The warm weather means it's time to switch up your go-to sweet-treat recipes.
By PASCALE PEREZ-RUBINNo-bake cake pops(photo credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)
The kids have been on summer vacation for a few weeks now, and despite long hours at day camp and all the fun activities they enjoy every day, they are starting to ply you with questions about what the next fun activity will be. So this week’s food column is my gift to you in these hot summer days. Below, you’ll find a host of yummy recipes that are lots of fun to prepare with the kids in the kitchen on a hot summer day.By letting the kids take part in creating these treats, you’re teaching them a whole host of skills: independence, following instructions, learning how to complete a project, and cooperating with friends/siblings. And best of all, this is a fantastic way to spend quality time with your offspring! The two recipes I’ve chosen for this week are cake pops and hand-decorated cookies. Both require your little ones to invest time and creativity in designing and decorating, and you can adapt the recipe according to the age and ability of your children. I recommend reading all the steps and instructions ahead of time, so there won’t be any surprises.There are three different ways to prepare cake pops: • No-bake. You can use leftover cake or crumbled Petit Beurre cookies. You shape the balls by hand and then ice and decorate them.• Cake-pop maker. You can bake balls in an electric cake-pop maker, which closes like a waffle iron.• Silicone trays. Bake in the oven in silicone trays. You lock the top tray onto the bottom tray, before putting in the oven, and perfect balls come out when it’s done.When the cake balls are ready, insert a stick into each one and then cover with icing and decorations.Translated by Hannah Hochner.No-bake cake popsMakes 21 cake pops 2-3 cups cookie or cake crumbs 2 Tbsp. walnuts, ground finely 1 container chocolate pudding 2 Tbsp. white cheese Chocolate cream: 50 gr. butter 4 Tbsp. cocoa powder 4 Tbsp. (or more) sugar 3-5 Tbsp. water Crumble cake or cookies in a bowl. Add the walnuts, chocolate pudding and cheese. Mix by hand.To make the cream, add the ingredients to a pot and heat over low flame. Add slowly to cake crumbs and mix. Form balls with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm. Place on a tray and insert a stick in the middle of each ball.Baked cake pops Makes 20 cake pops 80 ml. (¹⁄3 cup) liquid coconut oil 200 gr. (1 cup) sugar 2 large eggs 120 ml. (½ cup) coconut milk (not coconut cream) 2 tsp. vanilla extract 210 gr. (1½ cups) self-rise flour In a medium-size bowl, mix oil and sugar together.In a separate bowl, beat eggs, coconut milk and vanilla. While stirring gently, alternately add flour and egg mixture to oil and sugar.Mix well.Fill an icing bag with batter and fill silicone holes so that they are ²⁄3 filled. (If you used an electric mixer, fill to the top.) Bake for 20 minutes in an oven that was preheated to 170º until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a metal rack.Icing for cake pops 300 gr. bittersweet chocolate 1-2 drops oil 50 gr. white chocolate Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie. When the chocolate has melted, add the oil and mix well.Dip the end of the stick in the melted chocolate and then poke into cake pop. Now, dip the cake pop into the melted chocolate, shake off excess chocolate, and place on tray to harden.If you’d like to decorate the cake pops, do so before the chocolate hardens. You can add sprinkles, chopped nuts, chocolate shavings, roasted peanuts or coconut flakes.Insert cake pop sticks into a block of Styrofoam and then store in fridge. If you don’t want to use sticks, you can just place balls in cupcake holders.Decorated cookiesI got the idea for this recipe from a relative who once came over with a box of hand-decorated cookies in the form of animals, flowers and airplanes.She had used royal icing and wrapped each cookie separately in cellophane to keep them fresh.She also had a set created by Sarit Shapira from which you make cookies that look like a canvas ready to be painted on, which is perfect for kids. You can prepare these cookies by yourselves and then have your kids paint on them.Makes 12 cookies ½ package (100 gr.) margarine, butter or butter substitute ¼ cup powdered sugar 1 packet vanilla sugar 2 Tbsp. orange juice/milk/soy milk 1½ cups flour, sifted In a large bowl, add margarine, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon juice and flour. Mix well with your hands. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.Flour a work surface and roll out dough until it’s ½ cm. thick.Use various shapes to cut out cookies. Place them on a tray covered with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes in an oven that’s been preheated to 170º. Remove and let cool.Icing: Prepare royal icing (mix egg white with powdered sugar) or purchase prepared powder, which comes in a variety of colors. Add water until you achieve the desired consistency. You can add food coloring to royal icing to make a variety of colors.Put icing in icing bag and form a thin line on the border of the cookie. You always need to make sure that you hold the bag out of the way so it doesn’t touch the cookie. Now, fill in the interior of the cookie with more icing, preferably in a different color, and then let dry for 24 hours. If you don’t let the icing completely dry, you won’t be able to “paint” on top of it.
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