Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread

  I still have quite a problem with my bananas turning dark brown or black before I can use them all.  I don't buy them for any other reason than to make smoothies, but somehow they always get the best of me.  I'm super picky about eating a banana as is (it has to be fairly unripe and slightly green, not too sweet or mushy), so I feel like it is always a race against the banana.


 A few weeks ago, there wasn't any chance that I would use the bananas before they were ready to be transformed into a baked good.  I've made just about every variation of banana bread there is ( I think I have made every Cooking Light version), as well as cakes, muffins, etc., so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I immediately decided it would be the perfect way to use my bananas.  I knew I could send it to work with my husband, so there were not any worries about it being eaten.

I never, ever use more that a 1-2 Tablespoons of oil when I make quick breads or muffins.  I discovered that low-fat buttermilk can be a wonderful substitute that has less calories, less fat, but still makes things moist and delicious.   I always use this method and I have never had any problem. 

 I did cut a slice of this bread for my kids to try and I had a small bite.  It was pretty good.  It could never dethrone my favorite banana bread recipe, but it was a fun twist.  And, my husband brought home an empty plate, so I know that it was enjoyed by quite a few people.



Here is the recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread 
* I used low-fat buttermilk in place of most of the oil, all but 1 Tablespoon
* The mini Reese's stuck to the bottom of the pan a little bit, so I had to get creative and make a glaze to cover some of the holes and spots I had to patch up.

  

Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I have described the love-hate relationship we have in this family with bananas. Sometimes they are gobbled up and other times, they sit and get brown. I am very particular about my bananas- if I am going to consume them fresh. They have to be just right. Not very ripe. Not mushy. Slightly green. And even if the conditions are perfect, I'm still not crazy about them.

Anyways, it's the same old story. Bananas sit there and get overripe. What to do? Smoothies? check. Banana bread? check. Muffins? check. Banana pancakes? check. Tons of things I don't even have the chance to take pictures of and post about? check. Like these and these, for instance.

So, I present to you yet another option for those times when you have ripe bananas and need to get rid of them immediately. These were the perfect after school snack.
And if ripe bananas disappeared as fast as these cookies did, there would never be such a dilemma.

Here is the recipe for Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from myrecipes

Green Cranberry Smoothie

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't really want to look at sugar for awhile. I have been posting so many sweet recipes lately, but the holidays are over- so that means no more sugar or baked goods for a couple of weeks.

I am not a person that drinks a green smoothie everyday. We eat enough dark greens here- kale, spinach, swiss chard, turnip greens- almost daily, that I don't feel the need to sneak them into a morning drink. It is a nice healthy way to start the day every so often, though.

I was curious about using fresh cranberries in a smoothie, so one morning, I whipped this up.
It was pretty good. The pear added some interesting texture, which didn't bother me, but I could imagine it might bother someone else. You could sub in berries or some other fruit. I have to say I love the color of this smoothie, as well as the taste.



Green Cranberry Smoothie by Mary Ann
1 banana, peeled and sliced
1 pear, chopped (you could use berries or citrus or apple here instead)
1/3 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbls flaxseed meal
1 1/2 cups skim, almond or soy milk
1 cup spinach leaves, packed
1-2 tsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Enjoy immediately

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

This recipe was on the cover on the most recent issue of Cooking Light. Quick breads and muffins are always an easy option when you want to bake something and I wanted to take a treat to my friend, so this recipe seemed perfect.
I had some ripe bananas and I had seen Lori's in-depth review of the bread on her blog, Culinary Covers, so this went onto the calendar as a "definite make".

I made the full recipe but decided to do mini-loaves and muffins, since those are so much easier to share. Plus, I wanted us to be able to try this recipe as well. From the full recipe, I got 8 mini-loaves and 9 muffins. I left the chopped peanuts out of the batter, but sprinkled them on top of some of the loaves and muffins.

