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Saturday, October 9, 2010

reduce, reuse, re-birthday...

You may remember the pictures of my four-year old's Crafty Pool Party I posted a few months ago.  Given that it was a crafty party (and I was on a budget), pretty much the entire thing was just one giant DiY(do it yourself) project.  It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun, and the party went off without a hitch.

The clean-up, however, was another matter.  I couldn't bear to simply toss all those lovely handmade party hats, banners, and tissue puffs into the trash.  I didn't really expect to use them again--I'm an original party kind-of gal--but I carefully stored them away just in case.

Who knew an opportunity to recycle would come only two short months later?  A sweet family friend celebrated her 18th birthday party this week and we decided to throw her a somewhat impromptu birthday party.  She had missed out on M's festivities, so tissue puffs and homemade party hats were all new to her.  She invited a few friends, requested burgers and german chocolate cake, and once again, a good time was had by all.











Hopefully she won't hold it against me that her party wasn't 100% original.

At least the cake was new!

I had actually never tried German chocolate cake before this, and I've gotta say, it is divine.  (Granted anything with this much fat, sugar, chocolate, & coconut couldn't not be delicious.)  If you'd like to try it for yourself, here is my improvised recipe:

almost-homemade german chocolate cake
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 bag (4 cups) coconut
1 cup candied walnuts
1/3 cup pecans
2 eggs
1 12oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar

Prepare & bake cake according to box directions in 2 round pans.

For coconut frosting, first pulse coconut, walnuts, & pecans in food processor for about 20-30 seconds.  Whisk 2 eggs in medium saucepan.  Add condensed milk, butter, & sugar.  Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, but do not boil.  Remove from heat and add coconut mixture.  Let cool completely, then use to frost cake.  If mixture is still too runny to frost sides, cool cake and frosting in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.


2 comments:

  1. Such a great idea!! Thanks for visiting my blog, i am now following back!!

    ReplyDelete

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