Faith Cakes

So a friend made one of these and I thought hers was pretty impressive so I had to get details on how to make a Faith Cake.  So in finding it, I wanted to share it with you as well!  ENJOY!

FAITH CAKE:

To make this cake you will need:
2 boxes White Cake
1 box Devils Food Cake
and ingredients (below) for frosting.
4 round cake pans (8" or 9")
Rectangle cake pan

For Buttercream Frosting:
(If you like more frosting between layers make MORE frosting)
1 cup veg. shortening (Crisco type - do NOT use butter flavor.)
1 cup room temperature butter
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
8 cups sifted (sifting is a must!) confectioners sugar (powder sugar)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk

For Frosting Mix: 

White Cakes

Cream together shortening and butter until light and fluffy. And extracts, mix until combined. Add sugar, one or two cups at a time, until fully blended. The frosting should look dry. You can now add the milk to get a smoother, glossier, and easier to spread consistency. (if you need to add some milk AFTER the 4 cups of sugar you can).

Leveled White Cakes

For the WHITE Cake Mix: 

You will be using an 8in or 9in round cake pan (whichever you like) for the white cake. You will need to make four layers. I suggest you freeze the layers for at least an hour before assembling the cake. You can also freeze them overnight to save time if you like!


After cooling, level the white cakes.

Devils Food Round

For the DEVILS FOOD Cake Mix:

Devils Food Crumbled

After you have baked the devils food cake in the rectangle pan per the boxes instructions, cool it.  (Again, use the freezer for an hour or so). You will then need to use a round cutter (like a tupperware bowl or large cool whip container) and cut a circle from the rectangle cake.

Once completed, use all the leftover devils food cake and begin to  crumble it.

You may need to add some frosting to make it stick together.  (For one box of devils food cake add approximately 1/2 cup frosting. Blend with a fork or your hand to mix together.)

Three Layers From Side

Now, using the same cutter (the tupperware bowl or cool whip container that you used above to cut the devils food cake), cut the same shape out of the white cake.   That devils food is going to fit perfectly into the white cake then on layer number 3.

Now, to get started with assembly. Put one layer of your white cake on your plate. Add about 1/2 cup frosting and add another layer (this could be number 2). Add another 1/2 cup frosting and add your third layer (the one with the cutout).

                                      

                                                 Third Layer Without Insert

Three Layers

Chocolate Center Added

It should look like this above before you put the chocolate round piece (left)  in the spot cut out.  After you add the chocolate insert into the 3rd layer it should look like this image on the right.

NOTE:  Now you will have to find a round cutter that can cut the center out of your cakes stacks.  If you have a vase that is shorter, you will have to cut through the three layers now as your cake will get too tall with four layers to cut through.  If you have a taller vase, you can add the fourth layer and then cut the center out using the vase.

Three Layers with Center Hole

So with your decision made you also need to start frosting the sides too and then keep stacking up layers by adding the 1/2 cup frosting and then adding your fourth layer.

Four Layers Cut Out

With the fourth layer in place and your center cut out with a tall vase, we need now to begin the process of filling the center hole.


Again, you cave to have this longer vase about 50% smaller in diameter than the tupperware bowl or cool whip container you used on layer three and you have to have already cut the center out of ALL the four layers.  Go through all layers of the cake and get a fork or spoon and carefully scoop out the excess cake.

Cut Fourth Layer Cut Out

If you only add three layers and then add your fourth layer, you will need to guesstimate where the hole would go or you could try to cut is out before you stack it up.

Devils Food Crumbled

Now remember that devils food cake that we crumbled and added some frosting too to make it more pliable?  Well, now we are about to use it.

With the entire devils food cake crumbled, we are going to fill up the entire hole with the cake mixture.

Four Layers with Filling

Just  start stuffing cake mixture into the center hole until the hole is full.  (Again, this works MUCH better if your white cake is frozen or very chilled).   Click here for a tutorial on how to "crumb coat" a cake.

Crumb Coated Cake

After adding the crumb coat layer, put the cake in the freezer overnight.  The next morning, add another layer of frosting. Be generous with your frosting now because this is a big cake and it can handle the frosting.  That is why I use more frosting than called for above between the layers.

Frosted Cake

Now you are ready to decorate the cake.  I found these photos below.  You can practice with a piping bag and a decorating tip using a piece of paper.  Practice will help your technique.

Top View

Side View

     

Top View of Cake

Close Up of Decorating

And this is what you see after you cut into your cake.  A cross.  Hence the name, 'Faith Cake'. ENJOY!

Faith Cut Inside View

God's Pharmacy

God's Pharmacy

Stumbled across this and thought it was worth sharing!  In Genesis, God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish...all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before man was even created.

These fruits and vegetables are best and more powerful when eaten raw. 

We're such slow learners...God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

                A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.. And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.




