Fluffy Chicky Snacks

Last week on Facebook, a friend was saying how much she loves chocolate with coconut.  I told her she should try the Lindt White Coconut bar (seriously, it’s delicious!)

and then she recommended that I try cake balls with coconut, to make fluffy chicks!Didn’t they turn out so cute?? Thanks for the idea Tiffany!

I think they would be perfect for any spring time activity!!I just threw them into cups filled with Cadbury Eggs (also delicious!) and there you go.

All you have to do is make these Chicky Snacks, but before the yellow candy melts harden, sprinkle yellow coconut all over.  to make yellow coconut: Put a handful of coconut into a ziplock bag with a few drops of yellow (liquid) food coloring.  Then mush it all around until the coconut turns (mostly) yellow.

Then apply the eyes and beak.  I didn’t put wings on, but you totally could.

These fluffy cake pops also kind of remind me of my daughter’s hair when she was a baby. I would blow dry it after a bath, so it would stick out everywhereIsn’t that hilarious??

Chicky Snack Cake Pops

These are pretty much the cutest, fattest little chicks I’ve ever seen.  I love them.  So does my daughter. I gave her a plain yellow cake pop, and she asked me to finish decorating it first. Then she would eat it.  I knew that cuteness relates to taste!!

The first time I saw them, my mom had sent me this link.  Chicky snacks?!? I love it!!

Here’s how I make them:

Start with basic cake pops, dipped in yellow candy melts. Stick those in your styrofoam to dry.

For the beak, eyes and wings, I just pipe a on little blob of candy melts, using disposable piping bags:

You place the candy melts into a disposable piping bag (or even a ziplock if you want) then microwave, kneading the melts in the bag every 15-20 seconds until it’s smooth.  You will want to do one color at a time, because the tip of the bag hardens quickly.  If that happens, you can just throw it back into the microwave, but it’s easiest if you do all the same color at the same time. I did mine all assembly line style:

I think my favorite part about these chicks, is that even though they essentially should be the same…  they aren’t. At all!!  I think they all have their own cute little personalities.

Cake Pops and Bites

The first time I made cake bites was 2 years ago for my mom’s surprise birthday party.  They were pretty good.  Cake pops are sweet. cake+frosting+candy coating= 3xsweet. So since then, I have experimented (a lot), and thanks to this blog, I had my best inspiration.  She talks about how it doesn’t have to be frosting, it just has to be a binder, something to make the cake stick together.  So I tried whipping cream. ding ding ding we have a winner! 

Of all the combinations I’ve tried, chocolate cake with whipping cream is by far my favorite.

Fredellicious Cake Pops

1 Chocolate Cake (betty crocker devil’s food)

3/4 C +/- whipping cream

vanilla candy melts

To start, make a cake according to box directions in a 9x13”.  I like to use Betty Crocker Devil’s Food, but other chocolate cakes are yummy too.  Cool cake completely.  Want to cool it quicker?

After letting it sit for about 10 min in the pan, dump it out and quarter it.  It doesn’t even matter if it doesn’t come out perfectly, you’re just going to crumble it all up anyway!

When it’s cooled crumble it all into a big bowl.

Then start adding the cream.  I use Great Value heavy whipping cream, which seems to be extra heavy.  Other creams may be less thick, so you wouldn’t need as much.  So add just a bit (1/4 C) at a time so you don’t add too much. 

I start with a spoon to mix it, but then I just use my hands, it’s much easier to get it all mixed up.

You want it so that when you grab a blob it holds its shape and sticks together.

Once you’re at that point, you can start rolling balls! I like to use a tablespoon to measure.

 

and I put them in a pie pan, it’s perfect depth, and small enough to fit in my freezer.

I let them cool in my freezer for about 1/2 hour.

While they’re cooling, I melt my candy melts. I use the vanilla flavor. 1/2 power, stirring every 30 seconds until the whole bowl is smooth. Then I let it sit for a couple of minutes, because you don’t want it too hot.

Dip the stick into the candy melt, then into the ball.  This will help the ball stay on the stick.

dunk the ball into the bowl of candy melts, and coat the ball completely.

rotating your cake pop over the bowl, letting the excess drip off. Then place the stick into your foam and let it harden completely (I use the top of a styrofoam cooler that I poked holes into)

and there you go!

you can add sprinkles before the candy melt sets

or this one, I dipped a fork in the white melts and drizzled it over the top for a different look.

