Let Them Eat Cake Pops...

Probably about a year ago now, my sister sent me a link to the Bakerella website. The ideas were absolutely adorable, and there was one magical phrase that stuck with me: Cake Pop. The basic idea is that it looks like a lollipop, but is made out of cake. Adorable.

I remembered the cake pops, but didn't do anything about the idea until recently. My nephew's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so I helped my girls to bake him a birthday cake. They had great fun decorating it with LOTS of sprinkles. I sandwiched two layers
of cake with frosting in the middle as well as on top, so I leveled out the cakes by cutting off the excess cake (super easy by just cutting all of it to the height of the cake pan before removing it from the pan). This left us with some left over cake.

So I rcmembered cake pops, found some sticks, and started rolling the cake into balls. It worked well because the cake was still warm and so took its form easily. Also, the cake was very moist and kind of crumbly, so the consistency worked really well.

I worked loosely from a Betty Crocker recipe. It was easy and one-step though, so here's what I did.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup water (room temperature)
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1 tbsp vanilla
5 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
2 eggs (room temperature)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease and flour 2 medium to large cake tins. (This recipe doesn't work well as "sandwich cakes"; it's better as a single, big, tall cake.)

2. Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it is smooth. Pour into cake tin.

3. Bake until an inserted butter knife comes out clean. Let cool, then decorated as desired OR let cool only until it is comfortable to handle, and then shape pieces of cake into balls around lollipop sticks.

I frosted the cake pops with a pretty simple chocolate buttercream. I beat together about 1 cup butter, 4 cups sugar, 2 tbsp vanilla, 2 oz melted and cooled dark chocolate, and 2 tbsp cold water until it made a smooth frosting that was easy to spread (make sure to taste test it and adjust as desired).

After giving the frosting time to stiffen, I covered the cake pops in cling film and then tied securely with ribbon. And voila, cake pops. Bite sized cake on a stick. Fantastic for when you want to be cutesy.

Spicy Rice Balls & Stir-Fry

This recipe is based on one by Betty Crocker from her book easy everyday Vegetarian. However, she makes rice balls as a meatball substitute, which didn't seem to work to me (carbs on carbs instead of a protein...). However, I thought rice balls would be a great spin to an Asian-inspired meal.

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The spicy rice balls:

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Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (that's about 1 cup precooked of just ordinary white rice)

1/2 cup oats (I used standard porridge oats--non instant)

1 onion, chopped finely (or you can use any combination of onion, shallot, and green onion)

1 slice of bread, broken into breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

seasoning to taste (I added liberal sprinklings of black pepper, chilli powder, dried chillies, and paprika. I also added a pinch of cumin and ginger. It takes a lot more spices than you would think to make them spicy. You can also add a dash of soy sauce.)

outside topping (Betty says to use 1/2 cup of wheat germ, but I felt like it could be better. Instead, try a mixture of wheat germ, fine bread crumbs, and crushed peanuts.)

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Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients except for the outside topping. Form into balls.

2. Put the outside topping in a shallow bowl or other dish with sides. Roll the balls in it until they are lightly but evently coated.

3. Shallow fry the balls until the coating is golden coloured and they are piping hot through.

I served them on a vegetable stir fry.

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Vegetable Stir Fry:

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Ingredients:

Courgette/Zuchinni cut into ribbons (I use a vegetable peeler to slice it)

Carrot (I like julienne type thin strips, but you can cut it in standard circles if you prefer. It needs to be cut quite finely though, or else it will take a lot longer to cook than the other ingredients.)

Spring onions, finely chopped

Peanuts, about a handful

Any other suitable vegetable you have on hand that needs using (peppers, mushrooms, etc.); you could also add chopped firm tofu

Spices (I used a pre-mixed seasoning mix that included lemon grass and coriander)

1 dash of lime juice

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Instructions:

1. Heat oil in wok until it is steaming hot, or items sizzle when added. For extra flavour, use some sesame oil.

2. Add all of the vegetables and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables reach the desired level of tenderness.

3. Add the dash of lime juice and spices, stir in well.

I surrounded the whole thing with a peanut sauce that helped add some extra flavour and moistness and unify the dish.

My peanut sauce:

I can't give you exact amounts because I never measure it. Here's my guesstimates.

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Ingredients:

A generous glob of ketchup

A spoonful of honey

A dash of soy sauce

A dash of vinegar (I use malt, but you could also use rice vinegar or white wine vinegar)

A heaped spoonful of peanut butter (you can use smooth or chunky--it depends on what consistency you want your sauce to be)

A few drops of lemon juice

A glug of sweet chili sauce (chili and ginger relish also works well)

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Instructions:

Taste it and make modifications according to taste. Mix well (I use a hand blender).

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To serve:

Dish up the stir fry in the middle of the plate first, top with rice balls, and garnish with the sauce.