Holiday Cake Pops

I've tried cake pops only a couple of times before, from Starbucks and from a local bakery, and they were DIVINE.  But they're always relatively expensive, and I thought, "There's gotta be a way to make these at home."  Or at least customize them.  So I did a little research, and here's what I came up with.  The pictures here are Halloween cake pops only because I'm making them during October, but obviously they can be made at any time and decorated any way you like.  :)  I will definitely be trying to make these at other times of the year.  Stay tuned.  ;)

So, before I begin, I thought I'd share some of the stuff I learned along the way while making them.  If you've ever worked with either candy and/or colors (such as with fondant or icing), then some of these observations will not be new to you.  But for an amateur/novice like me, these are things I wish I knew ahead of time.

What I learned from this experience:

1. When trying to make the orange color in melted candy, equal parts red + yellow  ≠ orange.  It ends up being more like a reddish-peach-pink.  Emphasis on the pink.  :( My advice would be to start with yellow candies and add red until the desired orange shade is achieved.  That and/or buy yellow candy color to add. Either way, buy way more of yellow than red candies to melt.  ;)
2. Formed cake balls are HEAVY on lollipop sticks.  Do not skip any of the refrigeration steps.  They are your friend.  And don't make them any bigger than golf ball sizes.
3. Using a double-boiler or fondue pot is probably your best bet for keeping the melted candy pliable and in a consistent state.  Yes, the candy is most likely microwaveable, but to do more than a couple of cake pops will require the melted candy to be in a constant melted state, and the cycle of microwaving-cooling-microwaving may alter the consistency of the candy.
4. Do not use a wire rack to place your freshly-dipped pops. Use waxed or parchment paper.  Trust me on this.
5. The nice round pop-shape is difficult to do for first-timers; I recommend doing a caramel apple-type of pop instead until you get the hang of it.

And with that, I bring you Holiday Cake Pops...

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Ingredients:
Cake portion
1 package cake mix
eggs, oil, etc., according to package directions
1 can of frosting (do not use whipped frosting; regular or homestyle is best)

Pops
Candy melts - get at least 1 bag of white, then whatever colors will comprise the shades you'll need for your occasion
Lollipop sticks
Cookie frosting or cake icing (don't use the gel form, solid icings work best)
Candy food coloring (if needed)
Decorator sugar, sprinkles, etc.
1-2 tsp canola oil, as needed

Directions:
Bake cake according to package directions.  It's best if you bake in a 9x13 pan since you'll be working with it later. 

Let cool completely (about 3 hours or more).  Crumble entire cake into a large bowl. 

Add frosting; start with 1/2 the can and add more as needed.  Cake mixture should be moist, not overly frosting-y or greasy.

Cover bowl and chill 15-30 minutes.  After chilling, take scoopfuls of cake mixture and roll into golfball-sized (or smaller) balls. Don't make them any larger or they'll be unwieldy when dipping in melted candy later. Chill.

As I learned later, this is too large. ;)

While cake is chilling again, melt a small amount of candy in a microwave-safe bowl; it's best if it's the same color or close to the finished color you plan to use for the pops.  Or you can always use white.  :)  Take out cake balls from the fridge.  Take lollipop sticks and dip one end into melted candy. Insert all the way into each ball.  Chill again. 

Melt a larger amount of candy (3-4 cups) in a double-boiler according to candy specifications. Consistency should be smooth and not too thick (should be thinner than pudding); if melted candy is too thick, add *drops* of oil a little at a time and stir in. 

Take balls with pop sticks out of the fridge.  Carefully take each ball by the stick and dip/dredge in melted candy to completely coat. Place on waxed or parchment paper.

Don't do what I did here...use waxed paper to rest them on!

Dust with sprinkles, non-pareils, decorator sugar, etc (whatever you decide is best for your occasion). Return to refrigerator.  After another 15 minutes, cake pops are ready for cookie frosting for final touches, or are ready to serve as is.  If not serving immediately, cover in a tall, air-tight container and return to refrigerator.

Ready for transporting & gift-giving!

Makes about 30 pops.

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GBAdams
10/07/2011

Autumn Pumpkin Muffins w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Variation on a theme: pumpkins!  ;)

A few years ago I tweaked my banana bread recipe by incorporating pumpkin instead of bananas.  It took several tries, but I did eventually get it right.  And then this year I had a "eureka!" moment.  What if I tweaked it some more so that I could make muffins out of the recipe.  Aha! So I did. And here is the result.

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Ingredients:
Dry
2 C Flour (all-purpose)
1 C white sugar
¾ C dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Liquid
2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
½ C melted butter (1 stick) or canola oil
1 C milk (can be substituted with soy milk)
15 oz. (1 can) plain mashed pumpkin
4 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1½ C powdered sugar (3/4 lb powdered sugar)
2 tsp vanilla

Prep:
Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 10-12 large muffin baking pans with paper liners. Set aside.

