Snowflakes Food

MARSHMALLOW SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; line with parchment paper. Spray parchment; set aside. Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle with gelatin; let mixture soften, about 5 minutes.
• Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover; bring to a boil. Remove lid; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes.
• With mixer on low speed, whisk gelatin mixture, and slowly pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl (to avoid splattering). Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is thick, white, and has almost tripled in volume, about 12 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat 30 seconds to combine.
• Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; smooth with an offset spatula. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Coat a 1- or 2-inch snowflake-shaped cookie cutter with cooking spray to prevent it from sticking. Cut out as many individual marshmallows as possible; coat cutter with more spray as needed. Use marshmallows immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

SNOWFLAKE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl, combine the egg whites, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with egg white mixture, beating well after each addition., Pour 2 cups batter into each of four greased and floured 6-in. round baking pans. Pour 3 cups batter into each of four greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. For 6-in. pans, bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For 9-in. pans, bake at 350° for 27-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Smaller cake pans have a deeper fill and need to bake longer.) Cool the cakes for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For filling: In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually whisk in coconut milk and cream until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. , Transfer to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Cover surface of filling with waxed paper; refrigerate until cooled. Stir in coconut., For frosting: In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth., To assemble cake: Level cake tops if necessary. Place a 9-in. cake on a serving plate; spread with 1-1/4 cups filling. Top with second 9-in. cake; spread top with 3/4 cup frosting. Insert four 2-3/4-in. wooden dowels 1-2 in. apart into center of cake to support the next layers. , Place third 9-in. cake on an 8-in. cardboard circle; place over cake on platter. Spread with 1-1/4 cups filling. Top with remaining 9-in. cake. Frost top and sides of cake with about 2 cups frosting, forming a crumb coating. Roll out 1-1/4 pounds of fondant into a 21-in. circle. Drape over cake and gently smooth, working from the center. Trim ends. Insert four 2-3/4-in. dowels 1 to 2 in. apart into center of cake. Set aside., On a work surface, place a 6-in. cake on a 5-in. cardboard circle. Spread with 1 cup filling; top with second 6-in. cake. Spread top with 1/2 cup frosting. Insert remaining dowels 1 to 2 in. apart into center of cake. Place third 6-in. cake on remaining cardboard circle and position on dowels; spread with 1 cup filling. Top with remaining cake. Frost top and sides of cake with about 1-1/4 cups frosting. Roll out 1-1/4 pounds of fondant into an 18-in. circle. Drape over cake and gently smooth, working from the center. Trim ends. Gently place 6-in. layer cake on 9-in. layer cake., Roll out remaining fondant to an 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with snowflake cookie cutters. Reroll scraps if desired. Place glitter in a small bowl. Press one side of each snowflake into glitter. With a paintbrush, brush vanilla over plain sides of snowflakes; secure onto cake. , In a small bowl, beat food coloring and remaining frosting until smooth. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag; insert pastry tip. Fill with blue frosting; pipe desired design over cake. Decorate with rock candy. Refrigerate leftovers.

SNOWFLAKE PRETZELS

Steps:

• Put a sheet of baking parchment or a non-stick tray liner on a baking tray. Melt the chocolate or candy melts carefully in a microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water - don't let any water get into the bowl or allow the base of it to touch the water. Turn off the heat but leave the bowl on the pan. Add the pretzels and stir well.
• Lift the pretzels out of the chocolate with a fork, shaking them a little so the excess chocolate drips off, then put them on the tray and in the freezer for 5 mins to set. Dip the pretzels in the chocolate again, then lay four at a time together on the tray and push them together, with the pointy ends in the centre, to make a snowflake shape. Add a blob more chocolate with the end of a teaspoon in the middle of each snowflake so they hold together when set. Before they set, decorate with the sprinkles. Leave somewhere cold to set completely - you can use the freezer if you want to speed up the process.
• If you want to make the pretzel snowflakes into lollipops, melt the extra 50g chocolate as before and make eight well-spaced blobs, the size of a 1p coin, on some non-stick liner. Put a paper lolly stick on each blob so one end is in the chocolate, then press a pretzel snowflake gently on top and leave somewhere cold to set. Will keep for one to two days in a cool place.

SIMPLE SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Fold a tortilla in half, then in half again and once again. Using a clean scissors or sharp knife, cut small triangles on folded and outside edges. Unfold tortilla; brush both sides with oil. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and oil. , Bake at 400° for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Dust both sides of tortillas with confectioners' sugar while still warm.