Cake Balls!

Box of cake, made as per box (I used Strawberry cake)

Container vanilla icing

1 bag white chocolate chips

1. Bake cake as per box, let cool completely.

2. Crumble cake in a large bowl. Mix with container of icing.

3. Roll cake/icing mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Pop them in the freezer for about an hour so that they stick together a little better.

4. Melt chocolate in microwave. Roll balls in melted chocolate. Set in a glass pan and put them in the fridge.

---Review---

When I found this recipe online, it called for Red Velvet cake. While I am sure that Red Velvet cake is very lovely, I love pink cake. Megan and I used to make pink cupcakes in college, and eating any form of pink cake makes me the happiest girl on the block.

As you can guess, these are just about the best dessert ever. And they're super easy to make.

I'd say you can use any kind of cake you want. Use your favorite. Roll it in whatever chocolate you love the most.

Try to only eat one ball at a time.

Carrie: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Grapefruit

I know, I know. I'm a little behind in posting this. I really liked the ingredient Lauren chose, but the holidays, they seep into you and keep you busy (even when you're really not). But here is grapefruit, and I swear I'm doing brie on time.



I found this Grapefruit Yogurt Cake recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and decided it would be a terrific way to utilize grapefruit. It was either this or a granita, and the granita involved being around for three hours, and that probably wasn't going to happen. So I picked up some really gorgeous grapefruit from Sunflower, at a steal of a price, and made this cake last night. Wednesday night dinner and a cake? I'm a rock star, I know. The cake wasn't too bad. Upon first bite, I was a little unsure, but it grew on me. Everyone else really enjoyed it too. In fact, we may have eaten 2/3 of the cake in about 10 minutes.

Grapefruit Yogurt Cake (Smitten Kitchen)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 extra large eggs
3 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

For glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeeze grapefruit juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the veggie oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining tablespoon of sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Place it on a baking rack over a sheet pan, and while the cake is still warm, pour the grapefruit-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and grapefruit juice and pour over the cake.

Apple Sauce Cake

¾ cup (175 mL) margarine or butter, softened

1½ cups (375 mL) sugar

3 eggs

2¾ cups (675 mL) sifted flour

1½ tsp (7 mL) salt

1½ tsp (7 mL) baking powder

¾ tsp (3 mL) baking soda

¾ tsp (3 mL) nutmeg

¾ tsp (3 mL) cinnamon

1 14 oz (398 mL) can sweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with applesauce, beating after each addition.

If you like, stir in ¾ cup (175 mL) chopped walnuts before pouring batter into loaf pans.

Pour into two prepared (sprayed or rubbed with a bit of butter or margarine) 8-by 4-in. (20-by 10-cm) loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until done. (Start checking at the 50-minute mark.)

Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pans and putting on rack to cool completely.

Sugar Glaze:

Combine ½ cup (125 mL) sifted icing sugar with 1 tbsp. (15 mL) water. Pour over cake.

---REVIEW---

This is super easy to make (as long as you don't decide to fix the alignment on your mixer in the middle of making the batter), can be made without really having to buy any extra ingredients (if you have a baker's pantry like I have accumulated) and was a big crowd pleaser.

Note that you are going to need 2 bread loaf pans. I didn't and therefore I had to grab the closest thing that I had to another bread pan, and being flustered and on the phone I forgot to oil it before pouring the batter in. I knew immediately and should have poured it out, oiled, re-poured in, but I didn't. There is a reason there are no pictures of that cake above.

While this was a wonderfully delicious cake, I didn't really taste any apple, which is something that Patient in the Pantry said made this cake her favorite. I am not 100% sure that adding more apple sauce would fix this (maybe I was expecting too much apple) because it just bakes away. Next time I'm going to add a little more and she how it goes.

Also note, Brandon hated how this cake baking made our house smell (you know, like any baked good with cinnamon and nutmeg in it), and I will admit that I was super surprised at how the smell infiltrated our whole house. I liked the smell.

Sarah: Iron Chef Blogger Challenge #1- Rhubarb

Rhubarb Pudding Cakes

1/4 cup (50ml) water

1½ tsp (7 ml) cornstarch

1 cup (250 ml) sugar divided

3 cups (750 ml) chopped fresh rhubarb stalks

1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour

1¾ tsp (8 ml) baking powder

1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup (125 ml) milk

1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400°f (200°c), ensuring the rack is in the middle. Butter 4 individual 1-cup (250-ml) ramekins.

Mix together water, cornstarch and half of the sugar in a small pot, then add therhubarb. Simmer, stirring constantly for about three minutes. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and the remaining sugar.

In a second bowl, whisk the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until just combined. It will make a thick batter.

Reserving ½cup (125 ml) of the rhubarb mixture, divide the rest of the fruit and syrup among the ramekins. Spoon the batter evenly into each dish over therhubarb. Top each ramekin with a portion of the remaining rhubarb syrup mix.

Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops are slightly golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly and then serve.

---REVIEW---

I got to pick the ingredient and rule this week for Iron Chef Blogger Challenge. Having seen rhubarb a lot, but never worked with it or eaten it, I thought that it would be a great way to start off the competition. The only way I had ever heard of anyone eating rhubarb before was in pies, so I knew right away that I would make this week's rule "No Pies".

Did you know rhubarb is seasonal? I didn't. Wikipedia didn't either. I spent quite a lot of time looking for rhubarb this week, and actually had to drive 20 minutes north of the city to get to a grocery that even had any (and frozen at that).

I love baking. More than math homework. More than Gray's Anatomy. Almost more than getting my nails done.

And I love cupcakes. More than real cake. More than chicken. More than cucumbers. So when I saw this recipe on a blog I frequent, Patient in the Pantry, it stuck in my head as what I should make this week.

But no. No first I looked around and found a rhubarb and potato thing that I had even intention of making as to expand my cooking experience. I made a shopping list and everything, but I just couldn't do it. I ripped up the list, laughed maniacally and did a little happy dance in front of my oven.

So I love the cake on these, but found the rhubarb a little too tart to enjoy without a big chunk of cake. How to fix it? I'd recommend adding a little sugar over the rhubarb mixture before putting the batter in.

Also, don't fill the cups up too much. I used 6 ramekins and almost all of Mine overflowed. I'd say fill the cups less than 2/3 full with the rhubarb mixture and then put the batter in.