The Lorax Cake Pops

Its Cake Pop time again. And I made some cute ones for Dr Seuss The Lorax movie that comes out March 2.

These were fun to recreate in bright colors and cake.

Heres a run down so you can go make.

Okay, I cant rhyme Lets just get this ball rolling.

Its time.

First up are Bar-ba-loots. Theyre super cute and they love to eat Truffula fruit.

Okay, thats enough. Ill try not to torture you any more.

I like to roll my cake balls by hand first so I can make sure I have enough and if I need to, I can make some of them bigger or smaller at the end to keep them all about the same size.

(At the end of the post, Ill share a pdf you can download for all of these cake pops.)

Once theyre rolled, you can reshape them however you like.

For Bar-ba-loots, roll them into an oval and pinch in on the four rounded corners.

Pinch more at the top than at the bottom and then press down on the top center to make a spot for the eyes. This will also help form those chubby cheeks. You can also use a spoon to make an indention for the mouth if you like.

For the big floppy ears, I used chocolate candy coating wafers.

Just cut a small edge off with a rounded cutter and dip the wafer into melted candy coating.

Attach it to the cake ball and let dry.

But did you notice their big rounded ears?

Thats right. One more step. No fears.

Just dip a toothpick in coating and draw a line of chocolate around the edge.

Then chill the balls. You know the drill.

And dip them and coat them in chocolate for thrills. Someone stop me.

Decorate with confetti sprinkles and mini M&Ms and a black edible ink pen.

Then these guys are ready to play in the shade.

Right underneath the Truffula Trees.

Okay, these are easy easy. Roll more cake balls like above.

Dip them, then texturize with a toothpick and love.

Dip them in orange, yellow and pink coating.

I also added a small amount of chocolate candy coating for the yellow and orange to cut the brightness down a little.

Its like Dr. Seuss new these would be perfect for pops.

Sprinkle a little sanding sugar on the pops before the coating sets.

Use the really long paper lollipop sticks and then you can cut them down in varying lengths.

A black edible ink pen or a touch of black candy color on a dry brush adds the perfect detail for these paper tree trunks.

But what about the Lorax?

He speaks for the trees you know.

Hes easy to make.

Just dip, dry, then decorate.

Youll need yellow candy coating, a black edible ink pen, white confetti sprinkles and lots of toothpicks.

A helpful way to get started is to etch where you want to apply the coating for the brows and mustache using a toothpick.

Then stay in the lines. Or just over them so you dont see the etchings.

Apply the coating with the tip of your toothpick. As it starts to dry, layer on more and more coating. His mustache is really big. As the coating thickens just before setting, drag out the tips for nice pointed ends.

Replace your toothpick when it gets gloppy.

Or else your cake pops will get kinda sloppy.

Use the same technique for his bushy brows.

Break edges off confetti sprinkles, attach with coating and dot the eyes with your edible ink pen.

Dot on orange coating for a little round nose.

Cute as cute as a Lorax can be.

But wait. Just the head?

Wheres his body?

Lets see.

Roll the cake ball into an oval and then into kind of a jelly bean shape.

Take two jumbo heart sprinkles and two broken pretzel pieces dip the ends in coating and insert them into the pop in position for arms and legs.

Insert the legs just toward the front so you leave room to also insert a lollipop stick.

Let the attachments dry before you dip.

These will look like arms in a minute resting on his hip.

P.S. Im a dork, not a poet.

Once dry, decorate faces the same as above. Just on a smaller scale.

Then use a toothpick dipped in coating to draw on his skinny arms. (I should have made one wave.)

There.

Sassier.

Much better.

Heres a pdf of the Lorax cake pops so you can make your own.

Theyd be a cute snack at the theaters if you go to seethe movie.

Or during Dr. Seuss story time.

Hmmm. Green eggs and ham cake pops. Those would be fun, too.

Disclosure: I was compensated to make these Lorax Cake Pops, but I might have made them anyway because theyre just too cute. Shhhdont tell.

Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake

The Sunday Panics.

Do you get the Sunday Panics? Let me describe the symptoms and you can tell me whether or not Im a strangebird, or if you relate. The Sunday Panics are most often characterized by: afternoon over-caffeination,tremendous amounts of NOT quality time spent on Twitter, a kitchen full of dirty dishes, a lengthy and daunting weekly to-do list, a fair amount of brain worry, possible nail biting, an intense desire for take-out Chinese food, and low motivation coupled with nagging laziness guilt.

Do you ever get the Sunday Panics?

Yea. me neither. Of course not.

except I totally do.

Ive developed a cure for the Sunday Panics.

Movement! Up. Up. UP!! In the kitchen. Make a super easy cake. Definitely do the dishes. Make the to-do list for the week, then set it aside to rest until Monday morning. Write some greeting cards for friends. Call your mama. Enjoy cake during a several hour marathon of Greys Anatomy or Downton Abbey. When all else fails try bourbon in the shower and an early bedtime. Give those Sunday Panics the boot!

This chocolate cake is a total godsend.

