Happy Easter!

Hello friends!  Happy Easter from the Confessions family!  I’m planning a post recapping our weekend, but I thought for now I would share one of our family traditions with all of you… our annual Bunny Cake!  We make this cake every year on the night before Easter, usually right after we finish dyeing our eggs! 

Start with 2 round cakes.  Bake according to package directions or make from scratch.

Keep one cake whole.  Cut the other into 3 pieces, shaping as shown below.

Assemble the pieces.  Trim the “ear” pieces so they rest up against the head.

Ice the cakes.  White for the face, pink for the ears, green for the bow tie, and blue for the eyes.

Use toothpicks and jellybeans to define the eyes, teeth, and decorate the bow tie.

 

Tada! 

Oh… and if you somehow manage to screw up 4 extra cakes in the process, what do you do?

That’s right!  Make cake pops!  But that step is only for those of you who have issues while baking the cakes.  :)

I hope you are having a sweet Easter and enjoying some time with friends or family! 

Picnic at the Lake

Today was an all-around wonderful day.  I started my day by helping a friend with a new Zumba class.  Usually, I can’t do any Zumba during the day, but since the first class was during spring break, I got to go in the morning!  Yay!  After Zumba, I met Ryan for lunch and we ran a few errands before picking up the munchkin.  We surprised her by taking her swimming right after school. 

We really wanted to (re)introduce her to the water before we get to summer and lots of pool time.  Last summer, she had just started swimming without the floaties, so we wanted to get her practicing again.

She was a little bit tentative at first, but then she had a blast.  We didn’t use floaties, but she was still very attached to a noodle.  I think after a few more visits, she’ll be back to her fish-self.

We decided tonight would be a fun night to have a picnic.  The weather was a little iffy-looking, so we weren’t sure whether it would work out, but lucky for us, it only sprinkled for a second and then cleared up and we enjoyed beautiful weather!  We also enjoyed shrimp and pineapple slaw.

The shrimp was delish.  All I do is use the bag of Zatarain’s seasoning and follow the directions on the bag.  The pineapple slaw was good too—crunchy and sweet.  I used this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers.

Yep… we packed PB&J for the kid while we ate shrimp.  Hehe!

Sadie enjoyed feeding the geese, kicking the soccer ball, and being her usual goofy self.

 

    

So pretty!  Perfect night!

Dixie-Style Dining: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

It’s not a mirage… I am actually cooking.  I wouldn’t blame you if you were surprised… Heck, I’M surprised.  One of my favorite things to do is cook, but lately… it has just taken a back burner for me.  It seems like the weeks go by so quickly and when I get home from school… or teaching Zumba… or church… there’s just no time for testing out recipes.  I’m looking forward to the “Summer Slowdown” and having a chance to catch up on some of the things I have let go. 

But ahh… spring break… you are such a gift.  Already you have given me…

…a chance to sleep in until 7:30 a.m….

…2 fun day-trips with my family…

…time with friends…

…and a chance to cook something delicious…

May I introduce you to Dixie’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake?

I have been wanting to make this coffee cake for months, ever since I found it in my grandmother’s recipe box.  I don’t remember eating this before, but I am definitely a fan of cake for breakfast. 

Let me tell you… it was WORTH the wait.  This cake is perfect for breakfast or dessert (or dessert for breakfast)!  It is soft, fluffy, sweet, and will melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter (unsalted)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose flour)

For filling/topping:

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I think brown or white would work, but I used white)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Cream together with a mixer: butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Add in sour cream, baking soda, salt.  Mix.  Add in flour and mix until a thick batter is formed.  In a separate bowl, mix together nuts, sugar, coconut, and cinnamon for the filling/topping.

Layer in a baking dish (9 by 13): 1/2 batter, 1/2 topping sprinkled evenly over batter, rest of batter, rest of topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the center is removed clean.

Now, I know the recipe says to bake in a 9 by 13 dish.  But I used two loaf pans instead.  I had enough batter and filling to bake 2 loaf-sized cakes.  I actually had extra batter, so I opted to make 4 individual coffee cakes in a muffin tins, too.  (I just had to mix up a little bit more of the topping for those individual cakes.) 

The loaf pans worked well, but because they are a bit deeper than a square or rectangular baking dish, it took a little longer to cook all the way through. 

 

 

This is one of the softest cakes I have ever tasted.  The sour cream keeps the batter very moist, even after baking it for an hour.  This cake will not disappoint!  Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee and enjoy a slice of this cake anytime!

Daytripping: Riverbanks Zoo

One of the great things about staying home during spring break is the fact that you can take quick day-trips to fun places.  You already know we made our first visit to Carowinds on Sunday.  On Monday we took another little day trip to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC!

As often as we go to Columbia, we have never taken Sadie to the Zoo.  We have visited the Greenville a lot, so she has been to a zoo… but not one as big as the Riverbanks Zoo!  We stopped and picked up my sister Adrienne on the way because she is on spring break, too!  We were so excited that she could go with us! 

I hope you enjoy this little photo journey of our day at Riverbanks Zoo!

 

And finally… a delish sandwich at Which Wich?.  Turkey with lettuce, tomato, pickles, black olives, and avocado!  Win!

Coming soon… a new Dixie-Style Dining Recipe!  I can’t wait to share this one with you.  Want a preview?  “Like” my fan page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter!  I’ve posted a preview picture… it is drool-worthy.