Cranberry Yogurt Cake + Cranberry Orange Glaze

recipe here, glaze is my own concoction! (:

Recipie, with adjustments (:
2 eggs
1 cup of plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 or 2 tsp vanilla extract, to taste.
300 grams of raspberries, frozen (no need to thaw them) or fresh

Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F).
Combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together. Pour half of the batter into a ten-inch cake pan (bottom lined with parchment paper, sides greased), then pour half of the raspberries on the surface. Cover the berries with the remaining batter, top with remaining half of the berries. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.
The cake is better the next day.

Followed the recipe but made a few adjustments.
1. I added the zest of one medium/large orange and the juice of half of that orange. I also added in some orange oil since I wanted the orange flavor to stand out.
2. Used dried cranberries instead of fresh/frozen ones. [ basically what I did was took the dried cranberries and filled the bowl up over the top the cranberries were in with water, put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then let them soak until soft ]
3. Since this was a birthday cake, I took some powdered sugar, and poured a bit of the cranberry soaking liquid into the powdered sugar, along with the juice in the other half of the orange. Then, to make it a bit more orange-y [ before this it tasted like powdered sugar with a slight tinge of cranberry ] I added a couple of drops of orange oil. It came out PERFECT! And the glaze soaked into the cake and made it even MORE moist.
4. I also didn't have a 10in cake pan, so I used a 9 inch, cooking it for the full 45 minutes, and then checking it in two-minute increments until a knife I inserted came out clean. It spilled over just barely, and luckily not over the entire oven. But I'd definitely get a 10in pan just to put my mind at ease when I next bake this cake.
5. I also eyeballed the amount of cranberries I used. I just dumped the dried ones into a bowl and just went from how many I thought would be good.

Comments:
-This is a very tasty cake, and it is quite moist. I don't think it was TOO sweet, since I have a pretty good sweet tooth, if I may say so myself. It is better the next day, even as a cake for breakfast [ kind of like a coffee cake, perhaps? ] and my Dad says it's a cake that needs to be made again, especially when company comes over (:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake Balls

recipe here, with modifications for cake, of course.

Strawberry Cake Balls
1 box strawberry cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Comments:
I used chocolate chips and a double boiler to melt my chocolate. I also threw in splashes of milk and butter to help it melt and get to a saucy-dippable consistency.

Mint Oreo Cupcakes

cupcake recipe here, and frosting recipe here

COOKIES AND CREAM CUPCAKES
MAKES 22 TO 24

30 Oreo cookies
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Count out 12 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each has some of the icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Set them aside. Place the remaining 18 Oreos between sheets of waxed paper or in a large, closed zipper-lock bag and crush them by rolling over them with a rolling pin. Set these crumbs aside.
3. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter until well incorporated. Set aside the remaining crushed Oreos for the frosting. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cup­cake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
4. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cup­cakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your finger­tips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If you plan to freeze them, don't add the cookie-crumb topping. Wrap them I in aluminum foil or in a cake saver and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw the cup­cakes overnight in the refrigerator and top with cookie crumbs before serving.

Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

2 Blocks Cream Cheese
1/2 Stick Butter
4 Cups Sift Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 crushed Mint Oreo Cookies

1. Brings cheese and butter to room temperature.
2. Sift powdered sugar.
3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy
4. Add half o the sugar, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
5. Gradually add remaining sugar until you a good consistency.
6. Fold in crushed cookies. Enjoy!