Chocolate-Dipped Fruit or How To 'Temper' Chocolate

My love affair with chocolate-covered strawberries goes way back. Waaaaay back. I love them. So, I had to include them in my chocolate dessert menu. However, to get good chocolate-covered strawberries, you have to "temper" your chocolate. Huh? What does tempering chocolate mean, and why do you care or want to do it??

Well, you know how when you eat a cake pop or a chocolate-covered strawberry, it has kind of a 'crack' when you bite into the chocolate? That's because the chocolate is "tempered." If it's not tempered, it doesn't have that 'crack.' And it gets all mushy (unless it's cold).

So, if you plan to use real chocolate, and not almond bark or candy melts for any kind of chocolate-dipped treat, you need to temper it.

To be honest, I would probably prefer, for most treats, to just use the almond bark. Easier. Way easier. But my husband does not like the chocolate-flavored almond bark. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate. Nope.
And, let's face it good chocolate is good. So, occasionally, like for the birthday party for my friend's mom, I go ahead and temper the chocolate.

What You Need
Chocolate
A double boiler (or bowl that fits well over your pot with simmering water)
An instant read thermometer*
Optional:
Shortening
Parchment Paper
Spatula

*An instant-read thermometer is different from a candy thermometer. You want something digital here so that you can get the precise temperatures. I bought mine for all of $10 at Target.

Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes

If you love chocolate, then you must have cakes made with ganache for a filling or frosting or both... like these!

What You Need:
Vanilla Cake Recipe*
Chocolate Ganache Recipe
White Chocolate for Drizzling

*I baked one and a half times the recipe of my vanilla cake to make enough batter to fill the 9"x13"x2" pan.

Rich Vanilla Cake Recipe

I spent years, seriously, years, looking for a good scratch vanilla cake recipe. Every one I tried turned out way to heavy. SO frustrating. Finally, about a year or so ago, I came across a recipe for "Fluffy Yellow Cake" in the March 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

The recipe below is my adapted version because theirs is a little more fussy than I like to be in the kitchen. But the basic idea, of whisking the egg whites separately is what makes this cake different from all of the others I tried. It is pretty rich, what with all of the butter and egg yolks, so I wouldn't call it light and fluffy, but it is definitely not a rock!

What You Need:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch (optional, or just use 2 1/2 cups flour)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs (you will use all 6 yolks, but only 3 whites)

Chocolate-Strawberry Mini Cakes

When I first made this strawberry icing, I said I couldn't wait until I put it on a chocolate cake. Oh boy! I was right. It is so yummy!

And making these into mini-cakes meant I got to have that much more icing on/in each piece. It was really good. I highly recommend it.

What You Need: (to make 12-15 mini cakes)
1 recipe Rich Chocolate Cake
1 recipe Strawberry Buttercream Icing
Chocolate for drizzling
Optional: 
Piping bag & tip #18
Fondant Strawberries for Decoration
1 1/2-2" diameter biscuit cutter

Fondant Strawberries

I have a feeling we will see these cute little strawberries a few times next spring when it's actually strawberry season. They're easy to make, and I think they're just adorable.

And they look great on top of these Chocolate-Strawberry Mini-Cakes

What You Need:
Red Fondant
Green Fondant
Strawberry Flavoring
Powdered Sugar (for dusting surface)
Parchment Paper
Optional:
Gum Paste modeling stick or toothpicks
Small Blossom or Star Cookie or Fondant Cutter
Clear Vanilla and food-safe paintbrush

A Chocolate-Themed Party

A friend asked me to come up with some desserts to celebrate her mom's 60th birthday.

She said her mom loves chocolate. So, we created a chocolate themed mini-dessert menu, from which I will share the recipes this week:

Monday: Chocolate-Strawberry Mini Cakes with Fondant Strawberries

Tuesday: Vanilla-Chocolate Mini Cakes

Wednesday: Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries and Cherries (How to Temper Chocolate)

Thursday: Chocolate-Dipped Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Friday: How to Make it All Happen... A Timeline

I will link each recipe as they post throughout the week.

How to Store Decorated Cookies

Decorated cookies are precious. They take a lot of time to get just the way you want them. So, storing them the right way is really important to me. Here's what I've found works best for my cookies.

What You Need:
Good, airtight container that seals well
Parchment paper
Totally dried decorated cookies

*Note to explain the scary squirrels: We have an albino squirrel who lives in our yard. His name is Albert. My kids love him, so they needed to make white squirrel cookies to look like Albert. (And no, he didn't tell us his name was Albert, we just call him that.)

Decorating with Kids

I've mentioned before that my boys love to help me in the kitchen.* Who wouldn't?! I make cookies, cake, cake pops, why would they not?!
*and by love, I mean, tolerate it when I force them to decorate things before they eat them.

