam Anderson. It's so simple and so yummy - and lemon and raspberry are such a delightful flavor combination!

Yellow Cake With Raspberry Filling And Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup jarred lemon curd
1 (9-in.) round or square yellow cake layer (use your favorite yellow cake recipe or a yellow box cake mix)
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in lemon curd until light and fluffy.

Split cake into 2 layers with a serrated knife. Place bottom layer on a serving plate, and spread with jam. Place top layer over jam and frost top and sides with cream cheese frosting. Cover loosely with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

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See? I said it was easy! Now go get the ingredients and give it a try! Then sit down with a cup of tea and a piece of cake on a pretty plate and take a little break.

Don't forget to go enter the giveaways and please do come back tomorrow! Get your favorite cake recipes ready to link up tomorrow!

Happy Cake Week!

I'm linking this up for Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam to share the cake! Go get your yummy posts and link them up.