Strawberry Rice Crispy Pops

What is it about food on sticks that make them so fun? Is it that food doesn’t readily come on sticks on a regular basis (unless you’re from South East Asia – think satay)? Is it that we associate fun/not-so-good-for-us foods-but tasty foods with the stick delivery (e.g., lollipops, ice cream bars, popsicles, corn dogs)? I’m pretty sure I’d like certain things a lot more if it came in stick form.

Desserts on sticks are blowing up lately! Cake + stick = cake pops; Pie + stick = pie pops; get the pattern? I wanted to try the Rice Crispy Pop because compared to the cake/pie pops, they are sooo easy. And just by inserting a stick, makes them so cute and appetizing!

I found a bag of HUGE strawberry marshmallows (meant for campfires and s’mores). Invented: Strawberry Rice Crispy Pops. I made these for a one year old’s Hello Kitty themed party.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Strawberry Rice Crispy Pops 

Ingredients

¼ cup salted butter

5 cups strawberry marshmallows (If using the large ones, cut them into quarters)

½ teaspoon vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

¾ cup white candy melts

Sprinkles

Lollipop sticks

Directions

1.  In a big pot, melt butter on medium low. Add marshmallows and melt (stirring occasionally).

2.  Take off heat and add vanilla and stir.

3.  Add Rice Krispies and working quickly, stir to combine. Pour and press into a pan (I used an 8 x 8 inch pan). When it cools slightly, use an offset spatula to press down so you get a flat surface. Cool completely.

4.  Place candy melts in a double boiler on low and melt, stirring occasionally. Set out parchment to place your dipped Rice Crispy Pops on to harden.

5.  Cut Rice Krispies into desired size. Use a ruler and take the entire thing out of the pan before cutting for uniform squares (I learned that through trial and error!).

6.  Spoon the candy melts over the squares, decorate with sprinkles, and set to dry before inserting sticks. Voila!

Verdict: I think these looked so cute! They were chewy and delicious as Rice Crispy Squares are. And not super artificially strawberry-y! Everyone kept asking how I got them pink! No need to added food colouring here!

Strawberry Marshmallows

It was my good friend’s daughter’s 8^th birthday and she had the best party planned – a baking and crafting party!!! She asked me to lead a baking station and of course I said Yes! I’ve been doing baking sessions with her daughter, which have been really fun, so she thought it would nice to extend it to her daughter’s friends.

Since we only had a limited amount of time during the party, I decided to pre-bake the goodies and have the kids decorate them. I made vanilla bean cupcakes and butter cookies for the kids to frost with buttercream in the theme colours and lots of sprinkle options.

My friend was planning a sweet bar/display for which I suggested I make marshmallows. I’ve been wanting to try the LorAnn strawberry flavouring that’s been sitting in my cupboard, so this was a great opportunity to test it.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

 

Spoiler: I had to throw out the first batch as I added too much flavouring – LorAnn flavouring is super strength so don’t be fooled – it’s SUPER strength.

Strawberry Marshmallows

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

5 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin

½ cup cold water

¾ cup sugar

½ cup light corn syrup (divided into ¼ and ¼ cup)

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon LorAnn super strength flavouring (I used strawberry)

Pink gel food colouring

2 Tablespoons sprinkles (more to sprinkle on top)

Coating

¾ cup icing sugar

½ cup cornstarch

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, combine gelatin and ½ cup cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes so that the gelatin absorbs the water.

2.  In a saucepan, combine sugar, ¼ cup corn syrup, ¼ cup water, and salt. Heat on high until 240 degrees F.

3.  Meanwhile, microwave gelatin for 30 seconds or until dissolved. Place in a bowl of a stand mixer along with the remaining ¼ cup corn syrup. Mix with the whisk attachment on low until the sugar in the saucepan comes to temperature.

4.  When the sugar mixture has reached 240 degrees, pour it in a slow stream into the bowl of the stand mixer.

5.  Increase speed to medium, then medium-high, then max and beat for 5 minutes at each speed.

6.  Add vanilla and other flavouring and beat to incorporate. Add food colouring and beat to incorporate.

7.  Add 2 tablespoons of sprinkles and beat to incorporate.

8.  If piping, add to a piping bag and pipe on a piece of parchment dusted with lots of icing sugar. If using a pan, line with parchment and dust with lots of icing sugar. Pour into pan and spread. Top with additional sprinkles.

9.  Let it set overnight. Cut (or use cookie cutters) and toss in a mixture of ¾ cup icing sugar and ½ cup cornstarch. (I did this a couple times to make sure that they weren’t sticky.) Store in an airtight container.

Verdict: The marshmallows were super easy to make and turned out nice and fluffy. I liked the look of the piped ones from the first batch – too bad I had to throw them out due to a heavy hand with the flavouring. Live and learn.

