Hey all! Are you as excited as I was to see the new Sith Troopers that will be in the latest Star Wars movie The Rise of Skywalker??!
Troopers that are bright red! So cool.
I knew I had to make some Sith Trooper treats - I know a little weird but thats how my mind works!
I decided on no dip cake bites.
You ask "No dip cake bites, what are they??"
Well cake bites (or cake balls if you must) that are made using molds versus hand shaped and dipped. I have some Star Wars silicone molds and one is shaped like Storm Troopers
Start by melting some red candy wafers (candy melts) and coat the mold with a decent layer. Let harden for 15 minutes (or refrigerate until hardened about 5 minutes).
Add your favorite cake bite/ball mixture. This is a mix of crumbled vanilla cake and chocolate frosting that I had leftover from another cake.
Once filled, add more melted candy to cover. Chill for about an hour then pop the cake bites out of the molds. Make sure you use a thick enough layer of candy in the molds and chill for enough time or you might get some breakage!
Add some black detail with an edible food writer or use black food gel
I'm really excited to see these guys in action on the big screen
I wonder if they have better aim then their predecessors!
I really do love the look and color of these new Sith Troopers. I know they are the bad guy flunkies and all but they still are one of my fav characters in the Star Wars saga.
Have you noticed all the Day of the Dead stuff in stores lately? In all transparency I really didn't know much about this holiday except that it was of Mexican origin so I decided to do a little research.
Day of the Dead aka Día de los Muertos is indeed a Mexican holiday that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember those who have died and help support their spiritual journey.
I was curious about all the skulls decorated with bright colors and flowers and according to experts (akaWikipedia) "people go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them."
"Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the 3-day period families usually clean and decorate graves which often include orange Mexican marigolds sometimes called Flor de Muerto (Flower of Dead). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. It is also believed the bright petals with a strong scent can guide the souls from cemeteries to their family homes."
"Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Some families have ofrendas in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of dead"), and sugar skulls; and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased."
So now I know and decided to make some of my own sugar skulls! I opted for no dip cake bites.
Dipping treats is my least favorite thing to do so I found a work around. I started with some cupcakes. Crumble and mix with the frosting in a bowl.
Use a skull silicone ice cube tray and outline skull with melted white chocolate or vanilla melting wafers. Don't fill it all the way with the chocolate - you want to leave space to fill it. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes until chocolate is hardened.
Fill mold with cupcake mixture then cover with more melted chocolate.
Refrigerate for another 10 minutes then pop skull out of mold.
Decorate with fun sprinkles and/or more melting wafers. I added a little edible silver spray to finish them.
Day of the Dead falls is October 31, Nov 1, and 2. Kinda neat that it coincides with Halloween!
Do you celebrate or decorate for Day of the Dead? If so share what you do!
Hay más tiempo que vida which means there is more time than life - so very true. Enjoy each day to its fullest!
Is everyone excited for Guadian's of the Galaxy Volume 2?? It opens on May 5th and its one we've definitely been waiting for since Vol 1. Hoping the story and the soundtrack are as excellent as the first!
So in prep I made some Baby Groot cake bites. My kiddo reminded me that in Vol 2 Baby Groot has grown a bit and no longer needs his pot - but way too cute not to keep him in the pot for now.
And since I was "planting" I thought there should also be some mandrakes - you know those potted plants that when you pull them out of the dirt will scream - and can be deadly! Make sure you wear your earmuffs if taking Herbology with Professor Sprout!
And one of the other "famous" potted plants is the blood craving plant Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. She starts out so little and cute until Seymour finds out she needs human blood to thrive - not so cute anymore!
My green thumb for growing real plants is pretty bad but this kind of planting I can handle!
Pots are made using a plastic candy mold (cordial cup but you can use any cup shaped mold you have) and candy melts. Fill with cake bite mixture and top with crushed chocolate cookies or "edible moss". I have a post on edible moss you can find here.
Baby Groot is definitely my fav - as he seems like he's dancing away in his little cup.
And those mandrakes are most definitely super annoying!
Have a great week all!