This bread was fabulous. I have made almost all of Cooking Light's varieties of banana bread and this was another great one. I didn't think that the peanut butter flavor was extremely noticeable in the bread, but the glaze and chopped nuts on top, really made it seem peanut butter-y.

I would definitely make this again. The person who I shared it with really loved it too.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Bread
* I omitted the chopped peanuts from the batter and sprinkled them on top instead, before baking
* I used skim milk in the icing and added more milk to make it the right consistency. I also added a little bit more powdered sugar.

TWD- Lots of Ways Banana Cake

This week's selection for Tuesday's with Dorie- Lot's of Ways Banana Cake, was chosen by Kimberly who blogs over at Only Creative Opportunities. You can find the recipe for this versatile, delicious cake on her blog.

I have made this cake many, many times and posted about it twice. It was one of the first recipes I tried from Dorie's book.
I made it once as a layer cake with Blackberry Buttercream. That was for my going away party when we moved from Utah to Georgia last year.
It is so simple and there are quite a variety of ways that you can make it based on what ingredients you have on hand.

It is definitely a great way to use up ripe bananas and I will make it again.
Check out TWD to see who else made this cake and what they thought about it!

Fruit Bruschetta

So, are you tired of hearing about the food we enjoyed on my brother's birthday?
I hope not, because this is a really yummy one.

I decided to make my brother a special birthday breakfast and had seen a couple of great ideas that I wanted to try.
My brother loves bread, cereal, muffins, and oats. He could live on those items. He eats a lot of bread. and cereal. and oats. And not just at breakfast time. When we lived in Utah, he would often come home from school and eat a bowl of cereal with a couple pieces of bread.

Anyway, he also loves yogurt.
So, when I saw this idea of fruit bruschetta- a toasted baguette with a little butter and cinnamon sugar, topped with delicious mixed fruit and drizzled with yogurt- I knew this was the breakfast I was going to make him.

I saw a couple of different version's and decided to use the one I saw on Annie's Eats. She used a combination of pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, and bananas. I added some lemon zest to the fruit mixture just to up the flavor a little bit.
I also used a whole wheat baguette. Usually I don't ever put butter on toast, but I figured a little bit for this special breakfast would be okay. I melted the butter before hand and then used a pastry brush to just get a dab on the toasted bread slices.

This was a delicious twist on bruschetta and breakfast. A little time consuming, but completely worth it. It would be great for brunch or Mother's Day or even a mid-day snack. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

The birthday boy was very happy.
I added lemon zest to the fruit
Recipe for Fruit Bruschetta on Annie's Eats

Recipe for Fruit Bruschetta on The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

The nearly rotten bananas strike again!
I had to use a couple of bananas after going out of town for the weekend and wanted to make a healthy muffin.
I searched online for a recipe and found this great one from Baking Bites.
It had a small amount of oil and combined peanut butter with banana.
Everything is better with peanut butter, in my opinion. I really liked that they had oatmeal in them too- it meant they could be an option for breakfast.

I used low-fat buttermilk and we ate these warm out of the oven for breakfast. We didn't top them with anything.
They were really good. Nice flavor and texture.
I froze half of them because I knew my family was coming to visit and there are a few members of my fam who are obsessed with peanut butter. And a few who love muffins.

They are really great out of the freezer too!

Recipe for Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins from Baking Bites

Tropical Fruit Salad with Mint and Spices

Who is excited for Spring? Raise your hand and shout!
I can't wait for spring to officially be here. If you know me at all, you know that I am not a fan of cold weather or snow. I love sunshine. I would rather be hot than cold. Sweat doesn't bother me at all. Chills and brrrrr- I am not a fan.
This recipe made me feel tropical. And since spring is soo close (2 days away), I decided it wouldn't be too horrible if I posted this recipe with all these delicious fruits.

