Hawaii Dec. 2014

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Hawaii. I left wanting to go back and maybe even move there someday (please let me win the lottery). Funny things that happened included being pooped on by a bird before running a race and accidentally drinking sea water at Hanauma bay which lead to me throwing up. Fun times!

We spent 5 days there and never stopped exploring or doing something. When we left I felt like there was still so much we wanted to do. Expect to see us back there some day!

Things we did: 
-Snorkel in Hanauma bay
-Hiked up to an old bunker in Lanikai via Pillboxes Trail
-Saw Ka at the Polynesian Cultural center
-Ran a 10K (half marathon for Mike) through Jurassic Park AKA Kualoa Ranch

Cheap Eats:
Marukame Udon
Ramen Nakamura
Leonard's Bakery

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Hey there!

For Christmas, Mike bought me a Kitchenaid!!! I am in love. If you're wondering where I've been, it's hovering over my mixer making EVERYTHING you can possibly imagine.

I love cupcakes and cake, but I'm not a huge fan of icing. I prefer something light and fluffy and not overly sweet. Which brings me to Whipped Cream Frostings! They are awesome.  I started thinking about whipped frostings after eating a few too many slices of company birthday cake and after a little browsing on pinterest.  I love treats that involve fruit and this frosting is a perfect combination!

I used this recipe for a cake as well as cookie dough tarts. The original recipe (here) for the cookie dough tarts uses cool whip, but I prefer this Whipped Cream frosting because it doesn't leave that weird film on your mouth that cool whip does and the over all flavor is better.

Ingredients: 
3 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Package Softened Cream Cheese
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2-1 C Sugar (add more/less depending on how sweet you want to go)

In your mixer with the beater attachment on, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla extract and sugar and cream until combined. After mixture is combined, switch to whisk attachment. Once whisk attachment is on, add in Whipping Cream. I set my mixer to the 6-8 range and whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Add jam or preserves for a flavored version.

Helpful hint: If your cream cheese/whipping cream are too cold it will cause your frosting to become chunky. Make sure your cream cheese is softened. You may also need to scrape the bottom of the mixer to ensure that you completely incorporate the cream cheese.

For this double layer cake

I split out 1/4 of the frosting and added blueberry jam. I spread the blueberry frosting in the middle and used the remaining frosting for the outside. This was my first double layer cake so please excuse the horrible icing job :) 

For the Fruit Tarts

You will need a mini muffin tin and a tube of sugar cookie dough
Roll the cookie dough into 3/4 inch balls and place in muffin tin. Bake in 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes. It's better to slightly over bake then to under bake these because you want them to be able to hold their shape. It's also better to have dough balls that are on the larger side than too small.

Once your shells have baked and cooled down, pipe the frosting into the cookie cups and top with fruit.

Summer in Utah

Things I did in Utah this summer:
1. Took my elementary school friends from Texas to Delicate Arch
2.Went to Canyon lands National Park- visited Upheaval Dome and Island in the Sky (AH-MAZING, definitely a must see if you are anywhere near Moab.
 3. Hiked to the summit of Box Elder Peak. A quick summary: OUCH, crazy steep hills, bruised toes, brilliant views of the valley.

In other news, 1 month until we are off to Hawaii! Have you been? I want to hear all about it and what you got up to.