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By Root 1199 0

snack food in the pantry has been reinvented as “bites.” So it was inevitable that cupcakes, too, would become the next “bite.” Look at Laura’s Fudgy Rum Balls (page 459) and you’ll see that the idea for mixing baked crumbled cake with other add-ins and then serving them as cookies or bites has been around for a while. But now cooks are mixing the baked cake with frosting so you have in one bite the whole cupcake experience. More a fad than a trend, but still fun, here is how you can create cup-cake bites. One cake recipe makes about three dozen cupcake bites.

1. Bake the cake of your choice in a 13 inch by 9–inch pan or two 9-inch round cake pans following my recipe or the directions on the package.

2. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes.

3. While the cake is still a little warm to the touch, crumble it into a large mixing bowl and beat it with an electric mixer on low speed until you have fine crumbs.

4. Fold in 1½ to 2 cups of homemade frosting—cream cheese or buttercream frostings work the best. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for two hours.

5. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and, using your hands or a small scoop, form the mixture into 1 to 1½ inch balls. Arrange the balls of cake on baking sheets lined with waxed paper. Place the baking sheets in the freezer, uncovered, and let the balls freeze completely, 5 to 6 hours.

6. Remove the baking sheets from the freezer and dip the balls into a melted white or dark chocolate confectionary coating (found at craft and cake decorating stores). Using toothpicks, carefully place the balls back on the waxed paper to let the coating harden. Sprinkle the cupcake bites with sugar sprinkles or confetti sprinkles while the coating is still a little soft.

7. Or, don’t bother with freezing and dipping in chocolate. Chill the cupcake bites for one hour after you’ve shaped them. Then, dredge them in confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Have fun with the flavor combinations—pair chocolate cake with peppermint cream cheese frosting and coat the cup-cake bites in dark chocolate; dust balls of lemon cake and lemon buttercream with confectioners’ sugar; use white chocolate to coat cupcake bites of strawberry cake and frosting.

CREAM-FILLED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

AFTER COMPLETING Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor, I had frosted and filled countless cupcakes with just about every combination of wonderful ingredients, but alas, I had not created a version of the classic Hostess-style cupcake. So I set out to create my own version of the popular cream-filled cupcake with chocolate icing and a white squiggle down the middle. You will need an icing bag and plain tip to squirt the filling into the center of the baked cupcakes. I must say this version is far better than the cupcake in the package! See for yourself.

makes:

24 cupcakes (2½ inches in diameter)

prep:

20 minutes

bake:

16 to 20 minutes

cool:

20 minutes

For the cupcakes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2½-inch size)

1 package (18.25 ounces) chocolate cake mix with pudding

1 cup sour cream

¾ cup water

½ cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling

4 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed but still cold

½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream, cold

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting

Chocolate Pan Frosting (make the amount for cupcakes; page 476)

1 tube (4.25 ounces) white decorating icing

1. Make the cupcakes: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1½ to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the