Easy Cake Ball Punkin Patch

How does that poem go?

When the frost on the pumpkin lies... or when on the counter the cake scraps lie?

You know what I'm talking about!

So what to do you with all those cake scraps?  Make cake balls, of course.

Don't tell anyone, but I actually made some petit fors that looked SO bad after I iced them, I threw them into a bowl and took out my frustration on them, beating them into submission...and that's how my punkin patch got started.

Oh, don't act like you've never wanted to do that!

 You know you have!

And I also just hate to throw away scraps. 

So, in addition to the orange petite for disasters, I made a batch of chocolate from leftover scraps from  a cake I leveled.

 So if you want to make some "punkins", just crumble cake scraps into a bowl.

Now at this point, you can add different things to make the crumbs adhere. 

To 2 cups cake crumbs,

you can add 

3/4 to 1 cup 

of Buttercream icing,

OR cream cheese, 

OR (my personal favorite) chocolate ganache!

 

Start with a half cup, then add the binding agent until you have a nice soft paste, you can add more

if you like. That is entirely a personal preference. 

The softer the mixture, the longer you will need to chill them before dipping the cake balls.

 Chill that mixture for a few hours, then, using a melon baller, just scoop them out, 

roll them into a ball and place on waxed paper.

For  pumpkins, score the cake balls, using a toothpick, as shown.

Cover them with plastic wrap and placed them in the freezer for at least an hour, or overnight. 

Melt 8 oz orange confectionery melts in a chocolate warmer or over a double boiler.

Add paramount crystals, a tablespoon at a time, to thin until it becomes a nice dipping consistency.

If you are making a lot, then try dipping half in white confectionery melts  for contrast.

Insert a toothpick into cake ball and dip into prepared confectionery melts, and remove quickly, allowing excess coating to fall back into pan.

If desired, dip in autumn leaves sprinkles, ground nuts, or even finely ground cake or cookie crumbs directly after insertion.  Remove toothpick. Don't worry about the hole or cracking. You are going to cover that up anyway. 

They don't have to be perfect. 

I have yet to find a pumpkin that is perfect when choosing one to carve!!!

Easy so far? It really is!!

Once the coating is set, you can brush on some edible luster dust for a little gilding.

 

For the final step, you will need icing tips  #2,# 4, and a leaf tip #67, a piping bag fitted with a coupler,

and 1/2 cup of leafy green ( your favorite green, I used moss green ) slightly thinned buttercream.

Start with #2 tip and fill with bag with icing.

Pipe a curlyQ vine on the ball. (This is where you can cover any cracks if necessary)

Change to leaf tip #67, and pipe a one or two leaves from the center top. 

Then, with #4 pipe the stem in the center.  

If you want to display them on Hay Bales, then make some Rice Krispie Treats.

Directions for hay bales are HERE!

That's all there is to it!

Punkins for sale!

Tutorial and Photography by Jacque Benson

All rights reserved

2013
This tutorial and photography is the property of Jacque Benson- copyright 2013- and used with permission from the author. This material may not be used, copied or printed without expressed permission from the author, Jacque Benson.

Autumn Spice Cookies

There is nothing like the smell of cinnamon right out of the oven, especially when

the weather is crisp and cool outside.

And these Autumn Spice Cookies fill the house with a wonderful aroma while baking!

They are easy to bake and very tasty!

 Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

1/2 cup salted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

*Icing to outline cookies
Autumn Leaf Cookie Cutter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, confectioners sugar, cream of tartar and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix egg and brown sugar. Add melted butter. Slowly incorporate flour mixture and add vanilla.  Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill well for several hours.

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

 When dough is firm, roll out on a lightly floured board and cut

cookies using a leaf shaped cutter.

 Place cookies on parchment covered cookie sheet.

 Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture over every cookie.

 Place in preheated 325 degree oven and bake for 9 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

 *At this point, you can use buttercream icing, royal icing or melted chocolate to outline the leaves.

I used chocolate/caramel buttercream to outline my cookies and it added a

wonderful layer of flavor to the cinnamon cookies.

These are perfect for the holidays or for a special treat when the kids come in from school. 

Enjoy!

Makes 3 dozen 3" leaf cookies.

Tutorial and Photography by Jacque Benson
2010 All rights reserved

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Sweet Lil' Punkin Patch

Whoo Hoo! Autumn is officially here!!!

Yippee! I would be doing handsprings if I had the body of a 12 year old!

But since that isn't the case, I am celebrating the start of my favorite season with an

Edible Punkin Patch!

First You will want to start off by making a batch of Rice Krispies Treats.

Now you can just use the original recipe or try my take on a Butter Pecan Krispies Bar

that I drizzled with Butterscotch Glaze to resemble Hay Bales.

Recipe is on the CakesDuSoleil blog

Once you have your "hay bales" made, reserve some of the butterscotch glaze in a piping bag

for your Scarecrows and Indian corn.

Marzipan Scarecrows

Ingredients

Prepared Marzipan ( I used Odense)

Red, Blue and Gold coloring paste

Edible Writing Pens

Roll out a red and blue ball the size of a large gumball

and a white and gold ball the size of a small gumball.

Keep covered in an airtight container as you work.

Roll out the blue into a cord about 3- 3-1/2" long

Cut in half to make legs- and make an indention on one end of each leg.

Place on the edge of a clean styrofoam surface. I let this one dry out too much

while taking pics. But for a scarecrow, I liked the tear in the knee of the pant, so

I didn't redo it. If your marzipan dries too quickly, knead in a very small amount

of vegetable shortening to restore.

Flatten the red ball and create a T shaped piece (as shown above)

Using the back side of a knife, make indentions for the "shirt".

Divide the gold ball in half. Press one half with your finger to make a

straw hat brim.

Flatten the other gold ball slightly for the top of the hat. Brush the bottom of the

hat with a brush dampened with water and secure to the brim.

Take the white ball and make into a square. With Edible pens, draw

a face on one side

Using the butterscotch glaze ( You could also use buttercream if you choose)

pipe "straw" on the bottom of trousers. Pipe "straw " on the arms of the red shirt.

Secure the shirt to the trousers with piped "straw" and the head to the shirt in the same

manner.  Pipe more straw around the head and place the hat on top.

You can make these ahead of time and place on your "hay bales"

Or build them on the "hay bale" as you go.

Indian Corn

Candy Corn

Butterscotch Glaze or Gold Buttercream

For the Indian corn, Pipe the glaze in a V shape over candy corn as shown above.

Then continue to pipe lines around the outside of the V to create the corn shucks.

Punkin Patch Sign

Popsicle stick

small amount of white gumpaste

gum glue ( 1/4 tsp Tylose mixed with hot water )

Edible Writing Pens

Snap off about 3/4" on one end of Popsicle stick

Roll out gumpaste very thin and cut into a 1x2" rectangle

Cut another smaller strip of gumpaste about 1/2x1"

Brush the stick with a bit of gum glue and place face down on gumpaste

Brush the small strip of gumpaste with gum glue and place over

popsicle stick and gumpaste, as shown above.

Allow to dry completely face down.

When dry, write your wording with an edible marker.

Find a pretty plate and stack the Rice Krispies Hay bales.

Place your scarecrows, securing if needed with a bit of butterscotch glaze.

Continue to embellish with Indian corn, Mellowcreme Pumpkins

and Wilton Autumn Leaves Sprinkles.

So Cute and a great way to start off the holidays.

Happy Autumn !!

Tutorial and Photography by Jacque Benson 2010

 all rights reserved

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.