The Ninja Baker - cake pops

Sweet Potato Cake Pops, #SundaySupper

NinjaBaker — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:20:46 +0000

On February 3rd football’s biggest battle occurs between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens’ Offensive Tackle, Michael Oher and his adopted family are not new to the spotlight. He was the subject of the film, Blindside. The movie also brought an Oscar to Sandra Bullock for her portrayal of Michael Oher’s adopted mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy.

I was so touched by Michael Oher’s great big heart and the Tuohys’ generosity of spirit that I’m cheering for the Baltimore Ravens. (Even though I might be expected to root for the San Francisco 49ers since I live in California.)

Super Bowl is here! (Photo Credit)

No matter who you're rooting for, if you have football fans in your house, I'm sure you want your Super Bowl party to be a winner. If you need some last minute inspiration, check out the #SundaySupper food bloggers' cheer-evoking dishes and desserts for Super Bowl parties.

On February 3rd we will meet on Twitter at 7 p.m. ET to share the recipes. (30 minutes after the 6:30 p.m. ET kick-off.) Use hashtag (#) in front of SundaySupper to join the conversation.

The Ninja Baker’s contribution to the gathering was inspired by the southern origins of Michael Oher's family. They're from Memphis, Tennessee where Michael's sister, Collins Tuohy is the co-owner of the Whimsy Cookie Company which specializes in custom-made sugar cookies and designs.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Cake Pops

Since sweet potatoes play a starring role in Southern cuisine. (Sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole.) The Ninja Baker's contribution to the Sunday Supper gathering is Gluten-Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Cake Pops.

In Japan, the sweet potato is also cherished produce. Satsuma-imo from Kyushu, the Southern part of Japan is a favorite of most Japanese. Hot satsuma-imo wrapped in newspapers as well as caramelized slices of the sweet potato are but a few of the winter wonders in Japan.

Sweet Potato Cake Pops which have yet to be dipped
in white chocolate are scrumptious, too.

The Ninja Baker’s Gluten-Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Cake Pops are adapted from a recipe given to me by Joyce Kramer, a friend and award-winning co-author of Invisible No More: The Secret Lives of Women Over 50. The original recipe is apparently in Ellen Jaffee Jones’ Eat Vegan on $4 a Day.

If you like moist spice cake with a hit of sweet white chocolate, you’ll love my cake pops!

The Ninja Baker’s Gluten-Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Cake Pops
Yields approximately 45 cake pops

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups rice flour blend
½ cup Amaranth flour
1 T baking powder
½ t baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon Penzeys cake spice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
1 ¾ c cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
¼ c vanilla agave + 2 T (generous serving)
½ c water
¼ teaspoon coconut extract

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Coat cake pop tins with butter flavored cooking spray.
Whisk dry ingredients together.
Combine the mashed sweet potatoes, agave, water and coconut extract mixture in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the potato mixture.
Fill the cake pop tins with a mini ice cream scooper.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove the cake pops from the tin.
Cool completely and place in the freezer.
After about 30 minutes, stick 6-inch cookie sticks into the centers of the cakes.
Melt white chocolate candy bits over a double boiler.
Swirl the cake pops into the melted candy.

It’s helpful to have a cake pop stand ready. Or have one of those green rounds used by florists for their flower creations.

Plain or frosted, the Ninja Baker's Sweet Potato Cake Pops are perfect party fare

Serve and enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!

To complete your football soirée festivities, check out the other Super Bowl #SundaySupper recipes.

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Appetizers & Snacks:

