Using chocolate truffles to garnish a cake may not be what you would normally do to decorate a cake. But WHY NOT! It’s holiday. All that matters is fun and tasty and pretty. And go along your heart.
Lemon Raspberry Sponge Cake with White Chocolate Shards
Another festive dessert for the holiday. Red and white can never go wrong with Christmas. This one is less complicated than the croquembouche I made last time. In fact this one is quite simple to make. I know only the white chocolate shards might already look intimating. But this was my first time making them, and they came out beautifully.
Ginger Citrus Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Try this carrot cake if sometimes you are as lazy as I am, and find even grating carrot is too much work.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Oreo Crust
All the Halloween and kids’ birthday party leftover candies on top of a cheesecake. I know, not a perfect way to consume all of them. But it’s still better than watching your kids chain-popping them in their mouths.
This cheesecake is a tiny one. If you have gallons of candies to put on top, feel free to double the recipe.
Owl Cake
I am not going to explain why my children had two birthday parties although their birthdays are only four days apart. And of course they had more than one cake. Spoiled! I know! Not to mention how my 4-year-old only cared about the candle blowing part but NOTHING!
Ingredients:
2 batches chocolate devil’s food cake
3 sticks unsalted butter, soften
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup Nutella
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 Oreo cookies
2 brown or black M&M’s
1 piece of orange rind
1 tablespoon small chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2-inch (3 quarts) stainless steel mixing bowls and one 5 1/2-inch (1 1/2 quarts) stainless steel mixing bowl.
Put 3 cups of cake batter in each of the large mixing bowl, and 2 1/2 cups in the small mixing bowl.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let cool in the bowls for 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto a greased rack. Cool completely before frosting.
To prepare the buttercream, beat butter on high until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until incorporated. Reverse a cup to frost owl’s belly.
Add cocoa powder and beat until combined. Then add Nutella and cream, and beat until you get to the right consistency.
To assemble the cake, level the cakes if they come out with round tops. Place one large cake (round bottom down) on your serving plate, then flip another large cake on top, flat side down, to create a symmetrical owl body. Place the small cake (flat side down) on top of the owl body. Insert a wooden chopstick through the centre to keep the layers secured.
Spread the reserve white frosting on the front of the owl body for its belly.
Smear the Nutella frosting on the rest of the owl body and head. Gently press the tip of a small spatula in the Nutella frosting and pull it out to create the feathered effect.
Separate the Oreos, then secure a M&M’s on each halve with the white filling with a dab of white icing. Place 2 Oreo eyes onto the head. Then insert an orange rind between the eyes to make the owl beak.
Cut one of the remaining Oreo cookies in half. Insert them, curved side out, at the top of the head. Cover with Nutella frosting to match the body.
Dot chocolate chips to the belly area for a speckled look.