Adventures in Cake Bites: Easter Edition

I'd like to start off by apologizing for the mysterious "Tutorial Tuesday" that appeared yesterday, only to give everyone a wink and a cheeky grin. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it sure was funny!

For today, I am once again drawing inspiration from the incomparable Bakerella. As you may remember from the raspberry cupcake bites I did, Bakerella is responsible for single-handedly making the world swoon over her adorable cake bites. She even has a book coming out this year that is completely devoted to them! You can pre-order Cake Pops by Bakerella through amazon now!


Today, I'd like to share one of my cake bite endeavors: Easter egg cake bites. They look like eggs and they're decorated like eggs, but they're actually cake bites! I experimented with this idea last Easter, and kept things pretty simple. I've had some more practice with cake bites since then, so I stepped it up a bit this year.

To make cake bites you just need a 9 x 13 cake and about 16 ounces of frosting, in the flavors of your choice. You can make them from scratch, or use a boxed mix and ready made frosting. I chose white cake to make these look more like real eggs, but go with whatever your favorite flavor is! Just bake the cake as you normally would and allow it to cool completely.

Just a little tip: You don't have to grease and flour a cake pan. I have always been led to believe that if I did't slather on the grease, or butter, and throughly coat my pan with flour, then the cake would stick and it wouldn't come out of the pan in one piece. While this is very true for shaped or character pans, it doesn't apply to basic squares, rectangles, and rounds. Just cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the entire bottom of the pan, lightly spray the pan with a little cooking oil, and lay the parchment in the pan. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a paring knife around the edge and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Flip the cake onto wire cooling racks, remove the parchment, and allow to finish cooling. Pretty easy, huh? Okay, back to the cake bites!

Breaking of big chunks at a time, crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Once the whole cake has been crumbled into the bowl, add the frosting.

Stir well until all of the frosting and cake crumbs are throughly combined (I added some fun rainbow chips to the mix). Cover with plastic wrap and chill for one to two hours.

I decided that I wanted my eggs to have yolks, so I divided a very small amount of the mixture into a small bowl and tinted it yellow.

Once chilled, I shaped the yellow mixture into tiny yolks (about two dozen). Next, I shaped the white mixture around them. I did this by dividing the white mixture into equal pieces and rolling it into balls. Then I tore a ball in half, placed a "yolk" on one half, and put the other half on top. Then I rolled it between my hands to smooth it out and give it an egg shape. Once all of the eggs are shaped, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours or overnight.

Now it's time to coat the eggs. Once they're chilled, I like to put them in a stick to make them easier to coat. I don't always leave them on the stick, but they are much, much easier to coat this way. Melt a bag of white chocolate or candy melts. When I use white chocolate, I add one to two tablespoons of shortening to the chips while melting. This will thin out the chocolate a little, making it easier to coat with. It will also give the finished bite a little more of a snap when the chocolate hardens. 

Just dip your egg into the chocolate, turning it to coat it completely.

Allow the excess to drip off. Holding the cake bite over the bowl, tap your wrist with your other hand to gently get rid of the excess chocolate.

Place your eggs in a piece of foam or on parchment paper and allow them to harden. This is a really quick process since the eggs are chilled.

Now for the fun stuff: decorating the eggs! I mostly used colored sugars and sprinkles, but you could also use food writers and other decorating tools. Be sure to pick bright easter colors like these, or...

...fun, pastel nonpareils like these and...

...these confetti sprinkles.

To decorate, dip the end of your egg into more melted chocolate, tapping off any excess. Now dip the wet chocolate into some sugar or sprinkles. You can also apply confetti pieces individually by using a toothpick to place a tiny dot of melted chocolate on the back, then sticking the confetti to the egg. I also used a toothpick to draw shapes and lines on the eggs with melted chocolate, then I dipped them in the sugars while the lines were still wet to create fun designs! Be sure to draw or dip one section at a time and allow it to dry before moving on to another section or design.

I got a little help from NomNom and the hubster. I love how fun and colorful they both made theirs! And my husband's egg looks like a happy little clown! They're pretty talented guys, huh?

These are much easier than, and just as fun as, they look! Just take your time, be patient, and have fun with them!

And bring the family in! These are a blast to create together! Maybe a new tradition, instead of dying eggs?

