A Sweet Treat | Mini Vanilla Bites

A Sweet Treat | Mini Vanilla Bites

Hey, hope all is well,

Image of my Mini Vanilla Bites

A few days ago I made some cakes, which I call my 'mini vanilla bites' and I thought it to be a good idea to share it for all to see. I will be posting images and some quick short instructions to make it as simple as possible, as even though these cakes took me around two to three hours due to complications with the cake as I initially intended these to be cake pops, however the cakes tore in the silicon mold and wouldn't stay put with the sticks, I decided to turn them into my own creation being my mini vanilla bites. 

Ingredients and equipment:

To start, as I did but with the intention that the cakes would become cake pops, you will need a cake pop mould in order to achieve the small round shape of the cakes, one which I recieved as a gift years ago and decided it was time to use it. 

     Secondly you will need to have a cake recipe to follow. I have cake recipe cards which are perfect, but you can find multiple cake recipes in books or online, such as on the BBC Good Food website which I often go to for recipes which I then modify to my desired needs. The cake recipe mustn't be anything too difficult, as you will need to make sure they mold to the cake pop mold, so I went for a simple vanilla fairy cake recipe which doesn't require too many ingredients and so is cheaper to make. This recipe makes 20 mini cakes, however because I was experimenting, I ended up with a two extra cakes, so be sure to scale up or down to the right number. Unfortunately, I don't have to amount for the icing as I experimented with the portions as all recipes were too much for the small cakes, but roughly only 100g because the cakes are so small.

To conclude, you will need:

Cake pop mold or small cake tin

Large mixing bowl

Spoon

Sieve

2 Egg

150g butter/margarine for the cake

150g self raising flour

150g Caster sugar (be sure to use this instead of granulated sugar, as when granulated sugar heats, it clumps together and makes the texture of the cake gritty due to its larger size compared to caster sugar which is finer)

1 1/2 cap (the lid from the vanilla extract bottle) of vanilla extract

Butter/margarine for the icing

Decorations, such as 100's and 1000's and icing pens like I used.

Method:

1) Firstly preheat the oven to 180 degrees-for the vanilla fairy cake recipe I have given above- and make the cake mix, add butter/margarine, caster sugar and beat in the bowl until smooth. Beat the egg/s in a bow/jug until bubbles of air are on the surface-this lets you know air has been beaten into the egg so it will help the cake rise properly into the molds.

2) Using the sieve to avoid lumps of flour in the cake when it's finished, sieve the flour and add the egg and mix until smooth without lumps. Add vanilla extract, bearing in mind to stick to the recipe as too little vanilla extract wont be able to hide the eggy taste of the cake, and too much will make it overpowering and sharp on your throat when you eat the cake.

3) Greece the cake mold/tin with butter/margarine and spoon the cake mixture into each mould making sure to fill it level with the top of the individual cake moulds. If using a cake pop mold like I did, connect the base with the cake mixture to the top mold carefully, and then place on to a tray before putting into the oven as the silicon mold will bend and spill the cake mixture without a tray to support it. Now be sure to only open the oven when you're sure the cake is near or is finished, as this will allow the heat to escape which will effect the cakes' ability to rise like it should into the molds, and may result in flat, deflated cakes. Just follow the instructions and all should be fine. 

4) Whilst the cakes are cooking, make the icing. For mine I used buttercream icing which I would recommend as it's thicker and wont run off the round sides of the cakes like normal icing which concisest of water and icing sugar. Add the better/margarine and sieve the icing sugar to make the icing lump-free. Mix until smooth and creamy, and ensure that the icing does indeed taste like a mix of both icing sugar, with a hint of butter flavour. Icing that tastes solely of butter needs more icing sugar to ensure it's sweet, creamy taste. 

5)Once the cakes are cooked, remove from the oven. After leaving to cool for a while, carefully remove the top cake mold and check the cakes are risen properly by pressing the cakes gently in the middle, if they spring back after pressing them down, they're cooked and risen properly. 

Carefully remove the cake bites from the molds and leave to cool o a wire rack. Once cooled decorate the cakes with icing and decorations, such as 100's and 1000's like I did. To note: be sure the cakes are completely cool as any heat will melt the icing and this will make it run off the cake. 

Leave the cakes on a plate and place in the fridge to ensure the icing sets. Once set, take out and enjoy :)   

I ca,e about this idea of my own, my Mini Vanilla Bites, as i initially intended to create cake pops, which failed massively, so I turned it into a new recipe of my own and they looked cute and tasted delicious, I shall have to make them again. 

Hope this was helpful and thank you for reading,

    

Yours truly,

Caris