Evite Eats: Ombré Mango Cake

Next up in the series highlighting our very own party pros is Evite customer care specialist Michele Chung, whose recipe for a gorgeous ombré mango cake is perfect for a birthday or baby shower. Michele has a passion for baking treats that are as eye-catching as they are delicious, and this cake is one of her specialities! Get all the details of her delectable dessert below, and don't forget to keep checking bacl for the next Evite Eats.

Michele makes her three-tier mango cake using 6-inch pans and buttercream frosting. For the piping, she uses a Wilton 1M tip to create swirls. Your local baker can do this step for you, or check out the tutorial on YouTube. It's a lot easier than it looks!

Mango Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla or 2 tsp pure mango extract (optional, but will add more mango flavor)
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup mango puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients (in no particular order) until smooth, and pour evenly into three 6-inch pans. Bake for 25-30 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1-3 tbsp milk (frosting needs to be stiff to use for piping)
• Red food coloring

Mix all ingredients on low speed just until blended. Divide frosting among three bowls, adding red food coloring to two until the desired shades of pink are developed. Assemble the cake by frosting in between and around each layer in the appropriate color frosting. Finish by piping swirls around the cake, creating an ombré effect with white at the base, light pink in the middle, and darker pink on top. 

At your next gathering, let them eat cake! If it's a birthday party you're baking for, this festive Evite invitation is great for the occassion.

Looking for more party-friendly recipes? Check out our other Evite Eats recipes, including beer-basted baby back ribs and manchego cheese-and-fig crostini. 

Father's Day: Cookies From Kids

If your kids are wondering what to get their dad this year, these cookies go straight to the heart (and stomach). They also double as a fun activity! You can make your own sugar cookies, or opt for store-bought ones. Either way, the real charm comes in the decorating.

Ingredients:

• Sugar cookie dough (store-bought or homemade)
• Cookie cutters
• Flour
• Rolling pin
• Cutting board
• Cookie icing
• Edible color markers

Step 1: Cover cutting board and rolling pin with flour, roll out dough, and make desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake cookies according to recipe or package instructions.

Step 2: Let cookies cool for at least 30 mins (icing will melt if too hot). Have an adult create a border around the edge of each cookie with icing (which should come in a package with a nozzle tip for easy decorating).

Step 3: Fill in the rest of the cookie with icing. Kids can help with this step.

Step 4: Once all cookies are iced, let set for 45 mins. or until hardened.

Step 5: When icing is dry, cover a table with butcher paper or paper tablecloth and let kids' imaginations run wild as they decorate each with food markers.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Birthday Party

Next up in our series of easy and affordable kids birthday parties brought to you by Evite and Birthday Express is Yo Gabba Gabba! Evite guest stylist Jesi Haack created a magical ambiance filled with friendly toy monsters and musical references kids can't get enough of. From the party decorations to the three-step menu, this Yo Gabba Gabba! event is as doable as it is dazzling.

We're debuting a new theme every week, so come back for more birthday party inspiration.

Make life easier on busy parents (and yourself) by sending a matching Yo Gabba Gabba! Evite invitation.

Click here to see the entire Yo Gabba Gabba! party.

Camp In Birthday Party

Children never get bored with the great outdoors, which is why Evite collaborated with Birthday Express to create a camping-themed slumber party for kids. Our talented crew added DIY touches to Let's Go Camping Birthday Express products to successfully (and affordably) bring the outdoors in, plus designed an easy-to-do party menu, favor options, and more. Check it out and be sure to return for more inspiration -- we're rolling out a new theme every week!

The camping-themed Evite invitation below pairs perfectly with the theme!

Click here to see the entire Camp In party!

Easter Egg Animal Parade

These DIY Easter eggs are perfect for surprising children Easter morning. Kids will be delighted when they add water to their egg, crack it open, and see an animal pop out! 

Materials:

• Bowl
• 1 dozen eggs
• Food coloring
• Cups
• Water
• Safety pin
• White crayon
• Magic Grow Safari Animal capsules  

Step 1: Using a safety pin, poke two holes in each egg: one the width of an animal capsule, and another the width of the safety pin.

Step 2: Blow out the egg yolk into a bowl.

Step 3: Using a white crayon, write or draw anything you like on the eggs. (We wrote the names of the animals)

Step 4: Soak each egg in a glass of water with food coloring until egg reaches the desired shade.

Step 5: Let eggs dry for approximately 20 mins.

Step 6: Stuff egg with animal capsule.



To make the animal-parade gift case, cut an egg carton in half and spray paint it using vibrant spring colors. Don't forget to tell kids to soak eggs in water before cracking open in order to see the animals!

Easter Basket for Her

This Easter, treat the lovely lady in your life with a little pampering. Whether it's for your wife, mom, girlfriend, sister, or best friend, a lovely and thoughtful basket filled with spa-themed goodies is the perfect thing for helping her to unwind this Sunday and in the weeks to come.

Fill an Easter basket with some DIY Bunny Bath Salts, festive bunny slippers, and a gift certificate to a nearby spa.

Make store-bought shower gel festive by pouring it inside a new container such as this Gama Go Hunny Bunny.

