Baking Cake

I am not a real cake lover.

For years, my birthday cake was always a Carvel Ice Cream Cake.

Unfortunately the chocolate crunch is off limits now.

I also found an awesome cake for my wedding - 

if you are ever in the Hudson Valley of NY - 

check out the Pastry Garden Poughkeepsie, NY.

Beyond that, usually I would rather have a cookie, bar, or bowl of frozen yogurt.

I have not had great success baking cakes and typically revert to a trusty box mix.

Last week, I branched out and made from scratch cupcakes for my father's birthday.

Aren't these cute?

I didn't do the piped icing, but they were still fun.

Cakes made with lemon-lime soda (or pop, or cola).

The fun ingredient seemed to keep the gluten-free cake lighter.

I also had success with a gluten-free, dairy free carrot cake for the church dinner.

Again, the carrots kept the cake moist.