Mixed Berry Smoothie

Just in case you were wondering, my diet isn't made up entirely of cake and frosting! I know that is hard to believe since 99% of CIS focuses on butter, sugar, flour and more sugar! But truth be told I am very health conscious and eat a well balanced diet of fruits, veggies, proteins and carbs. I believe in eating a rainbow of colors in fruits and veggies and most mornings I start my day off with a huge bowl of fruit or my new favorite Mixed Berry Smoothie. I can't think of a more refreshing drink during these hot summer months than a fresh & fruity smoothie. Smoothies are the perfect way start to your day, make a healthy mid afternoon snack or can even be considered an after dinner dessert!

Fruit smoothies are such a wonderful source of vitamins and nutrients and the recipes can be easily adapted for your favorite fruits, juices and flavor combinations. My favorite smoothie right now includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. I used a combination of both fresh and frozen berries for this recipe and I love the deep purple color produced. The magic of smoothies is that when berries aren't in season you can always use frozen. Don't like all the berries, swop in a banana or some peaches, the possibilities are truly endless.

Mixed Berry Smoothie
(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:
-1 cup strawberries
-2 cups frozen mixed berries (I used raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
-1 cup orange juice
-3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
-3 Tbsp honey

• Place all ingredients in blender and pulse on high until combined.
• Pour mixture into 2 serving glasses. Add a straw and some fresh berries on top and enjoy!

What's your favorite fruit smoothie flavor?

Bachelorette Cookies

What do you get when you have a bachelorette party at the beach...yellow polka dot bikini cookies of course, and some pink ones too! I had first seen the idea for the itsy bitsie teenie weenie cookies at Bake at 350 last summer and thought they were adorable. These cookies were a yummy addition to my beach weekend with friends to celebrate the bride to be Katie! We spent a few days at Orange Beach, AL soaking up the sun during the day and singing and dancing at night! Good times were had by all the ladies, including wearing some flirty feathered masks to hide our identities, prancing around with a horse on a stick (don't even ask, long story...but it did get Katie and her 2 sistas on stage with the band!), and finishing off the night with a game of "run, jump, funny landing" which was a favorite game of the bride and her 2 sisters growing up! It was just an awesome weekend with wonderful friends!

And there was also a little lingerie shower thrown in too...so you know what that means...more cookies

These cookies were made all in good fun and I wanted to keep them tasteful. A friend had sent me a link to some lingerie cookies before titled "when men bake" and I thought they were hilarious. Never did I really think I would actually be making them. But when I knew we were having a lingerie shower I thought it would be the perfect occasion to use my heart shape cookie cutter for another purpose! I found the inspiration for the cookies I made here. Everyone got a kick out of these bra and panties cookies!

Only a few more weeks until Katie's wedding day and I'm in charge of the cake and dessert table! The vision is for a clean, elegant and white dessert table inspired by Amy Atlas and the wildly popular rose cake from i am baker. Can't wait to share pictures of her wedding day sweets with you soon!

Honey Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting & a Giveaway!

Today is an exciting day for several reasons...

1.It's the first day of Summer...YEAH!
2.I've got a new cupcake recipe to share with you! YUM!
3.It's my debut over on Half Baked as a new blog contributor...WOW!

and...

4.I've got a GIVEAWAY for one lucky CIS reader!

So here we go,

First off, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Carrie at Half Baked for asking me to be a monthly contributor on her blog to share new cupcake recipes with all her readers! The day I received her email I was both shocked and excited! Shocked, that out of all the bloggers out there, especially cupcake bloggers, that she chose me to contribute to her blog. WOW, what an honor! And excited because Half Baked is truly one of my all time favorite cake blogs! It was one of the first blogs I ever started following and one that I am always eager to check out each day to see what new cakes Carrie will feature. She truly has an eye for all the new cake trends and showcases some of the most gorgeous cakes I have ever seen! So thank you Carrie for this opportunity, I am truly grateful!

So to kick off summer I came up with some Honey Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese frosting, which were inspired after sampling some local honey from our farmer's market!

To read all about the cupcakes, find out some of my favorite cupcake tools and to check out the recipe head on over to Half Baked.

And to celebrate the first day of Summer, my love of cupcakes and also the debut of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. over on Half Baked I am going to give one lucky CIS reader 3 of my favorite cupcake must-haves!

Giveaway includes:
-Martha Stewart's cupcake book
-an Ice Cream Scoop (I know we aren't making ice cream here...but trust me it is perfect for making uniform cupcakes)
-some assorted cupcake liners

Here's how to win:

Main Entry: Tell me your favorite summer time activity or where you are going for summer vacation!
Want extra entries?
1.Become a follower of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy.
2.Become a fan of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. on Facebook.
3.Become a fan of Half Baked on Facebook.

Details:
-This giveaway is open to US residents only, and will end on Friday, July 1st at 11:59pm CST
-Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be contacted via email
-Winner will have until Tues, July 5th to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen

Here's to a great summer!

