What I Ate and the Ugliest Cupcakes You Will Ever See

Sunday was my father's 80th birthday.


I don't ever remember my dad being happy about his birthday. He doesn't like people spending money on him or making a fuss. In years past, I have given him a framed poem I wrote about him (it's about him watching the moon landing on the eve of his birthday) and a handwritten book of 100 reasons why he is a great dad.

My dad and my boys last fall

Another thing I do for my dad on Father's Day, his birthday, and Christmas is to make his favorite food Kroppkakor or palt, as they are known in Sweden. They take HOURS to make!

This year, my mom said she was going to make the Kroppkakor for him. This left me completely out of ideas about what to make for my dad.

This is where the ugliest cupcakes come in.

Kroppkakor are probably one of the world's least appetizing-looking foods. They look like rocks. If you cut one in half, they kind of look like geodes because of the chopped bacon in the center. Did I mention we eat every bite with a little bit of butter?

Instead of making my dad a birthday cake, I made him "Kropp-cakes," cupcakes made to look like Kroppkakor. Here is the result.

 

I made them by wrapping homemade fondant around frosted white cupcakes. 

The result was wonderful! They may not have been pretty, but they tasted like a Little Debbie or Hostess cake. I am so making these again for myself! I may have found my new favorite dessert!

After the feasting on Kroppkakor, pizza (my dad's least favorite food in the world), and these cupcakes, I was ready to go back to healthier fare.

Here is what I ate.

BREAKFAST:

I'm still being a good girl and getting my breakfast at 9:00am every day.

Since I don't think I've been eating enough protein, 

I had a few egg whites and one whole egg

and fresh chopped spinach

with black beans and smoked paprika.

The paprika really gave it a "bacony" taste!

LUNCH:

For lunch, I had green eggs and black beans again.

I also threw in half a bag of Bird's Eye Recipe Starts Grilling Blend.

I've been using a lot of these lately. 

This bag had zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, and red onion.

I topped it with Frank's Hot Sauce.

SNACK:

At 3:00pm, I had a Green Tea Energy Shake. 

I'm posting the recipe for it next week on the blog.

SUPPER:

Again, I'm trying to get more protein, 

so for supper, I had a four Morningstar sausage links,

mashed northern beans with garlic, butter, and parsley,

a Power Greens salad with Caesar dressing and olives,

and green beans.

Here are a few of the other cakes I've made this year.

My six year-old's birthday cake.

 

My husband paints life size light towers that look like this one I made.

You can see more of my cakes here.
 

1. What is the best gift you ever made for someone?
2. What is the best gift someone made for you?
3. Do you like making cake or just eating it?