In an Instagram Minute
Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: January 6, 2026
Just when I though May was busy, then came June. I have not had much time to breathe yet. Every weekend has been taken up by family events. The most important one being my daughter’s birthday. So of course I was busy making treats for her. Here is what I have been doing for those that don’t follow my on Instagram.
First up were some treats for her party at school. I made some cookie dough cupcake pops. You can find the recipe and the how-to here.
Then I made some cupcakes fop her party at a miniature golf place with her friends and cousins. I just used a Funfetti cake mix and made some buttercream frosting. I used some green candy melt to make the leaves. I drew the leaves on a wax paper and then peeled them off when the candy melt set.
Pink and green glittery sprinkles added the final touch. My daughter thought they were pretty, which is not bad considering she mostly likes boys stuff and her favorite color is blue.
When I asked her what she wanted on her cake for the family party we were having after her friend’s party, she said she wanted an outer space theme. Yes, leave it to my daughter to make my life challenging. She has a fascination with outer space, planets, constellations, and stars ever since Santa brought her the Children’s Atlas of the Universe two years ago.
I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I racked my brain for a way to make it work. For the frosting, I bought a can of blue frosting and added some black frosting to it to make it darker. I swirled on some extra black frosting to give the cake more dimension and brushed on some edible glitter dust for added effect.
For the planets, I used an Oreo and cream mixture to form the balls. Then dipped them in candy melt and painted on them with gel food coloring. They were not the best looking things, but not bad for someone who does not do cake decorating for a living. My daughter was pretty impressed and thrilled that she had planets on her cake.
Of course, when she saw me adding the little pearl balls for the stars, she asked me to make some constellations. Seriously? I just busted my hump making these planets. Sheesh! I did try to make some, but it wasn’t really that easy. Those little pearl candies are very slippery creatures. I also couldn’t find a way to make edible rings for the planets, so I had to resort to vellum paper from my scrapbooking stash. Other than that everything was edible.
The inside was a just a white cake (from a box) that I filled with some homemade dulce de leche and strawberries. I got lots of props on the cake the day of the party. I was able to make it all the way through to the blowing out of the candles when out of nowhere, I got slammed with a stomach virus. I had to quietly slip away from the party and spent the rest of the day in bed. Not cool.
At least this time, the virus did not cause me to pass out face first and smash up my face. But it did put a kink in my Father’s Day plans. I was not able to indulge in all the yummy food my mom made for brunch.
Now I am almost back to my regular eating. I am trying to keep it healthy. But I am dying to get back to baking some yummy treats. Next week is my last week of work, after that I will have more free time to do the things I love. So stay tuned!
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Churro Puff Pastry
I am still looking for Spring. We saw it peek it’s head out a week or so ago, but not it has disappeared again. Today was windy and chilly. The skies were cloudy all day. All I want it some warm weather so we can spend some time outside for a change. I hate being trapped in the house. But I supposed the only good thing to come out of this, is more baking for me. Last week I made six jars of dulce de leche. I had some recipe testing to do. The first two recipes didn’t go so well, but this one came out just right.
I had never used puff pastry before, so I thought I would try something new. The instructions on the box seemed fairly easy. Just unfold the dough, thaw it for 40 minutes at room temperature, then bake and decorate.
I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on the dough before baking. I always keep a jar on hand. It’s great to sprinkle on french toast, crepes, waffles, cupcakes, etc.
The dough only takes 15 minutes to bake. You can whip up your cream for the filling while the dough cools.
Then comes the best part, the filling. I used my homemade dulce de leche (but you can use store bought) and made some whipped cinnamon mascarpone frosting that I also used for my Churro Cupcakes, Cinnamon Chocolate Cake, and my Pumpkin Spice Crepes. It’s great as a frosting or filling. I love it!
The pastry dough it so light and flaky. The mix of the dulce the leche with the cinnamon mascarpone frosting tones down the sweetness of the dulce de leche. Overall, it’s like eating a cloud. A soft, fluffy, sweet cloud. You don’t feel heavy or guilty after eating this. But it tastes superb. I am going to have to make some more desserts with puff pastry now.
Churro Puff Pastry
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 1 1/2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack dulce de leche mascarpone cheese puff pastry cinnamon Cinco de Mayo puff pastry
Ingredients (6 servings)
For the puff pastry
- 1 box ready to bake puff pastry sheets
- 8 tablespoons dulce de leche, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (see recipe below)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the puff pastry
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Remove 1 sheet of puff pastry and place on a plate. Thaw at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes, or until it is pliable.
Unfold pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and cut into 3 strips at the folds. Sprinkle the strips evenly with 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar.
Place the strips on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Carefully remove the puff pastry from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack and prepare cream filling.
With an electric mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy).
In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated.
Now that the puff pastry has cooled, cut each into 2 layers lengthwise, for a total of 6 layers.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar onto the three bottom layers.
Then spread 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche on four of the layers (keep 2 nice looking pieces for the tops). And spread the mascarpone filling evenly over the dulce de leche.
Next begin layering. You are making two “sandwiches”, so each “sandwich” should have a bottom puff pastry and a middle one with filling, and the top one which is bare.
Place the two desserts in the fridge for a 1/2 hour to an hour to set before cutting.
Once set, cut each dessert into three squares with a wet serrated knife, for easier slicing. Top with strawberries or fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!
For the cinnamon sugar
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Keep remaining mixture in an airtight container and use to sprinkle on french toast, oatmeal, yogurt, waffles, crepes, etc.
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