The picture for this recipe in the New Mayo Clinic Cookbook just really made me want to make this fruit salad immediately. The little flecks of vanilla bean and all the bright colors of the fruits- It looked absolutely heavenly.
I noticed mangoes, papaya, raspberries, and kiwis at the grocery store and they were not too expensive, so I bought them. Throw in some canteloupe and banana and you are good to go.

My girls helped me cut up the fruit, make the divine syrup, and stir everything together. They are such good helpers.

The syrup that goes over the fruit calls for honey, lemon juice, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, a vanilla bean and coriander. What? coriander? That was my original thought when I saw coriander on the ingredient list, but I was brave and I added it and it really added a little extra something to the syrup. The syrup reminded me of mulling cider when it was bubbling away on the stove. I loved that it wasn't overly sweet, but very full of flavor. It was warm(not temperature, but ya know?) and soothing, yet cool and refreshing all at once.

It was unbelievable with the fruit and mint. I never would have thought to combine all these fruits, flavors and spices. It was amazing.

The recipe said that the syrup was really great over pancakes. I was really hoping we could try it that way. But it just disappeared too fast.

Recipe for Tropical Fruit Salad with Mint and Spices

Cooking Light's Classic Banana Bread Muffins with Nutella Swirl

We go through banana stages. Sometimes we eat them like crazy and everyone is begging for more once they are gone and sometimes, they just sit there. And turn yucky colors; begging to be turned into something much more delicious than just a plain old banana.

I think I have tried every Cooking Light recipe for Banana Bread that they have ever invented or published. Such as Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze (my personal fave), Bluberry-Lemon Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze, Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread, Molasses-Oat Banana Bread, Cardamom Banana Bread with Pistachios, Orange-Banana Nut Bread, etc. I think you get the idea.

I have also made their Classic Banana Bread before, which is the recipe I used for these muffins.
I saw a post over on Barbara's blog, Barbara Bakes where she swirled Nutella into the banana bread batter and I knew I would have to do that too.

Some people debate the combination of bananas and chocolate, but not in this house.
These were the perfect afternoon snack and we also took some to a friends house to share.


I used half whole wheat flour, swirled about 3/4 tsp of nutella into the top of each muffin.
Baked them for 18 minutes and they were done.

Recipe for Classic Banana Bread

Barbara's post about Banana Nutella Bread

TWD-Cocoa-Nana Bread

This week's TWD recipe, Cocoa-Nana Bread, was chosen by Steph who blogs over at Obsessed with Baking. You can find the recipe on her blog.
I accidentally "healthified" this bread.
We had just gotten back from DisneyWorld and I thought I would throw it together really quickly and take it to my nephews in DC. I had a couple of brown bananas and I didn't think to check if I had everything else I needed.
I was only making 1/2 of the recipe and I started mixing away.
That's when I realized I had no eggs. None. Not even 1 little egg.

So, I frantically checked the freezer for possible stashes of frozen egg whites and found some.
I had subbed whole wheat flour for half of the flour and used low-fat buttermilk, because that is the kind of buttermilk I always keep in my fridge, so I had a semi-healthy Cocoa-Nana Bread.
1/2 of the recipe made 3 mini loaves (pictured) and 1 larger, not really mini, but also not a regular sized loaf.
I let my kids sample one of the mini loaves and then carefully wrapped the other 2, one for each nephew old enough to eat them, and the other small loaf (for my teenage brother, who was also going to be in DC), in plastic wrap. I then carefully transferred them to a large Ziploc bag and positioned them strategically in my backpack, hoping that they would slide through the security points at the airport undetected.

Don't worry. It all went smoothly and when my nephews woke up the next morning I was able to present them each with a personal mini-loaf of chocolate-banana goodness that might have actually been an ok breakfast item.
They loved them. So did my kids and my brother.
Can't really go wrong with chocolate, if you ask me.

Check out the rest of the TWD Bakers and see what everyone else thought. Many people were worried about this chocolate-banana combination!

Breakfast Banana Split

I don't remember where I saw this idea, but I did see it in a cookbook somewhere and I thought it was too cute to pass up.
I am always looking for new ways to make breakfast healthier and more exciting.

