Clever Culinary Creations: Birthday Celebration Pt. 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I decided I wanted to do something extra special for my two best friends birthdays this year. The three of us have been friends for 20+ years. We have been through everything together; daisies, gymnastics, school, theater, etc. Being the creative person I am, I knew it couldn't be that hard.

Lets start with Tiffany. She has had a Dr. Pepper obsession for as long as I can remember! So when I came across a Dr Pepper cake recipe on Pinterest I couldn't contain my excitement. This was the perfect birthday gift. One snag... she lives in Chicago. Hmmm.....

I had to brainstorm how to get this cake to her. Mail it? I guess, but it might fall apart in the mail and the frosting will never survive. CRAP! Now What?

The recipe on Pinterest was way to elaborate for my "the simpler the better" motto, but I remembered my cousin telling me once that if you use a box cake mix and a can of soda you can omit the eggs and oil that the mix calls for. Perfect! Now the cake wont spoil over night and I will not have to freeze it. Now the problem of the frosting. The cake should already be sweet due to the soda, so a glaze should complement it nicely and ship very easily in tupperware.

Now that I have my game plan.... lets start baking!

Ingredients for the cake:

Cake Mix
12 ounces Dr. Pepper
allspice (to taste)
cinnamon (to taste)

Directions for cake:

In a large bowl combine cake mix and 12 ounces of Dr. Pepper.
Start by adding about a 1/2 teaspoon of each, allspice and cinnamon. Mix till there are no lumps in the batter. (Hint: The spices really add to the Dr. Pepper flavoring) Add more of the spices if needed.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min. Check if done by sticking a toothpick in the center and having it come out clean.
Once done let cool.

Ingredients for the glaze:

4 ounces of Dr Pepper
2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp caramel
allspice (to taste)
cinnamon (to taste)

Directions for glaze:

In a small pot pour 4 ounces of Dr. Pepper and spices. Let it start to simmer
Add caramel and whisk together
Slowly add powdered sugar a little at a time while continually whisking the mixture. The mixture will thicken a little. (Hint: You may not need all the powdered sugar, add to your taste preference.)
Let cool

For the finished product, drizzle the glaze in any design you desire and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Now to ship the cake to Chicago! I baked the cake in a tinfoil cake pan so that it could be shipped right in the pan. It would help keep the integrity of the cake shape during the shipping process. Once the cake cooled completely I wrapped it very tightly in tinfoil and in clear plastic wrap. Once the glaze cooled completely I poured it into a small Tupperware container and wrapped it tightly in clear plastic wrap. I secured the two packages with zip lock bags blown up to act as air pocket cushions.