DIY Pinatas

I came across this great little DIY Pinata idea online and I just had to share. I think these would be great at any party, wedding or BBQ and they are so easy to make. The best thing about them is they are refillable so you can use them over and over again! Pinatas can be so expensive and these are really affordable. You can even make them in all different sizes.

Materials Needed: small paper lanterns, crepe paper sheets, scissors, double stick tape, twine and freezer paper.

Cut 4-6 strips of crepe paper, 1.5 inches wide.  Cut the fringe on one side, about every .25 inch, don’t go all the way through, leave a small whole strip to keep the fringe attached together.

Insert the wire form to open your lantern.  Put strips of tape around the bottom  of the lantern, like rays of light from the bottom.  Make them pretty long, and cover the whole lantern, top to bottom, for quicker results.
Unwrap the fringed strips and start wrapping from the bottom around. Be sure to press the strip down firmly to secure it to the lantern (and to ensure the tape is adhered well.)  Work your way around the lantern in a spiral, adding tape or more strips as needed, until you reach the top. Add a piece of tape to the end to finish. Fluff the fringe a bit, and you have one spunky little lantern.

Take a 4- 5 inch square piece of freezer paper and cut a circle.  Tape a piece of twine to the dull side.  Cut two slits on opposite sides of the circle, this will allow the circle to sit flat in the lantern around the wire form.  Insert the circle, twine side down, through the bottom of the lantern.  Flatten with a wooden spoon from the top.  You just want to make sure there are no big open holes where the “plug” doesn’t sit flush so the confetti (or treats) will stay in.

If you have any extra fringed pieces left, cut them up for confetti and add store bought confetti for sparkle. Fill your lantern with a good sized handful.

Hang. Pull. Party. Repeat.  No one will feel left out because you can just refill these babies and pull again! Hide a prize in a whole cluster and have your guest’s pick which one has the prize? Having a baby shower? A fun idea could be to have all white lanterns with either pink or blue confetti inside to do a gender reveal? Why not create your very own pinatas for your next celebration.

Amazing Rainbow Cake

For my last birthday I made a rainbow cake which was a huge hit with my guests. Since my party a few of my friends have asked me how I made the cake so I decided I would share it here today.
There are plenty of different receipes on the net but this one I found worked really well, was easy to follow and tasted great.

What I feel is the most important aspect of this cake, is it's frosted in white buttercream. Why? Because the smooth white exterior makes the cake look completely normal, but once you slice into it you realize... OH SNAP! THIS CAKE IS CRAZY! The buttercream frosting has a meringue like consistence which gives the cake that extra specialness. Its the yummy icing often used on fancy wedding cakes.

You will need:

226g butter, room temp

426 g sugar

5 egg whites, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla

426 g flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

355 ml milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough! (although if you can't find the gel the liquid will still work)

Making the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Oil and line how ever many 9” cake pans you have (I have three and I just reused them).

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites (I cracked them all into one bowl) and add them a little at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the milk and flour mixture in two parts.

Divide the batter evenly amongst 6 bowls, and then whisk a fair amount of the appropriate food color into each bowl. Keep in mind that the color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each.

When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. Then flip, cover, and stash them in the fridge to cool quickly.

If you don't have enough tins for all colours, you will just need to wait till you have cooked your first batch of colours and then re oil and line your tins to use again for the next batch of colours.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream

9 egg whites

350 g sugar

452 g butter, room temp

2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

Cook the egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it's completely smooth, it's done). Pour into another bowl (an electric mixer is preferable) and whip on high speed until room temp. Then, on a medium-slow speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and whip until it has come together, about five minutes. Add the extract, beat briefly and then use.

If the buttercream seems soupy after all of the butter is added and does not come together after whipping, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and continue whipping until it becomes fluffy and workable.

Assembly

Stack the layers in your preferred order smoothing frosting inbetween each layer as you go. Once each layer is stacked with frosting inbeteen each one, cover the outside of cake with remaining frosting.

This cake is a huge hit for any special occasion, not not try it for not your next celebration.