This breakfast takes the idea of a banana split and makes it breakfast worthy (although I am not against eating ice cream for breakfast :-)

I found these cute little banana split dishes at Publix and thought they really just added another element of fun to this whole idea. This is also a versatile breakfast idea- you can change up the fruits and toppings with whatever you like best.

Breakfast Banana Split
1 banana, split in half lengthwise
assorted melon balls- I used canteloupe and honeydew
yogurt
granola
berries- I used blueberries and raspberries

Place your sliced banana in a dish. Top with melon balls and yogurt. Sprinkle granola and berries on top. Eat
Ta-da!
Wasn't that easy?

P.S. if you look closely at the spoon, you can see my reflection- kinda made me laugh

and you still have time to enter my giveaway!

One Year Ago- Grandma Ruthardt's Sloppy Joes on Prudy's Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

TWD-Classic Banana Bundt Cake

This week's TWD recipe-Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Picked by-Mary- The Food Librarian
Find the recipe on Mary's blog
or from this post when I made it last year

It was moist and delicious. Definitely worth making.
I took it to a gathering with friends and had no leftovers.
Checkout the TWD Blogroll to see everyone else's results!

(update at 12:53 pm- I apologize for the short post. We lost a dear friend over the weekend and went to the funeral last night. I was short on words when I wrote this)

Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread Muffins without Cream Cheese Glaze

My husband knows how much I love to bake.

A couple of weeks ago, he suggested that we take some kind of baked good to the people who were selling us their house.

We got a really good deal because they had to move. We even managed to get their fridge.

From the day we moved from Utah, to the day we moved into our house, I think I baked 3 things. That really isn't very many considering I was baking multiple times a week before that. I even went a whole month without baking a single thing.

Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal, but for me, it was wierd. I love being in the kitchen.
I love baking.

Here is one of those 3 things.

I baked these muffins to take to our house-sellers. They weren't home. We ate them instead.

Now, this is supposed to be a banana bread loaf, but I was thinking that mini servings are easier to share, so I made muffins and I also decided to just do a simple powdered sugar/fresh lemon juice glaze instead of the cream cheese one that was included with the recipe. I didn't want to take away from the banana/blueberry thing that was already going on.

We all enjoyed this variation. And it just happens to be blueberry season, right here in good
ol' GA.


Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread with Cream-Cheese Glaze adapted





2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
Cooking spray

Glaze: (I didn't use this glaze. I just mixed some powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the banana bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until mixture is well blended (about 1 minute). Add mashed banana, egg substitute, sour cream, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries and lemon rind. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or a muffin tin. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or 20-25 minutes, if you are doing muffins, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the bread 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove the bread from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over cooled bread or muffins.

I got 17 muffins from this recipe.

Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake with Blackberry Buttercream and Blackberry Sherbet

The weekend before we moved, a couple of my friends and I got together for a little party.

I was debating if I had enough time in-between packing and everything else, to bake a couple of things for our get-together. Well, of course- I had time.

The day of the party, I made this cake and sherbet, Honey-Peach Ice Cream (which will post next tuesday) and one of the most phenomenal desserts ever- Coconut Dacquoise with Roasted Pineapple (that will post a week from tuesday).

I like bananas. But, they have to be just the right texture for me to eat them out of the peel. If I see a brown spot on the peel, I set them aside and decide that they will be used for baking.

I had a couple of bananas that were begging to be made into something delicious and also had lots of fresh blackberries, because the price really great on them at the store. I spotted the frosting recipe and thought it looked beautiful and sounded really good. I have made this banana cake before and it is really versatile, so I knew they would be a great combination.
And since I was making all of this stuff anyway, I decided I might as well throw in a simple sherbet recipe just for fun.