Triple Berry Fruit Pizza

Fresh berries...my fridge is stocked full right now! YUM! Not only do I enjoy eating these luscious berries by the handful for a snack but I also like using them to garnish sweets! Growing up there was one go-to dessert we would make every summer...Fruit Pizza. Sugar cookie dough, cream cheese icing and fruit. It really doesn't get much simpler than that.

Our traditional fruit pizza was always in the shape of a rectangle and decorated with blueberries and strawberries to resemble the American Flag...does this sound familiar to anyone else? It seems like this was always our staple dessert for 4th of July weekend. It was so patriotic with the red, white and blue.

So with loads of fresh berries on hand, it was the perfect opportunity to make some Triple Berry Fruit Pizzas. This time around instead of one large pizza, I thought it would be more fun to create individual mini pizzas using a round cookie cutter. This would be such a fun dessert to make with the kids and a great way to encourage them to eat fruit too! Just slice up your favorite fruits and have them decorate away!

Triple Berry Fruit Pizzas
(makes 18 mini pizzas)

Ingredients:
-1 package Sugar cookie mix (or roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough)
-1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
-1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
-1 cup Cool Whip
-Fresh Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries (or whatever else you prefer)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  
• Prepare sugar cookie mix as package directs for roll out cookies.
  
• Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface and cut out mini pizzas using round cookie cutter. I used a 2 5/8" cutter.
• Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes to chill before baking. This will prevent the cookies from spreading when baking.
• Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing.
• In medium bowl mix together cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and Cool Whip until smooth.
  
• Spread icing on pizzas and decorate with desired fruit.
• Fruit pizzas are best enjoyed the day they are made. You can store in an air tight refrigerator for up to 2 days.
  

What fruit would you use to top your fruit pizza?

Versatile Blogger Award

I am excited to be the recipient of the Versatile Blogger Award from Hadley at Hadley Designs. Hadley is one of the most talented women I know and has an amazing blog and website showcasing her design portfolio ranging from invites, websites, logos and illustrations! Thanks Hadley for choosing Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. for this award!

So here is how the award works:
1.Thank the person that awarded you by linking them back in this post.
2.Tell us 7 random things about yourself.
3.Pass on the love by awarding at least 2 recently discovered new bloggers (or blogs you love!)

So here we go...random things about me

1.I wake up most mornings around 5:00AM and go for a run before starting the work day!

2.My favorite ice cream flavor is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

3.I have an addiction to collecting cake pedestals & cake decorating books! Big surprise??...probably not considering the amount of cake featured on this blog!

4.My new favorite website is Pinterest. I love looking around for beautiful cakes & sweets, party themes and design inspiration for the home. You can check out my pin boards with things I LOVE here. Be warned, this can be very addicting!

5.One of my favorite seafoods is oysters, and I recently made an oyster mirror with the left over shells that I plan to hang in my living room. Here's a link so you get the idea.

6.I often eat cupcakes for breakfast...I just can't help myself!

7.My favorite color is GREEN!


I am passing this award on to two recent blogs I have discovered...

Miso Bakes - A recent cake blog I discovered when featured on another cake blog (Half Baked) that I follow. Miso is an up & coming talented cake designer that creates some of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen! You have got to check out her latest DIY paper flower cake, simply stunning!

Mod Mom Furniture - I was watching Shark Tank on Friday night and was immediately hooked on the story behind Mod Mom Furniture. There is something so inspiring about women entrepreneurs who discover a talent they have and turn it into a full time business. If you didn't see this episode check out the website and blog and be prepared to ooh and awe over some of the cutest modern furniture for kids. Love her toy boxes!

Hope you enjoyed learning more about me and two of my new favorite blogs!

Bumble Bee Baby Shower

This past weekend I was buzzing around like a busy bee in my kitchen. My good friend Kelly who I have mentioned here on CIS before was hosting a baby shower, instead of being the guest of honor herself as you may remember here. The theme was bumble bees, adorable! I had never decorated anything with the bee theme before so immediately I started envisioning yellow & black, polka dots and of course little bees everywhere. Kelly requested cupcakes and cake balls/pops and then some sugar cookie onesies and baby bottles for the favors.

Drawing inspiration from polka dot ribbon and cupcake liners I added some dots to the yellow onesie cookies. My first instinct was to decorate the cookies with black stripes so they would more closely resemble a bee, but after trying this on one cookie it quickly reminded me too much of Charlie Brown...so I scratched that idea and proceeded with polka dots.

I hope you enjoy all the pictures of the bumble bee sweets...I got a little carried away BEE cause everything was so cute! I have some exciting news at the bottom of the post too that I can't wait to share with you!

The bee cupcake toppers were made from yellow fondant rolled into an oval with two slivered almonds poked into the sides. The stripes and eyes were piped on using black royal icing. I used a round tip 1A to pipe on 4 swirls of icing to resemble a bee hive.

Bumble bee cake pops inspired by Bakerella.

Now for the EXCITING NEWS!!!

