Happy Halloween! - Spooky Cake Pops

So I have a nephew... Actually I have 4 nephews, 2 nieces and a godson, but that's beside the point.  My youngest nephew, Marshall, saw the October issue of Family Circle which just happens to be covered with cute Halloween cake pop characters.  As a consequence, every time I have gone over to his house for a visit, since the beginning of September, I am asked the same question.......

"You make a cek pop Unca Sane?"  (he's 3)

So, not wanting to disappoint such a young soul who is so excited over the coming of Halloween, I am making cake pops this year.  LOL

Normally I am big on homemade desert type stuff.  OK, I am big on homemade anything.  But I have to admit that I am able to overcome this aversion to all things processed under certain circumstances.  Thus, I am not making the cake from scratch...  I know it's shocking and frightening, but hey, it IS Halloween after all.

A warning though...  Not all cake mixes are created equal.  It seems that some of the major brands have reduced the amount of "mix" in the mix. Duncan Hines has retained their 18.25 oz mixes, but Betty Crocker and Pilsbury have reduced the mix to a mere 15 oz.  Not being particularly familiar with cake mixes in general, I don't really know how much this would effect the final outcome... Maybe they added more DATEM or some other strange binding/leavening substance that makes up for it.   Maybe they found a way to harness Dark Matter, I don't know... But I am not taking any chances... So, I used my favorite cheating box mix.  I will be honest, the fact that Dr. Oetker cake mixes are organic soothes my conscience a little bit as well.

Now, cake pops are held together with frosting... Everything I have read calls for tub frosting from the store.  NO WAY...  I may occasionally cheat on the cake mix, but I DO NOT cheat on frosting.  After all, cake, as a general rule, is nothing more than a vehicle to get frosting in your face.  I refuse to allow an opportunity to make delicious frosting go by and purchase store bought chalky frosting that has been sitting in a plastic tub on a store shelf for lord knows how long.  Completely out of the question.  Thus, I am making Cream Cheese frosting to bind the cake pops together... Just a standard Cream Cheese variety, nothing really all that fancy, but it will do the job.  I have ulterior motives as well, I don't make Cream Cheese frosting very often, cause I don't make Carrot Cake that often.  :)

As far as dipping goes, I am breaking my rules again...  Oh, I could try to work with White Chocolate, but I am just going to have to dye it with Orange food coloring anyway.  And I have to watch the temperature like a hawk, because white chocolate is the really finicky.  So, in order to avoid a potential disaster at the 11th hour, I went and purchased the Wilton Candy melts...  Orange and White (yes, I even bought the white ones)

OK, so now that I have come clean about how much cheating I have done, lets get on with it, shall we? 

1-18.25 oz Cake Mix (I chose Chocolate, but other flavors will work too)
8 oz (226g) Cream Cheese, room temperature
4 oz (113g) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
pinch of Kosher Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
optional - 1 tsp Orange Zest (to go with the chocolate)
1 3/4 cups (6.6 oz)(189g) Confectioners' Sugar
Lollipop Sticks
Candy Melts (your choice of colors)
     Orange - Pumpkins
     White - Ghosts, Mummies, and Skulls
     Black - Bats, Black Cats (I am not covering these)
     Green - Witches (I am not doing these either)
Assorted candies
     Tic Tacs for Pumpkin Stems

Mix the cake according to the package directions.

Pour into a 13x9 dish and bake for about 30-35 minutes (or according to the back of the box)

Cut the cake into quarters and, working with 1 quarter at a time, begin tearing the cake into crumbs with a fork.

Continue in this fashion until you have a whole bowl full of fine cake crumbs.

Cover with plastic and chill while you make the frosting.

Beat Cream Cheese and Unsalted Butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, until fluffy.

Add a pinch of salt and Vanilla, then beat a little longer.

Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the Confectioners' Sugar in 4 additions, ensuring that the previous addition is completely incorporated before adding the next.

When all the Confectioners' sugar has been added, continue beating for an additional 2 minutes to ensure that there are no lumps.

Reserve about 1/4 cup of frosting in a small bowl for later (you will need it for the sticks)

Remove the cake crumbs from the refrigerator and add the remaining frosting.

Stir very gently until the frosting is completely incorporated

(don't worry, it will mix in completely, just be patient)

Cover with plastic and chill again, for about 2 hours. (the colder your mix is, the less likely you will be to have flat spots on your cake balls)

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or plastic wrap.
Remove the cake crumb mixture from the refrigerator and roll into walnut sized balls. (about 2 TB) using a medium-small cookie scoop.

Place on the baking sheet, then cover with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Remove the tray from the refrigerator, grab the sticks and the reserved frosting......

Dip the end of each Lollipop stick in the reserved frosting and skewer each cake ball. (Melted Candy actually works better for this)

This time, don't cover the cake balls with plastic wrap, simply place the pan in the refrigerator over night. (The frosting needs to be nice and hard or the cake pop will begin to spin while you are dipping)

Melt your chosen color of candy melts over simmering water.

Begin dipping each Cake Pop, allowing the excess to drain off. (There is an additive called "Paramount Crystals" that helps to smooth out the candy, but I could not find them)

Stick the end into a hunk of Styrofoam and allow the candy coating to set.

