Banana Cream Cake

INGREDIENTS:

For cake:
1 box vanilla cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 1/4 cup water

For Frosting
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 box of instant banana cream pudding

For garnishing:
4-5 strawberries thinly sliced
12-15 sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:
Bake the cake according to the directions on the box and let it cool completely before frosting. For the banana cream frosting, take the heavy cream and start it to beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Then add sugar, vanilla, and 1/2 box of the banana cream pudding to it. Then beat it on medium speed till it reaches the stiff peak consistency.

Frost the cake with banana cream and garnish it with the strawberries and almonds.

Modeling Chocolate Fall Decorations

With the fall just round the corner, I just thought of making some fall decorations out of modeling chocolate which can be used as toppers for cupcakes or cakes. I wanted to try the "marble effect" for the fall leaves and was really successful at the very first attempt.

For the fall leaves you will need 4-5 colored modeling chocolate balls; I had chosen green, yellow, orange, dark pink and you will need your veining tool from the modeling set tools. Now for "marbling effect" on the chocolate, take any two colors and roll them into long rods. Then put these two together and twist them around and then make them into a ball. You can also mix three colors together. Roll this ball onto a wax paper and cut out the shape of the leaf with a sharp knife along the template. If you have the metal cookie cutters the job is much more easy. Once you have cut out the leaf shape, with the thin end of your veining tool, create the veins on the leaf. Start with the center vein and then to the smaller veins. Just do this gently but with pressure, too much pressure can rip off the chocolate. For giving it a more realistic effect, just fold the leaf a bit you want it to like before letting it dry. The leaves will dry out in about 15-20 minutes. Store in an airtight container if you are not going to use them immediately.

For the pumpkins you will need orange and green modeling chocolate balls and your veining tool. Roll out the orange modeling chocolate into small ball. Then using the tip of your thumb and the first finger, press it slightly to flatten it out a little bit. Keep it on a tray and then with the larger and flat end of you veining tool, press down a little on the top of the ball to create a small pit (it should not be very deep). Then with the other end that is the thin end of the veining tool, create the lines on the pumpkin all around. For the vine of the pumpkin, roll out the green modeling chocolate into thin rope and fold it around; put this on the top of the pumpkin. These small pumpkin toppers will definitely bring cuteness to your Halloween cake or cupcakes.