Red Velvet Cake Balls

So rich

Valentine’s Day is Thursday! I’m going to make Red Velvet Cake balls to give to my friends instead of the traditions valentines that you buy at the store. I have only made cake balls once before but they are really easy and fun. They also come in handy if your cake falls apart when you take it out of the pan.

I choose red velvet cake because it is one of my favorites. My mom normally makes me some type of red velvet sweet for my birthday every year.  She has made red velvet cake with chocolate icing, red velvet cupcakes and cheese cake.  

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 ¼ cup water

1/3 cup vegetable/ canola oil

Red velvet cake mix

3 ounces cream cheese softened

1-2 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup butter softened

½ teaspoon vanilla

White chocolate chips or simi- sweet

Sprinkles

Choose a pan and spay with cooking oil; I will probably use a cupcake pan or my brownie pan that is 9 by 9 to bake the cake in. It doesn’t really matter what you use just as long as the cake gets cooked.  Pre-heat at 350.  

Mix together cake mix, eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl at low speed if you have a mixer if not stir at a low speed until batter is red. Then mix faster until at a medium speed until all ingredients are fully blended. 

So weird looking but so good

Pour into pan and bake for about 20-30 minutes it depends on you pan: cupcakes- about 20 min, cake pan -30-40 minutes)

So much fun!

Let it cool then crumble (if it’s not cool you can burn your hands)

Make cream cheese icing by mixing butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until all ingredients are fully blended. Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar then add more if the icing is soupy. Make sure the butter and cream cheese is just softened not melted or you will have to refrigerate. 

Like playdough but you can eat it

Add crumbled cake to icing and mix together (use your hands it makes it easier.) Then pinch off a half a tablespoon size amount and roll into a ball.  

Only time I will eat white chocolate

While making the balls melt white chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments at 50% power.  Stirring between each increment until melted. If it starts to harden instead of melt you have burned it. 

Dip balls into chocolate coating the ball then roll in sprinkles and enjoy.

Valentine Cupcakes

Sparkles

I LOVE cup cakes. Junior year of high school I made cupcakes at least once a week.  I always made them from scratch. Since I have been in college I have found it easier to use a box. I don’t own a mixer and making cakes from scratch tends to end with more flour on me then in the batter. 

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I found an idea I wanted to try. You use a brownie and cake mix.  I will use a strawberry cake mix and a fudge brownie mix to make it fit the holiday. 

Ingredients:                                                                                        
Brownie mix
2 eggs
¼ cup water
2/3 cup vegetable/canola oil

Strawberry cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable/ canola oil

Pre-heat  oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with liners. Lately I have been spraying the liners with pam because it makes it easier to take the paper off and you get to eat more cake. You don’t have to do that but it does make prettier cupcakes.

Mix together Brownie mix 2 eggs, ¼ cup water, and 2/3 cup oil in a medium size bowl until it’s well blended.

brownies :)

Fill the cupcake pan with brownie batter until each cup is about a third full and set aside. Make sure you do not fill them up too much or they will not cook evenly.










Mix together cake mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup oil in a large bowl. Use a mixer if you have one on medium speed for about 2 minutes, if you don’t have one use a wooden spoon and stir at a speed close to medium on a mixer for about 2-3 minutes.

strawberry cake yum

   

Grab the pan you set aside and fill with cake batter until the cups are 2/3s full.

fluffy goodness

    



Bake for about 20-25 minutes. If batter is too thick the top will brown darker then you want. Use a toothpick to check if cupcake is fully cooked and cool before icing. The icing will melt if the cupcakes are not fully cooled. Add sprinkles to make it more festive.

Icing

Icing in a bag

Icing is essential to most treats. The icing recipe I use the most is my moms. It’s a basic icing that can be adapted to fit most recipes. You can add coco to make it chocolate or switch the vanilla extract with another to get a different taste. 

This is my favorite icing recipe. She modified Wiltons buttercream recipe years ago. The key to my moms recipe is that you don’t use any Crisco or fake butter flavoring. It’s just butter and sugar. This icing is the main reason I like homemade cakes better than store bought cakes. I will eat the icing found in the baking aisle, but I prefer Mom’s. 

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

1 pound powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed using a mixer if you don’t have one use a wooden spoon.  When all powder is blended in it is done. If it is too runny or lumpy add more powdered sugar. If it is too dry add more milk. The elevation and humidity levels will affect the consistency of the icing. So be prepared to add more ingredients, if needed. 

round and round

To ice a sweet, I place the icing in a zip lock bag and cut a small part of the corner off.  When working with cupcakes start in the middle and go in a circle until it’s covered.  With a cake start on one end and work your way to the other making vertical or horizontal lines.

 

Funfetti Dip

Tastes like icing

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I decided to make a dip that is fun, easy, and cheap for this exciting day.  Plus it can be made the day before, if you’re making a lot of food and are worried about getting everything done; which is what happens at my house any time a lot of people are coming over. This dip is also easy enough to let kids make with a little supervision. However, they might need a little help stirring because it can get pretty thick.

Ingredients

All you have to do is mix three ingredients; a box of funfetti cake mix, 2 cups of plain of vanilla yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt), and an 8 oz tub of cool whip (I used light cool whip).  

so much string

In a large bowl mix yogurt and cool whip together. Gradually add in cake mix and stir with a whisk to minimize lumps. Mix until you don’t see any more powder and chill covered for about 4 hours.

Take out and serve with graham crackers, animal crackers, pretzels, or fruit.  

You can also color the dip to match your favorite football team’s colors (if not using funfetti mix). 

This recipe is not messy and will be easy to clean up in time for your Super Bowl Party. 

It's also a lot healthier than a lot of the wings, chips, and pizza served at football parties.