Half Birthday Cinnamon Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Ah, I love a half birthday. No parties, no presents...just cake. Half of a cake.

My mom started this tradition with us. I'd love to know how the tradition came about, but whatever the reason, I'm sure happy to be keeping the tradition alive.

You might remember some of Jack's previous half birthday cakes...

• almond-crusted butter cake from 2010
• lemonade cake from 2011
• lemon poppyseed cake with lemon cream cheese frosting from 2014

This year, I decided to make a Cinnamon Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. I love the combination of cinnamon and chocolate. Also, the cake is topped with a rich, thick, shiny chocolate glaze. There was just a bit left over after topping the cake which I happily ate with a spoon. 

Rule #1 of half birthday cakes...well, the first rule is that you only serve 1/2 of a cake. 

Rule #2 of half birthday cakes...that other half needs to get out of your house. I made a happy discovery this week. My grocery store bakery sells 1/2 cake containers!!! Woo hoo! Perfect for giving that 2nd half away. 

(I'm also so thankful for friends who are up for taking weird things from my kitchen. TEXT: "Hey! Can I swing by your house and drop off half of a cake?")

Oh! You're probably wondering about that 1/2 candle. I KNOW, right?!?!? So cute! Well, if it's something cute, it probably came from Kate Spade or Target. In this case, Target. (I'm not seeing it online, but maybe it will appear...keep checking.) I bought all they had at my local Target (sorry), my sister bought out the Target nearest to her, and my aunt bought out her closest Target.
If your Target is out of stock, my family sends its sincere apologies. 

Quick note on this butter. I used Land O' Lakes new European Butter. It has more milk fat than regular butter. Mo' butter fat, mo' better. You can totally use regular butter here. (I do work with Land O' Lakes, but this is not a sponsored post...I just HAD TO try this butter.) 

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

{makes 1 Bundt cake}

2 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 TBSP cornstarch

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (European or regular) salted butter, room temperature

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk

1 & 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips tossed with 1/2 teaspoon flour

Chocolate Glaze

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1 TBSP salted butter, room temperature

Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325.

Whisk the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside. 

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the sour cream. 

In three additions, add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour, mixing on low until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Pour the batter into the prepare pan and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. 

Place on a wire rack for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, place the rack face down on top of the exposed part of the cake. Flip the cake so that the exposed part is now resting on the rack. Wait one minute or so; you'll hear the cake release from the pan. Remove the pan and let the cake cool completely.

Make the glaze:

In a small sauce pan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Continue stirring until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in the butter until incorporated. 

Let the glaze cool just a bit. Stir and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe the glaze over the cake, or alternatively, spoon the glaze over. The glaze will set up as it dries. 

16 and a half. 

*this post contains affiliate links*

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturday: Gone Bananas!

Yes, we're a day late. Let's just pretend it's still Saturday.

This week Jack and I are reviewing Trader Joe's Gone Bananas. These are frozen chocolate covered banana slices.

(I'd love to review more of Trader Joe's ice cream selections, but our TJ's ice cream area has a major issue with freezer burn. Anyone else? Almost every ice cream container is covered in ice. One you get down the case a couple yards, it goes away. Very strange. Anyone else's TJ's have this problem?)


Anyhoo...Gone Bananas costs $1.99 for an 8-ounce box.

A mom's (my) take: Despite the fact that these are covered in a hefty dose of chocolate, I'm really only getting banana flavor here. (And, honestly...I'm after the chocolate.) 130 calories for 4 slices...I'd rather have an ice cream sandwich for 150 calories. #imissbluebell These are cold and banana-y, but I'm not tempted to go back for more. My boys, the one I'm married to and the one I gave birth to, love these, though...as you will see.
Overall rating 3 of 5 stars

A teenager's (Jack's) take: Well, I'm going to be frank here. I'm going bananas over these. The key thing is the temperature: you don't want to eat them as soon as you get them out of the freezer, because it will be so cold that the flavor is subdued. On the other hand, you don't want to wait too long, because then you'll get a room-temperature treat that may begin melting (if you're in Texas). I love how the chocolate hits first and provides a nice contrast against the fruitiness of the banana. The aftertaste - you guessed it: chocolate. Not bad at all.
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Trader Joe's Gone Bananas: The boys loved these! 

