Popcorn Cake Pops

Cake Pops, they are slowly popping up everywhere. They are so simple to make and you can let your creativity run wild.

Kitchenware Direct were kind enough to send me some cool moulds, candy dips and a book to get my creative juices flowing. The book called Pops, Sweets on a Stick, gives you tonnes of different ideas on how to make all sorts of different cake pops.

One that caught my eye was the Popcorn Cake Pop. It looked like so much fun to make and all I really needed was some marshmallows to turn a simple cake pop into Popcorn.

Popcorn Cake Pops

Makes 13 -15 Cake Pops

Ingredients

150g Packet Oreos

2 tablespoons Light Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 Packet White Mini Marshmallows

1 Wilton Pops Candy Dips in White

Yellow chocolate food colouring (powder form)

You will also need:

13 – 15 Paper Lollipop Sticks (15cm in length)

Styrofoam block

1. Using a food processor, blitz the Oreos until they resemble fine cookie crumbs.

2. In a medium bowl, add the Oreo cookie crumbs with the 2 tablespoons of cream cheese. With a spatula, combine the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until it holds its shape.

3. Roll a teaspoon of the mixture into a ball and gently indent a side. This will make the Popcorn shape. Once you finish rolling all of the mixture into cake balls, set them aside in the fridge to cool for 5 minutes.

4. Microwave the Candy Dips for 2 minutes or until completely melted. Add about half a teaspoon of yellow food colouring and stir until combined.

5. Remove the cooled cake balls from the fridge. Dip about half a centimetre of the lollipop stick into the chocolate and insert into each cake ball.

6. Take a cake pop and stick marshmallows all around the bottom, using the chocolate as the glue, making sure to squash and pinch each marshmallow to make it look like popcorn. Put the cake pops into the freezing for a minute to set.

7. Remove the cake pops out of the freezer and dip each one in the chocolate to coat. Gently tap the excess of the Popcorn Pops and put it on the Styrofoam block to set.

If you are interested in making your own Cake Pops, make sure to check out the Cake Pops section at Kitchenware Direct. You will find everything you need to make your very own Cake Pops to impress. 

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Mini Goat's Cheese Tarts

As I walk from the station to work every morning, I always make time to stop at the Gourmet Supermarket at Greenwod Plaza. They have rows of homemade pates, local jams, sauce and goats cheese.

Goat’s cheese is one of my favourite cheeses. Its soft and tangy, it also goes with just about anything. These Goat’s cheese tarts are simple and moreish.

Mini Goat’s Cheese Tarts

Makes 4 mini tarts

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry

2 large free-range eggs
150ml thickened cream

¼ cup of goat’s cheese

1 teaspoon of dried oregano or parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Optional: caramelised onions and more goats cheese for topping

 

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (338°F).

2. Cut the puff pastry into 4 squares and line 4 mini tart pans with the pastry. Gently dart the pastry with a fork. Line with wax paper and weigh it down with some pie weights. Blind bake for 10 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown. Set aside while you make the filling.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, oregano or parsley. Crumble the goats cheese into the mixture and fold in. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour an even amount of the mixture into the 4 blind baked pastry shells.

5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when you insert it through the middle of the tart.

6. Serve the tart topped with caramelised onions and more crumbled goats cheese.

Tips: Make sure to use free-range eggs. Fresh farm eggs work best. They are a lot tastier and the colour is more vibrant.

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Chocolate Cake with Fresh Cream and Mixed Berry Sauce

Ok so I admit it, I use pre packaged cake mix. I love to make my own cakes but sometimes time gets the better of me and when I need to make something quickly I resort to good ol cake mixes. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it. There are some delicious mixes out there. You just have to look for it.

At the Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney, I found just that, I saw a crowd at the La Cour Patisserie Stand and headed over there. I met Natalie, who has developed a range of sweet cafe treats for people to make at home. Her products are preservative free and have no artificial flavours. That instantly won me over, and I ended up going home with 3 cafe style treats to make at home.

So here is my version of a quick Chocolate Cake, this took me all of 10 minutes to prepare.

Chocolate Cake with Fresh Cream and Mixed Berry Sauce

Ingredients

1 x Double Layer Chocolate Cake Baking Kit

1 cup of frozen mixed berries

¼ caster sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup thickened cream

Method

1. Make the cake as per the instructions on the box. Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating

2. In a saucepan, add the caster sugar, berries and lemon juice over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and the berries start to burst. Try not to over cook the sauce. You want the berries to retain their shape.