You can use whatever you have on hand to make the cake- coconut milk, whole milk, buttermilk, plain yogurt- anything. I have made it with coconut milk before and it was delicious. I don't even remember what I used this time, but it was good. I also added chopped, toasted pecans to the batter.
The frosting was a lovely color and everyone raved about it, but I thought it could have used a little bit more of the actual blackberry flavor.

The sherbet was so, so easy. I have used this method before where you just blend the ingredients up and freeze it for a little while, then process it in the food processor and either serve it or freeze it for awhile longer. It is a really easy method.
The sherbet called for buttermilk and that gave it nice sourish tang- I would use a little bit less sugar next time- I thought it was a little too sweet. Nice color and also raved about from my friends.
It was a fun night. Good friends and dessert- what could be better?
(btw- I miss you guys!)

Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake from Baking:from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbls) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbls dark rum or Malibu coconut rum (optional)
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, regular (stir before measuring) or "lite" (or whole milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, preferably toasted (or an equal amount of moist, plump fruit, such as currants, raisins, chopped apricots, cranberries, blueberries, or halved cherries, or a combination or coconut and dried fruit)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. (I used Crisco Baking Spray with Flour). Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla and rum. You'll have a beautiful satiny batter.
Now lower the speed and add the bananas-the batter will curdle, but that's fine; it will come back together as you add the remaining ingredients. Still on low speed, add the dry and liquid ingredients alternately, adding the flour mixture in 3 portions and the coconut milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).
Mix just until everything is incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the coconut. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
Bake for about 45 minutes (mine were done in 42), or until the cakes are a deep golden brown. They should start to pull away from the sides on the pans and a thin knife inserted into their centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a cooking rack and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold and invert onto another rack to cool to room temperature right side up.

Blackberry Buttercream from Southern Living
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (16-oz.) package plus 1 cup powdered sugar

1. Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.
Note: Be sure to wash and thoroughly dry blackberries before adding to frosting

1-2-3 Blackberry Sherbet from Taste of Home magazine

4 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed

2 cups sugar (I would use less)

2 cups buttermilk (I used low-fat)

1. In a food processor, combine blackberries and sugar; cover and process until smooth. Strain and discard seeds and pulp.
2. Stir in buttermilk.
3. Transfer puree to a 13x9-inch dish. Freeze for 1 hour or until edges begin to firm. Stir and return to freezer. Freeze 2 hours longer or until firm.
4. Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

Up Next- Asian Patties

Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I don't usually make something twice. Unless it is really, really good.

So, when my friend asked me to make a couple of cakes for a family celebration, I thuoght back to this delicious banana cake with chocolate frosting. I made it for my son's 6th birthday and I remember how good it was. The cake is super moist, studded with delicious pecans, and the chocolate frosting is divine. The actual monkey was very difficult to decorate because although this frosting is delicious, it is very hard to spread or decorate with, but the taste makes it worth trying.

The second time I made the cake, we decided the monkey wasn't necessary and just made a double layer cake. I still made the yellow buttercream, just so there would be a splash of color to make it more interesting.

They loved it. If you need a party cake, this one tastes delicious and can please kids or adults and usually ends up doing both!

Monkey Cake from Martha Stewart
An animal theme can really get things swinging at a kid's birthday party. Indulge your child's penchant for monkey business with a fanciful banana cake with chocolate buttercream icing shaped and decorated to look like a curious friend.
Ingredients
Serves 10 to 12.
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup chopped pecans, optional
Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
2 black-licorice drop candies
Black-licorice rope, for decorating
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.

Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
Ingredients
Makes 3 3/4 cups chocolate frosting and 1 1/4 cups yellow frosting.
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Yellow food coloring
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 stick butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups sugar; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in food coloring to make pale yellow. Transfer to a small bowl; cover.
Put remaining 3 sticks butter in mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; add cocoa. Mix until smooth. With mixer running, add remaining 3 3/4 cups sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on high speed until incorporated, 10 to 20 seconds more.

Up Next- TWD- Chipster Topped Brownies