Applesauce Smoothie (or Soft Serve Yogurt)

Since Camden couldn't have any of the cow's milk products, I started to look into sheep's milk products. I found manchego sheep's milk cheese at Whole Foods, and I luv it. They don't have that earthy smell like goat cheese. (I gag when I have any goat cheese products.)



Locating sheep's milk yogurt or milk was a challenge. When I saw Old Chathem Sheephearding Company's sheep's milk yogurt at Whole Foods, I was super excited to give it a try. It tasted good... sour. Good sour in so many way. No sugar added for the plain flavor. I wasn't sure if it was corn free though, but Camden ate it with no reactions. For once, it is the only yogurt that I've found with no gum in it.

Getting my kids to eat sheep's milk yogurt is another challenge. Well, they just don't like any type of yogurts. I tried giving yogurt to my kids with various toppings... with fruits, nuts, chocolate, or cookies. You name it. They would only eat the toppings. Go figure! For the passed three weeks, I had two 6 oz containers of sheep's milk yogurt sitting in my fridge. They both were about to expire. What to do? What to do? Smoothie? YES!

Since my kids luv apples, I thought maybe they would like to have apple smoothie. Hmmm... no apples in the fridge. But, wait! Applesauce! Very simple, right? Yup, it was.

Applesauce Smoothie (or Soft Serve Yogurt)
serves 2 small kid-sized cups

2 (4 oz each) unsweetened applesauce, cold (Central Market)
1 (6 oz) sheep's milk yogurt, plain (Old Chathem Sheephearding Company or Bellwether Farms)
1/2 cup small ice cubes
agave, maple syrup, or honey to taste  

1. In a blender, mix together the applesauce, yogurt, ice cubes, and agave.
2. Adjust the sweet taste to your liking.
3. Pour the smoothie into kid-sized cups.

Whipped Topping (dairy and optional)
1/2 cup (4 oz) heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons regular sugar
a pitch of ground cinnamon 

1. In a large bowl, whip together the heavy whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form.
2. Spoon the whipped cream on top of the smoothie.
3. Sprinkle a pitch of ground cinnamon.
4. Enjoy the smoothie right away or freeze it in a cup for 30 minutes for soft serve yogurt.

Tip: For a thicker smoothie, blend in one frozen banana or 1 Tablespoon Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin.

Allergy Info: This applesauce smoothie is free from or can be made without eggs, corn, legumes (soy), nuts, wheat, and fish. If dairy whipped cream is not used, then it is also dairy free (from cow's milk).

Ninjago Cake Pops

I luv cake pops. What a fun idea to put a cake ball on a stick. When Brek wanted to have a LEGO themed birthday party this year, I wanted to make birthday cake pops.

I made cake pops once for Brek's class party. I didn't follow any recipe because... well... I was just playing around.

I started to test recipes about a month before Brek's birthday party. The trouble started right away. My homemade frosting couldn't hold the cake balls together. I could kick myself for not remembering what I did right the first time I made the cake pops. After so many tries, I wanted to go with Plan B: cupcakes. Then I found a Nordic Ware Cake Pop Kit at Target. I gave the pan a test drive. Whoa!!! Talk about less headache.

Let the making of cake pops adventure begins! I decided to work on the LEGO’s Ninjago theme. Since I couldn’t use colorful candy melt, I thought the chocolate around a cake ball would be perfect as the ninja's mask. Another challenge was making sure a cake ball didn't fall apart when I inserted a stick into it. I decided to use a pound cake recipe to make these cake pops. When cake pops were in the fridge, they firmed up really well, which was what I wanted.

In order for these cake pops to have any resemblance of Ninjago, I made their colorful bodies from craft foam sheets. I drew the decorations on the Ninjago’s outfits using markers and fabric pens. Sensei Wu's hat was a cupcake top, and his beard was made from homemade marshmallow.

Ninjago Cake Pops

adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s Pound Cake

makes 24 cake pops

1 1⁄2 cups (6 oz) all-purpose flour (King Arthur)

1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda (Arm & Hammer)

12 Tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Kerrygold)

1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar

1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract (homemade)

2 large eggs, at room temperature (Eggland's Best)

1⁄2 cup (4 oz) sour cream, at room temperature (Daisy)

Vegetable oil

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Spray (top and bottom) cake pop pan with vegetable oil.
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. Using a hand mixer, whip together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract on a medium speed until light and fluffy, about one minute.
5. Add the eggs and sour cream. Mix in medium speed for one minute.
6. Add the flour mixture and mix with spatula until just combine.
7. Using a medium size cookie scooper, scoop the batter into the prepared cake pop bottom pan. Cake pop top pan has small holes for venting.
8. Cover the cake pop pan and insert the two locks.
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Let cake balls cool in a pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Trim cake balls if they are not perfectly rounded.
12. Wash and dry cake pop pan. Use the rest of the batter to make more cake pops if desired.
13. To make cupcakes, use a large size cookie scooper and scoop the batter into lined cupcake pan. Bake them in a 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minute (or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean).

