Sweet Fun with Good Cook - Review and Giveaway!

     This year was the first in several years that I was not able to attend the silent auction at my church.  It is a really fun event for a great cause and I get lots of Christmas gifts for a great price.  Last year, I got a cupcake maker.  It's previous owner didn't see it's practical side like I did.  I used it several times a week for a while after we first got it.  Muffins for breakfast, biscuits with lunch and cornbread with supper, I was obsessed.  It renewed my love of baking and for sweet warm breads.  I had forgotten how much I loved that type of thing.

     This year I have a new love and it is helping me keep my love of baking.  It is the Sweet Creations Mini Loaf Pan.  It's a great non-stick must-have that creates four perfectly adorable mini loaves that are perfect for giving out this holiday season.  I was fortunate enough to get to try this pan out along with a package of festive parchment paper.  Here is how it all went:

     When I first opened it, I was literally jumping for joy.  My kids were laughing at me, but I didn't mind because when they saw it they were also excited.  We immediately went into recipe mode.  What were we going to bake?  I knew I wanted to incorporate fruit somehow and I wanted it to be sweet but not overwhelmingly so.  I ultimately decided on a simple yellow cake with a twist.  Instead of the usual milk, I used a can of tropical fruit mix, pureed.    It went together very easily.

First, I mixed the eggs and the sugar together until fully blended.  Next, I added the fruit puree, vanilla, and oil.  Lastly, I added the flour and baking powder.  It was all ready in a matter of minutes.  I used one bowl, one blender and a mixing blade so there was minimal clean-up.

The actual recipe is as follows:

Sweet Yellow Cake

3 jumbo eggs (or 4 regular)
2 c. organic sugar
2 1/2 c. All purpose flour
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) Tropical Fruit Mix, pureed
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

As the oven preheats, add the eggs and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and blend thoroughly.  Next, add other liquid ingredients and mix well.  Lastly, add dry ingredients and mix one more time until well blended.

Fill loaf pans 3/4 full and bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from stove and let cool completely before removing from the pan.

I used a traditional mixer, but I think this recipe would work well with just a spoon.  After it was all mixed, I simply filled the loaf pans 3/4 full and baked it.  I will say in the spirit of honesty that the loaf pan did not release the loaves as well as it did when I used the cooking spray, though the product is non-stick.  So in the future I will be definitely using non-stick spray for guaranteed easy release.

The pan is approximately 10"x13.25" and is 2" deep.  It had 4 mini loaf pockets that you can use to cook anything from brownies to lasagna or even fudge. The possibilities are almost endless.  I will be using my pan often, very often.  And luckily for you, the pan is on sale right now!  Not only that, but you can take an additional 25% off the pan with the coupon code SWEETLOAF.  How awesome is that!?

Good Cook was super sweet to allow me to try this pan and the parchment papers, which are PERFECT sized by the way.  And now they are being even more generous and allowing me to give one pan and one package of parchment papers away to one of my readers!!!  You know you want one *wink*.  So below is the wonderfully awesome Rafflecopter Gadget that will take you through the giveaway process.  As always, I fully appreciate every one of my readers and I wish you all the best of luck.  The giveaway ends Saturday, December 21st at 11:59 pm EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.