[note: We have no affiliation with Trader Joe's. I'm sure they have never read this blog and have no idea who we are. Hey, we like being incognito, although we never wear sunglasses indoors. ;)]

Read all of our Trader Joe's sweet treats and dessert reviews! 

Other things we're loving this week:

• Minions Cookies (these are some of my favorites!)
• Peachy Blueberry Muffins with Coconut Sugar
• If you have curly hair like I do, I think you'll love this blog, Just Curly.
• Summer = hot dog season and these from Climbing Grier Mountain just blew my mind. 

Just Peachy Blueberry Muffins ... with Coconut Sugar!

A. These are my new favorite muffins. (My least favorite muffin is the one topping my waistband.)

B. If you've never tried coconut sugar before, it's time.

C. There is no C, but it just looked better.


OK...here's the deal. I'd never baked with coconut sugar before these muffins. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about it, so when this Organic Coconut Palm Sugar from Wholesome!™ arrived on my doorstep, I was excited to try it!


Coconut sugar doesn't taste at all like coconuts...and it doesn't look like traditional sugar. Both of those things surprised me. Coconut sugar is made from the nectar of the coconut palm tree flower. (Sounds so fancy.)  Right out of the bag, it looks a little like crushed graham crackers.


[Note: I know Wholesome!™ is changing packaging right now, so the coconut sugar package in your store may look a little different than it does in my picture.]

The most important question here...how do the muffins taste? I'm so glad you asked. The muffins are moist, and full of fresh summer flavors of peaches and blueberries. Coconut sugar adds a depth of flavor here, a toastiness that is so warm and comforting. It's a taste almost like if you put a graham cracker in a toaster for a minute or so. While they’re baking, your kitchen will smell divine!

(Someone invent a peach-blueberry-coconut-sugar-muffin scented candle pronto!)


These babies had been out of the oven for all of 20 minutes and we'd eaten half of the batch. Yeah, they're good.

Of course, they’re perfect for breakfast…or a snack, but how about packing some along on that summer road trip?


Peachy Blueberry Muffins
{makes 12 muffins}

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup Wholesome!™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup diced peaches (divided)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

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

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and coconut sugar together for a few minutes until well combined.

Meanwhile, place the 1/2 cup diced peaches and lemon juice in a blender. Process until smooth.

Add the eggs to the mixer one at a time, and blend, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the peach puree.

On low speed, add in the flour in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour. Mix just until combined.


Fold in the blueberries and 1/3 cup diced peaches.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and the tops bounce back when lightly touched. Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without butter.


*This post was sponsored by Wholesome!™. All opinions and recipes are my own.*

How to make Minions Cookies!

{I think this is my favorite picture on the blog ever.}

Kittens, bunnies, Bill Murray, Minions. All of these things rank at the top of my cuteness chart...not necessarily in that order.


I'm guessing women in their mid-forties aren't the target audience for the Minions movie, but you guys, I LOVED it so much! Please, please tell me you love them, too! #allhailkingbob #banana ♥


Of course, decorated Minions cookies were a no-brainer. They were happening.
Bonus: they are SUPER easy to make.

To make Minions cookies, you'll need:

• cut-out cookies, circles
• royal icing, divided and tinted with AmeriColor Electric Yellow mixed with Egg Yellow, Super Black, and Bright White
• disposable icing bags
• coupler and tips: #3, #1 or #0
• toothpicks
• white fondant (I like Satin Ice)
• do stix rolling guides (optional)
• mini circle cookie/fondant cutter
• food coloring pens
• silver luster dust
• vodka
• small, clean paintbrush

Thin the yellow icing with water a bit at a time until the icing is the consistency of a thick glue. Run a knife through the icing and the line should disappear in a count of about 15 seconds.