Here are some other Easter-basket ideas perfect for pampering someone you love:

Essie nail polish with nail files
EOS lip balm
Voluspa Mokara Candle
Bottle of wine
Candy
Necklace or bracelet

If you’re a guy or girl who isn’t crafty but still wants to do something special, a bottle of wine, candy-filled Easter eggs, and spa gift certificate is great way to help loved ones relax this Easter. 

DIY Bunny Bath Salts

Surprise the bath-loving ladies in your life with carrot-shaped "Bunny Bath Salts." This DIY gift is super easy to make and will be a welcome respite from all that candy she receives.

Materials:

• Orange blossom bath salts
• 12 in. disposable decorating bag
• Twist tie
• Green paper
• Kraft paper
• White gel pen
• Fringe or reg. scissors 
• Double-sided tape

Step 1: Pour bath salts into the bag.

Step 2: Use the twist tie to seal the bag.

Step 3: Cut a small piece of green paper about 5” x 4".

Step 4: Cut paper into strips of fringe, making sure to leave half an inch of uncut paper at the top.

Step 5: Place double-sided tape along the edge of uncut paper. Wrap fringed paper around the top of the “carrot” and trim any uneven ends.

Step 6: Use the kraft paper and gel pen to make the label, and attach. 

Fun with pancakes

Have you noticed an increase in expensive kitchen gadgetry for kids, like bendy man spatulas and mouse measuring cups? The aim is to make cooking fun for children. Hello! Put away the credits cards and just do this: Clean an empty plastic ketchup bottle and fill it with pancake batter.

The opening is perfectly sized for making funny pancakes. Before the ketchup bottle discovery, the most I could do to impress my toddler was drop two blobs of batter into the skillet to make a lopsided snowman. Now I can spell names and create turtles, flowers, puppy dogs, caterpillars and bunny ears (well, that one looks more like the “peace sign” hand gesture, but whatever). The point is, the sky’s the limit, almost.

Here are a few tips:

• If you’re spelling a name in batter, write backwards so the pretty, golden brown side will be on top when you flip it.

• Since the batter expands, it's best to stick to shapes with rounded features, avoiding sharp angles and triangles. Sadly, that means no kitty ears.

• Use ¼ more mix than your recipe calls for. Otherwise the batter will be too thin to hold a shape.

• To fill a standard 24-ounce ketchup bottle, use about 3 cups of batter.

• Add a tablespoon a flaxseeds for a tasty health boost. Flaxseeds are a great source of Omega-3s, but they also add a mild nutty flavor to pancakes.

Chickens are the new black

Sure, the Obamas planted a Victory Garden, and these days urban and backyard gardeners from Brooklyn to the Midwest to San Fran are impressing their guests with salsas and salads plucked from their own sunny plots.

But can a tomato plant decorate your party? Will it entertain your guests? Certainly not. That’s where chickens come in. They’re budget-friendly — we paid $11 for each of them, plus a coop — and they even supply food!

Plus, chickens bring:

• An element of drama. Where will they run next? What are they scratching at? Can I pet them?
• The ultimate eco-friendly appetizers. From the backyard to the kitchen, there is no carbon footprint for fabulous deviled eggs!
• Coolest kid on the block status. Sure, your friends have the newest iPhone, but chickens? That’s the next level.
• Children love chickens! For petting, have an adult hold the chicken, beak facing away, while the tyke pats the smooth back feathers. Kids love chasing them too; don’t sweat it, chickens outrun little ones. Warning: My birds peck at beak-level food; when kids eat ice cream cones, put your feathered friends in the coop.

Ultimate, No Carbon Footprint Deviled Eggs!
Match the herb to the cuisine you’re serving. Going Greek? Add oregano. Good old American? Chives or dill will do. Italian? Try basil.

• 1 dozen fresh eggs
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (low-fat will taste just as good)
• 1 teaspoon. dried herb of your choice, plus a dash for sprinkling (got fresh? Use about 3 times as much, minced)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Place eggs in pot; add cold water until eggs are covered by an inch. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover, remove from heat and let sit 17 minutes. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and water. Transfer eggs to bowl, and chill until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes (this makes eggs easier to peel and prevents the dark coloring around the yolk).

Crack shells gently; peel, rinsing if necessary to remove shell. Slice each egg in half lengthwise. Transfer yolks to medium bowl and whites to platter.

Using back of fork, break up yolks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon dried herb and mustard; stir to blend thoroughly. Correct seasoning if necessary.

Using small spatula or spoon, portion yolk mixture evenly into halved whites. Sprinkle yolk mixture with herbs and serve.

Serves 12 as appetizer

just chillin'

White wine might be the perfect accompaniment to a summer dinner party. But how many times have you realized only moments before your guests arrive that you've forgotten to chill your bottle of wine? We've got a tip that'll give you ice-cold wine in less than 10 minutes with nothing more than ice, water and salt.

Here's what you do: Fill an ice bucket about a third full of ice cubes. (Staying true to my statement above, if you don't have an ice bucket, you can always use a large mixing bowl or even your kitchen sink.) On top of the ice, spread a generous handful or two of salt — about a third of a cup. Work the bottle of wine into the ice cubes, then fill the ice bucket the rest of the way with cold water making sure as much of the bottle is submerged as possible. Violà! You've got super-cold wine in no time. And trust me, this works a million times better than shoving it in the freezer for a few minutes.

We're filing this under one more way that salt saves the day.

There are plenty of dinner party Evite invitations to choose from, but we like this one for its simplicity. Click here to make it yours.