Baby Groot, Harry Potter Mandrake, and Little Shop of Horrors Audrey II Cake Bites
by Michelle Clausen April 29 - 2017
Ingredients
1 cup of candy melts/wafers in (use whatever color you prefer) for flower pots
1 cup of chocolate chips or candy melts/wafers
1/4 cup red candy melts/wafers
10 Square pretzels and 10 pretzel sticks
10 Teddy Graham graham crackers
Green leaf sprinkles
10 black and 10 green jelly beans
1 cup of chocolate cake bite mixture (about 1 cup of crumbled cake mixed with 1 tablespoon of frosting)
1/2 cup of crushed chocolate wafer cookies
Instructions
Melt each candy wafers in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals in microwave. Coat mold on the outside to create pot shape (you may need to let candy harden and repeat to get a thick enough wall to your pot). Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until candy is hardened. Pop shape out of mold.
Add cake bite mix to each pot to fill almost to the top. Sprinkle with crushed cookie as dirt.
For Groot: Cut the 2 ends of each black jelly bean - for eyes. Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" chocolate onto pretzel. Before chocolate hardens, add green leaf sprinkles to top randomly, add eyes eyes. Let chocolate harden for 10 minutes. Draw wood lines and mouth with a toothpick. Pipe chocolate onto pretzel stick as Groot body. Before it hardens add a head and let harden 10-15 minutes.
For Mandrakes: Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" chocolate over teddy graham into mandrake body shape. Repeat with green candy wafers and add leaves on top. Let chocolate/candy harden for 10 minutes. Draw mandrake face with a toothpick.
For Audrey II: Melt green wafers in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" 3 leaves for each Audrey. Let harden for 5-10 minutes. Pipe one nickel shaped circle of melted green candy to parchment paper, add green jelly bean to center and add leaves around - use more melted candy as needed. Melt red wafers and pipe on mouth. Let harden for 10 minutes.
Insert Groot and mandrakes into pots (push into "dirt" to stand them up) and set Audrey's on top of dirt.
Prep time: 1 and 1/2 hours Yield: about 30 cake bites (10 of each)
Spring is finally here! In the Northeast we finally have temperatures in the 70s (today 80!) with nothing but sun in the 7 day forecast. Yay!! The warm weather feels awesome.
I needed another spring treat and I've had this idea for cake bites rolled in edible moss on my to do list since last year.
These came together pretty quickly because I started with some whoopie pies as the cake bite mixture. They have the perfect amount of cake to icing ratio for cake bites too. Crush them up, roll them into balls, dip them in melted chocolate, sprinkle with "moss" and make them more woodsy with a little bunny on top.
I love these tiny chocolate bunnies!
The edible moss is only crushed graham crackers with a little green food gel added.
Add the miniature bunny after you sprinkle with moss but before the chocolate hardens.
Not only are they super cute for Spring or Easter (if you celebrate) but they are pretty yummy too.
I keep trying to talk my kiddos into a woodland themed birthday party - unfortunately they are not really into it. Such a bummer because I totally am and these would be perfect little additions to a woodland themed party table. My twins do turn 10 this month (10!!!) so I do have a couple of cakes to make. Follow along with the birthday prep on my Instagram #maxandgretaturn10 - I'll be sharing the cakes and other prep this month!
Spring Cake Bites with Edible Moss and Mini Bunnies
by Michelle Clausen April 11 - 2017
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups of edible moss (crushed graham crackers tinted with 2-3 drops of green food gel)
4 large chocolate whoopie pies (or 6 cupcakes plus 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting)
1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
Bag of Russell Stover Chocolate Mini Bunnies (see link below)
Instructions
Crush whoopie pies until crumbly and frosting is mixed in well. Roll into balls and refrigerate 10 minutes.
Melt chips in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals until melted.
Dip cake bites in chocolate tapping off excess.
Sprinkle with edible moss until there is a coating all over bite.
Top immediately with a mini bunny.
Let harden 15 minutes.
Prep time: 35 minutes Yield: about 18-20 cake bites
Happy 2017 all! Can you believe it's officially 2017?
We celebrated the new year away from home and up in Maine on a snowboarding and ski trip with some good friends. It was so nice to get away and detach from the usual routine. It was also really cool to come down a mountain as a family! My hubster, oldest kiddo, and I all snowboard and the twins ski. The kids can all get down most blues and greens and I have to say one of my favs from the trip was looking around and seeing my kids coming down on their own with us next to them. It was really amazing. One of my new years resolutions is to make sure I take time to enjoy these special moments many that happen everyday.
OK enough of the mushy reflectiveness, onto the treats!
