Valentines Day Cake Truffles!

Wow!
Hard to believe February is nearly over. With the ice covering everything outside my window it's equally as hard to believe that spring is almost here!

Valentine's Day came and went and was a busy time for me, and now that I have a moment I thought I would post some info on Cake Truffles. These are a great way to use use up all the cake pieces that I always have laying around, are super delicious, and are easy to make- a win, win!

If you don't have cake scrapes left over you can bake a cake in a 9X13- let it cool then follow the directions below.

Needed:
A bowl full of crumbled cake (any flavor)
A TBPS or two of icing
about 1 1/2 bags Chocolate (Wilton melts work well if you aren't used to working with chocolate)
A TBSP of shortening (if using chocolate not Wilton candy melts)
Any "mix in"- corsley chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, coconut, etc.

First, take your crumbs, put them into your mixer and with the paddle attachment, mix until they are fine crumbs.

Next, Add your icing- a little goes a LONG way! (You can add flavored icing to add a hint of flavor, or Cream cheese icing to Red velvet or carrot cake) You will not need more then a few TBSP.

Allow this to mix on high only for a few seconds. You should see your crumbs binding together, until they are nice and moist- almost like a thick cookie dough, or an ultra moist brownie.
Add your mix in's and mix only a few seconds more.

Spoon out "dough" roll into balls, and place on wax paper.

Place in the freezer for a few minutes.

While the balls are in the freezer, melt your chocolate in a double broiler or microwave. Make sure you melt slowly! If you aren't using Wilton Melts you will need to add some shortening.

Dip your cake truffles into the chocolate using a fork. Place on wax paper. If using sprinkles, make sure you sprinkle before the chocolate sets!

After all your truffles are covered, you may want to place in the fridge for a minute or two to allow them to set.

Decorate anyway you like: (Tiny flowers, sprinkles, a drizzle of a different colored chocolate)

The combination's are endless for these.

Chocolate pecan coconut
Red velvet cream cheese
Lemon poppyseed
Chocolate peppermint
Carrot walnut
Chocolate Raspberry
White Almond

Let your imagination run wild- and have fun!

Why are custom cakes so expensive??

Today, I decided to take on a subject that is talked about often: the cost of a custom cake.

I get this question in one form or another all the time, and I know that for many people, a dollar mix in the baking isle of the grocery store comes to mind when they hear "cake".

As a baker, I don't take this personally. I know that people have no idea what goes into making a custom cake- so I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

First of all- the actual cake. Why doesn't your "box" cake at home turn out like one of mine? Several reasons...
Custom bakers use quality ingredients which cost more money! Sure, sugar is cheap, but butter, chocolate, even milk and eggs have sky -rocketed in price recently.

Most of my cakes use between 2-4 lbs of butter. Not meant to be healthy, just meant to taste delish!

Custom bakers have put time into learning the craft. You don't go to a Dr who hasn't had training, and you understand that the cost of your medical care has to do with the extensive amount of schooling that they had to pay for. Your baker isn't much different! Whether they have trained with the best in the world, or taught themselves with books... their time and money has gone into learning the skills to make you a wonderful cake- you can't create the same at home without the skills!

Supplies. You can't make custom cakes without having the proper supplies. You hire a person who has the proper skills and supplies to frame your photos, do the exterior work on your home, etc. because you can't possibly attain the same quality without the supplies.
As silly as it sounds, for amazing cakes, the supplies are extensive and expensive. From cutters, to sheeters, to slicers, to mixers, ovens and refrigerators (which run hundreds to thousands of dollars!)... not to mention molds and tools that can range from $10- $100+ dollars! And since every cake is different, every cake needs different supplies.

Time. You know you pay for people's time because it is precious. A baker is spending hours of their time on your cake. Some bakers do it as a side job. For me, my time would be spent with my family, and doing things for them. My cakes (even the smallest ones) take me a minimum of 4-6 to complete! That's a lot of time!

Energy/Clean up. We all love to eat out because it is easier. No mess to clean up. No kitchen to clean. No floors to sweep. When you order a custom cake, someone else is using their electricity, gas, and water to create your cake! They are also dirtying their pans, mixers, floors, counters-- you walk away with a beautiful cake, and they get the mess to clean up. This is part of the job but also part of the cost!

I hope that I given some new insight as to why your custom cake may not be as cheap as the sheet cake that is ready made at your local grocery store. Remember, you are paying not only for a much better tasting cake with much more quality ingredients, but also for the skills, the time, the supplies, the mess, the energy... A lot more then you think goes into a cake!

Lips for fun

I received an order this week that I just loved.
The reason I loved this order was not just because the cake was very fun to make, but because this cake was something different, and it's based on a show which I love, the cult classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Love it or hate it, you must admit that it is concept unique to this movie, that has made it withstand the test of time: Audience Participation.
In case you have no idea what I am talking about allow me to briefly explain. Every year, this movie is shown in select theaters. People come from all over, dressed as their favorite characters, with props.
Here is how it is explained on one website: "Rocky Horror is the first and only true audience partici-(SAY IT!)-pation movie. People yell back lines at the screen during the extended pauses between dialogue, dress up in costume and act out the film, and throw props various times during the film. The audience participation phenomenon was observed as early as the film's first run in 1975 (when it bombed during limited engagements in 7 of 8 cities), and was later re-released as a midnight movie where the audience participation really began to flourish. And by the way, for the "gore sensitive", Rocky Horror is NOT a horror film. It is a rock-musical send-up of old science-fiction and horror films."

To mix it up, I thought I'd post some stats you may not know about this show:

RHPS Premiered in the US in 1975

Widely known by mainstream audiences, it has a large international following and is one of the most well known and financially successful midnight movies of all time.

RHPS was filmed in England at what was then a dilapidated castle. Today the castle, Oakley Court, is a luxury hotel.

MTV was planning to remake it and release it in 2009, however, those plans were canceled.

Now, aren't you glad you know all those facts?
This cake was done to look like the lips of the main character. They were made out of a sheet cake, cut, stacked and carved.
Once they were covered in fondant, I airbrushed them using orange, pink and red, along with black for the inside of the mouth. Teeth were carefully measured and cut to fit the lines of the mouth (they were actually very hard and time consuming!)

I love the finished product and have had "Let's do the Time Warp again..." stuck in my head for days now.