Its designed to be made with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. The Sunday Panics arent easy to combat and a trip to the store is not going! to calm our nerves.

If you have cocoa powder and vegetable oil this cake is yours!

I added dark chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs because they were lingering in my pantry. Lingering like chocolate always lingers.

Want to know a trick? Grease a bundt pan with vegetable shortening and instead of dusting it with flour, try cocoa powder!

When the cake comes out of the pan, there will be no white flour powder! Just chocolate. Just cake.

This is our everyday chocolate cake.

Its always super comforting when we can turn whats in our pantry into a warm, moist, flavorful chocolate treat without softening butter, cracking eggs, or running to the store.

This cake is a tool. It combats the impulsive sweet tooth, the accidental grumpies, and the Sunday Panic. Consider yourself armed.

Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake

makes 1 9-inch chocolate bundt cake

Print this Recipe!

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm coffee

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

small handful of chocolate chunks and/or cocoa bibs (optional)

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch bundt pan with vegetable shortening and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large! bowl, w hisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be relatively thick. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

The Volkswagen Sharan Volkswagen first premium MPV Launch in Malaysia

I was astonished by the number of awards Volkwagen swept that night at the Asian Auto Ambank Fuel Efficiency Awards 2011(check out the winners HERE ). Granted, Im not that close knitted with the automotive industry and thus that was an eye-opener for me.

After that night, I mentioned it in conversations with (mostly) male friends and I find that most agree that Volkswagens are superb cars.

So when Volkswagen threw a media & family day out at Carcosa Seri Negara on a Sunday afternoon, I put on my pretty Sunday dress plus a cloche and looked forward to a beautiful Sunday out .

And what a Sunday it was, with Carcosas famed scones with real cream, games and a launch skit plus a massage and a manicure!

True to the theme, there were ample activities for the kids. Well, Volkswagen did promise a fun family day out!

Pizzas and nuggets for the little ones!

I had my childish moment too

Oh! , and th e variety of cheeses were amazing!

Not to mention the LAMB!! Yes, I love my lamb, especially if its PINK.

But of course, the launch was about the the Sharan, not the food.Let me get myself re-focused..

So heres Volkswagen first premium MPV.

Volkswagen Group Malaysia MD Mr. Ricky Tay said in launching this very special model in Malaysia, the company wanted to do something different, something relevant to the vehicles character, hence the whole media & family Sunday set-up.

Targeted obviously for families, the Sharan is a 4,854mm long7-seater that came with a host of intelligent and safety features for optimum protection.

1st feature to be highlighted was the airbags.
A total of 9 airbags,including one knee airbag on the drivers side, curtain airbag system for all rows of seats andside airbags for front and second row passengers ensures that any accident impact is minimalised for the passengers.

Other smart features are the electrically powered sliding doors that have a pinch protection function that ensures safety on entry and exit by slidin! g back i f it hits/bumps into an object. Very kids and elderly- friendly yes?

The boot is smart too. Press this button for a few secs to set the height for the boot to stop. Great for adjusting a comfortable height for those are shorter or taller than average.

The most interesting feature was The Park Assist parallel parking system with Park Distance Control (PDC).
Basically, this system does both parallel and reverse parking for you if you failed your parking test lack parking skills. This is the first time the Park Assist 2.0 is being features in a Volkswagen vehicle.
If you ask me if this is the first ever vehicle to have this feature, well, that was asked during the launch as well. The answer is no, but the extent of assistance provided for the park assist system of the other competitor automotive was different.

Watch the video:

Look Ma! The Sharan parks itself!!

You know how kids loves to stand up and poke their heads out of the roof and enjoy having the wind blowing in their faces? Well, I like to do that too!
The Sharan comes with an electric panoramic tilt and slide sunroof just perfect for that purpose.

Basically, the Sharan aims to please.

For convenience, theres this innovative compartment on the dashboard itself. The Sharan comes with one integrated child seat on the left side on the second! row including belt tensioners for the outer seats of the second row.

Of course being a Volkswagen vehicle, the Sharan is fuel efficient as well.Full tank capacity is 70 litres, and it returns an efficient 8.5 litres/100km.

Drop me a comment if you need more technical specs. As you know, I try not to sound like an automotive blog writer, of which Im not. Plus I have not driven the Sharan before.
So, here are more pictures!

Love these extended tops, can use your laptop/tablets or have a meal on the go!

Ample legroom.

Each seat can be ndividually adjusted, so you turn down whichever seat according to however much space you need.

The interior.

I thought the design of the lights were cool. TheBi-xenon headlamps has the capability of bending according to the angle of the steering!

Sporty 17-inch Sydney alloy wheels.

The Sharan is available in 6 shades of colours Candy White, Toffee Brown, Reflex Silver, Night Blue, Indium Grey and Deep Black.

This latest premium MPV from Volkswagen is priced at RM245,888 for the standard option and RM269,888 for the Tech Package. Both variants are available at all authorised dealerships nationwide.
Currently there is a special launch discount but let me confirm on that.
Do leave me a comment if you have any queries!

On another note, anyone wants to take a guess whats this?