A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function




Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.




Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.




Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).




Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.




Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.




Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.




Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.


Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

George Steinmetz

George Steinmetz took this photograph for National Geographic.  This could be one of the best photographs for 2011.  Look closely as you may be surprised what exactly you are focused on.

This shot was taken at sunset and if you look closely you will see dark lines or spots under the "camels". What you think are camels are really shadows and what are dark lines are really the camels.  Amazing what perspective will do for you!

Since his first assignment for National Geographic in 1987, Steinmetz has completed more than 20 major essays for the magazine, including three covers.

Born in Beverly Hills, California, in 1957, Steinmetz graduated from Stanford University with a degree in geophysics. He began his career in photography by hitchhiking through Africa for 18 months. Today he lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife and their three children.

To hear him in is own words and learn more about this photo go to this link on National Geographic.

Circle Radius Diameter & Pi

Ok I am ALWAYS into new things to help teach kids and when I stumbled across this one I just had to share it.  Circle, Radius, Diameter & Pi is a cute song to help kiddos learn some of these "rules" they have to do for higher math classes.

Take a minute, don't forget to have your kiddos sit with you, and enjoy a different song and learn something as well!

Armless Archer - Matt Stutzman

A friend shared this link with me and I was simply amazed.  I struggle using my hands to get some jobs done and this guy uses his feet to do everything!

Matt Stutzman is an archer, as well as many other things, and is an incredible inspiration.  I can't imagine the patience he must have.  Simply an incredible story!

Enjoy!

Synchronized Gymnastics

This was simply beautiful to watch and really incredible too.  I didn't even know there was an event called synchronized gymnastics but then again, I'm not surprised.  Amazingly talented people with great disciple and skill.  ENJOY!

Silhouette Dancing

This was an incredibly original dance, done by an amazing cast of dancers who are from the Denver, Colorado area and they call themselves the Silhouette's.

The song they danced to was by Kirk Franklin (a Christian artist) called Imagine.  I know a woman who used to be a BGV (background vocal) for his tour so this was kind of cool to hear his song in this piece.

Enjoy this very original dance!  It is like something you have never seen!

Best Marriage Proposal - EVER!

So this has gone viral on You Tube and was posted on May 16, 2011.  It is a very unique and original marriage proposal.

Watch it and notice in the lower left corner is the LIVE reaction of the future bride.  GREAT clip!

So creative and memorable.  This one will be hard to top for all you future grooms out there!

Amazing Juggler

This is an amazing juggler who will juggle to the Beatles song by feeling the beat while he tosses the balls. When the song builds, he builds.  When the song slows, he slows.  Really amazing!

I was exhausted just watching this!

Muppets "Mana Mana Song"

Totally random today.  Someone asked me about liking the Muppets and favorite songs and then one thing led to another and I found myself listening to songs from my childhood.  Here is the CLASSIC song by the Muppets, "Mana Mana Song".  It didn't get much better than this.  In a day before Seinfeld and his meaningless show there were the Muppets.  Jim Henson could have been the founder of the meaningless show!  ENJOY!

Rain Sound by Clapping

Loved this!  What an incredibly creative idea and I loved how they interpreted the sound of rain.

The second link is the same as above except it goes on to present the whole song done by this choir.  VERY creative and incredible to interpretation.  Perpetual Jazzile is the name of this group and the song is Africa.

Royal Wedding Spoof

In light of ALL the hype, pomp and circumstance of the upcoming royal nuptials I found this link and thought it was worth sharing as it spoofs the upcoming royal wedding.

Normally I would be the first to highly congratulate a couple for their decision to commit their lives together before God and man but this event is a bit over-the-top.  One reason is that of course, it is a royal wedding and the future heir to the throne should come from this relationship but what is troubling is that they have lived together for many years already and it seems a bit ridiculous to me for the "leader" of the church (the King or Queen of England) to have chosen to live is such disregard of the Holy Book (the Bible) he will be responsible to uphold.  Now I am not saying I am looking for perfection from a monarch or from anyone but CHOOSING to live this lifestyle was not an accident or an incidental, it was clearly a choice and seems a bit odd in the least.

I pray they will love each other dearly and have a great marriage.  She is adorable and her life is about to be thrown to the press and I pray they will make it.

Being Smart with a Smart Phone

Many people are NOT aware of how much personal information they have on their smart phones and what they are doing with that information with a simple upload of a photo.  These smart phones pose privacy risks and can even endanger your children if the information is picked up by the wrong people.

There are threats out there in technology that are real and are so advanced that the police don't even know how to keep up with the changing digital world.  With a simple photo uploaded to the Internet, a stalker can gain data from your image and then using another free-ware or soft-ware can map where the photo was taken.  They can even do a series of images and know your daily stops, donut shop, school, bedroom, church - where ever you take a photo and then post it with these tracking devices turned on.

