EASTER CHICK CAKE BALLS

Diposting oleh good reading on Selasa, 30 Maret 2010

Here’s a cute treat to make for kiddie Easter parties and will totally please adults too!
These were so fun to make! The googly eyes, beaks and feet are simply glued on with white candy melts. I used Wilton candy sprinkles: the feet are orange maple leaves; the beaks are orange or yellow coloured sprinkles the shape of mini-chips and the eyes are white confetti sprinkles coloured with a black food writer pen.

I just happened to be at Safeway today and spied a sale on cake mixes and frostings. I picked up 3 boxes for $5 and the cream cheese frosting in the can was only $1.29
I think the quickest way to bake off the mix is to make cupcakes. That way my kids get to eat the leftovers too. For every 8 large cupcakes, I used approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the prepared cream cheese frosting.

After baking the cupcakes, let them cool and then proceed to crumble the cakes in a large bowl. I used a spoon to help it all along. Then add the frosting a tablespoon at a time. Don’t go overboard with the frosting as a little goes a long way. If you put too much, you might have issues with the cake balls setting properly (especially if you want them on sticks).

This time, I chose not to employ sticks for my chicks. Instead, I made truffle balls and refrigerated them on a sheet pan.

I melted one colour at a time so as not to encounter problems with the candy melts cooling down too quickly. Do add a little bit of shortening to the candy melts after you melt them. Stir it in until the mixture is fluid. It’ll help prolong the workability of the melted candy.

You should have all your sprinkles prepared in little custard cups. I like to melt my candy melts in custard cups in the microwave in 20 second increments. Add a bit of the shortening after the candy has melted.

As soon as you dunk your cake ball into the melted candy, turn it around (use chopsticks or a mini rubber spoontula) quickly and then place it on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Do not refrigerate your cake balls or they’ll sweat.
If you want sprinkles, add them while the candy is still wet.

I like to leave the chicks for last. They don’t need to have sprinkles on them while they’re wet. It’s way easier applying their faces after they’ve dried.

If you would like to add feet to your chicks, I find that mini maple leaf sprinkles are the best. Just use a little of the leftover candy melts to dab the sprinkles. I use a toothpick and I imagine if you need, you can use a clean pair of tweezers to place them on the cake balls.

I found some cute green pastel mini cupcake paper liners at Superstore and placed my dried cake balls in them. The definitely look better in their individual “nests”. You can fussy them up too by packaging them in cellophane bags, baskets or chinese take-out containers.

I’m partial to the lavender chicks. They were made with the lavender candy melts. You don’t have to worry about using food colouring because the melts come in a whole bunch of colours.

This chick is my favourite. What an expression! He’s so sweet-looking!

As you’re making the faces, you’ll come to see that each chick has its own personality. The placement of the eyes and beaks can create such cute faces.

Here’s one of the mini Chinese take-out containers I like to use. I stuff them with green tissue paper, drop in a handfull of jellybeans and a few foil-covered chocolate eggs and place the little Easter Chick Cake Ball in the centre.