CUPCAKE & DIRT

A place for moms to be inspired, equipped and connected as we travel this motherhood adventure together.

[cupcakeanddirt]

BERRIES IN A CLOUD CAKE ROLL

Love berries and cream together and this recipe does not disappoint.

Ingredients

1 Angel Food Cake mix plus ingredients to prepare ---for those of you who can make a yummy angel food cake without a mix you can do it from scratch, however I suck at angel food cakes.

1/4 cup + 3/4 cup powdered sugar divided

8 oz light cream cheese room temperature

1 1/2 cups heavy cream 35%

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh strawberries diced

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of a 10x15x1" rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (make sure that it lays flat on the bottom). Do not grease the pan.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges start to crack. *NOTE: It will rise up in the pan significantly, even over the top. But even though it gets high it should not flow over -- if you're concerned, slip an extra baking sheet or a piece of foil underneath just in case.

Loosen cake from the edges of the pan while it's still warm -- it's going to be a little sticky, like angel food cake is, but it will come away easily.

Spread out a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle evenly with ¼ cup powdered sugar. Flip warm cake out onto the towel, peel off the parchment paper and immediately roll up starting at the short end, WITH the towel inside. Let cool completely (at room temperature for 1-2 hours or pop it in the fridge or freeze momentarily if you're impatient like me! You don't want it hot inside when you add your filling.)

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add ¾ cup powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and beat on low until combined, then on high for 3-4 minutes until fluffy and stiff peaks form.

Unroll cooled cake (you can just leave it laying on the towel) and spread with half of the filling and top with half of the berries. Carefully roll back up (this time without the towel!) and place on a serving plate. Spread top and sides with remaining filling and top with remaining berries. Serve immediately (leftovers are best eaten within 24 hours).

****SIDE NOTE I COULD NOT FIND ANY BLACKBERRIES TO USE WHEN I MADE THIS CAKE TODAY**** 

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ECO-FRIENDLE CLEANING

My stash of cleaners has doubled after I started trying to avoid chemical cleaners. Suddenly I have natural wood furniture cleaner AND wood floor cleaner, eco glass cleaner AND regular window cleaner, all-natural shower spray AND scrubby bubbles tile spray. The last thing I wanted to do was cram all those bottles and powders back into my pretty new cabinets. (Or buy a new set of cleaning products now that I was kitchen renovation-poor.) There had to be another way of owning more eco-friendly cleaning products, without spending too much money, and acquiring too many bottles.

After much reading and trying this and that I came up with solutions for chemical free cleaning.

WOOD CLEANER: 1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon natural liquid soap or detergent (I used Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castille Soap, aka the only soap you ever need.)

A few drops of olive oil

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Saturate a sponge fully with the mixture, squeeze out excess, and wash surfaces.

 WINDOW CLEANER:

1/4 teaspoon washing soda

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent

2 cups club soda

Dissolve the washing soda in the hot water, then pour into spray bottle. Add the liquid soap and club soda (which is also touted as an excellent cleaning agent by itself for stainless steel countertops and porcelain sinks). Shake to combine, then spray and wipe clean.

 TOILET BOWL SIZZLER

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

Pour the ingredients into the toilet. Let sizzle, then scrub. Flush.

 SOFT SCRABBER Borax

Enough liquid soap or detergent to make a paste with a frosting-like consistency

A few drops tea tree oil

Place the borax in a bowl; slowly pour in the liquid soap, stirring all the while, until the consistency reaches that of a frosting. Add the oil and stir to combine. Scoop the creamy mixture onto a sponge, scrub the surface, and rinse.

 ALL-PURPOSE ALKALINE CLEANER

1/2 teaspoon washing soda (or baking soda if you want something a little gentler)

2 teaspoon borax

1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent

2 cups hot water

Combine the washing soda, borax, and soap in a spray bottle. Pour in the hot water (it will dissolve the minerals), screw on the lid, and shake to completely blend and dissolve. Spritz every 6 inches of the surface once or twice, wiping off the cleanser with a rag as you go. For stains, leave the cleanser on for a few minutes before wiping it off. Shake the bottle before each use.

 STAINLESS STEEL CLEANER

Vinegar

Olive Oil

Very soft or microfiber cloth

Spray the surface liberally with vinegar. Using a soft cloth, rub in the direction of the grain to clean. Polish by dipping the cloth in olive oil and rubbing again in the direction of the grain.

[cupcakeanddirt]

Cherry Pudding Cake

Springtime means fresh cherries, this is a recipe that my mom would make when the cherries in the yard were ready to be picked.