Directions:
Mix together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Add eggs, butter and milk.  Stir until everything is moistened, then add the mashed pumpkin; combine well.  Mix in the vanilla.  Divide batter evenly and pour into prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, prepare frosting: in a bowl, beat together softened butter and cream cheese with a mixer at medium-high speed.  Once fully incorporated together, add powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating slowly.  (Or else you’ll kick up the powder and will end up wearing it. LOL)  Once all the sugar has been added and initially mixed in, add vanilla.  Beat mixture on medium-high to high speed until fully creamed and smooth, about 4-5 minutes.  It’s a good idea to stop after about 2 minutes and scrape the sides of the bowl (especially if you have a stand mixer) to make sure that all of the butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla are fully mixed in. Chill mixture in refrigerator to help it set up; take out 15 minutes prior to frosting muffins so it can warm up a little and be more pliable. You definitely don’t want either the muffins or the frosting to be warm when you apply it to the tops; if the muffin is still warm, the frosting will melt and/or slide right off the top.

Once muffins are fully cooled, frost with cream cheese mixture.  Can be piped on and decorated or spread with a rounded knife.

Makes about 10-12 muffins.

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GBAdams
10/11/2011

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

This recipe is based on my regular Nana Bread, but instead of one big loaf, it's parsed out into individual servings known as muffins.  ;)  Adding chocolate chips to the banana bread, while it seems to be a current foodie trend, is something of a novelty in my house.  My husband likes it, but still thinks it's a strange combination. 


My first attempt at this modified recipe was using "stand-alone" paper muffin cups.  What that's supposed to mean is that you shouldn't need any kind of muffin cup support.  But as you can see in the image at left, I would beg to differ with the manufacturer.  ;)  I think eventually I'll have to buy muffin molds just to give the banana bread batter some structure before it has firmed up through the heat of the oven. Otherwise you get muffin-creep like I had with this batch.  It was thisclose to Muffins Overboard.   ;)

Enjoy!  :)

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Ingredients:
Dry
2 C Flour (unbleached, all-purpose)
1 C Sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 oz (about ½ a regular 12-oz bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Liquid
2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
½ C melted butter (1 stick) or canola oil
⅓ C milk (can be substituted with soy milk)
3-4 (up to 5, depending on size) very ripe bananas (spotty ones are best)
4 tsp vanilla extract

Prep:
Preheat oven to 350°.  Set up paper muffin cups, standalone (LOL) or place cups inside cupcake/muffin molds.  12, if using large paper cups, or 15-16 if using smaller ones.

Directions:
Mix together sugar, flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Mash the bananas as well as possible, ensuring there are no large lumps left.  Consistency should be relatively smooth. 

To the dry mix, add the eggs, butter and milk.  Stir until everything is moistened, then add the mashed bananas; combine well.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Add chocolate chips and again, mix well.  Use a ladle or other large spoon to take scoops of batter and pour into individual muffin cups.  If using stand-alone muffin cups, place them on a flat cookie sheet.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until inserted toothpicks come out clean. 

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GBAdams
10/11/2011

Harvest Pumpkin Pancakes

So a friend of mine recently gave me an idea on a new breakfast idea, just in time for autumn.  If you use pancake mix and canned pumpkin, this is a very simple and easy recipe to make.  You can, of course, always use your favorite from-scratch pancake recipe and/or homemade mashed pumpkin, but this was infinitely easier and faster to make, especially if you're as busy as most people I know with kids. 

Hope you enjoy it! :)

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Ingredients:
10 oz pancake mix (such as Shake N Pour)
2 C cool water
7 oz mashed pumpkin (about ½ a can)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
butter or cooking spray for the griddle



Directions:
Combine pancake mix and water; mix well.  Whisk in mashed pumpkin and pie spice. 

The mix should not be the consistency of cake batter, it should be about the same or slightly thinner than regular pancake batter.  So if mix is too thick, thin with water or milk until desired consistency is achieved.  Pour batter onto greased griddle (you can use butter or cooking spray on the griddle) that's been preheated on medium to medium-high; be careful not to pour too much at once so pancakes don't run into one another. 

When the pancakes start to lift on the edges and the batter has large bubbles throughout, flip.  Cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until other side is golden brown.  Serve with butter or margarine and syrup. 

Makes about 15 medium-sized pancakes.

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GBAdams
10/09/2011

Dutch Apple Pie (aka Nikkie Apple Pie)

My husband's favorite non-chocolate pie is Dutch Apple.  We recently went to an apple orchard for some fall fun, and while we did not get to pick apples (the buds were destroyed by frost last spring), I did walk out of there with a  5-lb bag of Gala apples that were brought in from the Western Slope.  So I had this bag of very fine apples, and I wondered what to do with them.  And then it hit me - make a pie!  Talk about a "duh" moment.  ;) 

So even though this is based on the Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie recipe, I'm going to name this after one of my good friends, Nikkie, since she is actually Dutch. And because I like how it sounds.  ;) I perfected this on my second try, and there is a bit of "cheating" here since the crust is the store-bought pre-made kind.  But the rest is totally from scratch.  My favorite part of the whole thing is the crumb topping, partly because it's so unbelievably easy to remember, and partly because it's very hard to mess up. You also can't argue with something made out of butter, flour and sugar. 