As you know we are huge SW fans so we went to see Star Wars Rogue One recently. Can I say I loved this movie without sounding biased? I mean I think I loved it more than The Force Awakens. Rogue One is the story in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It basically tells the story that depicts the infamous opening movie crawl and provides context on how A New Hope (the first Star Wars movie) came about. My oldest kiddo, a self proclaimed Star Wars nerd, also loved it as much as I did.
And what do you get a Star Wars nerd for Valentine's Day?
Star Wars chocolates of course!
I seem to have collected a plethora of shaped ice cube trays and that includes many Star Wars themed ones. Great for jazzing up your drinks with fun cubes but even better as molds for treats.
Since one of my least favorite things to do is dip cake bites/pops into melted chocolate, I use these molds to make no dip cake bites too. It's pretty simple. Add melted chocolate or candy melts to coat the mold, let candy harden, add some cake bite mixture, cover with more melted candy and let harden.
Pop the candy out of the molds spray with some color mist or similar spray food colorant to add some silver accents. Darth Vader is done with milk chocolate, stormtroopers with vanilla candy melts, and Han Solo in carbonite (no cake mix in center) with dark chocolate. Add the trooper detail with a black edible food writer.
Use Pearl or Silver spray!
If you have some heart shaped boxes you can add them and make some super special Valentine's for your favorite Star Wars fan!
Aww don't they make a cute couple?
Who can say no to Vader??
Happy 2017 everyone and I hope you are off to a great start to your year!
Star Wars No Dip Cake Bites
by Michelle Clausen January 11 - 2017
Ingredients
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup vanilla chips or melting wafers
1 and 1/2 cups of cake mixture (1 and 1/2 cups of crumbled cake and 1-2 Tablespoons of frosting)
Black food writer
Silver Color Mist spray
Instructions:
Melt each flavor of chips/wafers in microwave safe bowl in 10-20 second intervals until candy is melted. Add to quart sized freezer bag. Snip an end and coat mold with candy (ensure thick enough to coat all sides of mold but leave a space to allow for filling). Tap mold to remove air bubbles and to make sure all parts of mold are coated well. Reheat candy as needed. Freeze mold for 5 minutes.
Remove mold from freezer and fill cavities with small ball of the cake mixture. Press to cake fills mold cavity (see photos). Cover with more melted candy. Tap to cover evenly. Freeze for 10-15 minutes.
Pop cake bite out of mold.
Add detail to Stormtroopers with black edible food writer.
Spray with color mist. Let dry 10 minutes.
Add to Valentine's day boxes.
Prep time: 1 and 1/2 hoursYield: about 20-25 cake bites
Less than a week to Halloween peeps! Halloween treats have been showing up across the interwebs since the beginning of September (or earlier!) so I figured I'd add some colorful skull cake bites to the mix.
I do have to admit that although I love cake bites and cake pops, I loathe dipping them in melted candy wafers or chocolate.
Maybe I just don't have the patience, but I really really REALLY don't like the dipping process. It's messy, you have to be quick and you need to get the melted candy just right (not too think or thin). And since mine never come out perfect, I just decide I don't like to make them. (I also don't like dipping or coating petit fours!)
But I found a solution!
Use a candy mold (or in this case a dollar store ice cube tray) in whatever form or shape you like. Mix up your cake and icing like you would for regular cake bites but instead of dipping the cake mixture into melted candy - melt the candy and outline the mold. Once it hardens add your cake mixture to the cavity, then add more melted candy to cover it. Refrigerate (or freeze) for 10 minutes then pop out of the mold.
Voila! No dip cake bites!
I sprayed my cake bite skulls with some pearl color mist in pearl to give the cake bites a shimmery shine.
This is my favorite stuff of all times (and I don't even get any free product from Wilton!).
Wilton makes it in many colors and it's a quick way to color your treats - like edible spray paint.
SO fun.
And of course the cake inside makes these little skulls so tasty. I tinted the cake mixture red because they are little skulls and well, it's Halloween!
I have like a gagillion candy molds and ice cube trays so I'm going to have to use this technique for more cake bites. It could be tricky making cake pops - but depending on the mold it could work too or you can add a little more melted candy to the back of the cake bite to attach a stick.
These little guys are a Halloween gift for a special friend. How cute are they in a re-purposed little box?! Add Halloween stickers and some spooky candies and you have a gift that's way better than any store-bought candy box. Since the cake bites are easy to put together (and no dipping needed!) make a bunch for your friends or this year's Halloween party!
