Egg Nog Cake Bites

These egg nog cake bites are one of the most viewed recipes on my blog right now, so I thought I would repost the recipe. 

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Cake bites, cake pops, cake balls...whatever you call them, are everywhere now. But, my favorite come from a bakery in Salt Lake called The Sweet Tooth Fairy. On my last visit to SLC I had the chance to try the peppermint, pumpkin, gingerbread and eggnog cake bites. My favorite was the eggnog. So, I decided to make my own when I got home.

I just followed the basic idea for making cake bites/pops which is  1.) bake a cake 2.) mix cooled and crumbled cake with frosting 3.) roll cake/frosting mixture into balls 4.) chill cake balls 5.) dip cooled cake balls into melted chocolate.

These take a little time, but cake bites are super simple to make and assemble. And you can make them in any flavor you want (chocolate peppermint cake/dark chocolate coating, spice cake/white chocolate, strawberry cake/ white chocolate, you get the idea). Plus, they make great neighbor/friend gifts!

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Ingredients

Vanilla cake mix , Egg Nog, Nutmeg, Rum, Frosting, Candy Coating

Make a vanilla or white cake mix according to the box, substituting the water or milk with Egg Nog. Add in fresh nutmeg and rum extract for that classic egg nog flavor.

 Bake that wonderful batter.

 Once cake is cooled slightly, coarsely crumble.

 Mix crumbled cake with canned or homemade frosting. It seems like cream cheese flavored frosting is the favorite with the recipes I've seen. I had a Trader Joe's vanilla bean cake mix that only made enough to fit an 8 x 8 inch pan. So, I used a little less than half a container of canned frosting. Most cake mixes use a 9x13 pan, so when you go to mix the cake only add about half a can of frosting and then more as needed so you don't end up with gooey cake. Chill this mixture before rolling into balls.

The cake balls go into the freezer so they are nice and firm to dip in the chocolate.

 Melt white candy coating until smooth and pourable.  I heated mine in a pan over really low heat. I let it cool just a tad, but it still had a runny consistency.

Tip:

Cut chocolate into even pieces so it cooks quicker and doesn't burn.

 Dip chilled cake balls into melted chocolate. I choose white chocolate because it paired well with the egg nog flavor, but of course you could use any combo of cake/chocolate coating.

 Use tooth picks to dip the balls into the chocolate and then to get them on the baking sheet. While the white chocolate is still soft you can smooth out the little hole the tooth pick leaves or you can drizzle more chocolate on top and add sprinkles.

 See. No hole. 

 I didn't have a chance to cut one open and show how moist and yummy they looked inside. Once my husband got home, him and the kids devoured an entire tray and the rest went to neighbors. Speaking of which...

 I packaged the cake bites in these cute little holiday boxes.

And bundled the cake bites with some hand crocheted kitchen towels. Very cute!

Egg Nog Cake Bites

1 Vanilla or White Cake Mix

3/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsps. Rum Extract

1 can cream cheese frosting

White chocolate coating

Bake cake according to package directions. Substitute egg nog for any water or milk called for and add 3/4 tsp fresh nutmeg and 1 1/2 tsps rum extract to cake mix. Cool cake. Crumble cake in a large bowl and mix in one half of canned frosting. It's best to just get in their with your hands. Add frosting as needed until you can roll the cake into balls. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze for a half hour.

Melt candy coating in the microwave or on the stove stop. Dip chilled balls into melted chocolate, coating all sides evenly. Place balls on cookie sheet. Let stand at room temp until coating has harden. Repeat with remaining balls and chocolate. If desired, drizzle more chocolate on top of each ball and top with sprinkles.

Rainbow Cupcakes

I'm making cupcakes for my sister-in-law's upcoming wedding in July. For her birthday last year, I made this yummy rainbow birthday cake. She absolutely loved it and requested it for her wedding. 