3. Whip the cream until stiff peaks and set aside.

Assembling the Cake

1. Take the 2 chocolate cakes and trim the tops to make them even.

2. Fold the whipped cream with half of the berry sauce. Put the cream on top of the first chocolate cake.

3. Put the second chocolate cake on top of the cream. Gently press the cake down.

4. Ice the top layer with the Chocolate Icing and serve on a pretty cake stand.

This cake is deliciously decadent and addictive. I recommend it to anyone looking to impress friends and family with a dessert that looks like it took hours to make.

If you want more information on Natalie's delicious range of sweet treats or if you would like to order just go to her website La Cour Patisserie

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Dani’s Son-In-Law Eggs from the MasteChef Magazine

The first time I had Son-In-Law eggs was at a friend’s house back when I was in high school. My friend’s dad made it for us and served it with some steaming hot rice as an afternoon treat. I remember thinking, how on earth am I going to eat this. I hate runny eggs.

A number of years later, my palette has certainly changed. I now love runny yolks and never eat eggs that are overcooked and rubbery. When I saw the recipe on the MasterChef magazine, I knew I had to try to make the dish myself.

I made this dish using Quail eggs instead of your standard chicken eggs. Soft boiled quail eggs have a delicious flavour and I prefer to use them for this dish.

Dani’s Son-In-Law Eggs

Ingredients 

12 quail eggs (room temperature)

2 tablespoons of tamarind puree’

1/4 cup of caster sugar

1/3 cup of water

Zest and juice of 1 lime

2 long red chillies (we only had the small super hot chilli. I used half of that)

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt or fish sauce to taste

1. To soft boil the quail eggs, put the eggs in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil, carefully swirling the eggs so that the yolk stays in the middle. As soon as it boils, turn the heat off and run cold water on the eggs to stop the cooking process. Carefully peel the eggs and set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, add the tamarind puree, sugar, water, zest and lime juice. Stir until combined and bring to a boil until the mixture is thick and syrupy. Season with salt to taste, I used a few drops of fish sauce instead as tamarind and fish sauce are a great flavour combination.

3. Fill a saucepan with vegetable oil. Bring the heat up to around 180. You can drop a small piece of bread into oil to check if it’s ready. If the bread starts to sizzle, then the oil is ready for frying.

4. Fry the eggs until they are golden brown. Let them drain on some paper towel. Serve the eggs on top of some salad leaves or steaming hot rice. Top with the sauce and some thin slices of chilli.

I found that the quail eggs cooked a little more during the frying stage. I would suggest draining the eggs from the boiling water as soon as it comes to the boil, put the eggs in some icy water to cool it down quickly. Peeling the eggs can be very time consuming so be patient. 

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Kulinarya Cooking Club - June Theme "White Food"

Thanks to Adora from Adora’s Box and Diona from Tita Flips for this months Kulinarya Theme “White Food".

I must admit, it's been a few months since I have had the chance to do a Kulinarya Dish. It was so good to be back in the Kitchen with Mama Eugenio.

I love learning new desserts and dishes from her. This Cassava Cake recipe is one of my favourite desserts. The best part of this dessert is the topping. When I read my email and saw the theme, I knew that this was the dessert to make.

Cassava Cake With Lanka (Jackfruit)

Cake
 

Ingredients

2 packets of grated cassava (454 grams per pack)

4 cups coconut milk
1 cup of caster sugar
50 grams butter (melted)

1 can of jackfruit in syrup

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200C.

2. In a bowl, add the grated cassava, coconut milk and caster sugar. Stir until the mixture is combined. Make sure to break down all the cassava, as it tends to be a little lumpy.

2. Drain the jackfruit from the syrup and slice into thin strips. Add half of the drained jackfruit to the cassava mixture. Add the melted butter and stir.

3. Pour the cassava mix into a wide pyrex dish. Bake in the oven at 200C until the top starts to set (approximately 30 minutes).

Topping

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 and half cans of condensed milk

Method

1. Beat the eggs using an electric mixer. Slowly add the condensed milk until combined.

2. Pour the topping over the top of the cassava cake and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the topping is a golden brown.

This is a delicious dessert perfect for a party. You can use the jackfruit syrup instead of the sugar for taste. This dessert is also delicious with buko (young coconut) instead of jackfruit.

Kulinarya Cooking Club was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

If you’re interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment – we would love to hear from you!

To access the list of members and their blogs just go to Kulinarya Club

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