Pour this icing into a piping bag fitted with a #3 tip. Pipe a circle outline on the cookie. Working a few cookies at a time, go back and fill in the outline with the same icing.

Use a toothpick to guide into spaces and edges.

Let the icing set for at least 1 hour.


Fit a piping bag with another #3 tip and fill with black icing. Pipe a line across the top of each cookie. Let the icing set for at least 1 hour.


Meanwhile, roll the fondant to 1/8" thick on a surface dusted with cornstarch. Use a small circle cutter for the eyes.


With food coloring pens draw brown or green irises, then add in the pupils in black. Use a #1 or #0 tip to pipe detail onto the eyes with white icing.

Mix the luster dust with vodka until smooth and thick. Paint around the edge of each eyeball to make the silver goggles. The "paint" will dry quickly, so you may need to thin with more vodka occasionally.


Add a little icing onto the back of each eye and place onto the black stripes on each cookie....some with one eye, others with 2.

Pipe a mouth and hair onto the cookies in black with a #1 tip.



I think even Scarlett Overkill would like them.

Yay, Minions!

{psst...if you haven't seen the movie, go! And, stay until the very, very, very end.}

---

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturday: Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce

This Saturday, we bring you a review of Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. It's hot outside and we're in full-on ice cream mode around here. Sauce is a bonus.

A 10-ounce jar of caramel sauce cost $3.49.



A mom's (my) take: My first thought on this caramel sauce was...wow, it's beautiful! Thick, shiny, luscious...it looks like an expensive or homemade sauce. Taste-wise, the caramel flavor is very deep and not overly sweet. Yes, there is a little taste of the fleur de sel in here, but not a big punch of it. I definitely appreciate the fact that it's made with sugar, cream, and butter...and NOT with added "caramel coloring." (What is that anyway?) Real ingredients...another reason I love TJ's! On ice cream, the texture remains soft and thick while adding just the right flavor and richness of caramel. Try it on vanilla frozen custard!
Rating straight out of the jar: 4 of 5 stars
Rating on ice cream: 4.5 of 5 stars

A teenager's (Jack's) take: My favorite thing about this sauce is not necessarily the flavor, but the viscosity. I love how it is not runny or too free-flowing, but at the same time doesn't get too hard when put on ice cream. The taste is a wonderful, classic caramel flavor. However, it didn't have any extra "wow factor" or feature that would make me buy it as opposed to another caramel sauce. Trust me though, it is definitely good.
Rating straight out of the jar: 4 out of 5 stars
Rating on ice cream: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Sweet on Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce: We agree on this one! Have it for your next ice cream sundae party! 

[note: We have no affiliation with Trader Joe's. I'm sure they have never read this blog and have no idea who we are. Hey, we like being incognito, although we never wear sunglasses indoors. ;)]

Read all of our Trader Joe's sweet treats and dessert reviews! 

Other things we're loving this week: 

• ginger ale bundt cake
• birthday sugar cookie cake (from TidyMom)
• homemade Freddy's burgers (from The Pioneer Woman)

Ginger Ale Bundt Cake

Ginger ale always reminds me of my mom. I don't remember ever having ginger ale in the house, but if we were on an airplane, Mom was ordering a ginger ale.


I know she would have liked this cake, too. The cake has a subtle ginger flavor and the texture is perfection...moist and light with a crispy exterior. I mean, is there anything worse than a heavy and dense Bundt cake? Ok...there are a lot of things worse than that, but Bundt cake-wise, heavy and dense is not my favorite.


The ginger flavor is punched up just a bit with the addition of crystallized ginger....I LOVE this stuff! So good! Trader Joe's carries it pre-packaged and my regular grocery store has it in the bulk section.


Oh! And there's a glaze! A vanilla-ginger ale glaze. So sweet, so shiny, so glaze-y.


I'm sharing the recipe over on Imperial Sugar's site today. 
I'm also trying to refrain from eating the rest of what is sitting in my kitchen right now. Family of 3, 1 Bundt cake, me left alone in the house all day...my poor waistline.

