Mummy and Ghost Cake Pops

I've been wanting to make these Halloween cake pops for all the kids and teachers at the boys' school for months. Every week I'd be at Michael's Arts and Crafts buying supplies to make them. A new store just opened up on Alberni and Burrard. I used the recipe from Bakerella. The cake was a little dry in my opinion though it was going to mixed with frosting anyway so it didn't matter. You can use a box cake mix and ready made frosting if you wish. It makes things easier. Or you can use your own favorite cake and frosting recipes.

Yellow Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (226 g.)

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until light and creamy.

4. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla and mix.

5. Alternate adding the flour and the milk a third at a time to the butter mixture.

6. Spread the batter into the pan with a rubber spatula into the prepared pan.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

9. Loosen the edges of the cake and flip it out of the pan. Cut off and discard (or eat) any brown edges and surfaces for a prettier looking cake pop.

10. Cut the cake into 4 even pieces. Take one piece and rub it between your hands until crumbs form. Or you can use a food processor. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Vanilla Frosting

3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (96 g)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp. milk

1. Cream together butter and vanilla in the stand mixer with paddle attachment.

2. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions.

3. Add a little milk if you want your frosting creamy.


Cake Pops (Makes 50) You don't have to make that many at one time. Just freeze the cake.

Cake crumbs from one recipe of cake (1 box if store bought)

Frosting (3/4 of a container if using store bought)

4 bags of candy melts

vegetable shortening or paramount crystals (I have yet to find these and try them out)

Deep small microwaveable bowl

Lollipop Sticks

Styrofoam

Sprinkles, decorations

Small clear bags (if individually wrapping)

Ribbon (if individually wrapping)

1. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the cake crumbs and frosting in a large bowl with the back of a large spoon. Use a Tbsp. to scoop even cake balls. Roll into balls or desired shapes. I did ovals for the mummy heads and triangles for the ghosts. Place on parchment. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or place in freezer until firm.

2. Place candy melts in microwaveable small bowl. Melt on 50% heat for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted. If the candy seems too thick, add a tsp. of vegetable shortening. Mix in well or it will add little shortening blobs to your candy.

3. Take out a few chilled cake balls at a time. Dip a lollipop stick into the candy and stick it into the middle of the cake ball. Dip the whole thing into the candy, rolling it so it covers the entire surface. If it starts to drip, use your finger or a spoon to clean off the stick. Stick into the styrofoam to cool. If your candy starts to crack, leave an opening at the bottom of the stick that's not covered by candy so the cake ball can expand. It's usually a result of the cake balls being rolled too tightly. If your cake balls fall off the stick, you may want to put them in the freezer after you put the sticks in to let them set.

4. After they are all coated in candy, I used dark purple mini chocolate chip sprinkles for the ghost eyes, black round sprinkles for the ghost mouths and multicolor mini chocolate chip sprinkles for the mummy eyes. Place the remaining melted candy into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe onto cake pops and stick on decorations. Pipe lines to look like mummy bandages.

5. Let candy cool completely. Wrap in plastic bags and tie with ribbons if giving away as gifts. Store in an airtight container.

Deconstructed Reconstructed Mini Pumpkin Hand Pies

 Canned pumpkin pie filling on the left, pumpkin pastry cream on the right.

I was commissioned to make some mini pumpkin pies for a birthday. Previously I had made apple and peach hand pies. The pies were all baked and cooling on the rack. I tried one and thought it tasted like crust despite the filling oozing out when I made them. I can't serve these I thought. I'll make them better. Luckily I had some extra milk, eggs and canned pumpkin pie filling. I whipped up some pumpkin pastry cream, cut open the pies, piped some in, and tasted them. Now they were creamy and slightly pumpkin flavored but lacked some punch. I mixed together some spices from the cupboard- allspice, powdered ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. I mixed them into the pastry cream which was no longer orange but brown. "Oh no!" I thought I had put too much in. August tasted it and deemed it delicious. You will not find these on another site. I think they are a cross between hand pies and cream puffs.

Deconstructed Reconstructed Mini Pumpkin Pies
Makes 12

Pie Crust- Makes 2 Crusts (You can use any pie crust recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, (151.2 g) chilled and cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk ( save the egg white to use for a wash)
ice water

Whisk together flour and salt. Add the butter and use pastry blender, two knives, or a fork to blend into coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with 3 Tbsp. of ice water. Sprinkle the egg mixture over the flour mixture. Sprinkle more ice water one Tbsp. at a time over the flour mixture until it begins to form a ball. Knead the dough on a floured board. Shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Pie Filling- I bought mine from the store in a can. You can make your own by adding plain pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and sugar. If adding milk or cream, only add a little or your filling will be runny.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger

1/2 Tbsp. allspice
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Prepare an ice bath. Steam the milk in a small saucepan.   In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, pumpkin, sugar, flour, spices, and cornstarch until smooth.
Slowly add half of the steaming milk to the pumpkin mixture, whisk constantly.  Add the rest of the milk and stir. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.  Heat it for a minute or two stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the custard reaches 170F on a digital thermometer and is very thick. Remove from the heat and put the saucepan into the ice bath.  Stir in the vanilla extract. Let it cool for 30 minutes in the ice bath. Strain through a sieve. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressing it onto the cream so skin doesn't form. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

Making the Mini Pies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Take the chilled pie dough out of the refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface. The thinner you roll it out, the better it will taste. Use circle cutters to cut out 3 inch circles from the dough. Place the circles on the cookie sheet.

