CAKE-BALLS RECIPE

So here is a question for you:

If it is made with a cake mix and a can of frosting AND if it is served in a cupcake wrapper, is it a cupcake?  Good question.  If you read the title above and saw the pictures below, you know this isn't really a cupcake but a recipe for cake-balls.   WHAT IS A CAKE-BALL? (you might ask...)

The recipe sounds easy enough:

1. Any flavor cake mix - make and bake according to package directions.  Let cool till you can easily handle, then crumble into a large bowl.

2. Any flavor canned icing.  Melt in the microwave then pour over crumbled cake, stirring till thoroughly mixed.

3.  Refrigerate for several hours till mixture sticks together.  Using a melon baller, form balls of the cake mixture.

4.  Dip the balls into melted chocolate.  (The recipe calls for one 3 ounce bar of chocolate.  I used two bags of chocolate chips and it wasn't even enough).  Decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Okay - I said "sounds easy" - remember?  It was not as easy as the recipe made it sound.  My daughter and I decided to tackle this recipe on a Friday night and didn't end up finishing till late Saturday afternoon. The first problem was that the balls were not properly balling using the melon baller.  We ending up scooping the mixture with the baller for uniform sizing then ended up rolling the balls in our hands.  Then, when we tried dipping the balls into the melted chocolate, they ended up totally falling apart.  We decided to freeze the balls overnight to make them stick together better.  The next morning we re-melted our chocolate (in the microwave) and while the balls did stick together, we found that the frozen balls cooled the chocolate so quickly that it was difficult to work with.  We had to continually melt the chocolate while making sure the balls did not thaw too quickly and become too mushy to use.  In retrospect, it would have been far better to melt the chocolate and keep it over a double broiler while dipping.

The verdict?  They were indeed a royal pain to make.  But -  O...M....G....!  They are so delicious!  Especially if you are able to keep them into the next day.  The flavors just really meld together into a very moist and tasty bite-size treat.  Would I make these again?  Yes, BUT - this time I would use a double broiler or the Wilton Chocolate melter.  My sister who has made these before also told me that she uses more frosting than called for and uses homemade.  She couldn't tell me the exact proportions (because she cooks with instinct like me).  If I do make these again, I'll try it her was and pay close attention to the proportion and let you know.  But YES, yummy and thumbs up for cake-balls!

IPhone Cupcakes! App by Maverick Software - Review

So can a virtual cupcake really satisfy?  That is the question I asked myself when deciding to spend $0.99 on the iphone Cupcakes! app by Maverick Software.  I was curious why 962 people would have given four stars to a "game" in which all you do is virtually bake, decorate, and eat cupcakes.  There is no mental strategic challenge involved.  No maneuvering, or even serious eye-thumb coordination necessary.  Indeed, all you do is literally virtually (yes, in this case the two words do go together) bake, decorate and eat your cupcake.  OR you can choose to email the cupcake to a friend so they too can enjoy your virtual culinary baking skills.  

Needing to know more before I pressed the all-important green "buy now" button, I decided to read some of the almost 1000 reviews:

"This is the best game in the world!"

"When I heard of the app, I knew I had to have it...."

"I love this game I could play it for hours....This game is awesome!"

"It sounds stooopid before U get it but it's really sooooooo fun!"


Okay, getting interested now.  After all, it does sound stooopid but like U - maybe I'll like it 2.

And finally, the clincher:

"Fun & Entertaining.  Helps fight my sweet tooth cravings...."

Really?  Interesting...I'll bite (pun intended) and pay the $0.99 and find out if making and eating a virtual cupcake can conquer my cupcake cravings.

So here is what I did to make the delicious looking cupcake you see above.  First I picked the Pink Wrapper and filled it with the Chocolate Batter.  After baking it for a very quick 30 minutes (yes, virtual baking time is much faster than IRL baking time), I shook my phone to shake it out of the pan.  Now the fun begins!  I chose the Milk/White/Dark Chocolate frosting and using a simple finger swipe was able to perfectly ice the top.  The only disappointment came in licking my finger to discover it didn't taste like milk/white/dark chocolate - just finger.  Then with another touch of my finger I placed Chocolate Chips, Red Sprinkles, and finally two Candy Hearts on top!  Isn't it mouth watering?

