Crazy Cake Recipe (No Eggs, Milk, or Butter) Say!!, What???

What in the world? No eggs, milk, or butter?? How can that be?? 

Crazy Cake, also known as Wacky Cake and Depression Cake. No eggs, milk, butter, and no bowls or mixers! 

Super moist and delicious. Great activity to do with the kids. The recipe dates back to the Great Depression and was one of my Grandma's recipes. 

I didn't believe it either until I read the directions and made it myself. What surprised me the most was how good it was. I expected it to be dry and boring but it was very good. One of the easiest cakes to make, so let's get started. 

Chocolate Crazy Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups flour (all-purpose)
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
• 1 Cup sugar All purpose sugar 
•  Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp.  salt

• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp.  pure vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil 
• 1 Cup water 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8" square baking pan.  Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients - two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.

Bake on the middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting. Enjoy!

Note: Oven baking times may vary, be sure to check your cake to make sure you do not overbake.

Chocolate Crazy Cake

Vanilla Crazy Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a greased 8″ square (or round…I prefer the round, but I’ve made this in both) baking pan.

Make 3 depressions in the dry ingredients – two small and one large. Pour the vinegar and vanilla in each of the two smaller depressions, and the vegetable oil in the large one.

Pour water over the entire thing and mix until smooth.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let it cool, then top with your favorite frosting and enjoy!

Vanilla Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 to 3 Tbsp. milk

Directions:

1. Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and 2 Tbsp. milk, adding additional milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.

White Chocolate-Amaretto Frosting

Ingredients

2 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bars

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar, divided

1/4 cup almond liqueur

Preparation:

Break white chocolate baking bars into pieces

 Melt white chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 minute or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. (Do not overheat.)

 Let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes). Beat butter and 1 cup powdered sugar at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. 

Add 5 cups powdered sugar alternately with almond liqueur, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. 

Add white chocolate mixture; beat at medium speed until spreading consistency.

Spread or pipe and enjoy! 

Gluten Free Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour 2 cups Sugar 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 2 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Xanthan Gum 3/4 cup Oil 2 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar 2 tsp Vanilla Extract 2 cups Water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda, salt, and xanthan gum together into a 9" x 13" ungreased cake pan. Make three wells; pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with a fork.
3. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.
4. Let cool then frost with your favorite Gluten-Free icing!

I hope you enjoyed these old recipes! Thanks for stopping in! 

Love, Jen

Vanilla Cake (From Scratch) with Swiss Buttercream! All homemade, and easy!

My daughter is obsessed lately with Yolanda Gampp and her fabulous cakes and videos that she makes. She is all like "Mom, you have to see this heart and brain cake she made!" Yes!!, those were the first videos I watched and yes it was pretty cool! She made them look so really. 

 So, she has inspired me to take my baking to a whole new level.

I did attempt yesterday to make a St. Patricks Day cake but unfortunately, the buttercream did not cooperate with me and was flat and thin and ran everywhere. I'll share a picture of my sad cake below. 

Well, today I woke up determined to not let my cake skills go out like that and dug through my grandma's recipe box and found the perfect cake recipe. Everything we do today is super easy and all the ingredients can be found locally.

So let's get to the cake!!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Sugar
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 Cup Flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup Oil
1/3 Cup Milk

Directions to make the vanilla cake from scratch:

Separate the eggs and place the whites in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, place the sugar, egg yolks, oil, and milk. 

Mix well with a hand mixer if available. Mix the flour and the baking powder together and then sift them twice. After the dry ingredients are sifted, start adding them slowly to the wet ingredients. 

Take the egg whites and beat them stiff with the salt, with a spatula. Add the egg whites slowly to the cake batter. 

Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. To do this properly use a pastry brush and dip it in oil. Brush the oil all over the pan sides and especially in the creases of the pan.

 After coated, add a few tablespoons of oil. Hold over the sink or garbage can and gently shake or pat the flour around the pan to completely coat the surface. 

Pour half of the cake mixture in each pan. Tap each pan on the table to remove all the air bubbles. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until done. 

Check with a toothpick to make sure the cake is done and not still in batter form. Insert in the middle of the cake, if the toothpick comes out clean.  The cake is done. 

This cake will also detach itself from the sides of the cake pan slightly. You can use a Bundt pan or larger rectangle pan for sheet cakes. I like to make cupcakes better than I like making cakes. For my household, it just serves us better and they don't to waste. 