First thing you want to do is to go to your phone "settings", locations services and then "turn off" geo settings and tracking from your camera.  Secondly, you want to set your privacy settings on social network sites to "block" or "private" to just the people you allow.  Third, many new cameras also have geo-tracking.  If you are taking photos of your children and don't want these images to be tracked, turn the tracking device off.

Simple steps to keep your family safe from unwanted predators!

to "86" something...

So today, a friend posted to her Facebook wall a link and then posted to "86" a certain part of the post.  Well, this caused my mind to wonder and you know where that went...to further investigation.  I was challenged to understand this "strange" term, it's meanings and more importantly, it's origin.  Well, did I find a PLETHORA of information.  Seems there is NO consensus on WHERE this actually originated but there sure are a lot of opinions on the matter.  I thought I would share some of the highlights with you here!

First off, this is an American Expression (British people are not prone to this vernacular).  So, to start this discussion we have to get a few things right...it really is NOT ok to say, "eight-six" it is correct to say "eighty-six".  I know there are a few who think it is ok to use 8-6 in their vocabulary but it simply is NOT from what I have found to be true in my limited investigation on the matter.  86 is the term and that is the way is should be used....eighty-six!

Vague terms:
It can mean to simply get rid of something, toss it. "I'm about to 86 this piece of junk..." or someone...like firing from a job, "they 86'd me!"  Webster's suggests it was probably rhyming slang for 'nix and it first appeared in 1967 slang: to refuse to serve (a customer); also: to get rid of: THROW OUT.

In a Restaurant:

• In the kitchen when they are out of an item an announcement could be shouted, "86 on the Key Lime Pie".  This would mean that there is no more Key Lime pie for the day.
• The waiter may come to the customer and say, "The soup of the day is 86'd.  We're out."
• A fair amount of people believe the origin came from the days of the soda fountain.  86 was the password indicating they were out of an item as they had 85 flavors available.
• Some same 98 was used as code to say "the manager" was on the prowl so watch yourself!
• Another popular explanation comes from the New York City restaurant called Delmonico's.  This was a very popular place and one of their most popular items was the steak on the menu, and you guessed it, it was item 86 on their menu.  Because the steak was often sold out it became shorthand for being out of an item.
• I read that it really was originated with the soup kitchens and breadlines of the Great Depression.  The standard cauldron would hold 85 cups of soup so that the person who was 86 would get no soup!
• There is also the tale about the famous New York City restaurant called 21.  It seems that they had 85 tables here to seat patrons so when someone "undesirable" came to get a table, they would tell them they would be sent to the 86th one...which of course did not exist!

In the Bar:

• A bartender can "86" someone out of the bar because they have already had too much to drink.
• It could be said to not sell to that customer, "86 the guy in the booth".
• Interesting on this topic of bars, the New York State Liquor Code defines the circumstances in which a bar patron should be refused alcohol or, you guessed it, "86'ed".
• One of the most popular origins for this expression come from Chumley's (a famous 1900's New York speakeasy located at 86 Bedford St.)  During Prohibition, the entrance through an interior adjoining courtyard was used; for it was both discreet and private.  As per the New York tradition, cops were on Chumley's payroll and when they were about to raid the joint, they would call ahead.  The bartender would then give the command "86 everybody," which meant that everyone was to leave out the Bedford Street entrance because the cops would be coming in through the courtyard!  To this day there today at the same location with still no sign and entrance through the courtyard.
• Can't have an explanation without a cowboy tale, now can we?  Seems some take this expression way back to the Old West when most whiskey was 100 proof; they reserved bottles of 86 proof for the ladies.  Now if a cowboy got too rowdy, he would get the 86 proof served to him and this was considered in the least embarrassing so he would usually leave.

Still Other Ideas:

• Some think is has to do with a grave as they were dug 6 feet deep by 8 feet long therefore the item put in there would be dead or 86'd.  (This seems to not be a reason I would gravitate toward because I would think you would read this 8-6 and not 86'ed as we have established earlier!)
• How about this one...the streetcar line that operated on First Avenue on the east side of Manhattan ran from 14th Street to 86th.  As the Northbound car came to a stop, the motorman called out, "Eight-six.  End of the line.  All out!"
• The British merchant shipping standard crew was 85, so the 86'th would be left out.  (Again, this conflicts with above information as this was not a British slang from my readings!)
• Soldiers in America often refer to their missing soldier buddies as 86'd.  The missing in action (MIA'S) would be 86'd as this was being AWOL and in violation of the code from the UCMJ Sub Chapter X Article 86.
• One of the last reasons I found for this slang had to do with "offing" someone with the roots having to do with military action.  Another location said that it was not with the military but with the Mafia!  They would travel the distance of 86 miles out and 6 feet under meaning when a person was killed by the mafia they would be forced to dig his own grave many miles away from civilization; or the possibility of a simple variation of the slang term deep six which as the identical meaning.  It is simply meant to describe the approximate depth of water (6 fathers, 11 meters) needed for a burial at sea.  The term came into popular use among soldiers and veterans to describe missing solders then as 86's (see above).
• Finally, in you have ever seen the movie An Affair to Remember or Sleepless in Seattle you would be familiar with the scene where they are to meet on the top of the Empire State Building. All the elevators would go to the 86th floor and everyone would have to leave the elevator.  Well these movies have a positive twist to the top of the building but it was also known for a dark side; this public outdoor observatory was also the site of more than 30 suicides.  The building opened in 1931, apparently a few years before the term became popular - 86'ed.