All American Ranch Cheese Ball from The Weekend Gourmet
Arancinis from My Cute Bride
Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip from In the Kitchen with KP
Bacon Jalapeño Fritters w/ Chipotle Ketchup from La Cocina de Leslie
Bacon Kettle Corn from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Baked Crab Cakes from The Meltaways
Buffalo Chicken filled Pull-Apart Loaf from Small Wallet Big Appetite
Buffalo Chicken Pizza On A Stick from Neighborfood
Buffalo Tofu Bites from Soni's Food
Buttermilk Fried Pickles from Mooshu Jenne
Cheddar Cheese and Onion Ciabatta from Family Foodie
Cheeseburger Bites from Momma's Meals
Cheesy, Beefy Nachos from Gotta Get Baked
Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip from Daily Dish Recipes
Chorizo and Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates in a Smokey Tomato Sauce from The Roxx Box
Cranberry Glazed Meatballs from Curious Cuisiniere
Easy White Queso with Chorizo from Supper for a Steal
Eggplant Lentil Fritters With Orange Salsa from Sue's Nutrition Buzz
#GlutenFree 7 Layer Bean Dip from Cooking Underwriter
Gulf Coast Smoked Tuna Dip from 30A Eats
Ham & Cheese Crescents from Masala Herb
Ham Crescents {Schinkenhoernle} #DairyFree from Galactopdx
Little Filo Cheese Rolls from Food Lust People Love
Mini Crab Bites from Webicurean
Muffuletta Skewers from Magnolia Days
Peach Jalapeno Fritters from I Run for Wine
Philly Cheesesteak Bites from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Pizza Pretzel Rolls from Cravings of a Lunatic
Pizza Wontons from Peanut Butter and Peppers
Refried Black Beans with Pita Chips from Basic N Delicious
Roasted Garlic-Bacon Dip from girlichef
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
Stamp & Go! from The Lovely Pantry
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Dates from Noshing with the Nolands
Tandoori Spiced Popcorn from MarocMama
Wonton Cones Filled with Oriental Salad from Simply Gourmet

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Main Dishes:

Bacon-Wrapped Chili Cheese Dogs from Damn Delicious
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Sandwiches from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders from The Foodie Army Wife
Chicken in Passion Fruit Crunch from The Urban Mrs.
Four Quarters "Grilled" Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Bleu Cheese Veggie Slaw from Mama.Mommy.Mom
Green Chile Cheeseburgers from Juanita's Cocina
Grilled Pizza with Sausage and Spinach from Ruffles & Truffles
Ham and Cheese Sliders from Hip Foodie Mom
Marinated Rump Steak with Chimichurri Sliders from Vintage Kitchen Notes
Meatball Sub Sliders from Country Girl in the Village
Oven-Fried Catfish Fingers with Mango-Chili Dip from Pescetarian Journal
Pigs in Sleeping Bags from Comfy Cuisine
Turkey Sliders with Roasted Tomatoes from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Vegan "Hamburger Helper" Soup from What Smells So Good?

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Desserts:

Marshmallow Caramel Corn from Mom's Test Kitchen
Shortbread Brownies from Baker Street
Smores Blossom Cookies from Chocolate Moosey
Sweet Little Pastries from Happy Baking Days
Sweet Potato Cake Pops from Ninja Baking
Toddler Truffles from In the Kitchen with Audrey

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Tablescape: 10 Tips For A Winning Superbowl Buffet Table from An Appealing Plan

Wishing you friends and family with hearts as big as Michael Oher and the Tuohys to enjoy the game.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker's recipes are also available at:

BlogHer Food Editor's Pick of the Day
(27 December 2012)

?Allrecipes.com:
The Ninja Baker's Japanese Plum Sweet Memories and Recipes

Bob's Red Mill:
Almond Oatmeal Apple Cookies

Bob's Red Mill:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Breakfast Cupcake

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Coconut Chocolate Cheesecake Minis with Espresso Cream

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze & Optional Lemon Peach Marmalade Filling

?LifeKraze

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Odango: Japanese Mini-Mochi Rice Dumplings

NinjaBaker — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:17:11 +0000

Imagine you’re delivering a sealed, confidential letter from the fortress/castle of the Shogun (the kingpin samurai) in Edo (the ancient name for Tokyo) to the princess living in the Imperial palace in Kyoto. Oh, did I mention you’re on foot? And male. Most of the other travelers are also men and lucky enough to be granted permission to travel the Tokaido Road. If you insist on imagining yourself as a female you’re probably an aristocrat jostled to and fro in a cagey sort of box carried on the shoulders of your servants. (Or more aptly put, your father, husband or brother’s employees.) The distance between the head honcho warrior’s castle in Edo and the palace home to the royals in Kyoto is 367 kilometers or 228 miles.

For photo credits, click here.

Your lunchbox is empty. As is your grumbling stomach. Your throat is parched. There are lodges for the travelers along the Tokaido but you’ve got to keep moving. You’ve got an important letter in your hands. It’ll be your head if it’s not delivered in a timely fashion. So when a red awning alerts you to a roadside café, you pause. A little refreshment and you’ll be energized to stride farther down the Tokaido.

