A Modern Minted Birthday Breakfast

All printable party supplies for this post were provided by the good people of Minted.  Thank you for supporting all of our loveable sponsors.

If you're following along on instagram, you may have read that June is a busy month for celebrating at our house.  Yesterday was Father's Day, next weekend is Caitlin's 3rd birthday party (more to come on that soon), and last weekend we hosted a little breakfast in honor of my mom's birthday. Since things have been so busy around here, I knew I wouldn't be able to design everything myself.  This time I ordered The Porch collection from Minted's new line of party supplies, and you can see how well it brought everything together.  Of course, I can never resist doing a few projects of my own, so keep reading for details and some quick DiYs...

The breakfast menu was delicious, though perhaps not quite nutritious.  We started with mini veggie quiches and greek yogurt with honey + fresh strawberries.  Michele of Cakewalk Baking brought over a yummy lemon cake and muffins with lemon curd + cream cheese frosting.  And then we had a few apothecary jars full of mini donuts... because obviously we didn't have enough sweets already.  To drink (in addition to coffee), I offered grapefruit or apple juice to mix with Prosecco for a unique twist on mimosas.

I topped the cake with a few scalloped stickers and strung them along a length of twine, then grabbed a big rose from our garden to coordinate with the happy birthday banner.

The table runner was easily made by stamping black circles on kraft wrapping paper using a round sponge brush.  Notice how it again ties back to the banner as well as some of the oversized table confetti?

In my favorite project of the day... the hand drawn dotted planter and dessert plate were made with dry erase marker.  Obviously you don't want it to touch your food, but it's such a fun way to add a finishing touch that won't ruin your ceramic dishes. After the party it just wipes away!

I'm always a sucker for a bit of washi tape, so this time I used it to make toppers for the muffins as well as tails for a little prize ribbon that served as the gift tag on my mom's presents...

It was so cute to see my mom wowed by the details that were just for her.  And this one was easy to put together on a tight schedule... aren't breakfast parties the best?

photos + styling © cake. 2013 

Special thanks to Minted + Cakewalk Baking for helping bring this celebration to life.  These images are for personal use only. If sharing them on your site, please credit CAKE. events blog and link directly to this post.

Bunny Scones for Easter

It’s Michele from Cakewalk Baking and I’m back to share with you one of my favorite Easter traditions – making bunny scones. One of my first college roommates introduced me to the idea (Thanks, Nicole!) and I have been making them ever since. I love having little traditions that my son looks forward to each holiday and this recipe is so simple we can make them together.

I like to serve these cuties with homemade jam and lemon curd and I think I may even attempt making clotted cream this year. It’s best to eat them the day they are baked, but you can reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave (if you have any left over!).

photos © cakewalk baking

Bunny Scones

Ingredients

2” - 3” bunny cookie cutter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Cut the butter into ½” and keep in the freezer until needed. Combine all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter a few pieces at a time and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg and cream and pulse just until it comes together.
 

Transfer on to a floured surface and knead the dough together gently. Pat into a circle 1/2” thick. Dip your cookie cutter flour and cut out bunny shapes. Place them 2” apart on a parchment covered baking sheet. Combine the left over dough and cut out your bunnies (only re-roll the dough once as it will get too tough). Brush the tops of the scones lightly with cream. Bake at 425° for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly browned.

'Feathered' Pumpkin Pancakes

Did you catch the feather garlands I shared yesterday?  Well, one of them is being re-purposed today... as a pancake topper!  Of course, you could easily use this feathered bunting as a cake topper too, but I say it's time to give breakfast a little makeover this Halloween.  What do you think of that?  See below for the simple & delicious pumpkin pancake recipe...

 

 photos + styling © cake. 2011

Pumpkin Pancakes
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

Directions 
Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, butter and egg in a separate bowl. Fold this mixture into the dry ingredients. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake and cook approximately 3 minutes per side.

Good Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

This simple pumpkin bread is the perfect comfort food for a cool fall day.  It's moist and sweet with just the right amount of spice.  The recipe makes two loaves, so you can serve one as a homemade treat for the family and wrap up the other as a seasonal hostess gift. Done and done!

photos © cake. 2011

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
4. Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.