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June 2, 2014

Rocky Road Cake Truffles

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Rocky Road Cake Truffles

Rocky Road Cake Truffles

June 2: National Rocky Road Day

Whenever we level off the rounded tops of our chocolate cakes or have leftovers, we never waste what we have. We just transform them into truffles! Cake truffles sound much more elegant than cake balls. Put them on a stick and they become cake pops—perfectly playful! Place them in chocolate brown paper candy cups and they become truffles—sweetly sophisticated!

For this particular post, we made them with a marshmallow center, topped them with toasted walnuts and drizzled white chocolate as a color contrast for a Rocky Road flavor. Enjoy an elegant treat and try these truffles (cake balls or cake pops) for National Rocky Road Day.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Leftover chocolate cake
  • Chocolate frosting
  • Mini marshmallows
  • 1 bag chocolate candy melts
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
  • 1-2 squares (ounces) white chocolate, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, crumble the cake into fine crumbs. Add half a cup of frosting a little at a time until the crumbs stick together (use more or less frosting, depending on how much cake is left over). Roll and flatten the “dough” and place a mini marshmallow in the center. Make into balls no bigger than 1 ½ inches round. Freeze till firm.

Rocky Road Cake Truffles

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Stick a skewer or lollipop stick on one end of the cake ball. Work quickly to coat it evenly in the melted chocolate. Place on a cold tray covered with waxed paper, smoothing chocolate over the hole made by the skewer or lollipop stick. Sprinkle the nuts on top before the chocolate sets. Continue dipping each cake ball into the chocolate and sprinkling nuts. Refrigerate until the chocolate shell has hardened. Drizzle white chocolate over the truffles. Refrigerate until the white chocolate drizzles have set. Place in individual paper candy cups/mini cupcake liners. Arrange on an elegant platter and serve.

Rocky Road Cake Truffles 

Notes

  • We prefer to use homemade chocolate frosting instead of the one from a can for better flavor. We use the latter if we are pressed for time in preparing Rocky Road cake truffles for a party.
  • Search our blog for chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipes to make these Rocky Road cake truffles.
 

June 2, 2014

Rocky Road Cake

Posted by HI Cookery under 06 June | Tags: , , , , |
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Rocky Road Cake

Rocky Road Cake

June 2: National Rocky Road Day

On a hot, summer day, eating Rocky Road ice cream is a cool choice. But lactose intolerant Islander feels it is “safer on her system” to eat a slice of Rocky Road cake because the dairy content in it is less than in Rocky Road ice cream (although there is a little bit of cream used in the chocolate frosting). The cake is also less likely to melt when sharing it with others at summer socials.

Rocky Road cake is easy to make, and the textured topping give this decadent dessert a “wow factor”. Instead of the ice cream flavor, try Rocky Road cake to celebrate the summer season as well as observe National Rocky Road Day.

Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Bake the chocolate fudge sheet cake in a 9×13” pan. Cool completely. Make the chocolate frosting by melting 10 ounces of chocolate squares, stirring in a half cup of heavy whipping cream and incorporating 1 ½ cups of sliced butter pieces until smooth and well blended.

Rocky Road Cake

Allow the frosting to cool for a spreadable consistency (several hours at room temperature or 15-30 minutes in the refrigerator). Stir before spreading on the top and sides of the cake. Pipe decorative shell borders on the top and bottom edges of the cake (optional).

Rocky Road Cake

Sprinkle mini marshmallows randomly on top of the cake. Chop the walnuts roughly and toast them in a small skillet over medium high heat for about five minutes, being careful not to burn the nuts. Cool and scatter them on top of the cake, filling in the gaps between the marshmallows.

Rocky Road Cake

Melt chocolate candy wafers/chips. Put the melted chocolate in a piping bag with a small round tip (or fill a plastic zipper top bag and cut a small hole). Drizzle over the top of the cake. Let set. Slice the cake into 24 squares and serve.

Rocky Road Cake

Notes

 

June 1, 2013

Lemon Chicken

Posted by HI Cookery under 06 June | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

June: National Lemon Month

Many cultures have their own version of boneless meat, which is coated in seasoned flour/breadcrumbs/batter, then fried or baked, and accompanied with gravy or sauce. Lemon chicken from L&L Drive-Inn, a popular chain restaurant in Hawaii and in select spots around the world, is one of Islander and her brother’s favorite deep fried chicken dishes with a tangy sweet lemon sauce.

During our undergraduate years in Hawaii, we would walk down our hilly campus to the L&L restaurant and treat ourselves to a cheap lunch or dinner when we did not want to eat cafeteria food or cook in our dorm kitchen. When we first ordered the lemon chicken, it looked like a giant, sliced chicken nugget with a sunny yellow dipping sauce on the side. As simple as the entrée was, we just loved the lemon sauce! It really is what makes the chicken a delicious dish.

For National Lemon Month, make lemon chicken for a local-style plate lunch.

Recipe

(Adapted from L&L Drive-Inn via the Star-Bulletin Archives)

For the chicken

  • 2 pounds boneless chicken (we used thinly sliced chicken breast meat)
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon chicken-flavored bouillon (we crushed a bouillon cube)
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Pound the chicken meat to ¼-inch thickness or cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside and make the marinade. In a large glass bowl, mix together the water and vegetable oil. Blend in the cornstarch and flour. Stir in the egg. Season with salt, bouillon, white pepper and garlic powder.

Lemon Chicken

Mix to make a smooth batter. Coat the chicken in the marinade and leave for at least two hours. Deep fry the chicken in 350-degree oil until golden brown (5 minutes). Drain on paper towels. Keep warm.

Lemon Chicken

For the lemon sauce

  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup white vinegar (we used cane sugar vinegar)
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • small piece of ginger, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon of yellow food coloring
  • slices of lemon

Directions

In a measuring cup, make a slurry by dissolving the cornstarch in lemon juice. Set aside. In a saucepan, combine the water, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil.

Lemon Chicken

Add the ginger, lemon extract and a few slices of lemon. Tint with yellow food coloring. Slowly stir in the cornstarch-lemon juice mixture until thickened and smooth. Discard the ginger. Serve the sauce on the side with the lemon chicken.

Lemon Chicken

Notes

  • The lemon sauce may be made ahead of time and re-heated. Garnish with fresh lemon slices.
  • This lemon chicken is a Chinese-influenced recipe. There are other lemon chicken recipes inspired by international ingredients.
  • Serve L&L Drive-Inn lemon chicken with scoops of rice and macaroni salad. Onolicious!
  • For another fruit-flavored sauce with chicken, try the recipe for honey orange glazed chicken listed in our September archives (National Chicken Month).
  • Love lemons? Search our blog for more lemon recipes.
 

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