Sometimes, this can be an enjoyable pastime.

Sometimes, it can be a nightmare.

With 'cookie decorating season' upon us, (Shut up! It's a real season!) I thought I would offer my suggestions to help make decorating with the kids not only possible, but perhaps enjoyable.

My Top Three Rules for Decorating with Kids:
#1- Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
#2- DO NOT LICK YOUR FINGERS!
#3- Low Expectations

Edible Thanksgiving Activity for the Kids

I remember kind of dreading big family holidays as a kid. I try to make them a little more enjoyable for my kids. (But I know I don't always succeed.)

Here's an idea to entertain the kids, and let them create something cute for their own dessert. (That way, there's more pie for you!)

What You Need:
Refrigerated Pie Crust* or Pizza Dough, rolled thin and baked
1-2 cups Royal Icing (You could use tubes of icing, but it wouldn't dry as well.)
Candy, marshmallows, cereal, sprinkles (I used what was in my pantry. This is one of those 'use what you have' kind of projects.)
Optional:
Piping Bags with tip #5 or #7 

*Note on store-bought pie crust: Almost all of the refrigerator pie crust that I can find contains lard. I am a vegetarian, so I don't eat lard. Be kind to your herbivore friends and check if the pie crust you use contains lard. (The kind at my Aldi store does not contain lard.)

Thanksgiving Treat Roundup

I had all of these great plans to make a variety of cake pops that would be perfect for Thanksgiving to show you all. It didn't happen. Life, and other cakes, got in the way. So, here's my round up of ideas for Thanksgiving treats.

Pumpkin Cake Pops

I think the boys and I may make some of these for ourselves when we get home from the craziness.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake

This one is so yummy! Very rich. Perfect for the non-pie-lover in your life.

Pretty Pumpkin Cake

This one does take more work, but it's so pretty.

Fall Leaf Cookies

These you can do with the kids. Something to entertain them while the adults talk.

Fall Leaf Cake

Okay, I didn't ever actually give you directions for this one... but really you just cover a cake with white fondant, then color small amounts of fondant in green, red, orange, yellow and brown. And use leaf-shaped cookie cutters to cut out leaves of all shapes and sizes. You can even mix the colors and marble them to make them look even prettier.


There. Now I don't feel so negligent. See,I actually don't bring sweet treats to the Thanksgiving dinner we attend every year. I bring the sweet potatoes and the cranberries. The Great Grandmas do the pies.

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How to Ship Decorated Cookies

You won't find a Christmas or winter holidays post on this website until after Thanksgiving, that I assure you.
BUT, in case you're thinking that you may want to make some cookies and send them to someone for whatever holiday or event coming up, here's how I do it:

Start with your awesome cookies that are completely dried.

Who Needs Cookie Cutters?

My grandma loves sugar (I could stop here) cookies. So, for her birthday, I asked my boys to help me decorate some to send to her. However, being as they're 5, they decided that they wanted to make squirrel cookies. Squirrel cookies?! I know better than to try to change a 5-year-old's mind.  I don't have a squirrel cookie cutter, but that's okay. Who needs cookie cutters? Did you know that you can make cookies in whatever shape you want... even if you don't have a cookie cutter?!

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Dough
Outline of desired shape (the simpler the better)
A sharp knife
Royal Icing
Icing Colors to complete your decorations

Royal Icing Recipe

Royal icing is the awesome, hard-drying icing you see on all of the most awesome cookies out there. I have been working for months (literally) to get the recipe just right, so here it is.

What You Need:
Vinegar or lemon juice to wipe down equipment
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1-2 tsp. clear vanilla flavoring (or other flavoring of your choice)

(Click here for a Royal Icing Recipe using Egg Whites instead of Meringue Powder.)

Football Cake Pops

I love watching football... well, college football anyway. And especially my favorite team, and alma mater, the University of Missouri.
I also think it's very important to indoctrinate the children into the football love, and the Mizzou love. So, giving them sweet things with a requirement that they complete the phrase 'M-I-Z'... with 'Z-O-U'... seems to work.
These football cake pops are super easy to make.

What You Need:
Cake, baked and cooled
1-2 cups icing
Light Cocoa Candy Melts (or chocolate almond bark)
White Candy Melts (or white almond bark)
Vegetable Oil
Lollipop Sticks
Tall Mug
Optional:
Heating Pad
Squeeze Bottle w/ Tip #1 or #2
Ice Pack

Fall Leaf Cookie Cutter Giveaway - CONTEST CLOSED!