So as you can see, there are MANY ideas to the origin and many times suggested on when it was coined.  Really don't know but I sure like a few of the ideas!

The B Vitamins...

I have a friend who is SO knowledgeable about vitamins and what does what that she has spurred me on to do my own investigations.  In my quest to understand more and learn about the importance of what each one does I found some interesting information and I wanted to share it will all of you.

I know most of you have heard the words thiamin, niacin, and maybe even riboflavin but what you may not realize is that these common names are the names of vitamins that each of us need daily.  You possibly haven't made the connection that when you say folic acid you are also talking about Vitamin B9; they are one and the same.  Here is the association between the two names.

Thiamin is a water soluble vitamin also known as Vitamin B1

Riboflavin is also a water-soluable vitamin aka Vitamin B2

Niacin, you guess it; Vitamin B3

Pyridoxine is called Vitamin B6

Folic Acid is Vitamin B9

Cobalamin is Vitamin B12

and Pantothenic Acid

Vitamin B1 (thiamin)

DOES: Coverts food into energy (breaks down carbohydrates into the simple sugar glucose) and aids the function of the heart, cardiovascular system, brain and nervous system. It is absorbed through the intestines.

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS: these are rare but can often occur in alcoholics (the alcohol interferes with the absorption of thiamin through the intestine).

FOUND IN: whole-grain cereals, bread, red meat, egg yolks, green leafy vegetables, legumes, sweet corn, brown rice, berries and yeast.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

DOES: works with other B vitamins to promote healthy growth and tissue repair and helps release energy from carbohydrates and the breakdown of fats and proteins.  Helps with healthy skin, the mucus membranes, the cornea, the nerve sheaths and red blood cell production.

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS: skin disorders, anemia, light-senstive eyes and inflammation of soft tissue lining around mouth and nose.

FOUND IN: whole-grain products, milk, meat, eggs, cheese and peas.

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

DOES: Releases energy from carbohydrates, metabolism of food, produces healthy nerves, skin and digestive system.

DEFICIENCY: disease called pellagra.

FOUND IN: meat, fish, brewer's yeast, milk, eggs, legumes, potatoes and peanuts.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
DOES: Important for maintaining healthy brain function, formation of red blood cells, breakdown of protein and synthesis of antibodies in support of immune system and is essential in the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS: sink disorders, disruption of the nervous system, confusion, poor coordination and insomnia.

FOUND IN: liver, meat, brown rice, fish, butter, wheat germ, whole grain cereals, and soybeans.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid)

DOES: interacts with B12 for the synthesis of DNA.  It breaks down proteins and aides in the formation of hemoglobin.  It is produced by a bacteria in the stomach and intestines.

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS: anemia, poor growth and irritation of the mouth.  It is common in alcoholics, the elderly and people who are malnourished.

FOUND IN: yeast, liver, poultry, pork, shellfish, green vegetables, beans/legumes, citrus fruits/juices, and whole grain cereals.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
DOES: Important for metabolism in the processing of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, formation of red blood cells and maintenance of central nervous system including the brain and spinal cord.  It is stored in the liver.  It can be consumed in large doses because excess is excreted by the body or stored in the liver for use when supplies are scarce.  Stores can last up to one year!

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS: include tiredness, being irritable, finding it hard to concentrate, difficulty remembering things, mouth irritations, anemia and in extreme cases, psychosis or depression. Many believe that B12 helps normalize the body’s internal sleep timers, so if you find yourself sleeping often and waking up tired, a vitamin B12 deficiency may be the cause.

FOUND IN: liver (from almost any animal), meat, egg yolks, poultry, milk and cereal.  The BEST sources are found in these top ten list:  1) clams, oysters and mussels.   2) liver.   3) caviar (fish eggs).   4) octopus.   5) fish.   6) crab and lobster.   7) beef.   8) lamb (mutton).   9) cheese (swiss has the most!)   10) eggs (yolks).

Pantothenic Acid

DOES: used in the breakdown of carbohydrates, lipids and some amino acids.  It is produced by bacteria in the intestines.

FOUND IN: meats, legumes and whole-grain cereals.