Bananas Foster Cake Bites

Some friends of ours (the ones who ordered the Half-Life Cake back in June) had a fake Halloween wedding. They wanted lots and lots of cake bites. In fact, they ordered 200: 100 chocolate with chocolate buttercream, 50 red velvet with cream cheese frosting, and 50 bananas foster with almond buttercream. And so, last week I went to work. I was sick the beginning of the week and missed the third Wilton cake class, but I only really missed making the ugly little clowns, so not a big loss. Besides, I am not impressed with the teacher.

Anyway, Katie wanted the cake bites to be pretty, not Halloweeny, so I made them normal looking. Then, I sent the extras to work with Walter, and THOSE were full of Halloween goodness. Pumpkins and eyeballs galore.

By the way, I was a cupcake for Halloween. Walter was Charlie Brown in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" In addition to the ghost costume with extra eye-holes, he had a Charlie Brown shirt on underneath:



Bananas Foster Cake



This cake was sooo good. I found the recipe here at Erin's Food Files. I loved her video on the flambeeing, but I hoped my experience would be more fun.

It wasn't. It was disappointing. Very few flames and no fun. Tasty, though, which I suppose is really what matters...

This was also my first time buying alcohol. I turned 21 last month. I am such a grown up. :P

Ingredients
For the Bananas Foster
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-2 ripe, but still firm bananas quartered (halved crosswise, then lengthwise)
-2 tablespoons dark rum
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cake:
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I did use some whole wheat flour)
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
-3 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/2 teaspoon dark rum
-Prepared bananas foster
-3/4 cup sour cream

Directions
For the Bananas Foster:
1. In a saute pan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook until butter melts and sugar is dissolved (4 to 5 minutes). Add the banana slices and cook until tender, turning once for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
2. Stir together rum and vanilla. Turn off the burner and add the rum mixture to the pan.
3. Using a long match, light the alcohol by placing the flame just in the outer edge of the pan. Stand as far back as possible. The flame should extingish in a few seconds. There will not be nearly as many flames as you expect. Gently shake the pan from side to side to coat the bananas with the sauce. Spoon the bananas into a bowl and set aside.

For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add eggs, vanilla, rum and banana to butter mixture. Mix well.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Blend thoroughly but do not overmix.
6. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Almond Buttercream



This was a very smooth buttercream, and the almond went so well with the bananas foster. I found it here at Bake Space.

Ingredients
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-4 1/2 cups confectioners' Sugar
-3/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract
-1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
-6-7 Tablespoons Milk

Directions
1. Cream butter until fluffy. Add other ingredients gradually, mixing until desired consistency.

Pink Lemonade Cake (Wilton Course 1 Cake 1)

So, I started the Wilton Course 1 classes last week, on my birthday. So far, I am not sure I enjoy it.

My teacher is 73 years old and claims she has been decorating cakes for 50 years. That is great, but she is very sure that everything SHE thinks about cakes is correct. She also thinks she taught us things that she never mentioned. Nobody in the class (there are seven of us) is incredibly pleased with her.

She also believes in changing the rules some. We learned how to make the roses completely on the first night. I came to the first cake class expecting to make a cake with a star tip image on it, like I've seen from others who have taken the classes. Instead, we made a random practice cake using different designs that didn't look cohesive at all. I got scolded for bringing colored icing even though she told us it could be colored the week before. She scolds people if they add flavoring to the icing (I did it anyway. She didn't taste it, so she didn't know). We had a discussion about fondant, and she told me that the only fondant that is worth using is Wilton fondant, and that it tastes best (maybe just because she is doing a Wilton class, she has to promote Wilton products).

Overall, I think I am going to get what I want out of the class. She's a good teacher, albeit a bit too opinionated. But I think that when my cousin and I take Course 2, we are going to see about getting a different teacher.

Here are a couple shots of the cake:


I did pink icing because I was going to make a breast cancer awareness ribbon on my cake, since I assumed she'd follow what most people do in the classes. Note my kind of squiggly shell border.


A close up of my best rose. I am quite pleased with this one. Most of them turn out kind of funny, but this one is kind of pretty. It also has a few leaves from practicing with the leaf tip (which is really easy).


A close up of the circle of practicing the star tip. I really enjoy using the star tip, but she doesn't seem to think it's very important, so we didn't focus on it much.

I made a pink lemonade cake, inspired by the Deen Brother's recipe, but instead of white cake mix, I used this white cake recipe. I added some pink food coloring to get a nice, bright pink color. I didn't use the Deen icing recipe; instead, I used the Wilton Class Recipe with lemon flavoring.

After the class, I tore the cake up and made breast cancer awareness cake bites to send to work with Walter:



Pink Lemonade Cake



Ingredients
-1 recipe Classic White Cake
-3 tabl
espoons pink lemonade drink powder
-1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and set aside.
2. Add pink lemonade powder and lemon zest to dry ingredients in white cake recipe. Make white cake according to recipe.
3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack until completely cooled.

Banana and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake Bites

I had leftover cake after Father's Day, as always. I found some peanut butter flavored Wilton candy melts, so I decided to dip the chocolate chip cake in those. I also ground some chocolate chips up and threw them in with the cake and frosting because the cake I had leftover didn't really have any chocolate chips in it.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake Bites



I thought the peanut butter was a great addition to these. They were wonderful.

Ingredients
-1 recipe Chocolate Chip Cake
-1/2 cup vanilla cream
-Witon's Candy Melts, peanut butter flavor
-6 ounces ground chocolate chips

Directions
1. Crumble prepared cake into crumbs. Mix in vanilla cream and chocolate chips until well combined.
2. Roll cake mixture into small balls. Dip in melted peanut butter candy and cool on wax paper. Drizzle with additional chocolate if desired.

Banana Cake Bites



These were my favorite. I considered dipping them in peanut butter as well, but I only bought one bag and used it all on the others.

Ingredients
-1 recipe Banana Cake
-1/2 cup vanilla cream
-Wilton's candy melts light cocoa and white

Directions
1. Crumble prepared cake into crumbs. Mix in vanilla cream until well combined.
2. Roll cake mixture into small balls. Dip in melted chocolate or white chocolate and cool on wax paper. Drizzle with additional chocolate if desired.

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Cake Bites

New neighbors moved in next door. To make them feel welcomed, I made some cake bites for them.

Chocolate Cake Balls



Nothing new here, except my local Michael's has started carrying Colorburst melting chocolate. See below:



When I saw it, I knew I had to buy it. I think it would be especially fun with some "funfetti" cake bites. Because of my failure at taking a decent picture of the cake bites, it is impossible to see, but the white bites are flaked with red, green, and blue spots.

Ingredients
-1 recipe Martha Stewart's Chocolate Cake (see below)
-1 can milk chocolate frosting
-Melting candies/chocolate in desired colors

Directions
1. Crumble prepared cake into crumbs. Mix in frosting until well combined.
2. Roll cake mixture into small balls. Dip in melted chocolate and cool on wax paper. Drizzle with additional chocolate if desired.

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Cake

This recipe came from the May 2009 issue of Everyday Food from Martha Stewart. It is the chocolate variation of the Versatile Vanilla Cake. I think it is my favorite chocolate cake so far...it is incredibly silky and moist, and I was quite pleased with it.

Ingredients
-1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups plus 4 Tablespoons cake flour)
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 larg eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two eight inch cake pans and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
4. Alternately beat flour mixture and buttermilk into butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.
5. Divide batter between pans and smooth tops. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until pick inserted in the cake's center comes out clean.
6. Cool cakes in pans for ten minutes, then invert to wire racks until cooled completely.

Strawberry Cake Bites

Final shower upload! These were made from leftover cake, and they went fast. I ended up making something like 170 of them, so I sent some to the office with Walter today as well.

Strawberry Cake Bites



Nothing new here. My mother loves these and was very "helpful" when I was making them. She kept deciding one looked "messed up," meaning she had to take care of it for me. She probably ate ten of them. ;)

Ingredients
-1 recipe 1-2-3-4 Cake
-1 recipe Strawberry Cream
-Light cocoa melting discs

Directions
1. Crumble prepared cake into crumbs. Mix in strawberry cream until well combined.
2. Roll cake mixture into small balls. Dip in melted chocolate and cool on wax paper. Drizzle with additional chocolate if desired.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake Bites

Friday, I started my cake for Easter. It stuck to the pan, so I made it into cake balls. Walter's office loves cake bites.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake Bites



I love cake bites because they are easy to make, easy to ship, and they are heavenly. I used some of the cookies and cream filling from the cake in them, but it didn't really come through. Regardless, delicious.

Ingredients
-1 recipe Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake (see below)
-Leftover chocolate buttercream icing and cookies and cream filling, or 1 can of chocolate frosting
-Wilton chocolate melting wafers for dipping (I used about two 14-oz bags for dipping and 1/2 14-oz bag for drizzling)

Directions
1. Crumble cake into fine crumbs. Add frosting and mix well.
2. Roll cake mixture into small balls.
3. Melt chocolate and dip cake balls into it. Let dry, then drizzle with additional chocolate.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

This recipe, of course, comes from Hershey's, but I got it from Annie's Eats. It is so moist and delicious.

Ingredients
-2 cups sugar
-1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 3/4 cups plus 2 1/2 Tablespoons cake flour)
-3/4 cup cocoa powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 eggs
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 cup boiling water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cake pans (I used 3 8 inch pans) and set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
3. Stir in boiling water. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake's center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on wire racks.

Chocolate Cake Bites

I had so much leftover cake from the castle cake that I thought I would put it to good use!

Chocolate Cake Bites



Walter prefers these to be called "Chocolate Cake Bites" when he brings them to the office...of course. So, instead of "cake balls," they have now been renamed. Cake Bites sounds cuter anyway. ;)



Ingredients
-1 recipe Easy Chocolate Party Cake
-1 jar Pilsbury Milk Chocolate icing
-12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
-12 ounces white chocolate
-1 bag each desired color Wilton colored melting discs

Directions
1. Prepare cake according to recipe. Cool. Crumble cake into a large bowl.
2. Stir in jar of icing. Mix until combined and all cake is moistened.
3. Roll cake into small balls, about 1/2 an inch in diameter.
4. Melt chocolate (keep colors separate), stirring often, until smooth. Dip balls in desired color/flavor and cool on wax paper (if desired, cool in refrigerator to harden more quickly).
5. Once cooled, use colored chocolate melting discs to drizzle each bite with color, if desired.