While I could have chosen to "eat" my cupcake by placing it on a choice of tablecloths and pretty plates, then with another swipe of my finger make it disappear in  bits and pieces; I instead decided to email it to myself.  Much to my surprise, the cupcake was then aloft somewhere in cyberspace and wasn't available for me to "eat" anymore!

So did this satisfy my sweet tooth?  Maaaybe....but more importantly it seemed to satisfy my cupcake creativity cravings.  Because after all, while ingesting the cupcake you just made is certainly an important part of the process, the making and designing is another important part of the process and for me just might the most interesting part.  Would I could I play this "game" for hours?  No.  But it was kind of fun to see what I could come up with - what I could create.  And it was calorie free!  What more could you ask for?

Cupcake Holder

Here is a cupcake holder I made with my Cricut.  Click on picture for link to Cricut directions.  What a fun way to carry and present a cupcake.  To me, it would make getting a single cupcake special.  Try wrapping it in cellophane and a curly ribbon.

4 Little Cupcake Cards

Here are four little cupcake cards I made with my Cricut cutting machine.  If you don't know what a Cricut is, please go to by cricut blog: Cricut in the Classroom to get some ideas.  I won't post directions on my cupcake blog but will link in back to my Cricut blog (click on the picture) if you want to know more.  I hope you enjoy!

Lemon Cupcakes

Oh no, what to do on another day at home? I still have to find another cupcake recipe for my A-Z Cupcake recipe book swap I'm in. I tried this amazing recipe and have narrowed it down to......"Luscious Lemon Cupcakes"! They are very lemony and very sweet so only make if your palate can deal with it - which mine apparently can (as evidenced by how quickly they disappeared). Enjoy:

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Kiss Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box lemon cake mix with pudding mix

1 small package instant lemon pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

4 large eggs

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup oil

Mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Add wet ingredients and beat till smooth. Fill cupcake cups 2/3 way full. Cook at 35-0 for 20-25 minutes. Don’t over bake these or they will be dry. When they are just springy to touch is when they are done.

When cooled, frost with:

2 sticks butter room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese room temperature

2 lbs powdered sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (don’t use bottled for this)

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Cream butter and cream cheese till smooth. Add in 1/2 the powdered sugar. Add lemon and zest. Gradually add in the rest of the powdered sugar.

These are very very sweet and lemony. When the cupcakes are cooled they will fall in the middle. This is normal so don't freak out - maybe due to the extra pudding mix. Just fill in with the frosting.

Turtle Cheesecake Cupcakes

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Beat till smooth, set aside

Cupcake:
1 chocolate brownie mix (18.3 oz)
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
Mix well with a mixer.
Fill 18 foil-lined cupcake bake cups a little over half full.
Spoon approximately 1 Tablespoon cream cheese filling onto the top of each cupcake.

Top with:
18 caramels, each cut in fourths (so 1 caramel per cupcake, cut into four pieces.)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, sprinkled evenly overall all 18.

Cook in a 325 preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
When cooled, drizzle melted chocolate chips over the top (I used about 2/3 an 11 ounce bag.) 

p.s. My wonderfully talented teenage son took this picture for me. They are not particularly beautiful cupcakes so he had to fancy it up for me. I think he did a nice job!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

What to do on a day when I can't work because I'm waiting for the heater service man? Vacuum? No! Clean out the very scary closet? Heck No! Laundry? Nope. Make cupcakes!!!! Aren't they pretty? Here is the recipe. I did not use enough red food coloring in mine because I didn't have it and couldn't leave the house (waiting for the heater guy). The 2 ounces in the recipe should give them a nice red/brown color.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 cup powdered baking cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

2 sticks room temperature butter

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup butter milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 oz red food coloring

Sift together (must sift) 3 times: flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add in buttermilk, vanilla and food coloring. Gradually add dry ingredients. This will be a thick batter. Fill cupcakes half full (don’t overfill). Bake at 350 for 20 mins.

Finish with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz packages cream cheese (room temp)

1 stick butter (room temp)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pinch salt

1 16 oz box PLUS 1 cup powdered sugar