The birthday party was really fun! It’s so rewarding giving kids an opportunity to get creative and see what they can make. They seemed to really enjoy it. Check out these photos from the party:

Nutella and Toasted Marshmallow Pie Bites

I was originally going to call these hand pies, but my friends kept thinking I said ham pies, so pie bites it is. 

I was watching The Chew when Mario Batali said that he thinks that hand pies will be the next “it” culinary treat. It made me want to try making them, especially since I had left over Nutella from this project that I wanted to use. To be honest, pies aren’t my favorite dessert – I’d choose a cake, cookie, bar, or pastry over a pie any day – which is why I don’t bake them very often. I think it’s because pies are a plated dessert and I prefer…non-plated desserts? But, the idea of a dish-less pie, one that doesn’t need plates and forks, makes it appealing.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Pie Dough

From Smitten Kitchen.

Refrigerate overnight before using. 

Pie dough coming together.

Filling and other parts

Nutella – about ½ a cup

Toasted marshmallows – toast ¼ cup of mini marshmallows with a torch

Egg wash – beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water

Directions

There are no real rules for assembling these pie bites.  Make them as big as you want, in any shape you want, and as much filling as you want. Just bake them until they’re golden.

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Using half the dough at a time, roll out to 2cm thickness.

3.  Trim edges to make a rectangle/square.

4.  Cut into squares or rectangles.

5.  Brush the edges of a square of dough with egg wash.  Place a dollop of Nutella and a few toasted marshmallows. Cover with another square of dough and pinch edges with a fork.

6.  Brush all the tops of the pie bites with egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

Before baking.

After baking.

Verdict: These pie bites were so delicious! I gave them to some friends who really liked them. Even the boyfriend (who usually just says “good” without much interest) couldn’t stop eating them! The dough was the best - so flaky that it was more like puff pastry.  I’ll definitely be making these again, with other fillings.

S'more Cake

It was the boyfriend’s sister’s birthday and I was itching to do some baking.  I had bought a bag of giant marshmallow because they were novel, even though I had no idea what I was going to do with them! I had also bought a cooking torch.  These things resulted in my decision to make a s’more cake! (Plus it’s summer aka s’more season).

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

I used the following recipes to make a 5 inch round as a gift.  Since I had left over batter, I made a 7 inch round, too.

S’more Cake (parts below)

Graham Crumbs (make first)

Adapted from Milk Bar Cookbook

Ingredients

2 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon milk powder

3 Tablespoon sugar

¾ cup salted butter, melted

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

1.  Spread graham cracker crumbs on a baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until it deepens in colour.

2.  Mix graham crumbs, milk powder, and sugar in a bowl.

3.  Mix melted butter and heavy cream, then add to dry ingredients.  Mix with a spoon until you get chunks of crumb.  Store in airtight container until ready to use.

Graham crumb

Chocolate Cake

I halved the recipe from here.

Before pouring the batter into the pans, I pressed a total of 1¼ cup graham crumbs into the bottom of the pans.

I baked the 5 inch cake at 350 degrees for 36 minutes, and the 7 inch one for 41 minutes.

Graham crumbs in baking pans.

Before baking.

After baking.

Graham Frosting

From Milk Bar Cookbook

Ingredients

The remaining graham crumbs from the above recipe (total minus 1¼ cup)

1 cup homo milk

¾ cup room temperature butter

2 Tablespoon packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoon icing sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1.  Puree graham crumbs and milk in a blender until smooth.

2.  In a bowl, cream butter, both sugars, and cinnamon until fluffy.

3.  Pour in the contents of the blender and mix until uniform. Keep in the fridge if not using immediately.

Frosting ready to go.

Toasted marshmallows

One bag of extra large marshmallows.  Regular marshmallow would also work.

Cut in ½ or ¼ and lay on a baking sheet.  Toast using a cooking torch.

First batch of toasted marshmallows.

Assembly

1.  Slice cakes into 3 even layers.

2.  Cut and tape firm acetate or plastic into a ring the size of the cakes.  Place it on the plate you’ll be serving it.

3.  Place a dollop of frosting on the middle of the plate.

4.  Place bottom layer of cake in the acetate ring.

5.  Spread graham frosting on the cake.

6.  Place toasted marshmallow on top to cover the cake.

7.  Place the middle cake layer on top, and repeat layering.

8.  Refrigerate cake before peeling of acetate for clean sides.

Step 3.

Step 5.

Step 6.

Step 7.

Verdict:  This cake was really tasty with a nice balance of flavors!  The birthday girl really liked it! I brought the larger cake to work and my colleagues went crazy over it!  It was devoured quickly!  The frosting is a bit salty which balances out the cake, but if you don’t like the sweet-salty combo, use unsalted butter.   I think the toasted marshmallows made the cake, while the chocolate cake has a deep chocolate flavor, which I always look for in a chocolate cake.