Who likes free stuff? Welcome to my first-ever giveaway!
It's not much, but I bought too many of these when planning for my fall classes.
So, I'm giving away this set of nesting Leaves & Acorn Cookie Cutters ($6.29 value), and the icing colors to go with them ($2.29 value each).
I'm sorry, the giveaway has ended. Please check back, as I hope to have more giveaways soon!

You can use them to make pretty fall leaf cookies, like these.

Or, you can use these cutters to decorate a fall leaf cake with fondant, like this.

To enter, just leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of cookie.  If you follow me on Facebook and/or receive my email updates, leave another comment for an extra entry. You must enter by noon, Wednesday, Nov. 16 to win!

*Notes: The giveaway is open until 12:00pm (Central, Standard Time) Wednesday, November 16, 2011. You must be 18 years old and a U.S. Resident to win. The winner will be chosen at random by number chosen from a hat by one of my adorable 5-year-olds. The winner will be announced by 6:30 am Thursday, November 17, 2011.

I'm sorry, the giveaway has ended. Please check back, as I hope to have more giveaways soon!

... and the winner is...

The winner of the Fall Leaf Cookie Cutter Giveaway is...

Comment #9:
Samantha R. said...
I've also followed you on Facebook since taking your fall leaves fondant class ~ it was a lot of fun! Thank you!

Samantha will receive these in the mail soon.
Thank you for playing!!
Beki

There is No Shame in Using Cake Mix

Let's be honest, cake mix rocks! It does. It's SO easy. It's almost foolproof. You don't need a lot of ingredients on-hand to make them taste good.

But scratch cakes rock, too... maybe more... even if they require 14 ingredients. So, in order to feed both the angel and the devil situated on my shoulders, I split the difference. I often 'doctor' cake mixes when I don't have the time, energy or supplies to make a cake from scratch.

It all started for me when my mom bought me a book called The Cake Mix Doctor a few years ago. I loved this book. It explains why some cake mixes don't taste very good, and gives you some good basics for doctoring your own. I don't always follow her directions... after all, I don't follow directions well. (Just ask my husband.) But she got me started on figuring out what I like to make my cake mixes taste better.

What You Need:
Cake Mix (any brand. I use Pillsbury because I found it's cheapest for me to buy at Target.)
Eggs
Butter (melted)
Buttermilk (or soured milk)
Vanilla and/or Cocoa Powder

Recipe Index

Basic Cake Recipes:
Banana Cake
Chocolate Cake
Pumpkin Cake
Vanilla / Yellow Cake
How to "Doctor" a Cake Mix

Specialty Cake Recipes:
Banana Pina Colada Cupcakes
Banana Split Cake
Banana Split Cupcakes
Caramel Apple Cake
Coconut-Pineapple Cupcakes
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake
Neapolitan 'Ice Cream' Cake
Monkey Walks Into a Bar Cake
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
The Most Ridiculous Chocolate Cake (aka French Silk Pie Cake)

Icing:
Buttercream Icing (for decorating)
Caramel Buttercream Icing
Chocolate Buttercream (for decorating)
Chocolate Ganache
Coconut Buttercream Icing
Cream Cheese Frosting
Fondant from scratch
Marshmallow Fondant
Royal Icing (for cookies & hard-drying decorations)
Strawberry Buttercream Icing
Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Cookies:
Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars
Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
Gingersnap Cookies 
Gingerbread Cookies
Pecan Snowball Cookies 
Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Other Sweets & Treats
French Silk (Chocolate) Pie
Lemon Cream Pie 
Mint-Chocolate Brownies 
Special K Bars
Peppermint Bark

Leftover Halloween Candy Cupcakes

Can't stop eating the Halloween candy? Me neither. So, I figure if I bake it into something and send it to work with my hubby, I can't eat it all.

Introducing the Leftover Halloween Candy Cupcakes with Leftover Candy Icing and Leftover Candy Sprinkles. I used at least 30 candy bars & mini packages of M&Ms to make these babies!

What You Need:
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or milk w/ 1 Tbsp. vinegar added)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
15-20 leftover chocolate Halloween candies (coarsely chopped)

For the Icing:
2-3 cups buttercream icing (or whatever icing you want... even canned would be fine)
8-10 leftover chocolate Halloween candies (finely chopped)

Pretty Pumpkin Cake

I was supposed to make this into a jack-o-lantern cake, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was so happy that it actually turned out that I had to leave it as a pretty pumpkin. I think this would be an awesome addition or substitution for a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

What You Need:
Pumpkin Cake Recipe*
Pumpkin-Shaped Panor bundt pan
Cream Cheese Icing
1.5 lbs. fondant colored orange
Small amount fondant colored green (about the size of a tennis ball)

*Note: The pan I used, "The Great Pumpkin Pan" uses 10 cups of batter. That's about 1 1/2 times my pumpkin cake recipe.