Now for the frosting!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup egg whites from about 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and softened at room temperature
• Pinch of salt

1. 1.
   In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. Continue to whisk until sugar has dissolved (you can check by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers; the mixture shouldn't feel grainy). If you're not worried about salmonella, you can take the mixture off the heat and proceed to Step 3.
2. 2.
   If you want to pasteurize the meringue, keep whisking until the mixture registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, then remove from heat. Using a hand-held or a stand mixer, beat the warm mixture until the meringue holds stiff peaks and has cooled to room temperature.
3. 3.
   Beat in vanilla. Add butter one cube at a time, beating well with the electric mixer after each addition. Sprinkle with salt and continue to mix. The mixture may start to look as if it’s separating during this process but don't panic: just keep beating and the buttercream will come together and become smooth.
4. 4.
   Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container or a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. To use a buttercream that has either been refrigerated or frozen, first, allow to come to room temperature, then beat until smooth and spreadable again. Cakes or cupcakes decorated with buttercream generally keep up to 3 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. Allow buttercream to come to room temperature before serving.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the recipe. It was one of my Grandma's favorites. 

Love, Jen

Surprise Mom this Mother's Day with this gift idea!! New Promo Code Added for free Watch!!

Hiya!! 

I've been thinking a lot about Mother's Day already...I know ...I know! We have plenty of time left, it's only April but I'm crazy about my Mom and she does so many nice things for me that I really want to surprise her and do something really nice back. She is a candle nut, it doesn't matter where you get them from, she loves them! 

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Now I could just head on down to Walmart and grab a few candles from there and they smell nice and are fun but nothing like what I have found from Jewel Scent. Trust me, I've tried them all. Yankee, Gold Canyon, Bella, and others...none of them compare to the quality of candle I get and for a better price than most of them. 

Kona Coffee Body Scrub

Plus, you get free Jewelry, which could possibly be worth $5 to $7,500 dollars!! It totally makes it more fun and exciting. I remember when I got my first one, I couldn't even wait for the wax to melt enough. Once I saw that gold bag, I grabbed my tweezers, went to town, and got that ring out!! Mine were beautiful too. I got a few blue stones and a yellow and a white. They weren't the big winners!  Mine were worth about $15 a piece. I get so many compliments when I wear them, I say they are real!! LOL!! Our secret!! :) 

Orchard Apple

So this Mother's Day I am thinking about getting this collection from Jewel Scent for $99. It is a lot of money and I could just do flowers for $10 bucks and she'd love that too but sometimes we need to spoil the people in our lives. She won't be here forever and I want to be able to do these nice things for her while I still can. 

You get a lot in that collection and the smells are really strong, long lasting, house filling, and wonderful! AND A RING IN EVERY ITEM!! So she'll get like 5 rings. Who knows what hers will be worth but even at $15 apiece, that's $75 dollars in rings. Plus all the candles! Very good deal for me. Deals matter, I search for them. HAHA!!

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1x Calm Lavender Body Crème
1x Spring Meadow Body Scrub
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Mother's Day Collection

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So, if you are looking for a gift that will not only impress but make her extremely happy? I recommend this site and these candles. I love them and are the only one's I order now after the one's I got for my birthday. 

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You have tons of options from there as well, not just candles. Maybe your Mom is more of a soap person? Or wax tarts? They really have so many things to choose from. I know you'll find something for her!! 

Let me know what you get? and what her rings are worth? 

Thanks and look luck, I hope she gets the high dollar ring! 

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How can we keep our kids safer?

My little angels! 

As you are reading this, I truly pray you never need this information. I am a mother of two amazing, precious little girls and I can't ever imagine anything happening to them but this world is an evil place and unfortunately, we have to take these steps to protect them. 


Growing up my Mom was, I'd say hyper vigilant. She was a big True Crime reader and having such a rough pregnancy, I think she was always in fear of losing me. So, we went through the drills. No water, no strangers, no going anywhere she didn't know where I was, no this and no that! Porch lights come on, you better get your but home! LOL She was and is an excellent Mother! 

Even with all her rules, and though out precautions I still got into some really dangerous situations. The scariest time, well one of them, I'd say was when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I don't remember all the details of course because I was a kid and to me nothing was wrong but for my Mother, she was left devastated. 

Apparently, there was some confusion. I normally would stay with my neighbor and babysitter after school until my parents got home. This day, when my mom called to check on me. She was told I was not with the babysitter and that's when all hell broke loose. She is immediately frantic, calls the bus driver, who states she dropped me off but there was a weird guy walking down the street when she dropped me. Panic sets in, cops are called. She always, always called the cops as soon as she thought something was wrong. This would not be the first time for her, as I got older, she had to do that again. 

Long story short. The cops came, did the big search in our woods with the canines. She's calling everyone know one has seen me. She makes the call to my Dad, to "Come home, Jenny's missing". As a parent, it makes me tear up even writing those words. I can't imagine what they were going through. The pain, terror, and heartache not knowing where their child was. There only one. 

