twix cake

A dear friend celebrated her birthday last week with a super-fun party in her home.  As it was a potluck-ish event, I offered to bake her birthday cake. 

I was inspired in part by my peanut butter-chocolate cake that I baked for my own birthday awhile back.  It was so yummy and tasted just like a Reese's peanut butter cup.  Of course, I didn't want to pawn my own favorite cake off on my friend, so I asked what her favorite candy bar was.  What a good friend I am!   Turns out, it is the Twix bar.  Of course, through all of my searching the comprehensive boards of pinterest, I could not find a recipe for a Twix cake.  So, I had to improvise. 

I did happen upon Kat's Sweet Somethings' recipe for Double Salted Caramel Cake and thought it could work as a starting point.  Her dessert features brown sugar cake, caramel filling, and caramel icing.  Not quite right, but almost.  I took what she provided and tweaked it a bit.  I used the caramel filling (and her tutorial for making caramel is really fantastic, with pictures and everything), and iced the cake with a milk chocolate buttercream with caramel swirls across the top.  It was really, very good. 

Too bad I didn't think to take a picture after it was cut, but I didn't want to be that sort of crazy.

tick tock

I sit here, resting for a bit after taking the kids skating this afternoon, and I realize that it is nearly 3:30.  Good gracious, where has the day gone?  I know, for many people, 3:30 doesn't signal the winding-down of the day, but here it does... at least for me.  My husband will be home in two hours.  After that, it is dinner and family time.  Tonight, actually, we're going to the library for a Candyland event. 

So, mid-afternoon is here again.  It seems like the days go so quickly.  At night, I crawl into bed thinking, here again.  What do I accomplish each day?  Schooling... yes.  Playtime with Katie... yes.  Chores... a sad few.  But, I feel like I'm not making the best use of my time. 

I realize that a lot of it gets sucked away by the likes of facebook, pinterest, and so on.  I'm beginning to think that I need to effectively ban screens from the course of our day, with the exception of khan academy and a few other sites for Alex's school assignments.  I think I'd "find" a lot more time that way.  I think I'll try it and see.

mashed potato pancakes

One of these days, I'll get around to taking pictures of the food that I'm preparing again, but just recording the recipe will have to be good enough for now.

When we were visiting my in-laws over Christmas, my husband's mother reintroduced me to an old concept.  She reused days-old mashed potatoes to make breakfast one morning.  I have a passing memory of my aunt doing the same thing one time when I was a kid, and I was intrigued. 

Last spring or summer, I made potato cakes using grated potatoes, but this was very interesting to me.  MIL took a couple of cups of mashed potatoes, mixed them with some self-rising flour and egg, and fried them up in patty-form.  And, they were pretty good.  With ketchup, they were delicious.  (almost anything is better with a condiment, after all). 

A couple of weeks later, I tried to recreate her recipe at home, but failed miserably.  I just couldn't get the consistency right, and then my cakes burnt in the pan.  Total letdown.  My husband swooped in and made the things edible, but I was looking for more than that.

So, last night I tried again.  Surprisingly, I turned out a dish that left my family wanting more. 

Mashed Potato Pancakes

You can start will leftover mashed potatoes, but I had cubed, home canned potatoes on hand, so that's what I used.  Hence, I'm not calling this "potato pancakes using mashed potatoes."

4 cups cubed potatoes, cooked to fork-tender.  (If using home canned potatoes, be sure to boil for ten minutes upon opening).
3 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of flour; more if necessary to achieve desired consistency
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup grated cheese.  Use your favorite.  I chose cheddar and pepperjack.
Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and chives to taste.

Mash potatoes with milk and butter.  You'll find that canned potatoes have more liquid than fresh-cooked potatoes, so you may need more milk.  Mix to the consistency of thin mashed potatoes. 
Add flour, baking powder, cheese, and seasoning.  Mix.  Batter should resmble muffin batter-- think, but not gloppy.

Preheat an electric griddle to medium-low  Spoon batter onto griddle and flatten.  Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until each side is sufficiently browned.  Place finish cakes on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.  Serve with bacon and applesauce, or as desired.