In addition to the bright wild colors, the cake is super moist and has a wonderful vanilla flavor. The whipped cream cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweetness. It's a cake mix cake, but it's so delicious that you devour every bite and don't think twice about what's in it.


The bride-to-be decided it would be fun to do cupcakes for the wedding instead of cake. So, I decided to do a test run on the recipe to make sure it would work come nuptial day.


Below is the colorful batter ready for the oven.

They all puffed up nicely with slightly crisp edges that were really tasty!

The cupcakes themselves turned out very moist and fluffy. I hate dry, dense cupcakes. Blah.

This whipped cream frosting is sooo good! It's light and creamy and goes really well with the cupcakes. The only problem is that whipped cream frosting can be a bit runny which makes it impossible to pipe. Since this frosting is so delicious, I tried using a stabilized whipped cream to see if that would thicken the frosting enough to pipe it. And...it worked!! So, this is the recipe I'll use for the wedding!! 

Here are some cute mini cupcakes my daughter made with her little cupcake pan. 

Someone decided to snitch a bit of frosting while I was taking pictures. Made me giggle.

I think these cupcakes are so cute and fun! Perfect for a birthday party or any occasion really. Plus, you can color the batter any way you want.

 I'm excited to make these psychedelic but oh-so-tasty cupcakes for the wedding!

Moist White Cake
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.


* I use a french vanilla cake mix and add a teaspoon of vanilla.

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions
In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.


* I used 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar instead of the granulated sugar and stabilized whipped cream to help thicken up the frosting. Worked well. Also, chill your mixing bowl and beaters before whipping the cream.

Keep the Cake Coming!

I know, I know. I've posted about this cake like three times now! It's just that I've gone to three birthday parties recently and they all requested that I bring a dessert and this cake was just fitting. For each party though, I decorated the cakes completely different and they've all turned out pretty neat and everyone absolutely loved them. So, why not?  That's why I love this recipe, it's very versatile. You can make the cake batter any color to fit any theme and there are countless ways to frost and decorate the cake.


My latest creation....

Here's how to do it...

Take your white cake batter and divide it between as many bowls as you want colors. Add gel or liquid dye to each bowl and stir with a spoon and see what you get. Add more coloring if you want a more vibrant hue.

Oooohhh

Aaaahhhh

WEeeeee

Once you have all your colorful batter mixed...

Just spoon medium-sized dollops into your greased (I like Pam baking spray) cake pan. I chose to use a 12-cup bundt pan.

Keep layering the batter...

...and layering, until you run out. I like to tap my pan to make sure all the batter settles. Then bake your cake according to your recipe.

While the cake bakes, make a tasty frosting. I choose this whipped cream cream cheese frosting and it was delicious! Slightly sweet and perfectly fluffy.

And once the cake has completely cooled, frost and decorate as desired. 

After I frosted mine, I made a purple glaze out of powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and purple dye. I drizzled that over the top of the frosting and then sprinkled on Betty Crocker pearl Cupcake Gems.

For fun I added a fruity center by tossing blueberries, strawberries, cherries and blackberries with a little powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla. This cake is delicious on its own, but the fruity center just adds a little something.

My favorite part of this cake is cutting into it and seeing all the crazy designs! How fun is that?

Now, make a wish!

For the cake recipe, click here. Also, I like to add vanilla and a splash of almond extract when using a cake mix.

Rainbow Cake

Here's a fun cake for any occasion. It's really simple to do and kids love all the crazy colors. This would be a great cake to make for the fourth of July, using red, white and blue coloring for the cake.

Take a standard white cake mix batter and divide it up into bowls (for as many colors as you have). 

Squirt in the coloring and let the kiddos mix it up. Gel colors will give you a more vibrant solid color than food coloring liquid.

I used a bundt pan, but any pan works fine. Just layer globs of batter in any pattern.

Bake as directed...

Frost and decorate as desired...

(my girls chose pink frosting with sprinkles)

And when you cut into the cake, you get a different colorful rainbow in each slice. How cool is that?

Moist White Cake

Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.