Little Cupcake Bites

The ever-clever Bakerella came up with these. I've made them a few times, but they've never turned out quite as cute as they did when I made them for our Election Party recently.

No one won the election that evening, but all our guests won because they got to pop a few of these leetle guys.

Bakerella really explains it best, but I'll jot down some easy-as-pie directions just in case clicking on a link is too much work for you.

Actually, if clicking on a link is too much work, I advise against making the Cupcake Bites because it's a tedious process with multiple steps and a bit of waiting...

... and a LOT of pleasure at the end when you eat them.

Little Cupcake Bites
1 box of cake mix (vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, whatever!), or make your own.
1 can of frosting (or... make your own)
1 block dark/milk chocolate or dark/milk chocolate bits for melting
1 block white chocolate or white chocolate bits for melting
A candy mould
Sprinkles
Mini m&m's

1. Make the cake, then allow it to cool.
2. Once cooled, crumble it up so it's all crumbly in a mixing bowl.
3. Add the frosting and mix them.
4. Roll the cake-frosting paste into little balls, then pop them in the fridge.

5. Melt your white chocolate and divvy it up into the candy moulds (almost 1/2 full).
6. Press a little cake ball into each mould so that the white chocolate is pushed up around the sides of the ball.
7. Put them in the freezer to set.
8. Once set, melt the dark/milk chocolate and remove the cake balls with the white chocolate base from the moulds.
9. Dip them into the dark/milk chocolate upside-down.
10. If you have a friend, have them sprinkle and m&m the Cupcake Bites right after you dip them.
11. Put them in the fridge to set.

Chocolate Tart (with Chocolate Pastry)

Did I ever tell you that my Uncle Dave saw Bruce Willis at an amusement park once? I really like B-dubs.

I made something extremely chocolatey last night and fed it to my unsuspecting in-laws.

I rarely make tarts. I've been known to dabble in tarts of the lemon persuasion, but I seriously felt like some serious chocolate yesterday, so I found a recipe that struck my fancy and lost myself in a cloud of cocoa powder.

The recipe, which is from Taste.com, is a goodun! My pastry dough was a little too soft-- so I kneaded it on a heavily floured surface to firm it. If yours is not-quite-right, you can do that or perhaps just chill it for longer than 30 minutes.

Also, if I make it again, I might play around to make it a creamier chocolate rather than a richer chocolate. It was DEEVINE, but INTENSO. Or maybe instead of the chocolate pastry, do a regular shortcrust. Or maybe put some MINT in it! Oh boy.

Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Pastry
Chocolate Pastry:
125 g (just over 1/2 cup) chilled butter (I used margarine and it was fine-- or perhaps the marg is to blame for my pastry dough's softness)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 egg yolk

Custard Filling:
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon custard powder
2 tablespoons castor sugar
200g chopped dark chocolate
300ml cream (couldn't find soy cream substitute in time)
1 cup milk (I used soy)

1. Place butter, flour, icing sugar, almond meal, and cocoa powder in the blender and process until it's like breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk.
2. Knead on floured surface. Shape into a disc, cover in plastic wrap, chill for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 200C (390F).
4. Roll pastry to 4mm thick (or so) and line tart pan with it, trimming the top edges to make it beautiful. Chill 15 minutes.

5. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with dry rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes.

6. Remove beans/rice, bake 5 minutes.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 160C (320F).
8. Combine yolks, custard powder, and castor sugar in a saucepan. Add chopped dark chocolate, cream, and milk, and place over low heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes.

9. Pour chocolate custard mixture into pastry. Bake 20 minutes.

10. Chill before serving with cream and raspberries.

Mini Birthday Cake

Last weekend we celebrated my friend Hannah's birthday! I've never been in the country for her birthday, so I felt I ought to make something real special for her ('I've never been in the country for her birthday'-- that makes me sound so cool).

I decorated it in such a hurry, my kitchen was left looking like the aftermath of a party hurricane.

The cake is a vegan recipe I got from one of my favourite blogs, Bread and Honey. However, Hannah's tumtum doesn't agree with wheat, so I substituted brown rice flour for this particular cake. I've used this recipe many times, and both flours work a charm. I also double it, because the original recipe is for a mini vegan cake, and I usually want a full size 8-incher. So, this is the recipe, doubled.

Vegan Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup cold water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C)
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
3. Grease an 8 inch cake pan
4. Pour da batta in
5. Bake 25-30 minutes
6. If you want to make a three-tiered cake like Hannah's birthday cake, after the cake has cooled COMPLETELY, cut three circles out of it, each slightly smaller than the last. My base circle was probably about 3 1/2 inches across, 4 tops.

The frosting I made is very yummy, but cream cheese/whipped cream frostings are a pain because they're just not especially firm and they don't like to be out of the fridge for long. I made a very small batch because the cake is teensy. Also, note that the frosting isn't vegan.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 a package cream cheese
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl
2. Add cream and continue to beat beat beat until it forms firm peaks

So, stack the three cake circles, using the frosting as an adhesive between each one. I stuck a wood skewer (which I later put a little H-flag on) right through the whole cake to prevent slippage. Now, frost the whole darn thing and decorate with sugar and spice and everything nice-- that's what birthday girls are made of!