I hope you enjoy my version of the apple pie...  :)

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Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust (i.e. Pillsbury), at room temperature

Crumb topping (make at least 1 hr in advance) -
1 stick butter or margarine (8 Tbsp), softened to room temperature
1 C sugar
1 C flour, sifted
1 tsp salt

1½ tsp cinnamon

Pie filling -

5 medium-large apples or 8 small apples (I usually use Gala or Honeycrisp), peeled & sliced

1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

½ C granulated sugar

¼ C brown sugar, packed

½ C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

Prepare crumb topping:

In a small bowl, combine butter with sugar, flour and spices using a fork or pastry blender.  Mix until all the dry ingredients are a little moistened and/or you cannot see any more individual chunks of butter. Place crumb mix into quart-size zip bag and place in the fridge at least 1 hour ahead of assembling the filling so it has a chance to firm up. (I usually do it the day before so it firms up really well.)

Directions for pie filling:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.  Unroll pre-made pie crust and place into pie tin.  Make sure there are no air bubbles by gently pressing dough into tin with fingertips. Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Make sure all the dry ingredients are blended well.  In a large bowl, add lemon juice to sliced apples and stir to ensure even coverage. Add sugar/flour mixture and stir well again.  Place a cookie sheet under the pie tin. (This is to catch any crumb topping and/or overflowing juices as the pie bakes.) Carefully spoon apple filling into crust. Take crumb topping mix and gently pour over the top of the apples. Make sure apples are evenly covered, edge to edge.  Pie will seem extremely tall, but be assured that it will bake down to nearly even with the edges.

Bake for 1hr 10mins or until crumb topping is a dark golden brown. Let cool at least 30 minutes, serve slightly warm or at room temperature.  Cover tightly and store in an air-tight container.  Makes 6-8 pieces.

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GBAdams
09/19/2011

Basic Filipino Marinade (Germ's Style)

The finished product how we normally have it -- grilled, on a bed of lettuce & a warm pita.

After I was married and was seriously cooking for a household, I tried to replicate the marinade for the BBQ kebobs I loved so much from family picnics, but was never successful.  One time at a gathering at his family's house, my beloved late uncle, Papa Jess, told me the secret to the Filipino marinade: 7-Up.  I nearly fell over, I was so shocked.  I think I actually said to him, "Get OUTTA here!"  Sure enough, the next time I made the marinade, it was perfect. It was like the puzzle was finally complete.  So here is my version of the marinade, tweaked over the years til I got it how I liked it.  I hope you enjoy it, too.  :)

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Ingredients:
1 C Soy Sauce (full sodium works best because it will get diluted with the other liquids that are added)
3-4 Cloves minced garlic OR 2 Tbsp Garlic powder
½ C Brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp Ground ginger
½ C Rice vinegar
1 can 7-Up

Blend well before adding it to meats.  For best results, pour over the meat and refrigerate in an air-tight container for at least a day or more before grilling.  (I like to go 3-4 days to ensure the meat REALLY gets infused with the flavor.)

Can be used on pork, chicken or beef.  I prefer marinating srips of pork with some slight marbling within; if you choose meats that are extremely lean, they will come out tough and chewy.  I recently experimented with strips of chuck steak and they were INCREDIBLE.

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Strips of beef in the marinade, Day One:

This is what the same meat looks like right out of the fridge, 4 days later:

Grilling on a screen designed for small meats & veggies.  Keeps 'em from falling through the grates.  :)

...and some grilled onions:

Normally I put the meat & veggies on a pita bread, but saw the flatbread package in the store and decided to try that.  MUCH better - it's thinner than a pita, so it doesn't fill you up as easily.

The finished product.  (Meat can also be skewered onto wooden sticks for kebabs/yakitori-type grilling.  That's how they're usually presented, FIlipino-style.)  Yum!  :)

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GBAdams
09/14/11

Panko-Pecan Rainbow Trout

Ingredients:
1 C Panko bread crumbs (potato flakes can be substituted for gluten-free option)
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 C pecan chips

Prep:
- Use on 2 small-med rainbow trout, de-boned, head and tail removed, and skin on, or 3-4 3oz tilapia filets.
- Apply to moistened (not battered) fish on the flesh side (do not apply on the skin). If using tilapia, cover both sides.
- Once breading is applied, moisten breading with a spray bottle filled with water. Then lightly press into fish using waxed or parchment paper.

Directions:
Heat 2-3 Tbsp canola oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet on med-high heat.  (The butter helps to brown the fish & breading nicely.) Place the trout, skin-side down into pan.  Cook for about 7-9 minutes, then flip. (You may need to use 2 spatulas to accomplish this.)  Reduce heat to medium and brown the breaded side for another 7 minutes or so.  Fish is done when flesh is firm and flakes easily. Serve with vegetables.

Serves 2-3.

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GAdams
03/09/11