Plus, there's no need to worry about breaking them!! Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Robins' Nests

I love Spring and Easter. It's not just the beautiful weather or fresh, new life springing up every where, I love the fun, pretty, delicious spring-themed treats that you can make. I have been doing a lot of brainstorming with different ideas and it has been very difficult narrowing down what I wanted to share! When I came up with this article's idea, though, I knew I had to show you all!!

I wanted a treat that would taste very yummy, and look very yummy, but would also be really fast and easy. I decided to go with an old favorite for the main part of the cookie: no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies. You know, those little chocolaty cookies full of oatmeal? Yeah, those! But with a Springy twist!

Most people probably already have their own version of this recipe, but for those who don't, I have a no fail version. You're going to need cocoa powder, milk, unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and quick oats.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar, milk, and cocoa powder and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute to a minute and a half. It's very important to pay attention to the time here because it plays a huge role in the texture of the cookies. If you cook them for less than a minute, they will stay soft and sticky, never setting up. However, if you cook them too long (I've found anything over one and a half minutes is too long) they will become dry and crumbly. I typically aim for a minute and 15 seconds, so that I have a little leeway in either direction. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Once the peanut butter is melted and combined, add the oats and stir well to combine. Immediately shape the cookies.

To shape the cookies, drop one tablespoon of the mixture onto waxed or parchment paper using a spring-loaded scoop or a tablespoon. Allow to cool for about five minutes. Now we're going to make these into pretty little birds' nests!

Before the cookies cool completely (and set up), use your thumb to press the centers of the cookies down, making an indentation in each one. Be careful here, as some of the cookies will still be very warm in the center.

There! Now you have yummy little birds' nests!! But where are the eggs?

There are a lot of options to use for the eggs, such as fondant or candy. I wanted to keep this very fast and easy, so I ruled out fondant and chose to use Whoppers Mini Robin Eggs. They compliment the flavor of the cookies, and they look the most fun in the little nests. Another great candy option would be jelly beans, although I don't think they would taste as good.

While the cookies are still wet, place two or three eggs in each nest, arranging them so they look more natural. That's all there is to it! From start to finish, these only took just under 15 minutes!! Now just allow the cookies to finish hardening at room temperature for at least an hour.

Voila! Super fast, super easy, and super-duper adorable cookies that are perfect for a lovely Spring treat, beautiful on an Easter table, or festive in a basket! Enjoy!

No-bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Robins' Nests


Makes 2 dozen


Ingredients


1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups quick oats

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar, milk, and cocoa powder and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute to a minute and a half. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Once the peanut butter is melted and combined, add the oats and mix well. Once combined, drop tablespoonfuls onto waxed or parchment paper and allow to cool for at least an hour or make into birds' nests.

To make birds' nests: After dropping tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the paper, allow to set up for 5 minutes then indent the centers by pressing down gently on them with your thumb. Add fondant or candy eggs (or jelly beans) to the nests and allow to cool and harden for at least 1 hour before serving.

One Bread, Four Ways

I have a fantastic white bread recipe. It's makes four different, delicious things all from the same exact ingredients. This bread can be made as a loaf, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, or as pigs-in-a-blanket. I believe it would make excellent sweet rolls too, with a little more sugar, but I'll save that for a future post! 


Once the dough is all mixed up, you have a total of about 36 ounces of dough. You can make two 18 ounce loaves, 18 two ounce dinner rolls, 12 three ounce hamburger buns, or up to 18 pigs-in-a-blanket. Or just about any combination of the four! I like to make half of it as dinner rolls and the other half as hamburger buns. Or I'll make one package (eight) of hot dogs into pigs-in-a-blanket, and use the remaining dough for rolls. There are lots of options!

You just need sugar, an egg, instant yeast, salt, unsalted butter, bread flour, and warm water.

Add the yeast and salt to the flour.

Next, add the sugar and whisk the ingredients together. Pour them into a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer.

Cut the butter into pieces.

For the water, I like to put three quarters of a cup of very hot water into a four cup measuring cup and add the butter pieces to melt them.

Stir the water until the butter is completely melted.

Next, I lightly beat the egg and add it to the melted butter and water and stir. Then I add the other three quarters of a cup of water at a luke warm temperature and stir again. In the end, the water needs to be 110 degrees or cooler.

Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until a dough just comes together.

