Come closer, I have a secret to tell you. I like Cool Whip. I could eat a whole tub of the stuff. Even that commercial, “oil or cream,” did nothing to dissuade my opinion. I found myself wishing the woman would choose oil every time. I have to control myself around the cloudy pools of crack. If I ate the whole tub, that would just become another story. Another time for my family to be able to say, “remember the time when Jenni ate that whole…”

I have heard they only sell Cool Whip in the United States and Canada. If you live in a different country, you can always use whipped cream (my friend Kerri makes the best, most amazing whipped cream). I love whipped cream, but I do not like making it. Here is a picture of the treasure I speak of:

I found this recipe from the Pioneer Woman and I knew once again my self control would be tackled.

Look at this wee little cake. Isn’t it precious? It is almost as glorious as a store bought sheet cake.

I am not good at baking cakes. I have gotten a little better. My sweet, sweet friend came over one day and helped me bake my daughter the most beautiful cake (thank you Kellie). But it has been a slow road. The first cake I ever made was a “Welcome home!” cake for my husband (then fiance). I forgot to grease the pans and the whole thing turned into a puddle of tears and mushy flour. This time, I followed the Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I will not give you a play by play, because she did it much better!

I will normally sprinkle sugar or cocoa powder over a cookie cutter to make a pretty design on top. However, sugar would not show up. A recent pantry cleaning revealed all of my cocoa powder had expired and I have yet to pick up a new tub. This is a sad little demonstration using chocolate chips.

Lest you think I can actually bake. This is what the second cake turned out like. It is completely lopsided. “I can’t wait to eat that!” does not come to mind when one looks at this cake. In fact, it sat lonely in the fridge. It sat there for four days. I had two bites of it in that time. It did not taste as good as the pretty cake.

My husband really liked the cake. In fact he has asked me to make it again. It is incredibly rich. I think next time I would use lemon curd. The chocolate was a little much. It took me five minutes to make the first cake. Another two minutes to make the second travesty of pastry. I suggest you take your time cutting so you do not end up with a depressing sight greeting you in the refrigerator for four days in a row. It is an easy (for most) quick trick in case you forget a birthday.