For ninja's mask

    1 bag of chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)

1. Melt half cup of chocolate chips in a double boiler.
2. Dip the candy stick in the melted chocolate.
3. Insert the stick into a cake ball.
4. Place a cake pop on to the cake pop stand.
5. Repeat step 2 to 4.
6. Refrigerate the cake pops for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
7. Once the cake pops are firm to touch, they are ready for decorating. Melt the rest of the chocolate chips in a double boiler.
8. Scoop the melted chocolate into a piping bag.
9. Cut a little bit off of the bottom of the bag.
10. Pipe the ninja eye brows and eyes.
11. Pipe the ninja's mask around the eyes.

For Sensei Wu

    1 large cupcake
    homemade marshmallow
    melted chocolate chips

1. Use the melted chocolate from the piping bag to decorate his eyes.
2. Attach the marshmallow beard to a cake pop by using melted butter.
3. Refrigerate this cake pop for about an hour.
4. To make his hat, slice off the top of a cupcake.
5. Score under the cupcake top just enough to fit the cake ball. 
6. Brush the top of a cake pop with melted chocolate.
7. Place the cupcake top onto the cake ball.
8. Add more melted chocolate under the hat and around the cake ball as reinforcement.  

Keep the completed Ninjago cake pops in the refrigerator. Let them come to a room temperature for 30 minutes before serving to ensure soft texture cake pops.

Allergy Info: Brek's Ninjago cake pops are free from or can be made without soy, legumes (soy), nuts, and fish. If Enjoy Life chocolate chips aren't used, then they are also corn free.

Elmo Birthday Cake

For Camden's 2nd birthday, his big brother Brek and I decided we would throw him an Elmo themed birthday party. At that time, he still couldn't eat dairy, chicken eggs, and corn. Since he had a pumpkin muffin for his 1st birthday treat, I really wanted to bake him an actual birthday cake. I could bake a cake that was free from dairy, chicken eggs, and corn. The problem was how I'd decorate it. To this day, I cannot find a corn free food coloring.

One day, we were watching Sesame Street movie on DVD. At the end credits, Brek saw a lot of food art in all kinds of Sesame Street characters. So the food art gave me an idea. I could bake a cake and decorate it using fruits and vegetables.

After searching for a cake recipe in cookbooks and on the internet, I found a Strawberry Cream Cake recipe at William-Sonoma website that I thought I could modify to accommodate Camden's diet. At that time, Camden could have quail eggs. I calculated that I'd need to crack open about 25 to 30 quail eggs. Separating the yolks was another challenge.

The cake turned out very light and fluffy. I highly recommend using kitchen scale to measure the flour, sugar, and eggs. Quail eggs are found in Asian grocery. You can substitute quail eggs with 3 duck eggs or 5 large chicken eggs.

Camden's Elmo Cake

adapted from Williams-Sonoma Strawberry Cream Cake

serves 8 to 10       

1 1/4 cups (5 oz) all-purpose flour (King Arthur)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Featherweight or homemade)

25 - 30 quail eggs (8.5 oz), separated

1 1/4 cups (8.7 oz) granulated sugar

5 Tablespoons boiling water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (homemade)

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spray Elmo cake pan with oil. Set aside.
2. To make the cake, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Using a hand mixer, whip together egg yolks and sugar on medium speed.
4. Add the boiling water and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combine.
6. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until thick (soft peak). 
7. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.
8. Spread the batter into Elmo cake pan.
9. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
10. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
11. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
12. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool completely before decorating.

Decoration:

2 pints fresh blackberries... for Elmo's mouth and eyes

2 pints fresh strawberries... for Elmo's face

1 pint fresh raspberries... for any small space between strawberries

1 apple, halved... or his nose

Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread

1 cup chocolate chips, melted (Enjoy Life)

1. Wash, dry, and cut all berries in half. Spread coconut spread lightly on the cake. (Coconut spread is used to glue the berries on to the cake. You can also try nut butter or homemade frosting.)
2. Place the berries and apple onto Elmo cake as noted above.
3. Use melted chocolate to write "Happy Birthday" message.
4. Keep the cake refrigerated. Let the cake come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serve. Enjoy a slice of cake with ice cream.

Allergy Info: Camden's Elmo cake is free from or can be made without dairy, chicken eggs, legumes (soy), nuts (not coconut), and fish. If Enjoy Life chocolate chips and Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread aren't used, then this cake is also corn free. Be creative with writing "Happy Birthday" message by using printed texts or fruits.