If mixing by hand, dust your work surface with flour and turn the mixture out onto it. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

If using a standing mixer, knead with the dough hook attachment on medium speed for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should just stick to the bottom of the bowl when it's ready. If it's too wet, add more flour, a little at a time. If it's too dry, add more water. The next few pictures show the what the dough should look like at different stages.

Just after adding the wet ingredients and beginning to mix.

After kneading for about two minutes.

After about 5 minutes of kneading.

After about 8 minutes of kneading.

When you're done kneading the dough, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about two hours.

Once the dough is doubled, you'll want to divide it. If you want to make full sized loaves, divide the dough in half. Flatten each piece into a nine-by-eighteen rectangle and roll each into a loaf. Place each loaf in a loaf pan, seam side down. Cover with a clean, dry dish towel and allow to rise until doubled, about one hour.

For hamburger buns, divide the dough into 12 three ounce pieces.

Roll each piece into a smooth ball, or boule, and place in a bun pan or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes, then lightly press down on them with your fingers. Cover with a clean, dry towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

For dinner rolls (my personal favorite), divide the dough into 18 two ounce pieces.

Shape each piece into a smooth boule and arrange them with about an inch between each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Again, cover with a clean, dry towel and allow to rise until doubled in size.

For pigs-in-a-blanket, you will once again divide the dough into 18 two ounce pieces. Stretch each piece into a strip and spiral it around a hot dog. Place each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

You can also roll the dogs until they are completely enclosed in the bread dough.

Again, place them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a towl and allow to rise until doubled. These are a little harder to judge when they are doubled in size, but a good, general rule is to let them have their second rise for about an hour. If your home is much cooler than 75 degrees, they may need another 20 to 30 minutes.

All of my breads rising...

Once the dough is risen, brush it with an egg wash (one egg, lightly beaten with a teaspoon of water). This step is optional, but let me just tell you, it makes the bread really beautiful.

For the hamburger buns, after brushing the egg wash on, you can sprinkle a few sesame seeds on if you like.

Once you've added the egg wash, preheat the oven to 350 degrees for loaves, or 400 degrees for the rolls, buns, or pigs-in-a-blanket.

Bake loaves for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the interior temperature reaches about 190 degrees. Halfway through the baking time, rotate the loaves 180 degrees and switch their positions in the oven (moving the right loaf to the left side and vice versa).


Bake rolls, buns, or pigs for 15-18 minutes, or until interior temperature is about 180 degrees. I don't rotate any of these while baking.

Once you remove everything from the oven, transfer to wire cooling racks. Allow loaves, dinner rolls, and hamburger buns to cool completely before serving. Allow the pigs-in-a-blanket to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

These are super delicious! Making the dough from scratch really adds a lot to them! I like making these with turkey dogs, so they're a little bit healthier.

These buns lend a truly gourmet feel and flavor to hamburgers.

Then there's these. I love these. Oh, how I love these!! The loaf bread comes in at a close second to these, but nothing beats these babies!

If you decide to make this dough, you have to make these! They are the best!! Enjoy!

One Bread, Four Ways

Makes 2 loaves, 18 dinner rolls, 12 hamburger buns, or 18 pigs-in-a-blanket

Ingredients

4 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups water (3/4 cup hot, 3/4 cup lukewarm
1 egg, whisked with a teaspoon of water for egg wash (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)


Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer and stir to combine.


In a 4 cup measuring cup, combine the 3/4 cup hot water with the butter pieces and stir until melted. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg, then add it to the butter mixture and whisk slightly. Add the 3/4 cup lukewarm water.


Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until a dough just forms. If mixing by hand, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If using a standing mixer, knead on medium speed, with the dough hook attached, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. The dough should barely stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1-2 tablespoons at a time. If it's too dry, add more water.


Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.


Once the dough has risen, divide and shape it, using the directions above, according to which bread you're making. Cover with a clean, dry towel and allow to rise for an hour, or until doubled in size. Once doubled, brush with the egg wash and garnish as desired.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees for loaves. Bake the loaves side-by-side in the oven, with about 6 inches separating them, for 35-45 minutes (rotate them 180 degrees, halfway through the baking time), or until the centers are about 190 degrees. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees for diner rolls, hamburger buns, or pigs-in-a-blanket. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they reach about 180 degrees inside. Allow rolls and/or buns to cool completely before serving. Allow pigs-in-a-blanket to cool for 10 minutes before serving.