Well it has been a MUCH calmer Tuesday here free of any deceased animal incidents.  However Leopold was upset because we had to go to the vet because the little snafu yesterday reminded me he needed his kennel cough shot (thank god he had his 2 year rabies done last year!).  Ever since I quit my job, he and I have been attached at the hip – he goes everywhere and I’m starting to think it might not be a bad idea to start leaving him at home from time to time.  Sadly, he has a huge attitude when we’re out and about and his behavior at the vet today was beyond embarrassing.  Thank goodness my vet and the wonderful vet tech are so nice.  I do think his needy, aggressive, and bizarre social behavior stems from constantly being around me and not having time alone or with other dogs.  Maybe I’ll take him to a dog park to socialize (even though those are SO gross – wait now I know where he gets it).

Moving on – I decided to adapt my Box Cupcake Cheat method to something that always makes me mad – bundt cakes.  Only because they always stick or are dry or fall apart.  Like always I followed the prep and I adjusted the bake time down about 8 minutes (the box said 38 I did 30).  I also buttered that pan beyond words…. no nook or cranny was left unbuttered…..  Also I decided to cut this bundt in half and do a layer of Ikea Lingon Berry preserve, basically because I found a great old NordicWare Bundt at my grandma’s and HAD to use it but wanted to do the filling still.

I also decided to make my own frosting – a big deal since I usually just go with the canned version.  I found this great ‘mix-and-match’ buttercream recipe chart and since my grandma loves lemon, I’m going with that.

So I ended up adding a little bit more (4 Tablespoons) of butter to this mix because I hate the way powdered sugar tastes – and of course I had to add food coloring.  I primarily did that just so no one would take a bite and be surprised it was lemon.  I cut the bundt in half with a knife and used a cookie pan (without sides) to slide under the top half so I could put the coating of Lingon berry preserve on there.

I put the top back on by sliding it off the side-less cookie sheet and it was back together in one piece!  Then I iced a thin coat of the frosting on the budnt to fill the gap between top and bottom – from there I put both the frosting and bundt in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up a little bit (see this is why I hate homemade frosting).  I finished frosting/globbing and ta-dah!