Wednesday, October 2, 2013

More Pinterest Fails for Fall

Hello, everybody!  The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got some very cool projects here! We'll take it step by step. Ready? GOOD!

 
Get some pumpkins.
 
Drill some holes. Light some candles.
See? Totally easy!!!
Honestly, I love Pinterest but it drives me slightly batty. (harhar, get it?) Everything looks SO easy. And then.... reality.

How about PUMKIN CAKES??
 
So, I saw these cute little things. How easy does this look? Instructions and everything included, and I already had the ramekins. You know I love those little ceramic dishes. TOO FUN.
 So, we started with a mix. Note small children stirring the goop. Wheeeeee!
This picture makes me laugh. This is probably a good pictorial rendition of their personalities.

 Place goop in greased, floured ramekin until half full. Put it in the oven for 18-20 minutes. They're like giant cupcakes. You can check at 15, but mine were still raw in the center.
 Mix orange frosting. This may be where I started to go wrong.
 And green frosting. This one turned out better.
 My friend gave me these. Aren't they hilarious?? Salt and pepper shakers... Pillsbury style.
 She also had this awesome Pyrex bowl. I saw it on her porch, filled with water for her dog. I tactfully suggested she take that gorgeous piece of vintage cookware and put it in the kitchen. Ok, maybe not so tactfully. I might have been sobbing in distress. Anyway, my friend decided I should be the new owner of the dog bowl... I mean, vintage Pyrex (Amish butter press pattern). She also makes home made biscotti. She filled the bowl with it (AFTER washing it, in case you think she was getting revenge) and handed the whole kit and caboodle to me. *thrill*
 So, back to the mini pumpkin cakes.
 Slice the round parts off so it sits nicely.
 Uhhhhhhhh. I poured the frosting on.... And dripped on a bit of green for the top.
 At this point my kids are howling with laughter. We couldn't even think of anything it COULD have been... It's all starting to remind me of last year when I tried to make a fancy cake and it turned into the Frankencake. In case you need a refresher of that disaster, it's here.
So, it obviously wasn't working and I had no idea how to salvage it. Then I remember Ruthy once saying that cake is only a vehicle for the frosting.

Hm. What if.... we made a backwards cupcake? An anti-cupcake? An inverted cupcake? A.... puddle of frosting with cake on it?

So, this is what we ended up with and it was a huge hit! I love kids. They're so thrilled with anything. No matter how really odd it is. As long as it's chocolate cake with a fun color of frosting, they don't really care how it gets to them. It was pretty messy and I was glad no one actually tried to drink the frosting out of the bottom of the plate, but all in all, it will go down in our family history as yet another EXCITING fall craft.

 Until next time!

21 comments:

  1. That is a very creative save! You should totally pin this to Pinterest and start a new trend. I'm a terrible baker because I like to improvise.
    And yum on the biscotti, I'd love the recipe.

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  2. I think I'll ask her for the recipe and see if it's one of those 'secret' family recipes! There were actually about 15 more pieces, but we ate a lot of them. MMMMM.

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  3. Love, love, love this post. And not just because your adorable little guys are in it.

    Our ancestors would never have thrown away failures. They were make do. I applaud you too.

    But I had to toss the green beans I burned last night.

    Peace, Julie

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  4. I'm getting old. Must remember that my stuff is now vintage. That makes me smile.

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  5. LOVE this post! My friend and I were just talking about facebook the other day, and how people post all this awesome stuff, and it can feel rough to compare our real lives to that. We talked about how we should post our fails, and so I'm loving this even more! :D But really, your end product was awesome, and it sounds like it was a HUGE, fun hit with the kids! YAY! :D And dang, that picture of your boys is SOOOO cute! :D *hugs*

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    1. I was really worried everyone would just eat liquid frosting but it actually turned out all right. Just dipped into the frosting and then into their mouths- ta dah!

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  6. Great save, Virginia! And like you said, as long as they had frosting and cake, they were happy. Who cares what order it's in.

    Love the bowl, too. I think my mom used to have one of those. Key words "used to."

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    1. I'm pretty sure that I would have thought that bowl was dorky in 1985. But now- how charming! Little farm people and roosters, hahaha!

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  7. I think I like the "fail" better than the original Pinterest version!

    And the boys are adorable (don't tell them I said that - tell them I said they look manly and handsome).

    I can just see you cringing at the sight of that beautiful bowl being used by the dog - but in your friend's defense, she didn't know about your obsession (i.e. interest), did she? The biscotti more than makes up for it!

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    1. Oh, no she is one of those sweet people that sees the value in all people and the purpose in all things. Worldly folk see things the opposite way: people to use and things to value. She's completely charming and giving the dog a vintage Pyrex was SO her!

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  8. Very cute! You are so entertaining, love it!

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    1. I realized I needed to make something when we got home.... even after mentioning the blog at your house! Duh! Losing track of the days!

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  9. LOL! I love the ingenuity!

    Btw my mom had that exact bowl! I need to go hunting for it. I think it held cat water for years. :)

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    1. My grandma had the primary color set: red, green, yellow and blue. I love seeing those!!

      Cat water... *sigh*

      :D

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  10. I didn't even know there was vintage pyrex. You find the neatest stuff! And hey -- I saw some ramekins in the grocery store of all places and I bought four so I'm all set to start being an uber cool cook like you. :-)

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    1. WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! Kav, you will love it! You can make mini veggie lasagnas, tiny apple pies, chocolate mousse,,, Everything is so much more fun in a ramekin! And it's great for entertaining. I think the best dinner I gave was mini pot pies with a savory herbed crust.

      This was a really easy recipe... Butternut squash cake with maple whipped topping. Looks and tastes SO fancy, but super easy to make!

      http://yankeebellecafe.blogspot.com/2012/11/butternut-squash-cake-with-maple.html

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  11. Love all of the Halloween ideas! =)
    and...the Vintage bowl is so pretty!

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    1. I'm a fool for Fall! It's really my favorite season. :) And that vintage bowl is my new best friend... and not just because it's full of biscotti!

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  12. I love the pumpkins.....I am also a Pinterest 'addict' ...your pumpkin puddle is very cute, and original to say the least!

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