No Dip Skull Cake Bites
by Michelle Clausen October-24-2016
Ingredients
5 cups of candy melts/wafers (1 cup of black, white, lime green, purple, orange)
2 cups of crumbled cake
1/4 to 1/2 cup of frosting
Red food color/gel
Pearl Wilton Color Mist
Skull ice cube tray or mold
Instructions:
Mix cake crumbles with frosting and 2-3 drops of red food gel until well mixed. Set aside.
Melt each color of candy wafer in microwave safe bowl in 10-20 second intervals until candy is melted. Add to quart sized freezer bag. Snip an end and coat skull mold with candy (ensure thick enough to coat all sides of mold but leave a space to allow for filling). Tap mold to remove air bubbles and to make sure all parts of mold are coated well. Reheat candy as needed. Freeze mold for 5 minutes.
Remove mold from freezer and fill cavities with small ball of the cake mixture. Press to cake fills mold cavity (see photos). Cover with more melted candy. Tap to cover evenly. Freeze for 10-15 minutes.
One of my guilty pleasures is Hostess Cakes. They are terrible for you and full of preservatives but oh so tasty - in my opinion of course.
Hostess cakes: from top clockwise: Ho Ho, Chocolate Cupcake, Fruit Pie, Snoball, Chocolate Donette, Powdered Sugar Donette, Twinkie, Chocolate Cupcake, Raspberry Zinger, Ho Ho, Twinkie, Powdered Sugar Donette, Ding Dong, Honey Bun, Snoball, Orange Cupcake
They also always look so perfectly made - perfectly formed and symmetrical with the same cupcake squiggles or snoball shapes. They must have a great production line going. I love the look of all their cakes so I figured I'd try to re-create them in cake bite form and use them as Valentines.
Actually these are made from cheesecake and brownie mixed with a little homemade buttercream instead of the regular cake mix plus frosting cake bite. I had leftover cheesecake and brownie that I wanted to use up and thought the flavors would be good together - and they were! Once you have the cheesecake and brownie mixture together you form the mini Hostess cakes by hand. They look more like meatballs versus cake bites at this stage but they will look better soon!
Freeze the bites once formed for about one hour, then dip in or spread candy melt in various colors to get the Hostess cake look.
For the snoballs, tint some coconut pink then roll the ball into the coconut while candy melt is still melted.
Each cake has its own unique look and most you can re-create pretty easily.
The pink snoballs and cupcakes are probably my favorite of them all.
Although in mini form I wouldn't turn anyone of them down!
Do you have a favorite Hostess cake?
Make one or all of them for your sweetie(s) this Valentines Day!
Thanks for stopping by and have a *sweet* week!
How to Make Mini Hostess Cheesecake and Brownie Cake Bites (makes 12- 16)
2 cups of cheesecake (or about 1/2 of a 9 inch pre-made cheesecake)
2 cups of already prepared brownie
1/4 cup vanilla frosting or buttercream
Candy melts (in various colors, chocolate, yellow, pink, white, tan, red, to match Hostess cake colors)
Sweetened coconut flakes (tint 1/2 cup pink with pink food gel)
Directions:
Mix cheesecake and brownie together until well mixed together.
Add frosting, a little at a time until texture is slightly sticky but can be rolled in your hand into forms.
Form mixture into cake shapes - use photos or Hostess website as guide
Melt candy melts in microwave safe bowl in multiple 15 second intervals until just melted. Stir in between intervals. Dip cake forms into candy and let set 15-20 minutes.
For Snoballs: Once dipped in pink candy melts, roll in tinted pink coconut flakes until covered.
For Zinger: once dipped in red candy melts, sprinkle with un-tinted coconut flakes
For Hostess cupcakes: Add 1/4 cup of white candy melts to quart sized freezer bag. Microwave in 15 second intervals until just melted. Snip a small corner and pipe the cupcake squiggle on top of chocolate and yellow cupcakes.
For Ho Ho: on end of Ho Ho, pipe swirl with white candy melts.
For powdered sugar Donette: once dipped in white candy melts, sprinkle with powdered sugar until coated.
For Fruit Pie: dip the bit in tan candy melts (white mixed with dab of chocolate candy melts) and while still wet add white candy melt on top and swirl it around with a toothpick.
For Honey Bun: dip bottom of bite in tan candy melt. Once candy is hardened dip the top in white candy melt and swirl top with toothpick.
Place them into re-used Valentines day boxes as super cute and homemade Valentines day treat