Around eight or so that night, my babysitter and I pull up in the driveway. My mom coming dashing out the house, crying. Beating on the window (because the door was locked) grabbed me and ran inside. I remember seeing her face. I felt so scared and upset for her. She was so terrified. She swooped me up and held me forever. I never did go back to that babysitter after that. We never did really find out what happened or why no one knew where I was but after that, life was different. Not in a  bad way, just more caution and aware. 

Later that night the cops came to the house to verify I was home, ok, and safe. They did an amazing job! My point to all of this is , you can never be too cautious. At least, that is my belief. We are given the children we have and we need to make darn sure that we are protecting them from danger. 

Now, having been brought up the way I was, and having gone through some of my own experiences...I defiantly think there are steps we should take in teaching our children. 

One of the best rules I had was having a code word. It was a word that I was to use or ask for if someone tried to take me home or to a stranger. Back in my day, the big thing was for the bad guy to say "hey, you mom or dad is hurt and I need to take you to them". In that case, I was to say "What is my code word?" If they didn't know it, I didn't go. Regardless of who it was. Grandma, a friend of my parents, family.....it didn't matter. 

Now, some of you are thinking "what?..that's crazy??" but for me and my parents, it worked really well. I never had to use the word and as a parent now. Have passed on that word to my children. It's a no one can guess kinda words. It's so perfect! I've explained it to them just as it was explained to me. My family does know the word and my child know the word but friends of mine or anyone else does not. That keeps them safe. 

So, what are some things you can do to keep your children safe and what do you do if your child is ever missing? 

First, and always first...CALL THE POLICE!!!! I can't stress that enough. The minute you think there is a problem. CALL!! Don't wait. Most children that are taken are dead within the first two hours of being taken. 

Second, and maybe this is just my beliefs but I'd tell you to pray. Pray for God to protect them, to guide you and the police, to send his angels to watch over them. Even if all you can say is "help me!" I've used that a number of times and it works!! 

Thirdly, if they truly are lost contact The National Center for Missing or Exploited Children. They are great and they will get you hooked up to all the resources to help you find your child. You can also call 

Fourth, if you have a teenager there is a site called Teen Safe. It does have a trial membership and can be canceled anytime. It was built by parents for parents and is basically a way to track your child's text messages. Nowadays so many of our kids are using social media or texting. This site is a great way to keep tabs on who they are talking to, and where they are. Now, again...some of you are like "that is an invasion of privacy!" To you, I'd say this, I am the parent. It is not my job to be liked, to be their friend, or to enable them to become yucky people. I was raised fairly strict and have found my parenting skills are much the same and you know what? I'm a good kid. I had a few bits of trouble but all in all. I was good.

Fifth, know who their friends are. Talk to them. We blow it too as parents. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to go back to my child and ask for forgiveness or explain to them how my actions in that certain situation were not the correct one. They are so receptive to that. Children are smart and whether you tell them or not, they know and it affects them. 

The last thing is, to be honest with yourself. If you notice they lets say have respect issues? Look at yourself first. Ask...have they learned this behavior from me? Have I shown them the incorrect way in handling an area? Go back to them. Apologize to them, ask them to forgive you. Talk to them about your mistakes. Your regrets and share your story with them. I know for me growing up it helped me so much to hear how my parents were raised, the mistakes and abuse that took place. The pain that was left and the difficulty of getting out. They shared their story with me. I gained so much understanding and it gave me a heart for them. For when they blew it and asked for forgiveness. It also made it easier for me to come to them when I blew it and needed forgiveness myself. 

We can all have better families if we truly care about the people in our lives. If we take the time to learn about them, hear their side, and learn from all of our mistakes. It has been a real bonding thing for me and my girls. I tell them everything, within their ability to understand. I know from my experience it made my family closer and that doesn't mean we haven't been through hell and back but we made it out. If you are dealing with issues at home. My advice always looks to yourself first. Where or what are you doing? or What could you do differently? Now, that does not mean I advocate staying in abuse. I most certainly do not. Nor do we let our children go through it. It damages lives and leaves you broken. 

Love the people God gives us, honor them the way you want to be honored. Stop before you speak, words hurt and last. Be honest with them and yourself, and always..always love them in any way you can. This world hurts and is full of hard times. Be a safe place for them to fall and come to when they blow it. We are all sinners, we make sometimes, really big mistakes too. 

Teach them to Be Alert, Be Safe and Be Aware! 

P.S. Not sure how this morphed into a preach session and I apologize. I feel I have tremendous experience with this issue and it is something that means a lot to me. I'm sure I got off track and hope it all makes sense. :) 

Thank you again for reading! Take Care! 

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