It's a Cupcakeathon!!!

Today is the big day!  Perchance to Dream, the second book in Lisa Mantchev's Theatre Illuminata series, is released into the book world.  So, to celebrate, Lisa Mantchev is hosting a cupcakeathon!  What could be more fun?  If you've read Eyes Like Stars, you know that the fairies are very fond of sweets, cupcakes to be exact.  In Perchance to Dream, they tend toward pies, but I don't want to spoil it for you until you get your hands on this masterpiece.  You can read my review of this fabulous novel, that I posted last month.


What is this cupcakeathon all about?  Well, no one can explain it better than Lisa herself, which she does in this blog post.  She bakes cupcakes with her little fairy!

So, what was I going to do?  I wanted to give the fairies something they would enjoy, as well as make something new to me.  Well, I dug around in my recipes and decided on not cupcakes, but a whole cake, bundt cake to be exact.  Now, I know that Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom love anything sweet, and celebrations.  What's needed more than sweets at a celebration?  Beverages.  So, I've combined the two for them in my Margarita Cake.  Now, don't worry, no inebriation will be happening to these dear sweet fairies, so no alcohol was involved in the baking of this cake.  But, the lemon, lime, orange combination give your mouth the illusion of the margarita. 

Do you think that the fairies will enjoy it?  I know that the fairies, umm teachers, that I work with, will definitely enjoy it at our faculty end of year party tomorrow afternoon. I'm anxious to see what they think, but I hope it isn't eaten before then.  One big fairy in my house could get into it tonight, should he long for a midnight snack.  That is if the sneaky little fairies don't get it first.

I'll share the recipe with you, in case you want to try it for yourself!


Cake:  

1 Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
1 cup Cooking Oil
5 Eggs
3/4 cup Orange Juice

Icing:

5 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

Mix all ingredients for cake.  Beat for 2 minutes until well blended.  Pour into greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Right after taking cake out of oven, poke holes in bottom of cake with a skewer.  Mix lime juice and powdered sugar, pouring half on the bottom of the cake.  Let cake cool, then turn out and after completely cool, ice with remaining icing.

Review: Sweet Potato Pie

Title:  Sweet Potato Pie

Author:  Kathleen Lindsey

Illustrator:  Charlotte Riley-Webb

Review Copy provided by:  publisher, Lee & Low Books

Summary of Book:  The summer a great drought sweeps across the county, the only crop Sadie's family is able to save is the sweet potatoes. Money is tight, and if Papa doesn’t pay back his loan soon, the bank will take away the farm.

Suddenly Mama comes up with an idea — sweet potato pies! The family can sell her pies at the Harvest Celebration that starts the very next day. There's not much time to get ready, but as Sadie and her brother enlist the cooperation of their old cow, squawking chickens, and half-blind goat, the family rises to the challenge. And in the end it's Sadie who comes up with just the right recipe for success.

My Review:  Lee and Low chooses such good books.  I have not received one yet that I was unhappy with.  Sweet Potato Pie brings us a sweet story of an African American family that pulls together to better their situation.  This book is so appropriate for the times we are living in now, even though it is set in the past.  Many families these days are dealing with money being tight and trying to figure out what they can do to either stretch their dollars or increase the money coming into their house.  Through this story, children can see that even they can help during tough times.  Kathleen Lindsey turns a trying situation in one family's life into a time to come together, solve a problem, and celebrate the little things in life.  Charlotte Riley-Webb's illustrations are very vibrant and show the emotions of the family as the story unfolds.  I would recommend this book to teachers during the autumn season or when talking about cooperation or problem-solving.  I think children will enjoy this book.

There is even a recipe for sweet potato pie in the back of the book.

Mama's Sweet Potato Pie

1 Extra-flaky Pie Crust (see recipe below)
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (approx. 3 large)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick ) butter or margaring at room temperature
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.  Boil until tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Drain off water and put hot potatoes into large bowl.  Mash potatoes.
4. Add remaining ingredients except cinnamon and beat sweet potato mixture until smooth.
5. Pour warm filling into pie crust and sprinkle top with cinnamon.
6. Bake for about 1 hour, util filling is firm and crust is golden brown.
7. Let cool on rack.

Mama's Extra-Flaky Pie Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold milk

1. Combine flour and salt in bowl.
2.  Add shortening and use pastry blender or fork to cut shortening into flour mixture until crumbly.
3. Add milk and knead dough until soft ball forms.
4. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to form large circle.
5. Place circle of dough into 9-inch pie pan and press dough into corners.
6. Trim off excess dough with knife.  Use fork to press down around rim of pan to create decorative edge.

Thank you to Hannah at Lee and Low for sending this to me!