Secret Recipe Club: Christmas Cake Truffles

. Third time really is the charm.

Don't get me wrong, I was elated with my first two SRC assignments, which produced the Danish Puff and Victoria Sponge Cake.  Both were outrageously delicious and I had such a good time perusing the blogs.

But this time around, the blogger herself, Gloria from The Ginger Snap Girl, truly intrigued me.  Why you ask?  Well we have quite a number of [odd] things in common, which I realized while reading her 'About Me' page.  Let me demonstrate:

• Gloria has three cats and I have three dogs!  First off, I don't know many people with three of anything.  And second, we both have animals named Oliver!  Crazy.
• Gloria's husband is from Chicago [hello, my all time favorite city!] while Gloria is from California [whaaaat, my all time favorite state!].
• Gloria's family LOVES food.  Hmm, I vividly remember mentioning my family's passion for food in one my of posts.  Oh yes, yes I did.  But Gloria didn't really hone her cooking skills until college.  What the...neither did I!!  Sophomore year to be exact.
• Last but not least, Gloria began blogging in early 2010.  Okay, let's just take a gander over at my archives.  Yep, that's exactly when I started as well.

Is this weird or am I just imagining things?  Pretty amusing to me and needless to say, I loved browsing through Gloria's recipes, which include both baking and cooking dishes.  I have to admit, I was tempted to make some of Gloria's savory dishes for this SRC post because they just sounded so amazing.  Chicken Piccata [I adore capers), Cheeseburger-stuffed Mushrooms, Cheese and Chive Bread, and Garlic Basil Shrimp with Orzo Pasta.  Gah, mouth watering.

But I forced myself to stick to LSM's roots.  And of course, Gloria didn't lack any sweet recipes.  I debated between several items: Chocolate Chubbies, Chocolate Truffle Cookies, or Chocolate Malted Layer Cupcakes.  Obviously the chocolate bug was creeping around...but I ultimately decided on the irresistible Christmas Cake Truffles.  Why?  Well, they're absolutely perfect for the season, duh.  And I've also been dying to make cake balls for some time now but have never gotten around to it.  So here was my chance.  Gloria also provided a beautiful step-by-step tutorial, which was greatly comforting for my first attempt at cake ball-making!

And the results?  Little mounds of rich perfection.  Seriously, if you've never had a cake ball/truffle, you are missing out.  Big time.  These lovelies are truly truffle like, actually not what I was expecting in the least.  The centers are creamy, made so by a mixture of soft red velvet cake and a coconut-marshmallow cream cheese frosting.  And what's a truffle without some chocolate?  Mmhmm, the centers are encased by a layer of scrumptious chocolate.  Cake, special frosting, and chocolate all in one bite.  What's not to love?!

Yet again, I had a fabulous time getting to know a fellow blogger.  Thanks Gloria for the wonderful recipe and tutorial, I can't wait to share these with everyone! .

My Notes:

• Gloria's recipe called for a boxed cake mix and store-bought frosting, but she mentioned you could use a from-scratch recipe as well.  I opted to use my Red Velvet Cake, the one Robbie made me for my birthday, simply because I loved it so much and knew it would be great.  And it was more than great!  So if you decide to use my recipe, hop on over to the post for directions on how to make the cake and frosting.  It's a fun one, too, there's videos!  Otherwise, reference Gloria's ingredients and directions below.
• If you decide to use my recipe, you'll also need 2 ounces of red food coloring for the cake.  I put the batter into a 13x9-inch pan and baked at 350°F for 30 minutes, which is when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean (from here, pick up at Step 2 below).  While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.  And if you're not a coconut fan, feel free to leave that out of the frosting.  Not saying I encourage you to do so [you'll regret it], but you know, just in case.  I used about 2 cups of the frosting for the filling.
• For some reason, the filling started to pop out through the chocolate a little bit.  It seems like there was some moisture, so some of the cake balls cracked slightly [see pictures below].  This doesn't effect their outrageous taste whatsoever, but just giving you the heads up! 
• I realized that this recipe is an ABSOLUTE perfect family activity on say, oh, Christmas Eve?!  Once the filling is ready, everyone can cover and decorate their own cake balls.  What a fun little night!

From The Ginger Snap Girl

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (and ingredients on box to prepare cake)

1 container cream cheese frosting

2 (14 oz.)  bags dark cocoa candy melts

Additional candy melts, sprinkles, gels, etc. for decoration

Directions:

1.  Mix and bake cake mix according to box instructions.  Let cool.

2.  Once cooled, cut cake into sections and place cake into food processor.  Pulse until cake is crumbly (or, you can use your hands, fork, etc.).  Place crumbs into a large bowl.

3.  Add about 2/3 of the canned frosting to the cake crumbs and mix to completely combine, until you have a fudge-like consistency.

4.  Using a medium-sized scoop or tablespoon, scoop dough and place cake balls onto parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet (make sure that whatever you place the cake balls on can fit into your freezer!).  Take each ball and roll in hands to form a smooth ball and place back on baking sheet.  Place baking sheet in freezer for 1 hour.

5.  Once ready to decorate, place chocolate candy melts into large bowl and melt in microwave (heat at 30-second intervals until completely melted and smooth).  

PLEASE NOTE! 

If you're using sprinkles, make sure to have the sprinkles ready to use.  The chocolate melts very quickly, so you must decorate the cake balls immediately after covering in chocolate.  I found it best to set up a short assembly line: dip in chocolate, place on parchment paper, and cover with sprinkles.

6.  Place one cake ball into bowl and using two forks, roll ball in chocolate to cover completely.  Using the forks, take cake ball out of bowl, letting excess chocolate drip off, and place onto parchment paper.  Decorate as desired.  Let cake balls set (only a minute or two).

Yield: about 60 cake balls

Secret Recipe Club: Victoria Sponge Cake

. It's SRC time again!  I can't believe it's been a month since the Danish Puff reveal, my how time flies when you're old.  But then again, it felt like an eternity waiting around to show everyone my second SRC recipe.  Gosh, I love these [maybe too much?]!

For October, I was assigned Jayasri Ravi's blog Samayal Arai.  Jayasri is from the United Kingdom and has been a member of blogland since 2008, so needless to say her little corner of the Internet has a wide variety of [mainly] cooking and baking recipes, with a heavy influence from her Indian heritage.  See, this is what I love about blogging and SRC, you meet an array of people from all over the world and are introduced to foods you never otherwise would have known/heard about.  Great, huh?!

Anywho, browsing through Jayasri's recipes was extremely interesting, to say the least.  Many of her ingredients I most likely couldn't pronounce: I don't cook and am from the Midwest.  Not a good combination when you're dealing with international foods (sorry Jayasri, I tried!).  But it was great being exposed to different dishes and so many of her recipes sounded absolutely divine (check out Crispy Rice-stuffed Croquettes, Spirali Pasta with Coriander Pesto, and Milk Bread, to name a few of my favorites).  But since I'm no chef, I wandered to Jayasri's baking recipes to find something that I could attempt to recreate.  And then I stumbled upon the Victoria Sponge Sandwich Cake.  I was hooked.

Honestly, I had never heard of a Victoria Sponge Cake (hello, I'm sheltered apparently) but Jayasri's pictures made the cake look so moist and soft that I knew I had to make it.  In her post, Jayasri also mentioned that this cake was her very first attempt at baking, so I'm assuming it holds a special place in her heart. 

Overall, the flavors of this cake were exactly what I had imagined: sweet, delectable preserves cutting through a buttery cake.  However, the texture of the cake didn't really turn out as planned, it wasn't exactly that soft sponge but rather a little more crumbly than I was expecting.  I know this was due to several of my mistakes though:

• First off, I need to upgrade to the next level and purchase a scale (I've read that the scale is the most accurate way to go when baking).  Jayasri's measurements were in grams and ounces, so I had to do some Googling to find accurate conversions.  Nevertheless, I had a hard time finding a consistent conversion for the flour, so I ended up using 1-1/3 cups, which I'm still not sure if that is even the right measurement for 6 ounces...?! 
• I may have over beat the batter a bit.  After a little research, some recipes recommended gently folding in the flour.  I folded in the flour all right, but I'm guessing it wasn't very gentle.  So I think this is why the cake turned out not as soft as it should have.
• Last but not least, I may have over baked the sucker a little.  Jayasri's recipe called for a sandwich tin, which I don't have, so I opted to use a 9-inch pan.  I assumed that the sandwich tin Jayasri used was smaller than my pan, so I put all of the batter into it rather than splitting it in to two pans.  I set the baking time for what was recommended but I should have watched the cake closer because I think it could have and should have come out of the oven a few minutes earlier. 

Aside from these tragic mistakes, and as I previously mentioned, the overall flavors were so, so good.  I loved the taste of a buttery cake with sweet preserves, I told Robbie it reminded me of buttered toast and jam (nix the crunchy toast part).  As you can see, the cake is very simple, so it makes a wonderful breakfast or snack time treat.  With warm coffee.  MmMMmmm!

In her recipe, Jayasri also suggested making homemade whipped cream to put in the middle of the cake, which I will definitely do next time around.  I think it would add a great creaminess to the mix.  Also, adding in some fresh fruit would be oh-so great!

Thanks again, Jayasri, I had a wonderful time perusing your blog and getting to know a little bit about you.  I'll definitely be keeping this cake in my repertoire! .

My Notes:

• Hmm, I guess see above?!  But, I will note that the measurements below are the conversions I ended up using to make this cake.  I included Jasayri's measurements in the parenthesis', so if anyone has any suggestions for better converted measurements, please drop a comment!

From Samayal Arai

Ingredients:

3/4 c. (6 oz.) butter, softened

3/4 c. (6 oz.) caster sugar

1-1/3 c. (6 oz.) self-rising flour, divided

3 eggs

3/4 c. favorite flavor of preserves or jam

Powdered sugar (optional, for dusting)

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350F.  Grease 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray and line bottom with parchment paper.

2.  Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl until very pale in color (about 3 minutes).

3.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, each with a tablespoon of flour, until combined.

4.  Gently fold in remaining flour.

5.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.  Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (the original recipe called for 30 to 40 minutes baking time but this is my suggested time to make sure the cake doesn't over bake).  Let cool in pan 2 to 3 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

6.  Using serrated knife or cake slicer, cut cake in half, creating two layers.

7.  Place bottom layer of cake onto serving platter.  Evenly spread preserves onto cake.  Top with second cake layer.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Yield: 8 servings

Secret Recipe Club: Danish Puff

. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was/am for this post.  I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this day to come around.

The Secret Recipe Club (SRC).  For the bloggers, many of you may know what I'm talking about.  The Secret Recipe Club was created by Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' and the 'secret' group started out with only a small handful of bloggers.  But today?  It's grown into a full blown club that requires applications, acceptance, and tight lips!

The concept is quite simple but so genius.  Every month, you get assigned a group and within that group, you are assigned a different blog.  Your responsibility is to browse through their recipes and make any one of their creations (baking or cooking).  Then, on an assigned day, you post the recipe and reveal who you're assigned blogger is.  AWESOME, huh?!  You might not share my enthusiasm but this is the first club I have joined in the blogging world AND it's been a loooong road to get here.  Okay, not long, but it required patience.  The first time I applied to join the club I was rejected because my blog was too young and I didn't have enough recipe posts.  That was a sad day.  But I kept at it, was eventually accepted, and here we are!  So for the coming months, you'll be seeing SRC posts once a month and I'm so excited!

