Thursday, February 14, 2008

Some Valentine's Day sugar!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

It's Valentine's Day & while it's not a holiday that means much to this household, I thought it would be fun to do an update some sweets from my kitchen!

My husband Ryan had a birthday recently & we decided to invite friends over for jackfruit tacos, Guitar Hero, & of course, birthday cake! Peanut Butter is the number one dessert of choice in Ryan's world, so peanut butter it had to be! This rich Chocolate Cake was filled with Peanut Butter Caramel & topped with fluffy Peanut Butter Mousse. I played around with melted chocolate & "wrote" his name on waxed paper, then transfered the letters to the cake & surrounded them by chocolate-hazelnut frosting designs. I used almond milk for the mousse, so the nutty flavor would really shine, but found it was not the most stable option & I feared the frosting would slip right off the cake! Luckily, the taste didn't suffer at all!

Natalie from Bake & Destroy rocks my world, so when she sent me these awesome St. Elvis Cupcake Toppers, I had to put them to use. While a peanut butter banana cupcake would have been a better match, these vanilla cupcakes with lemon buttercream, made to enjoy with a friend over for dinner, went over just as well! By the way, have you seen the new Bake & Destroy hoodies & t-shirts? I have one of each on the way!

It has been cookie mania in my house! Ryan has an obsession with post-dinner cookies, dipped in soy or almond milk, so I've been trying to satisfy his sweet tooth. The Chocolate Chip cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance are super delicious; both Ryan & his co-workers have been rapidly consuming them. They last about 2 days around here, so I've made them a few times. They're just one more reason Vegan with a Vengeance is a heavily used cookbook in my house!

Well, that's all for now! I leave you with the most anti-vegan Valentine ever, courtesy of Natalie at Bake & Destroy. Sad? Hilarious? Cute? You decide!
I'll be spending tonight with some awesome friends, chowing down on ice cream cakes from Maggie Mudd. I hope you spend today doing something you love! Happy Valentine's Day!

29 comments:

Meghan said...

the cake you made for ryan looks and sounds amazing melisser!
you rule, as usual.

Anonymous said...

Ryan is one lucky man... Happy Valentine's Day! :)

sarchan said...

I love peanut butter; that cake sounds amazing. Lovely stuff.

Natalie said...

Aw, I can't wait to see pictures in your new stuff!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

Guitar Hero!! haha, I love that game!

the valentine is creepy. but intriguingly so! I think I may have to file this one away for future art projects or something.

and omg peanut butter! mmmm... peanut butter....

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

that cake sounds sooo freakin good. my hubby loves peanut butter desserts too.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Wow, I think that birthday cake would be my number one choice as well. Ryan is one lucky boy! As always, everything is too good for words. Aww and I'm sad now I don't get maggie mudd's on v-day... oh well, maybe someday again soon. Enjoy a scoop for me1

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks fabulous! I am a big fan of PB--as well as chocolate--so must try these two together as well!

mel said...

Yes! I've been waiting for her to run those shirts again! Happy V-Day!

M said...

I've been wanting to get those Elvis toppers. They are flippin' fantastic.

The Vegan Tornado said...

that was the best cake i ever ate in my life.

Jess said...

LOVE those cupcake toppers! And what a great idea with the melted chocolate/wax paper method to write Ryan's name!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

what a sweet cake for Ryan!!

I cannot get over those cupcakes - too fun(ny)!!! :0D

Happy belated Valentine's Day, Melisser!! Hope you enjoyed it much!! :0)

DJ said...

That cake looks luscious - how do you get your icing to look so smooth???
And those cake toppers are wicked!

bazu said...

Aww, Ryan is a lucky guy- that cake looks and sounds so good!
Oh and that valentine cracks me up and freaks me up. <3

Denise said...

Ooh, that peanut butter cake looks amazing.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Looks like yours was great :o)

Cakespy said...

Oh man, clearly when you come to Seattle next you're going to have to play video games with Mr. Cakespy (he is a video game tester by trade). Looks like a lovely Heart day!

Anonymous said...

Decadently lovely birthday cake! You're the peanut butter queen, I tells ya. Happy belated birthday to Ryan and Happy VDay to the both of you :)

MeganFabulous said...

I'm so happy to hear other households have fun fill guitar hero nights!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Lucky boy!!

Bianca said...

Oh, that Valentine is sad! But the Elvis cupcake toppers are AMAZING! I gotta find some. I live in Memphis, where Elvis kitsch dominates every gift shop. They've gotta have those around here somewhere.

Bianca said...

Thanks for the link to the Elvis toppers! I'll definately order some, and probably a "Bake and Destroy" shirt. Those are adorable!

urban vegan said...

Gotta get an Elvis topper!

Emilie said...

jealous. maggie mudd. love the bake and destroy hoodie...now if only i could justify the addition of another black hoodie to my limited repertoire.

vko said...

Happy belated v-day my dear!
Those St. Elvis toppers are too cool- as are you...

Anonymous said...

Those St. Elvis cupcake toppers freaking rock. Your picture of them are way better than what's on the Etsy site.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

meghan, hannah, sarchan, liz, lori, amanda, ricki, jess, veggiegirl, bazu, madame tofu, ccvegan, ovenhaven, jess, vko, vegblogtracker- Thank you so much!!!

mel- you look awesome in yours!

michelle- i hope you get some toppers!

laura- i will top that. you know this.

jessie- I'm sure that can be arranged!!

vegfab- you know it!

DJ- a small offset spatula!


bianca- i hope you enjoy your toppers & tee!

urban vegan- for sure!

emilie- when it's a bake & destroy hoodie, there's always room! i'm addicted to mine.

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