For photo credits, click here.

You wipe your brow. From the limited menu, you order green tea and everyone’s favorite treat - odango. It's a stick skewered with mini-mochi like (pounded rice) balls and typically topped with mitarashi - Japan’s answer to China’s sweet-and-sour sauce. Sometimes, instead of the sauce of soy, sugar and starch, a sweet anko red bean paste is smothered atop the cute little dumplings. Today you are in luck because awaiting you underneath the blanket of red bean paste are odango which are colored pink, white and green to celebrate the sakura (cherry blossom) viewing season. Delighting in the beauty of the sakura, the bitter hot green tea, and the sweet, chewy odango, you are once again energized.

Odango: Mini-Mochi Dumplings
Sweet red bean paste blankets the mini rice dumplings in the picture on the left.
Mitarashi sauce is slathered on the odango in the blue-and-white plate.

With a spring in your step, you forge forward. In a few days, the Shogun’s letter is delivered to the Imperial Princess in Kyoto. You are rewarded great sacks of rice. The letter - as it turns out was a letter of marriage proposal - and the Princess said yes!

Time marches forward. Cherry blossoms die and are reborn. Food fads wax and wane through the centuries. By the 1970s, odango is once again a popular food featured at Japanese festivals. And a sapling Ninja Baker looks forward to her odango with mitarashi sauce.

A tangy-sweet mitarashi sauce atop a trio of Japanese odango treats.

Shortly thereafter, the skewered treat takes a backseat as American fast food is introduced into Japan. Then in 1999 a tongue-in-cheek Japanese tango song entitled Odango 3 Kyodai (3 Brothers Dumpling) dances on to the scene. The single catapults to number one on the charts for three consecutive weeks in a row. Odango once again became a darling of the Japanese public.

Odango 3 Kyodai (3 Brothers Dumpling) skyrocketed to the top of the song charts in 1999. It's very "tangoable" music!

Today you don’t have to wait for the next festival at your local temple. Japanese supermarkets sell odango all over the world. (Including Marukai and Nijiya in Los Angeles.)

The Ninja Baker's Odango-Style Cake Pops

Inspired by my childhood treat, I created strawberry and lemon cake pops à la odango.

Odango Cake Pop Directions:

With your favorite cake recipe or mix, make cake pops in a cake pop maker.
Or by baking a proper cake, cooling it thoroughly. Then crumbling your creation and mushing it together into little balls with frosting. I’ve done both but prefer my cake pop maker.

Freeze your cake pops. After 30 minutes or so, gently stab 3 mini cake balls onto 6” cookie sticks. Freeze some more. I usually go for overnight.

American-Style Strawberry and Lemon Cake Pops

Slather and smooth the cake pops with homemade or canned frosting. Frankly, this is a little more difficult than swirling the frozen cake pops in melted candy chocolate. You can melt the medallions (sold in baking and craft stores) in the microwave. Call me old-fashioned: I prefer the double-boiler method. (Water boils in one pot underneath, as the upper pan or bowl holds the substance being melted.) You’ll want to extinguish the heat - turn the stove flame off - once the chocolate has nearly melted. Chocolate can seize up, so work quickly. If it does harden, add a bit of Crisco or similar substance. (For another - more learned perspective on cake pops - see the article from lovefromthe oven.com.)

Whether you like your odango dumplings made from cake flour or mochiko rice flour, a Japanese friend put it best. “Odango equals fond memories of family travels and fun at festivals.”

Wishing you delicious fun.

The Ninja Baker
© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker's recipes are also available at:

?Allrecipes.com:
The Ninja Baker's Japanese Plum Sweet Memories and Recipes

Bob's Red Mill

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Coconut Chocolate Cheesecake Minis with Espresso Cream

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze & Optional Lemon Peach Marmalade Filling

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Gluten-Free Cointreau Cake Pops

NinjaBaker — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 07:32:54 +0000

I’m a foodie. I love the art of presentation, the tantalizing scents, the sweet and spicy sensations on the tongue.

The middle picture features The Ninja Baker's Mini Plum Wine Cream Puffs.
The photos on either side are my Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze and optional Marmalade Filling. Click here for the recipe.