3. Spoon some pumpkin pie filling onto each circle. Cover the filling with another pie dough circle. Use the end of a lollipop stick or a fork and press down on edges of the mini pies to seal the dough.

4. Brush lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with ginger sugar or coarse sugar. Bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes. They are done when you see the crust turning golden brown.

5. Cool on rack for 5 minutes then remove from baking sheet to cool on wire rack.

6. Split open mini pies with a sharp knife. Fill a piping bag with pumpkin spice pastry cream. Pipe cream into mini pies. Replace tops. Refrigerate. Take out of refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to warm to room temperature.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Chocolate calls to me at night. A square of chocolate isn't enough this time.  It has to be dark, rich, and sinful. Please- take- the- pan- away- before- I- look- like- Jabba- the- Hutt delicious. Not only do these have bittersweet chocolate, they also have cocoa powder and chocolate chips. And a chocolate cheesecake layer. I must say these are my favorite brownies so far.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Inspired by evilshenanigans.com

Chocolate Cheesecake Layer:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 1/2 oz. granulated sugar

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt


Brownie Layer:

1 1/2 oz. unsalted butter

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

7 oz. granulated sugar

2 oz. honey

1 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 3/4 oz. cake flour (if using all purpose, replace 1/2 Tbsp. flour with cornstarch)

1/2 oz. Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper larger than the pan so it will cover the sides.  Cut diagonal lines on the corners so the paper will fit into the pan. Place paper in pan and spray again.

2. Make the cheesecake layer by combining the cream cheese and sugar. Beat until well blended. Mix in melted chocolate. Beat in egg, vanilla, cocoa powder and yogurt. Set aside.

3. Next make the brownie layer. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave in 20 second intervals. In a large bowl mix together the cooled melted butter and chocolate mixture, sugar, honey, butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk it into the brownie batter 10 strokes. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Pour cheesecake mixture on top. Drizzle other half of brownie batter on top. Use a knife to cut through the batter using wavy lines to create a marble effect.

6. Bake for 40 minutes. When the center is set on top but still wobbly underneath, turn off the oven. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for another 30 minutes. Cover with foil and refrigerate until cold. Cut into 1 inch (mini) or 2 inch bars using a sharp knife. For clean cuts, dip the knife in hot water and wipe off between cuts.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

Fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls are great on a rainy fall day. Canada is known for their maple syrup. I added some to the glaze. We moved this weekend only two blocks away. We didn't hire movers but carried everything down the street. August and some of his work friends hefted bags, boxes, the t.v. and even a desk. We must have made at least 20 trips back and forth. It rained off and on. The wet leaves stuck to the wheels of the suitcase. We pulled up our hoods since we didn't have extra hands to carry an umbrella. Now it's time for a rest and some breakfast.
These cinnamon rolls were made in the mini muffin pans. If you don't have any, you can just put them in a square or round pan though they do turn out bigger.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze
(inspired by  http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/181511-Mini-Cinnamon-Rolls?full_recipe=true)

dough:

1 pkg. active dry yeast ( 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup luke warm whole milk, scalded and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter (75.6 g or 2.7 oz.)

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 oz. or 57 g)

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (the darker the better)

1-2 tsp. milk

1. Add warm water to yeast. Stir to dissolve. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Add milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour. Beat in stand mixer with paddle on medium speed until smooth. Add more flour until the dough is easy to handle.

2. Knead on flour dusted board for 5 minutes. Place in large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. The dough should stay indented when pressed with a finger.

3. Punch dough down and divide into 4 equal parts. Roll to the thickness of a tortilla.

4. Mix filling ingredients and spread onto dough. Roll up and slice. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick spray. Place dough in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes. I like to turn oven on to lowest setting for a few minutes. Then turn it off and let rolls rise in warm oven. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

5. Mix together glaze ingredients. Add more milk as needed for the glaze to be spreadable. Spread on warm rolls.

Scottish Tablet

A friend of mine tasted my salted caramels and asked me if I'd ever heard of tablet. Tablet? It's a Scottish candy that's sort of crumbly, slightly grainy, melts in your mouth,  harder than fudge and has the flavor of dulce de leche. Tablet is made up of sugar (lots of it), condensed milk (yes more sugar), butter, and water. You need a big pot. In fact, make half of the recipe in one large pot and the other half of the recipe in another large pot. Mine boiled over even though I thought my pot was quite big. And it didn't get hot enough. When it didn't set, I reboiled it in two pots, to 250 degrees F, and it came out great. Be very careful when it boils. I got burned on my hand from bubbling sugar. Wear gloves or mitts!