I am going to be a monthly blog contributor to Half Baked. If you have never heard of Half Baked before and you are as big of a cake lover as me...well I don't know where you have been! Half Baked is seriously my go to blog for cake inspiration! It is filled with some of the most gorgeous and unique cakes I have ever seen. Carrie, the founder and editor of Half Baked is a cake designer herself and also features some of the most talented cake vendors in the industry. Whether a cake for a birthday, shower or wedding, no matter the occasion I am always blown away by the creative cakes and decorating techniques seen on Half Baked! This blog is truly one of my all time favorites, and one I have been following for almost two years now. I am so honored that Carrie has chosen me to be part of her blog. My new gig will involve creating monthly cupcake recipes and photos to share with all her readers, and I can't wait! I am looking forward to sharing my first cupcake flavor later this month, so stayed tuned!

Have a great week!

Pink Zebra Cake

Today is my neighbor Carley's 12th birthday! She wanted a cake with pink zebra stripes...

a peace sign & a smiley face. She says she always writes her name and then adds a smiley face at the end!

Schools out for the summer and she was heading to the lake this weekend to celebrate her birthday with family and friends! I'm sure there was lots of jet skiing and tubing! Fun times!

Zebra stripe cakes are always so fun to make. There is really no rhyme or reason to them you just roll out some fondant and use a wheel cutter to make all the stripes.

Happy Birthday Carley! Hope it was an awesome day!

Mixed Fruit Popsicles

There is only one word to describe the weather in Mobile lately....H - O - T !!!!! I thought Memorial Day weekend was hot with the temperatures reaching 97 degrees but today things only got hotter...we hit 100 degrees...that's right 100! Don't believe me, I have proof on my iphone from about 4:30ish this afternoon! It looks like summer is here to stay!

So to keep cool on those blistering hot days I have created some homemade fruit popsicles! Making popsicles is super easy, only requires a few ingredients, and they are delicious and healthy! Let's just say these are going to be a staple in my freezer for the next few months! If you are looking for that perfect sweet to take to a summer picnic, birthday party or family reunion a homemade fruit pop is the way to go...they are no fuss, can be made days in advance, and don't require any baking just a large bowl and a spoon to mix with!

To make homemade popsicles you only need 3 things:
-3 oz Dixie paper cups
-wooden popsicle sticks
-fruit/juice combination of your choicce

One of my all time favorite frozen treats is frozen lemonade so I knew for sure lemons were going to be an ingredient in my pops. I decided to pair lemons with some pureed strawberries to create a Strawberry Lemon popsicle! At first glance you think you are just going to be tasting strawberries but one lick on this pink pop and the tang of the lemon hits your tongue, yum the ultimate summer flavor!

After talking to my mom and telling her my plan to make homemade popsicles to take to our friends Memorial Day party she told me how her mom (my grandmother) used to make popsicles all the time using bananas, pineapple and orange juice. Since I happened to have all 3 of those fruits on hand I figured I would go ahead and make a second pop flavor, Banana Pineapple Orange. I really enjoyed these flavors and the texture of the crushed fruit reminded me of eating a frozen fruit bar you would normally find at the grocery store!

Both flavors were delicious and very refreshing, but I think my favorite was the Strawberry Lemon. I just love the tartness from a lemon!

Strawberry Lemon Popsicles (makes 18)

-2 cups water
-1 cup sugar
-4 cups strawberries, sliced then pureed
-4 lemons, juiced
-18 Dixie paper cups (3 oz)
-18 popsicle sticks

• Mix water and sugar in small pan on the stove over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved to create a simple syrup. Place syrup in refrigerator to cool.
• Slice strawberries and place 4 cups of berries into food processor to puree.
• Mix the simple syrup, strawberry puree and the juice from 4 lemons into a bowl and stir until combined.
• Place paper cups onto a baking sheet so easy to transport pops to the freezer.
  
• Pour fruit mixture into paper cups, filling about 3/4 full.
  
• Place a popsicle stick in the center of each cup and place pops into the freezer.
• Chill for 4 hours.
• Gently peel away paper cup from popsicle and enjoy!
  

Banana Pineapple Orange Popsicles (makes 18)

-2 bananas, mashed
-1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice
-2 cups orange juice
-18 Dixie paper cups (3 oz)
-18 popsicle sticks

• In a large bowl mash bananas. Add can of crushed pineapple and orange juice and stir until combined.
  
• Place paper cups onto a baking sheet so easy to transport pops to the freezer.
  
• Pour fruit mixture into paper cups, filling about 3/4 full.
  
• Place a popsicle stick in the center of each cup and place pops into the freezer.
• Chill for 4 hours.
• Gently peel away paper cup from popsicle and enjoy!

*Note: If your sticks do not stand straight up in the fruit mixture, allow the mixture to chill for about 20-30 minutes and then reposition the sticks. I noticed that if some of the pops do not have as many fruit chunks in them the sticks tended to lean slightly.

The possibilities are endless with these fruit pops, just pick your favorite fruits and juices and start combining flavors! I'd love to hear what flavor pops you would make! I'm envisioning something with blueberries and raspberries next!

Stay cool this summer!