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturday: Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams with Sea Salt

Greetings, Trader Joe's fans!


I scoured the store for something new to review this week and found these Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams with Sea Salt. I'm not sure if they're actually new, or if I've just never noticed them before. I found them right next to the regular graham crackers.

A 8-ounce tub of these babies will set you back $3.99. These are mini graham squares...you can have three of them for 150 calories...or if your brain works like mine does, 6 for 300. ;)


A mom's (my) take: OH. BABY. Remember in our last review when I said the coconut cookies were probably in my top 5 of all TJ's desserts? These just edged them out. Everything about these is perfect. The chocolate to graham ratio is spot-on...a nice thick layer of chocolate coats the top of these cookies, making the graham and chocolate amounts even. Without the sea salt, these would be good, WITH the sea salt, they're sublime. More salt and it would have been too much, less and it wouldn't have been enough. In the immortal words of Goldilocks, these are "just right." The size is also just right for when you need a little somethin' to get you through until dinner (or the next five minutes). Yeah. Add these to your list.
Overall rating: 5 of 5 stars 

A teenager's (Jack's) take: The first taste that hits my mouth is the darkness of the chocolate. Now, I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate, but no matter. It is soon to be eclipsed by the pure chocolate-ness of the outside, as well as many other flavors. The second flavor is that of the honey grahams. They provide a nice contrast to the chocolate. Then the sea salt hits like a punch in the face. Seriously, it's powerful. This interesting combination of flavors makes a delightful treat... or meal.
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams with Sea Salt: You need them. Maybe today. 

[note: We have no affiliation with Trader Joe's. I'm sure they have never read this blog and have no idea who we are. Hey, we like being incognito, although we never wear sunglasses indoors. ;)]

Read all of our Trader Joe's sweet treats and dessert reviews! 

Other things we're loving this week: 

• Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies (make them!)
• Caramelized Peach and Lavender Scones (from How Sweet It Is)
• Funfetti Gooey Butter Shortbread Bars (from The Little Kitchen)
• Inside Out!!! Have you seen it?

Nutella lovers, this one's for you. Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutella is my spirit animal. 

Hey, who says it has to be an ACTUAL animal? 

My nephew is visiting, and he also happens to be a big fan of Nutella. As in, when I asked my sister what he likes to eat before his visit, she said, "just have some Nutella on hand." AS IF I didn't already have that covered. 

Anyhoo, Mac and I had the day to ourselves today until Jack got home at 2. I had a long list of things we could do. We ate waffles for breakfast, went to the library, the mall, the LEGO store, the candy store, Jack's school, and Chick-Fil-A. We were home before noon. 

{I'd forgotten that 8-year-old boys are not for doing things leisurely.}

What to do? Make cookies, of course! Nutella cookies! 

These cookies. Oh MY goodness. Nutella flavor shines through and through, with mini chocolate chips and cocoa powder boosting the chocolate flavor. They're slightly crumbly, but not crunchy. 

{hello, my love.}

Mr. E just suggested that they would be perfect for ice cream cookie sandwiches. I concur. (Although, we did have a little disagreement about the ice cream flavor. Me: coffee. Him: french vanilla.) 

Let me tell you what else you NEED to do with these cookies...

Oh yeah. You have to sandwich some with Nutella. Because, hellooooo, Nutella. 

For measuring the shortening and Nutella, I LOVE this type of measuring cup. This one is from Pampered Chef, but you can find them at Sur la Table, Amazon, etc. They're great! 

Nutella lovers, this one's for you. 

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

{makes about 32 cookies}

2 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup Nutella

1 & 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 & 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. 

In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, Nutella, and light brown until completely combined and lighter in color. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. 

On low speed, mix in the flour mixture in 3 additions until just combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. 

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to dollop the dough onto the prepared sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

If you love Nutella like Mac and I do, be sure to check out the recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Cut-Out Cookies in Decorating Cookies. Then your decorated cookies will be filled with Nutella goodness, too! 

Please pass the Nutella.