now and forever

   

Do you know those days when you get back home from work and you really, really need something sweet?? And there is nothing that can satisfy your taste buds?? No matter what you eat, you find yourself still searching the cabinets and drawers, while chewing the last bite of a granola bar.. Sometimes you will not find whatever your body is craving in your kitchen. Sometimes it needs to be something you simply need to make or bake. Usually that is the worst thing that can happen in those moments… “Baking something? But I need that nooooow and I can’t stare at the oven for 30 minutes until the cake is out.” Guess what? I found something that might help..At least it helped me through moments like these 😉 Like today.. and a few weeks before … and before that… and… 😉 I got home from work, paced around the kitchen cabinets and fridge, ate some snacks and still found myself craving for something else. I pulled out my cake pop maker (I didn’t post anything about it for some time..did you realize? 😉 ) and made one of my favorite little round treats.

After buying my cake pop maker I was looking for good recipes and you guys know how much I was trying out stuff.. which sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. The usual cake pops take some time to make.. not so much the pops themselves, but more the coating and decorating. I was looking for something fast and easy that could be made for craving tummies… NOW.

I came across a really nice website: http://amyshealthybaking.com/ and found the following recipe (which I will copy into this post, but please visit the site.. it’s great and the pictures are really nice too) The donut holes are fast, easy and ooooooooh sooooooooo delicious. You NEED to try that recipe if you have a cake pop maker.. or get one now 😉

I also tried a vegan version, because I did not have an egg at home today. I substituted the egg with a tbsp citric acid and 1 tsp baking soda. Vinegar of course works too.. but I did not have that either 😉

donut holes pops

(http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2014/09/25/baked-snickerdoodle-donut-holes/)

3/4 c (94g) flour

3/4 tsp (3g) baking powder

3/4 tsp (3g) ground cinnamon

1/4tsp (1.5g) salt

1 tbsp (14g) butter, melted

1 large egg, room temperature

1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract

1/4 tsp (1mL) butter extract ( I never used that.. just the vanilla, so you can leave it out)

1/4 c + 1/2c (144g) sugar

1/4 c + 3 tbsp (105mL) nonfat milk

1. Preheat an electric cake pop maker.
2. In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and salt.
3. In separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and extracts.
4. Stir in ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of milk.
5. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
6. When the cake pop maker is hot, fill each cavity all the way full with batter.
7. Close the lid and bake for 3-4 minutes, or until the tops are lightly firm to the touch.
8. Immediately turn out onto a wire rack to cool, and repeat with the remaining batter.
9. Combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour the remaining milk into a separate small bowl. Once cool, dip each donut hole in the milk and shake off the excess. Roll around in the cinnamon sugar until coated. Place back on the wire rack until ready to serve

Like I said, I made the vegan version today. I added some more sugar to the batter – 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup. It happened accidentally.. I added all the sugar at once and then realized it should have been only 1/4 cups. I took some of the sugar out and left approximately 1/2 cups in the bowl. It was not too sweet and I really liked the donut holes. It got a little fruity character because of the citric acid and the sugar made it not too sour. So you might want to go along with adding a little more sugar than suggested to balance the citric acid, if you decide for the vegan version.

I also tried a version without cinnamon.. in case you don’t like cinnamon, you can add vanilla sugar instead in the batter and later for the dipping. It’s delicous as well 😉

Btw. if you ever have problems cleaning your cake pop maker, try the following: Boil some water and fill the cavities. A sponge will suck out the water with the grease and dirt. It always works for me. You can also add some dish liquid to the water. This way you will get rid of all the remains.

Well..I hope that my tummy won’t crave more treats tomorrow, because as embarrassing as it is… almost all of the donut holes are gone. Just a few are left.. so I won’t feel too guilty 😉