Not that a Little Debbie snack cake (gasp!) has ever passed either one of my foodie kids’ lips, but I have been thinking about those snack cakes in earnest lately. It all started while I was visiting the South a month ago. I practiced/tried out being a Suburban mum and did things like go to the grocery and read magazines in the check-out. In Southern Living, there was a huge Halloween spread that involved dolling up the top of Little Debbies with a chocolate ghost. My first impulse was, “Ewwwwww!” Then, it got me thinking that not all snack cakes are created equal and that, given fantastic ingredients, a snack cake might shine.
Let it be known that these demand a fair amount of fixiness and devotion, but they are worth it and can be a project done over the next couple of days. We passed on using chocolate bark to glaze the cakes since it has a bunch of vegetable shortening, but we splurged on Valrhona bitterweet chocolate for the glaze and spicy hot chocolate from Jacques Torres in lieu of regular cocoa. We put the family test-run supply in the freezer for a day and then the refrigerator for another day, and by all accounts, they were improved. That’s if you can show restraint or you don’t have a bevy of kids to treat.
The Yummies, despite some Fall-overscheduling-induced disorganization on my part, stayed focused and rocked the the free-form ghost decorating. Promise that there will be savory dishes back on the menu again soon, but for now, here’s to treats. Happy Halloween, Yums, Mums, Daddios, and Friends!
Little Yummies’ Halloween Snack Cakes
For the cake:
*12 T. unsalted butter, plus more to grease the pans, room temp.
*1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
*1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
*1 T. cornstarch
*1/4 c. spicy cocoa powder***
*1 t. baking powder
*1 t. baking soda
*1 t. ground cinnamon
*3 eggs, preferably organic, room temperature
*2 t. vanilla
*1 c. plain yogurt, room temperature
For the Filling:
*8 0z. cream cheese, room temperature
*1 c. pumpkin puree
*2 T. honey
For the glaze and decoration:
*8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped with a serrated knife
*3/4 c. heavy cream
*Rolled fondant
*some corn starch, to roll out the fondant
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. With your mini-chef, butter two rimmed (jelly-roll) baking pans, line the bottoms and sides with parchment and then butter the parchment. (This is sort of like goal-oriented finger painting.)
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, cornstarch, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl, preferably the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. (If you’re mixing by hand, you won’t have to worry about little hands, but the electric mixer is a whole lot easier if your mini-chef can resist sticking his or her hands in while the mixer is going.) Cream the sugar and the butter till fluffy and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, and beat those in well. Now, give your mini-chef either the yogurt or the flour mixture because you will be taking turns making additions to the batter. First the chef with the flour mixture puts in a little bit, and then the one with the yogurt adds a little. Do this back and forth 3 times, incorporating the ingredients well and scraping down the bowl a couple of times along the way.
Divide the batter between the two baking sheets. Using a rubber spatula or an off-set spatula, if you have one, let your mini-chef spread out the batter so that it is in an even layer in the pan. If your Yummy is very small, they might not understand how to make it even and dig into the batter. No worries. Let them do the best they can, and then you can smooth it out for them afterward. The Big Person will put the sheets into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is starting to brown and a toothpick stuck down into the cake comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the filling with your mini-chef. Simply combine all three filling ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a fork. Put that in the fridge.
When the cakes come out of the oven, let them cool completely, cover them with plastic wrap, and stick them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and preferably a few hours.
Just before you’re ready to assemble, set out the cakes, a small round or square cookie cutter, a seasonal cookie cutter, and the filling. Using the cookie cutter, cut as many little cakes as you and your mini-chef can fit out of each of the sheet cakes. Spread a small amount of filling onto one of the cut-out’s flat sides, and then sandwich another cut out’s flat side on top of that. Repeat with all of the cake cut-outs, placing them a half inch apart from one another on a piece of wax paper or parchment.
Big Person Time: Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler. Bring the cream in the top pan of the double boiler, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate till fully melted. Continue to whisk till the glaze cools a bit, so that it doesn’t scorch, and then set it aside while you roll out the fondant.
Sprinkle a bit of the cornstarch onto a cutting board and onto your rolling pin. Roll the fondant till it’s 1/8 inch thick. Show your mini-chef how to dip their cookie cutter into the cornstarch, and then let them cut out as many fondant toppings as they can fit. You can also do free-form ghosts, as we did for Halloween, and stick on sugar eyes with a bit of water.
Time to assemble: Pour a little of the glaze over the top of each small cake. You can spread it out for a more formal look, or just drip for a less formal one. Top with the fondant cut-outs. Let the snack cakes set up for at least 15 minutes before devouring.