 

Don’t have sticks or feel like buying them? No problem. make cake bites, it’s just a little different

Instead of a lollipop stick, I use a skewer (you can use fondue forks, or whatever you have)

Dip the ball into the melts until Almost coated. Then let the excess drip off.

then I lean the skewer against a plate to let the coating harden before pulling it off the skewer.  (if you want to add sprinkles do it before the melts harden!) This works best if you have 2 skewers going, so while this one is setting, you can dip another.

Then put em on a plate and drizzle candy melts on top!

 

If you’ve heard of cake pops, you’ve probably heard of Bakerella.  She’s pretty darn amazing. She did a video tutorial of cake pops, I thought I would share!

Enter video caption here

White Colorful Cake

I have been on a search for a delicious white cake for a while now.  So when I saw this cake over at Whisk Kid, I knew I needed to make my version of it.  I just needed an awesome reason to make it.  Then my aunt came to town for her birthday. Perfect.

This white cake is delicious.  It filled 3 8” pans perfectly, and when I took it out of the oven, I was so impressed by how little a hump it had in the middle. Barely had to shave any off to make them level for stacking.
I also have been wanting to use some new tips I just got, and practice flowers.  For the big flowers I used wilton tip 2D, the little ones are tip 224. The middles of the flowers are tip 2. The polka dots are tip 4.

Isn’t it such a fun cake? The different colored layers just add a silly element as soon as you cut into it! I loved it

White Cake
This will be my ‘go to’ white cake from now on, that’s how much I liked it.
2 sticks butter, room temp (I use salted, then omit the salt later on)
2 1/3 C sugar
5 egg whites, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 C flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 c milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp
Red, orange, yellow, or any combination of food coloring you like! just make sure it’s gel. My personal favorite is AmeriColor, they come in little squeeze bottles. Genius!

• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. (I did 325 because I live in CO, and I think that helped with it not rising as much) Prepare 8” cake pans, as many as you have.  I like to cut wax paper out to fit in the bottom of the pan, then I spray baker’s joy all around.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites one at a time, letting each one mix in. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the flour mixture and milk. I always start and end with the flour, so you will have 3 additions of flour, and 2 of milk.
• Divide the batter amongst 3 bowls (I just put a 1/2 C of batter into each bowl continuously until they were about even.) Add the food coloring of choice, and stir it up. The color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter. Pour into the pans and bake for about 28 minutes each.
• When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. After that flip the out and let them cool completely.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream
step by step instructions on swiss meringue butter cream This recipe is delicious.  If you haven’t tried Swiss meringue buttercream, I highly recommend it!  It is very rich and buttery. It makes it good for stacking cakes because it’s stable, and I liked piping with it as well.  This recipe made the perfect amount for me to fill, cover and pipe the 3 layer 8” cake, with a little bit to spare.
9 egg whites
1 ¾ c sugar
4 sticks of butter, Cut into 1 Tblsp pieces, room temp
2 tsp lemon extract

• You want a double boiler, so get a small saucepan and heat water over medium heat.  Put the egg whites and sugar in a bowl that can sit in the pan (but doesn’t touch the water).  Whisk the whites and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. You can tell this by rubbing a little bit between your fingers.  It it is all smooth, then the sugar is dissolved.
• Once it is smooth transfer to a standing mixer, and whip on high speed until it comes to room temp.  One way to tell is by touching the bottom of the bowl, if the bowl is still warm, keep whipping.
• Turn the mixer to med-low and add the pieces of butter one at a time, letting them incorporate before adding the next.
• Once they are all added, turn it back up to high, and whip until it all comes together, about 5 minutes.
• Add the extract and mix in, then use!

My New Blog

Welcome to my blog!!  I am so excited to be starting this.  Over the past couple of years I have discovered how much I love to bake and make treats.  It makes me happy when people enjoy what I make! I'm hoping I can pass on some recipes, tips and tricks for readers, that they can then enjoy and share.
All my posts will not only be delicious, they will be Fredellicious!