But the story behind a divine dessert is what grabs my heart. Case in point, in prepping for today’s blog about my Gluten-Free Cointreau Cake Pops, curiosity prompted me to research the providers of the star components: Cointreau and Pamela’s Gluten-Free Vanilla Classic Cake Mix.

Cointreau: The orange liqueur created by Edouard Cointreau - the son of a master confectioner.
And Classic Vanilla from Pamela, the Queen of Gluten-Free Cake Mixes.

Cointreau seems to have been destined for divine desserts from the start. In 1875 Edouard Cointreau not only invented the lovely blend and balance of sweet and tart orange liqueur, he also created the elegant bottle (which bares his signature.) His artistry and craft were not an accident. He hailed from a family of master confectioners.

Other Cointreau fun facts: Both Pierrot and James Bond have been poster boys for the liqueur.

Pierrot - as theatre buffs may recognize - is the character so often performed in pantomime and was popular in Paris’ Commedia dell’Arte theatre performances. Pierrot pined for Columbine who often broke his heart by running to Harlequin. The Cointreau ad posters featuring the forlorn clown appeared at the turn of the century.

For Pierrot photo credits, click here.

By the 1960s instead of the heartbroken – Mr. Heartbreaker – super-spy 007 James Bond was touting Cointreau.

For 007 photo credits of the suave English spy, click here.

Around the same time as suave Bond was selling the French liqueur, the grandparents of Pamela, the current queen of gluten-free cake mixes, were selling wheat-free baked goods in San Francisco. However, the cookies and cakes sold in the grandparents’ bakery were not quite as delicious as the recipes Pamela developed as an adult. To quote Pamela, as a school child, “No one wanted to trade food with me.” It may have motivated her though to create the fabulous products she sells today. I suspect the rejections on the playground for Pamela have turned into gratitude for her booming gluten-free baking business. And grateful customers! See if you don't agree. A recipe for cake pops follows.

Here's What You'll Need for the Cointreau Cake Pops:

1 package Pamela’s Gluten-Free Vanilla Classic Cake Mix
(or Betty Crocker of Duncan Hines White Cake if you want a more economical and traditional cake)
3 to 4 Eggs
Cointreau
Vegetable Oil
6-inch Cookie Sticks
Styrofoam Flower Bases (You can get these at a crafts store like Michaels)

Gluten-Free Cointreau with Espresso Buttercream Cake Pops
with Chocolate Sprinkles

Substituting Cointreau for water, follow the instructions on the cake mix package.

Pour into cake pop molds (I purchased the Nordic Ware tins from Sur La Table.)
And if using Nordic Ware, make sure your oven temp reads 325 degrees. Bake for about 18 minutes - the same time as suggested for cupcakes.

I’ve made cake pops by first crumbling up a sheet cake and then molding cake pop circles with frosting. However, a cake pop maker saves you the step. And extra calories.

After your cake pops have cooled, pop them into the freezer. After 30 minutes have passed, carefully insert the cookies sticks into the cake circles. Whilst your cake pops are firming up in the freezer…

Remember to pre-stab holes in your Styrofoam
which will act as your frosted cake pops holder.

Here’s What You’ll Need for the Espresso Buttercream:

1 cup Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening
(or Crisco if want to save a few dollars)
4 cups sifted Powdered Sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of Meringue Powder
5 ½ tablespoons of (cooled) Espresso
1 teaspoon of Coffee Extract

Mix your shortening, espresso and extract until thoroughly combined. Gradually add the sugar and meringue powder. Keep beating until completely mixed.

Before you start frosting, however, stab holes in your Styrofoam base so you’ll have somewhere to stick the cake pops, which do need to stay vertical. And back into the freezer. (I’m still learning to master the rhythms of this dance.) As the saying goes, “Timing is everything.” And adages stick around because they’re true, right?

And the “funnest” part of all – besides the tasting – are the pretty decorations.

The Ninja Baker's Cointreau Cake Pops with Espresso
Buttercream Sprinkled with Pink Pearls.

Wishing you a week of rich rewards for your curiosities.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker's recipes are also available at:

Allrecipes.com:
The Ninja Baker's Japanese Plum Sweet Memories and Recipes?

Bob's Red Mill

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Coconut Chocolate Cheesecake Minis with Espresso Cream

Wholesome Sweeteners:
The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze & Optional Lemon Peach Marmalade Filling

?LifeKraze

Tags: