Mini Couscous Cakes - Recipe

1/2 cup couscous
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. confectioners/icing sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 egg
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a mini muffin pan with baking cups. Put the couscous in a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Cover the bowl and leave for 5 minutes to allow the grains to absorb the liquid. Remove the cover and fluff the grains with a fork. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with a spoon. Beat the egg and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add the couscous and the dry ingredients and mix until nearly combined. Fold in the lemon zest and parsley. Spoon a heaping tablespoon into each well of the muffin tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove mini cakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 24 mini cakes

Rice Crispy S'mores - Recipe

1 cup bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 tbsp. corn syrup
3 cups rice krispies cereal
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
Place 12 foil or paper baking cups on a tray. Place the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir the mixture until melted and well combined. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cereal, marshmallows and corn syrup. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes

Fall Cake Pops and Bites

Hey there,
Thought I'd throw you off by make a midweek posting this time. In the fall season and Canadian Thanksgiving spirit I made some yummy cake pops and bites and I'm going to share with you the step-by-step on making some for yourself!

For the cake pops you will need:
assorted color candy melts
season sprinkles
sugared whole nuts
lollipop sticks

For the cake bites you will need:
a chocolate transfer sheet
plain round chocolate covered oreo cookie mold
candy wafers
a pen or marker
scissors
tall glass with a flat bottom
piping bag

STEP 1:

Bake up your favorite cupcakes (I made pumpkin spice cupcakes). For 12-15 cake balls, remove the wrappers from 6 cupcakes, crumble them into a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup of frosting (I used vanilla) and mix well with beaters or a stand mixer until it looks similar to cookie dough. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of cake ball mixture and roll it into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, or in one of these candy wells, like I've done. Place the cake balls in the fridge for two hours (or speed up the process and pop them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes).

STEP 2

Pick out a pretty seasonal chocolate transfer sheet. With the rough side down, and the smooth side up, trace circles using a stencil or cookie cutter.

STEP 3

Cut out the chocolate transfer sheet circles and place them inside the mold with the rough side facing up, you want this part to touch the chocolate in the next step.

STEP 4

Place about a cup of chocolate wafers into a piping bag. Fill a tall glass about half way with water. Place the piping bag inside the glass. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, carefully lift from the glass and squeeze to mix. Repeat this process 2 or 3 more times, until all chocolate is thoroughly melted. Be careful after the 2nd or 3rd heating, the chocolate will be quite hot to the touch. You may want to use oven mits or an ove-glove to handle the piping bag.

STEP 5

Squeeze the chocolate into the bottom of each well on top of the chocolate transfer sheets. You want to fill each well about 1/4 of the way. Be careful not to fill it up too much, you need to leave room for the cake ball mixture. Place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to set.

STEP 6

I'm sorry, I'm not sure why this came out sideways... Take a cake ball and place it on a flat surface. Take a glass with a flat surface and push gentle to make your cake ball into more of a cake puck. It should look something like this...

STEP 7

Pipe another 1/4 full of melted chocolate into each well. Push a cake puck into each well. The chocolate will squish up around the sides, and maybe a little onto the top.

STEP 8

Pipe enough chocolate to cover the tops of each cake puck and to meet the top of each well. Place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set.

STEP 9

When the chocolate is firm to the touch, remove the mold from the fridge and turn it upside down. Gently push on the bottom of each well to release the cake bite. Turn them right side up. Find the edge of the chocolate transfer sheet and gently peel it away, to leave your beautiful pattern on top of your delicious cake bites! Yum-O!!!

Now for the pops...
Step 1 is already complete, you already have some cupcakes baked and rolled into cake balls that have solidified in the fridge or freezer.

STEP 2
Using a double boiler, or microwave safe bowls, melt a few colors of candy melts or chocolate wafers. Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate and then push it half way into a cake ball. Repeat until each cake ball has a lollipop stick. Place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to set.

STEP 3
Remove cake balls from the fridge and dip into melted chocolate matching the color on the stick. Tap the pop gently on the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate and let it drip back into the bowl.

STEP 4

While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on some season sprinkles, like these fall leaf sprinkles by Wilton, or press a candied nut into the top of each cake pop. Place in a drying stand to set. Repeat until all cake pops have been dipped. Here's how mine turned out...

Now the cake pops I made, were a present for my aunt and uncle who have been making me some amazing cake pop stands (pictures will come soon). So I wanted to send them a little Thanksgiving gift to say thanks for all their hard work! If you want to ship them, here's how I packaged mine up...

I found a small very solid box and filled it with plastic grass (nice to  look at, and great to cushion the pops). I placed the pops in, weaving them a little into the grass so that they wouldn't roll around too much. Hopefully they arrive looking pretty much like this... Taped up the box, and off they went.

That's all for today my friends. These projects are fun and pretty easy to do. They will excite your creativity and make a great activity for the kids on Thanksgiving, or to give as a gift to someone you love.

Until next time,
Have a wonderful long weekend, and THANKS for stopping by, trying out some of my recipes and projects and for your great feedback!

Love and sprinkles, xoxo

Rice Crispy Cupcakes - Recipe

1 cup bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 tbsp. corn syrup
3 cups rice krispies cereal

Place 12 foil or paper baking cups on a tray. Place the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir the mixture until melted and well combined. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cereal and corn syrup. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Makes approximately 12 cupcakes

Eggplant & Sesame Muffins - Recipe

for the muffins:
2 small eggplants
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tbsp. tahini paste
1 tbsp. sesame seeds


1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Rub the eggplants with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Bake on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, until the eggplant softens and turns dark brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the top of each eggplant and slice the body lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape the inner flesh away from the outer skin. Discard the skin and roughly chop the eggplant flesh and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the egg, milk and remaining 4 tbsp. of olive oil and the tahini paste. Mix in the flour until nearly combined. Fold in the chopped eggplant until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with a pinch of sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan, and continue to cool on a wire rack.

for the butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. sherry vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped

2. Combine the butter, garlic, vinegar and parsley in a bowl. Beat until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Cut muffins in half and spread with butter.

Makes approximately 12 muffins

Eggplant & Red Pepper Muffins - Recipe

for the muffins:
2 small eggplants
3 tbsp. roasted red pepper, minced6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Rub the eggplants with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Bake on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, until the eggplant softens and turns dark brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the top of each eggplant and slice the body lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape the inner flesh away from the outer skin. Discard the skin and roughly chop the eggplant flesh and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the egg, milk and remaining 4 tbsp. of olive oil. Mix in the flour until nearly combined. Fold in the chopped eggplant and red pepper until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. (If you like, you can also sprinkle some feta cheese on top of the muffins before baking). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan, and continue to cool on a wire rack.

for the butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. sherry vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped

2. Combine the butter, garlic, vinegar and parsley in a bowl. Beat until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Cut muffins in half and spread with butter.

Makes approximately 12 muffins