Birthday Goodies Galore!

Okay, so maybe NOT galore, but I made a couple of things that made my early birthday gathering SUPER delicious... I had made some vanilla marshmallows last week that were bright red and shaped like Elmo heads and they came out okay- I forgot salt in the recipe and I think the vanilla bean paste might have been too much, but that didn't deter me from trying them again. This time I made something more my taste, a strawberry vanilla flavored marshmallow that had much better texture (I think my quest to achieve a bright red may have messed up the flavor and texture of the Elmos) and actually came out fluffier and more marshmallow-y. I played around with the thought that I may dip them in chocolate, but people started grabbing and eating them before I could even melt the chocolate. Yes, they were THAT good! I was actually pretty proud of myself for mixing the recipe up a little and not freaking out! I ended up using the same recipe for vanilla marshmallows on Sweetapolita's website found HERE, except I substituted the vanilla for strawberry extract and I added 1/8 teaspoon of real vanilla extract.

Next up, the CAKE... I wish I could take credit for the hunk of deliciousness I baked up but I can't! This was yet another Sweetapolita recipe I found that the second I saw it, I said, "That's my birthday cake this year!"

I could tell even during building the cake that it was going to be, ahem, AWWWEEESSSOOOMMEE! Awesome, in a sing-songy voice, because it WAS! The white layer you see there was a marshmallow cream cheese bit of heaven, the top pink cream was a delicious whipped vanilla frosting embedded with raspberries. Another layer of red velvet was added to make this a 3 layer cake. Now first off, I have to say it was a slightly time consuming cake, mainly because I don't have 3 or 4 KitchenAid mixers running all at once (though I wish I did!) and we had an absolute and complete surprise incident we didn't expect. Keep in mind, this cake calls for refrigeration because it does have cream cheese and whipping cream, and as luck would have it, the compressor on our refrigerator completely gave out! I am so happy to say the weather was on my side though; it snowed and stayed in the low 30s- enough to firm up the chocolate frosting and keep everything ice cold! As it was, the cake was not complete until most of our guests left- only a lucky few stayed behind and got a piece. I hate to say I will be sharing it since I want it all for myself! But we all know too much good stuff is not always good for you. Wah-wah. Here is the end result:

The cake is called Red Velvet & Raspberry Supreme Cake. Click on the link for recipe! Many thanks to Sweetapolita for sharing these great cakes. She is an inspiration to me! And than YOU for visiting and having a look!