Gnome Cake

This has been a busy month and the last week of it is only going to get busier! I'm co-hosting a Halloween party that will also serve as my Betrothed's birthday party this weekend, which means I have lots of planning and baked goodies ahead.

But for now, I must share this cute little gnome cake that I made a little bit ago. I never thought I'd ever say that, but I'm definitely glad I took the challenge. The cake was for my very tall, very good friend, Joe. He loves to call out other people's height challenges (for example: he calls me "Shortness"). But it's all out of love, so I let it slide (for now mwahahaha). Rather, he was ordering it for his mom.

I made a 6" yellow cake as the tree stump.  I made it from scratch, but I'm not sure about revealing the recipe just yet because I may have to shop around for a better recipe. If anyone has any recipe suggestions for yellow cake, I am totally open to trying them!

So anyhoo, I made a half batch of rice treats and molded a basic gnome shape. I attached the different parts with a bit of icing. Then I ate the rest (hey I didn't want to waste it!)

Then I added a thin layer of buttercream to the outside, and I covered each part from the bottom up. After I got the basic parts covered, I went back and added hair, arms and an apron as well as a pair of glasses made from thick fondant circles and vermicelli. 

I was happy with how it turned out! I think the gnome challenge was successfully completed!

Luckily Joe's mom has an awesome sense of humor, so she liked the cake. :)

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats

Good evening, all! (And evening is arriving so early these days!) I wanted to share this delicious recipe I found on my new obsession-- Pinterest! For those of you who have never heard of it, Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board site where you grab photos (or "pins") of things you like and categorize them onto different "boards." I love it! I have a board specifically named "My Pumpkin Obsession," and I decided to make one of my pins- Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats!

I've eaten Rice Krispies treats most of my life (one of my favorite snacks!) so I wanted to mash it with my favorite flavor- pumpkin! The following recipe is for 12 servings, but I cut everything in half for just 6 bars. I also used my handy dandy Wilton Square muffin pan so I can create perfect squares without having to cut them out.

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 c pumpkin
• 1-10 oz bag mini marhsmallows + 1 cup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of all spice
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 6 cups Rice Krispies

1) Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Then add the pumpkin and warm it through.

 2) Stir in the 10 oz bag of marshmallows and melt. Then stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and salt and remove from the heat.

 3) Cool for 10 minutes and fold in the remaining cup of marshmallows. Add Rice Krispies.

 4) Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan and let set for about 20 minutes then cut into squares.
*or press into your square muffin pan!*

And voila!

These were as amazing as I thought they'd be! My brother snuck one and he loved it! Then he snuck another!

One thing I would probably change is the addition of the whole marshmallows at the end. The next time I try this recipe, I'll see how it is with all of the marshmallows melted at the same time.

Oh, feel free to pin me!