Truffle bites - or what to do with all that leftover cake

When you decorate cakes you usually need to trim off the tops and sometimes carve out shapes which means you end up with a bit of extra cake on your hand.

So what do you do with all that extra cake. Just eat it I hear you say, Mmmmm sounds like a good idea.

But hold on a second......

Here is something a little different to try I found thanks to Bakerella. Take the offcuts and leftover frosting, mix it together until it forms a moist ball.


Ok in the pic above I have about 700g of moist chocolate cake and 1 cup of vanilla Italian Buttercream to mix together. However, you do not need this specific amount, different cakes, icings and the fact that you will have varying amounts left over from your decorating will change this recipe each time. But that just adds to its deliciousness. I usually taste test until its a texture that I find pleasing.




Shape into smaller balls or shapes the ones in the pic are around 4cm (1 1/4 inches) across. Pop them on a tray lined with grease proof/ baking paper and chill in the fridge until firm (an hour or so).

When they are firm dip them in melted chocolate and decorate. I used Cadbury dark and white melts which I melted in the microwave.

These ones are leftover vanilla cake and raspberry Italian buttercream. See you can use anything.....if you cake and frosting flavor tastes good together chances are you truffles will too.



In fact they are so delicious you might not even want to wait for leftover cake. You could bake a packed mix cake and use a tub of Betty Crocker frosting.

Wow how easy is that.

Blueberry Pancakes taste so good

Blueberries are out of season. I went to the supermarket and there were none to be found.

But my stomach does not know about seasonal foods, it will not listen or be diverted by rows of fresh plump and reasonably priced produce.

It wants blueberry pancakes. So thank goodness for frozen berries, which are a really good alternative to fresh when baking or cooking.


I love to cook blueberry pancakes. they are so easy and taste soooo good.

Blueberry Pancakes
makes about 10 pancakes depending on the size

Ingredients
2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
80 g (2 and 2/3 oz) butter, melted
300ml milk (1 and 1/4 US cups) milk
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen.

1 Start to heat the frying pan to a medium heat. Melt butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda (baking soda), salt and sugar into a bowl.

3. Using a whisk mix together the milk and eggs and then quickly whisk into the flour mixture. Whisk in the melted butter.

4. Gently fold in blueberries.

5. Melt a little butter in the pan and pour half a cup of batter into the pan and spread out to make a pancake. Cook until bubbles start to appear on surface and the edges start to set.

6. When ready to flip, carefully use a egg flip. Pop any blueberries that escape during the flip quickly back under the pancake before it sets.

7. Pop the finished pancakes on a plate in an oven set on low heat until the remaining batter has been used.

We serve our pancakes with maple syrup and cinnamon sugar.

If you have any little ones around, make sure to remember to cook a few mini pancakes for their special friends as well. Dolly pancakes are so delicious.


Mmmmm, blueberry pancakes they taste so good.

Lollipop cookie pops

I love cookie pops.

Decorated cookies are cute, but put them on a stick and it takes the cuteness to a whole new level.

Look at these lollipop cookies I made.


I used a basic sugar cookie recipe, cut large round shapes, insert the cookie stick (these are available online or from baking specialty stores) bake as per recipe and allow to cool.

To decorate I used Marshmallow Fondant which I colored using gel paste colours (available online or from baking specialty stores). Roll each color into a longish log on a surface lightly dusted with cornflour. Twirl/ entwine the different color logs together and roll into a longer shape until it resembles the pattern you desire. You might need to carefully use a little water to stick the different colors together.

Roll the log up like a snail, gently flattening the log as your go until the fondant shape is the same size as your cookie. Adhere the fondant to the cookie using water or edible glue.



and there you have it, cookie lollipops. We used these ones for a photo shoot (photo by Terri Vandermeer photography)- way less sticky than regular lollipops and the kids loved them.

Cuteness all around.

Update - a couple of people have asked where the girls pretty skirts come from - so here is a link to Princess Ratbag maker of beautiful Pettiskirts.

Martha Stewart Peanut butter-filled chocolate brownie cupcakes

What do you get when you combine two of my great loves, Martha Stewart and cupcakes....

Well Martha Stewart's cupcakes of course - 175 inspired ideas for Everyone's favorite treat.

I have been working my way through this book and thought I might share some of my triumphs and possible disasters with you.

So, what's the verdict with these Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes. The batter was easy to make - no kitchen aid mixer needed just a whisk, a spoon and a couple of bowls.

The cakes were very delicious - mmmm peanut butter and chocolate how could you go wrong.

However I did find the process of layering Tablespoons of batter fiddly and time consuming as I have a super easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie recipe which is pretty comparable in taste (see pic at bottom).

Would I make them again? Maybe. But for everyday eating the Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies are probably my go to recipe CLICK HERE for brownie recipe.

For the cupcake recipe pick up a copy of Martha's cookbook :)









Now here is a tray of gooey, chocolatey Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies I prepared earlier.
Brownie RECIPE HERE