Lime and Coconut Cake Truffles

In her last dying throes, my oven produced a batch of completely spread out, flat as a pancake, and pale vanilla fairy cakes. Until recently, the recipe I used for the cakes would have worked perfectly every single time, but this time they were a disaster. It was then that I decided to pack up all my baking equipment and move it to my mother's house until such time as the oven could be fixed, or replaced.

But the question remained: what do I do with the leftover disastercakes? Do I throw them out? Feed them to the ducks? Or, recycle them? That's when the concept of using them to make something else sprung to mind...

I decided to have another go at the good old favourite of the 50s American housewife: cake truffles. These may be more known to people as cake pops, which are simply cake truffles mounted on sticks. These are a good way to use up any failed/slightly stale/grand once you pick the mould off (not really, obviously) cakes that you have lying around.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes 20 small truffles

For the truffles,

• 9 ounces (250 grammes) crumbled vanilla sponge cake
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) thick coconut milk
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) desiccated coconut
• Zest of 1 lime
• Juice of half a lime

For the glaze,

• 1½ ounces (40 grammes) icing sugar
• Juice of half a lime
• 3½ ounces (100 grammes) white chocolate, chopped into pieces
• Sprinkles of your choice

HOW-TO

• In a mixing bowl, mix all of the truffle ingredients until it becomes a soft paste. You may need to use your hands. Divide into 20 equally sized pieces and roll into balls. Refridgerate for about 10 minutes.
• Line a baking tray with non-stick paper, or better, a silicone mat.
• To make the glaze, mix the lime juice with water to make 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) worth of liquid. Put the diluted lime juice, icing sugar, and broken white chocolate together in a heatproof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Stir continuously until melted. Don't be tempted to do this in the microwave: your chocolate will seize.
• Take the cooled truffles and dip them in the glaze, rolling around until completely coated. Gently scoop up with a fork, tapping the fork on the bowl to let the excess glaze drip off. Put the glazed truffle on the lined tray. Sprinkle with whatever decorations you like while the glaze is still wet.
• Put the truffles in the fridge to set for about an hour, then move them to little paper cases for serving.

These are nice and zingy, with a subtle hit of coconutty richness, and the unexpected lime flavour in the glaze worked quite well: it seemed to be the favourite aspect of those who tried them out...

Cake Pops, a Maiden Voyage: Jaffa Cake Pops

So. I made a lovely orange sponge for my mother’s upcoming birthday and after all the cutting and shaping and hacking, the cake took its shape and left me with piles of Chef’s Perks. So much cake, and a little left over icing, all as orangy as each other. As I put all the leftovers into a tin, I thought to myself “I’ve actually never made a cake pop before... maybe I should give it a go!”

Due to the ad hoc nature of this venture, it was done pretty much by eyeballing: I can’t give exact cake to icing ratios as I just mixed it up until it was about right. I also added a little fine shred marmalade just to make it all a little fresher and less rich, and it was a nice addition. I mixed the orange cake crumbs, orange buttercream and marmalade together to the consistency of un-chilled gingerbread dough: mouldable but sticky. I then took tablespoonfuls and rolled them into little balls, arranging them on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. I left them to chill in the fridge for about half an hour.

Languishing in my baking cupboard, I have had a packed of brightly coloured wooden lolly sticks. I bought them about three years ago to make Halloween toffee apples for a party when I was in college, and they have been living a neglected life ever since. I’m quite glad that the garish little things got another outing. I dipped the tips of the sticks into melted dark chocolate and pressed them into each of the cake balls, about half to three-quarters of the way in, and then returned them all to the fridge. I left them in for about an hour, but I’m sure one could get away with half an hour.

I melted some more dark chocolate in a tall, thin mug. I found it helps to melt the chocolate in a tall, narrow container just wide enough to dip a cake pop into, as this means you don’t need to melt gallons of chocolate to cover the balls. I dipped the pops into the chocolate, and tapped them gently on the side of the mug: due to the pops having been in the fridge, the chocolate set pretty quickly on the surface, which was great because it mean I didn’t have to spend forever tapping the chocolate off the sides. I then sprinkled a few multi-coloured sugar strands onto each pop.

Now, unfortunately I don’t have a fancy-pants Styrofoam cake pop holder for allowing them to set, so I improvised. For those who don’t have, or can’t afford, a fancy stand, just take a heavy duty cardboard box – like a fruit box – and use a paring knife to stab holes in the bottom, wide enough to stick a lolly stick into. Turn it upside-down, and stick the pops into the holes – stick-side in, of course – to dry. You could put the whole shebang into the fridge to speed things along.

Despite all the videos online saying what a delicate art cake pop manufacturing is, I found it really easy. There is a subtlety to tapping the excess chocolate off the pops, and that is simply to not be violent with them; I think using wide wooden sticks as opposed to little, thin paper ones put me at an advantage also, as they were more sturdy. My improvised recipe of orange cake and dark chocolate worked out surprisingly well: it was like eating a Jaffa Cake in pop form. I’ll definitely try to make more, in a few different flavours.