So now for my reveal.  For my FIRST SRC post, I was assigned Cathy' blog, Wives with Knives.  Gosh, where to start with this woman!  I can't tell you how many times I ventured back to her blog, searching through her recipes and trying to get a a real sense of who she is.  I found out through her 'About' page that she's lived in Oregon's Willamette Valley for her entire life and many of her dishes come from recipes handed down through her family.  That caught me right there.  Who can resist a family tradition?!

Her recipes are simply unique and I can tell you I have yet to come across a blog like hers.  Stalking Browsing though her blog, I got this wonderful sense of German foods and the holidays.  Maybe I'm totally off what she's going for, but it's just how I felt.  For the past month I've struggled with what I was going to make from her blog because her recipes are so enticing.

To make it [a bit] easier, I decided that I was going to recreate one of Cathy's recipes that I normally wouldn't pick out on my own.  Yet again, I had some difficulty picking the final entry because her recipes are mouthwatering [check out Cathy's Dresdener Stollen, Maple Nut Coffee Twist, Dungeness Crab and Cheddar Omelet, and Cinnamon Sugar Popovers, to see what I mean].  But with the help of Robbie, I decided to make her unbelievable Danish Puff.

To start, this is a family recipe handed down from Cathy's mother.  Okay, I couldn't resist doing this recipe simply because of that.  And, of course, because Cathy labeled this as her 'favorite coffee cake.'

And now it's MY favorite coffee cake/dessert/breakfast treat.  Let's see if I can do this goodie justice.  Okay, first, it's ridiculously easy.  Beyond, beyond, beyond easy.  Convinced?  The puff looks intricate and from the way it tastes, you would think it took days.  But it maybe took me 15 to 20 minutes to put the two puffs together.

What about the flavor, you ask?  Well, the puff starts out with a simple pastry base, almost like an extremely soft butter cookie [but don't think crunchy cookie, think Melting Moment-esque].  And the base is topped with a pate a choux dough, which is what eclairs and cream puffs are made out of [if that helps at all].  I truthfully had no clue what the pate a choux was going to turn out like or taste like because I had never worked with it.  But my life will never be the same.  And then, the entire goodie is adorned with a rich glaze and toasted walnuts [if you choose!].

All together, you get an unexplainable melt-in-your-mouth, piece-of-heaven.  Just to be frank.  I will forever keep this recipe and whip it out for those special occasions.  Cathy, thank you so incredibly much this one-of-a-kind family recipe, I had an absolute blast looking through your blog!  Glad to be your newest follower ☺ .

My Notes:

• I actually used my food processor for making the pastry base and it worked out wonderfully.  However, I put in the original directions below.
• You can choose whether you want to use the walnuts or not.  Since I wanted to at least taste the original recipe from Cathy, I did one puff with and one puff without walnuts.  But they are equally amazing.  I will say that the walnuts completely change the flavors of the puff though, so I HIGHLY recommend trying out both variations.
• To toast the walnuts, place the walnuts on a baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350°F or until the walnuts are fragrant.
• For the glaze, I ended up adding in an additional 2 teaspoons of water to get the consistency I was looking for.  But you can add less or more, depending on how liquidy you would like the glaze.

From Wives with Knives

Ingredients:

Pastry Base:

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. butter

2 tbsp. water

Pate a Choux Dough:

1 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. all purpose flour

3 eggs

Glaze:

1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 to 2 tbsp. water

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.  For the pastry base, in a medium bowl, cut in butter with flour using pastry blender or your fingertips.

2.  Sprinkle water over mixture and mix well with fork.

3.  Form the mixture into a ball and divide in half.  Pat each half of the mixture with your hands into 12x3-inch strips on prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.

4.  For the pate a choux, combine butter and water.  Heat to boiling (making sure butter is all melted).

5.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  

6.  Using a whisk, mix in flour, stirring to keep from lumping.  

7.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

8.  Divide the pate a choux dough in half and spread evenly on each strip.  Bake 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and browned.

9.  For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and water until smooth (if needed, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until glaze can be poured over coffee cakes).  Glaze coffee cakes as desired.  Top with toasted walnuts.

Yield: 2 coffee cakes