Posted by Ari Bari
Well, howdy there! I'm the newbie on staff, and I can't wait to get started, sharing the joy and whimsical wisdom that is Doctor Who! Today, I'd like to introduce to everyone the deliciousness that are Dalek-table Cake Bites. Now, I presume most of us have had cake bites before, but this brings it up to a new level. CChubs, on Flickr, was kind enough to post a recipe and instructions for the benefit of our collective stomachs.
What You Need:
1 510g box cake mix
1 450g (16 oz.) can white frosting
~5 cups (32 oz.) colored candy wafers (I used red and purple)
~1-2 cups chocolate candy wafers
~20 pretzel sticks, cut in half to make 40 shorter sticks
~40 eyeball decorations, or something similar
~1/2 cup slivered almonds, with angled tips cut off at one end
~40 oreo cookies
I know it’s lame to use pre-packaged cake mix and frosting, but there are a few good reasons for it. First, the proportions and textures are just right for making cake balls, whereas those of homemade mixes will vary or be inconsistent throughout. Second, making these things takes a good three to four hours, so cutting out extra time by using packaged cake and frosting is extremely helpful. Don’t worry, they still taste wonderful.
1) Bake your cake according to the directions on the box for one 13X9” cake. Let it cool completely then drop it into a LARGE bowl and crumble with your hands until it is fine and fluffy, with no chunks. Using the back of a large spoon, mix three quarters of the can of frosting in until even and thoroughly moist, so that you could roll some into a ball and have it hold its shape.
2) Roll the mixture, one piece at a time, into balls about 2" in diameter and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You should be able to roll about 40 of these from one cake.
3) If you would like to finish the treats on the same day, chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until they firm up (but don’t let them freeze). If you would like to leave the rest for the next day, you can cool them in the refrigerator for a number of hours and come back to them later.
4) While they are cooling, melt the chocolate wafers in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring thoroughly between. For 2 cups of wafers, this should only take 1:00-1:30. DO NOT OVERHEAT OR LET ANY WATER TOUCH THE WAFERS: either of these ruins the consistency of the wafers and makes them useless to you. Try to microwave them in a deep bowl or cup, as you need the melted chocolate to be deep enough to dip.
5) Dip a pretzel into the chocolate coating as far as you can, leaving a little bit to hold on to at the end. Let some excess drip back into the bowl, holding it coated-side-down. Turn the stick coated-side-up and carefully place an eyeball decoration on the coated tip. Try to let it dry and set before placing it down on parchment paper, otherwise you might lose some of the coating to the parchment paper (I speed this up by holding the stick in the freezer for 30 seconds or so). Repeat until you have as many eye stalks as you do cake balls.
6) Remove the cake balls from the freezer or refrigerator. The bottom side of each ball should have flattened a bit, which is perfect for this recipe.
7) Melt candy wafers in the microwave 30 seconds at a time (I usually do 2 cups at a time), stirring thoroughly between. For 2 cups of wafers, this should only take 1:00-1:30. DO NOT OVERHEAT OR LET ANY WATER TOUCH THE WAFERS: either of these ruins the consistency of the wafers and makes them useless to you. Try to microwave them in a deep bowl or a measuring cup, as you need the melted candy to be deep enough to dip.
8) Hold a cake ball with the flattened side down and dip just that flat bit into the melted wafers. Place it flat onto an oreo cookie and press down lightly, letting the coating spread out and adhere the ball to the cookie. I recommend doing this for all ~40 cake balls before moving on, to ensure that this bond has set completely before you do the coating.
9) Holding the very top edge of the oreo cookie, with the cake ball upside down, submerge the cake ball into the melted coating until the coating just hits the bottom edge of the cookie. Try to be quick, or else the cake-cookie bond can melt and you can lose your cake ball (speaking from experience). Remove from the coating and hold right-side-up, letting the coating drip down and complete the seal to the cookie. If there is a lot of excess coating, you can hold the cookie at a slight angle and use a toothpick to skim some excess back into the bowl.
10) Before the coating sets, insert a slivered almond (cut-side-up) diagonally into each side of the Dalek head, and push the eye stalk into the front of its head until the colored coating meets the chocolate coating on the pretzel. Place down onto parchment paper to set completely.
11) Repeat about 40 times! These treats keep in the refrigerator for a week or more.
12) EXTERMINATE!
Note:
Sometimes if the cake balls are too cold when you do the coating, the cake expands as it warms up and cracks the coating. To prevent this, do not do the coating while the cake balls are too cold. Wait for them to warm up a bit after being in the freezer/refrigerator. However, if it does happen, you can use a toothpick covered in melted coating to seal up those cracks so that they don’t leak condensation or grease from the cake inside.
The Final Product:
Again, thanks to CChubs on Flickr! Happy Baking!
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