Originally, I had intended on painting faces on the pumpkins and ghosts, but alas, I am out of time.  Since I will be at work until 6pm on Halloween it just isn't going to happen this year.  (Next year I will PLAN a little bit better now that I am fully aware of the amount of time this takes) 

For Pumpkins...   Place a Tic-Tac in the top, to form a stem, before the Orange coating sets....

When the Coating has set completely you can paint faces with black food coloring, mixed with vodka. (Not exactly the smoothest dipping job, so I am calling these, "Heirloom Pumpkin Cake Pops")  LOL

For Ghosts.....
Dip in White Coating and let it set completely. (If you like, you can paint faces in black)

For Mummies.... 
Once the coating has set completely

Place a small amount of the coating in a squeeze bottle, and squeeze "bandages" across the cake pop.

Allow this to set completely as well.

Use a fine brush to paint little green "glowing" eyes with food coloring.

There you have it...

There are a lot more things you can do, but I decided to reign myself in at 3 different pops due to time constraints. Don't think for a second that I didn't toy with painting a hockey mask on one of them, but the kids don't have any idea who Jason Voorhees is, so it was kind of a "moo" point.  (That's a "Friends" reference for my SIL)

Maybe next year, if I plan this out better, I will make witches, skulls, pirates, spiders, bats and black cats.  Maybe even a couple zombies...   LOL   We'll see.

Mangia!!
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When Rabbits and Bees Attack - Italian Cream Cheese Frosting

Honey Nut Carrot Cake - The Decorating; Part 2

The cake Section is here: When Rabbits and Bees Attack - Honey Nut Carrot Cake

I must apologize for not mentioning the Rosemary sprigs in part 1.

It's very simple really. Take 1 egg white and a few drops of water, mix with a fork to break up the white a little.

Strip away some of the needles and "Paint" with egg whites.

Sprinkle sugar over them

and let set out on wax paper, over night to dry. (You cannot refrigerate these with the cake or they will draw moisture and get all kinds of gooey - I know, I did this on accident once)

So it's time to make the frosting. Normally, Carrot Cake SCREAMS for Cream Cheese, but I decided I would flex my butter and mix it up a little this time. This is a recipe for "Italian Cream Cheese Frosting" that I picked up eons ago from somewhere, it originally contained sugar, but since the Carrot cake is based on Honey, I thought it would be nice to stay in the same flavor range.

I assume that this is referred to as Italian Cream Cheese because the added butter tones down the tang of the American Cream Cheese, thus giving a more "Mascarpone" flavor to the frosting. Call it a hunch. Like I said, I picked this up when I was still living in Portland 12 years ago, I had never heard of Mascarpone back then. It was not until 8 years ago when I made my first Tiramisu that I even knew such a thing existed.

I have this down to a simple formula with the honey (taking my lead from previous experiences with honey and frosting) I usually make a triple batch of what is below, to frost a 2 layer 9 inch Carrot cake. After all, the only reason Carrot cake exists is to transport Cream Cheese Frosting into your mouth without getting your fingers dirty.

Honey Italian Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz pkg of Cream Cheese
4 TB Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
1/4 cup Orange Blossom Honey (You can use 1/3 of a cup if you want it sweeter, but remember, Honey is twice as sweet as Granulated Sugar)

Make sure your butter and cream cheese are at about 65 degrees (it whips better that way)
Place Cream Cheese, Butter, Vanilla and Salt in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until blended.

Add honey; beating till light and fluffy.

Apply a crumb coat and chill for 30 minutes

Reserve 1/2 cup for decor purposes and dye it orange

After chilling, apply the remaining frosting liberally, and I DO mean liberally.

Press walnuts or Pecans into the sides of the cake. Then chill for 30 more minutes.

Pipe small mound on the top of the cake and chill until ready to serve.

To Serve - Remove cake from refrigerator 1 hour before serving. Poke the sugared rosemary sprigs in the top of the orange mounds. Viola... Carrots... !!!

Slice and enjoy (Please, don't eat the rosemary)
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When Rabbits and Bees Attack - Honey Nut Carrot Cake

My bestest friend Stephanie's Birthday was Monday (23rd). We will be celebrating this weekend. Which should be a hoot, it always is. When asked what kind of cake she wanted for her Birthday, she asked me for a Carrot Cake. That made me extremely happy, for not only is it one of my favorite childhood cakes, it has also got to be the easiest cake ever.

I really love this recipe from my mom because it contains pineapple, NOT raisins, which tend to obtain a strange texture after cooking.  It also contains no Baking Powder, instead utilizing Honey (which is an acid) and Baking Soda for a leavening reaction.

I like to grate my carrots REALLY fine. This is really the only problematic part of the cake batter assemblage.  Let's face it, it takes awhile to grate 3 cups of carrots.

Honey Nut Carrot Cake

3 cups Carrots, finely grated
3 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cups Honey (Orange Blossom)
4 Eggs
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 small can crushed Pineapple in it's own juice (Drained)
1/2 - 1 cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line 2 9-inch round pans with parchment
Grate carrots.

Dump Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon and Ginger together in a large bowl.

And whisk em all together...

Add Carrots, Honey, Eggs, Oil and Pineapple.

Mix well then fold in the nuts.

Divide between the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes.

Then run a knife around the outside edge and turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Then chill until ready to frost with Italian Cream Cheese Frosting - Which I will be doing tomorrow.
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