Cherry pudding cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups sugar, divided

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup 2% milk

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cup pitted pie cherries

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Whip cream or ice cream to top the cake with

In a bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, milk and oil; pour into a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish. In a bowl combine cherries, sugar and almond extract. Spoon over the batter.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, cool. Top with whip cream or ice cream.

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We went for our morning walk today, as we were walking the boys started collecting pinecones which they love to do.  This time a few of them made it home with us. Boys asked what they could make with them? Asked them what they wanted to make out of them. I got many answers to my question, so this opened a time to talk about pinecones what they look like. We decided that it looks like a flower on the bottom, a spider, a pinecone tree if it was green, (of course), a belly of a bird, and last but forgotten was that spikey plant aka cactus. It was decided the first then we needed to do no matter what we were going to make with them then needed to be germ and bug-free.  This brought up one of the 5-year-old askings if the pinecone could make him sick if it had germs and bugs in it. We talked about how important it is to wash stuff to keep things healthy. We cleaned our pinecone making sure that there were not little sticks, grass, and so on left in them. I mixed up a solution of 3-part warm water 1-part white vinegar, boys each took turns washing their pinecones. To get the pollen, dust, and anything else out of them. Next, we dried off the cones with a towel placed with on a lined baking pan placed them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 250 degrees. Make sure you check the cones for about 15 minutes. While waiting on the pinecones to get done in the oven we looked at photos of different birds but now one could decide on what to make. Brody went off to play as the pinecones were cooling and came back with his snow owl stuffy, he said see it look like the fathers. Enough said we made snow owls, here is what you will need to know. Pinecone 1 per person 5 cotton balls per person that your toddler or older child will love to shred into pieces Googley eyes white and brown pipe cleaners or felt for the wings and beak Tacky glue I think the picture pretty much explains it all. For the fluffiest result, stuff the cotton pieces into each of the crevices on the pinecone.

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LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES!

It’s nice outside and our kids are stuck inside, some of us have returned to work, maybe just part time or there are those who are still at home with kids going “we are board when can we go do something?” It’s not fun being cooped up because of self-isolation and social distancing, but with a little bit of effort, you can create some fun things to do at home to help the time pass and make some wonderful memories.  One of my favorite memories was getting to go to a drive-in movie. I know a lot of us have been doing orders online for the last few weeks, lets put all those boxes to good use. Here is what you will need New movie either ordered on line or down loaded Popcorn Candy and or other snacks Drinks Boxes – You can even order moving boxes on line if you do not have any laying around. Paint Tape 5 Paper plats for each box “car” 2 Bulldog clips for each “car” 1 Plastic box per “car” Blanket 1 per “car” Stickers for the bumper Step 1: How to make a box car Find a large cardboard box. Cut a square out of the box but leave about a third behind for the hood. Step 2: How to make a box car Paint four paper plates black and silver for the wheels; set aside to dry. Don’t forget to paint a plate for the steering wheel Use non-toxic acrylic paint to transform the boring cardboard into a shiny new car. Step 3: How to make a box car Once the paint has dried, attach the wheels with glue. Let each kid use markers or paint to trick out their rides with cute details like headlights., racing stripes and license plates. Attach a basket for treats using bulldog clips.

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INDOOR PICNIC

Oh, what fun an indoor picnic to keep everyone full and having fun! To keep the boys busy I asked them each to pick a food that they wanted to eat for lunch. Aiden would like a cheese sandwich Cody would like peanut butter stuffed celery Brody would like that fruit thing with shapes (fruit salad) For the cheese sandwiches, I used a slice of provolone with a slice of mild cheddar and then cut them out in the shape of stars (Aiden is focused on star shapes right now). For the stuffed celery I used creamy peanut butter then topped the celery with chopped dried fruit and peanuts. Now for the fruit salad, using mine cookie cutters I cut strawberries in slices and then used the heart mine cutter to turn the slices into hears. Using the moon cutter, I took and sliced a banana up then cut moons out. Added blueberries with a few raspberries. While I was making their lunch, the boys asked their favorite stuffed animal to join us. Brody was so sweet he asked Ski from Paw Patrol to be his guest. Cody invited his wolf who howled with excitement to join in. Aiden just could not resist he had to bring his dinosaur, but he did promise to be a very well-behaved dinosaur. Please excuses me I really must join the picnic.

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SHADOW PLAY You won’t need anything than a source of light (your phone’s lights can be it) and darkroom. If you wish to do this during the day, just pull the curtain and let the room sit dark. Put the light near them, and see what happen. Ask them to pull far the light and see how big their shadows become. Try jumping in front of the light and see what happens. Trust me, this activity would keep them entertained for nearly an hour!

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Welcome

Thanks for coming on the creative journey with me, here is a little of what you will find.

Money-saving menus, recipes, family fun, kids’ zone, tea, and much more.