Scottish Tablet
Inspired by the recipe at http://britishfood.about.com/od/scottishregionalrecipes/r/tablet.htm

500 ml water

225 g unsalted butter, chopped

1.8 kg caster sugar

450 g condensed milk ( I had to buy 2 cans though I only used a little of the second one)

1. Butter a 9x 13 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper. Cut the parchment paper bigger than the pan and cut the corners at a diagonal so it fits into the pan nicely.

2. Heat water to a simmer then add the butter. Stir until melted. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Put on gloves or oven mitts.  Turn the heat up to high and boil for 5 minutes at 250 degrees F. stirring constantly (hard ball stage).

3. Add the condensed milk slowly. Be careful it may splatter. Stir the mixture well then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. The candy will start to darken a little.

4. When mixture is thickened, remove from heat and pour into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat for 5 minutes until it is the consistency of caramel sauce. Pour into parchment lined pan.

5. When it is cool but still soft, score into 1 inch squares. Let it sit at room temperature overnight. Break or cut into squares. Wrap in waxed paper or parchment and store in airtight container.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

August loves oatmeal cookies. I've always made a recipe where the oatmeal cookies turn out like mounds rather than flat disks. After trying out this recipe, August said these were the best oatmeal cookies he ever had. I had to put them away after they were cool lest he eat them all. When they came out of the oven they were crispy on the outside and chewy in the center.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-oatmeal-cookies/

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (226 g)

1 cup brown sugar (I didn't pack it to lessen the sugar a bit)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda, sifted

2 cups rolled oats

1. Combine dried cranberries, beaten eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

3. Cream together butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir well.

4. Stir in egg mixture. Stir in oats. Dough will be stiff. Drop by Tbsp. fulls onto baking sheet 2 inches apart. They will spread quite a bit. 12 cookies per sheet.

5. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool slightly on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire rack.

Canadian Thanksgiving Apple Pie

Our Canadian Thanksgiving feast was small and simple. Spinach and cheese lasagne and apple pie. I thought I'd take a break from pumpkin pie this year or maybe make it for American Thanksgiving. I used three different types of apples- granny smith, golden delicious, and fuji. The granny smith gave the pie a tartness. The golden delicious melted in your mouth. The fuji was sweet and crunchy. All together I thought they made a great blend. I've also heard honey crisp apples and cortlands are wonderful too. Stay away from the red delicious or you will have a mushy pie. If you do use golden delicious I would only add a little so your pie isn't too soft. For the fat you can use butter, shortening, lard or a combination. I used half butter and half shortening. The butter adds wonderful flavor but makes a dough that's tougher. The shortening makes the dough easier to work with and the crust flaky. My crust came out very flaky and tasty but the dough kept breaking when I made the lattice. I think I needed to add a little bit more water to the dough. Do not add too much or it will become tough.

Apple Pie
Recipe adapted from the Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook

Double Pie Crust Recipe

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup frozen unsalted butter (113 g)

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening 

1/2 cup ice water, as needed

1. Stir flour and salt together. Grate the frozen unsalted butter into the flour. Cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter or two knives.

2. Sprinkle water a few Tbsp. at a time onto the flour and rub it in just until it holds together into a ball. It should be moist but not wet. Press dough into a ball on lightly floured work surface.

3. Divide into two balls (one slightly larger than the other) and pat into disk shapes. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.

4. Unwrap smaller dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll out on floured surface with a rolling pin to the thickness of a tortilla 1/8 in thick. Fold into quarters and place in 9 inch pie plate. Unfold and press gently into sides and bottom. Trim overhang to 1 inch.

5. After the filling is prepared, uunwrap larger dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll out on floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut vents in dough using little shape cutters or use a ravioli wheel to cut into 14  1/2" wide strips if making a lattice top.

Apple Pie Filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I lessened it a bit)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

6- 7 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced (about 7 cups) I used 1 large fuji, 3 medium golden delicious and 2 medium granny smiths

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, diced

egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 2 Tbsp. water)

1. Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Toss apples with lemon juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture on apples and toss to coat the slices. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (if using a glass pie plate, lessen heat by 25 F)

2. Scoop apples into the dough lined pan and make a mound where it's higher in the center. Dot the top with small pieces of butter. Brush the rim with egg wash. Prepare the top pie dough. Transfer the dough onto the apples and crimp the sides to seal. If using a lattice, lay the strips in a weave pattern. Brush with egg wash.

3. Place the pie on a baking sheet. This is so the drips do not cause a fire in your oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F then turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40-45 minutes rotating if necessary for even browning. Test apples with a fork. It is ready when apples are tender. Remove and cool on wire rack for 20 minutes so the filling thickens.