Today we have the honor of a guest post from Kristin over at Meringue Bake Shop. Tomorrow we have a special surprise from Kristin.I know.We are awesome!!
4th of July Dessert Kabobs
So the middle of the year is almost here. Can ya believe it?? Wasn't I just stressing out about Christmas?
Last year, the lovely Suz Broughton asked me to put together a tutorial for her blog. Check it out here. Since it's a new year, I wanted to do another tutorial along the same lines as last year's with some changes. I wanted to make them a little easier, a little less sweet. I would say healthier but we know that isn't true. So I'll go with less sweet.
Anywhoooo....
To make these fun kabobs, you'll need:
White cake recipe or box mix (I used the 4th of July funetti box from Pillsbury)
Large marshmallows
Candy melts in blue and red
2" Star cookie cutter Strawberries
Wax paper
Bamboo skewers
Assorted 4th of July sprinkles
1. Prepare your white cake recipe per the instructions. Add some sprinkles into the batter. I added the packet that came inside the funetti box and also added some red, white and blue star quins. Instead of pouring the batter into a 9x13 or round cake pans, pour it into a half sheet cookie sheet. It needs to be 18x13". If your sheet is smaller, you can just use less batter. Make sure the sides are 1" deep though. I bought my sheet at Smart and Final for like $10 I think. Spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray. Liberally.
2. Bake in a 350F oven for 25 mins. Your oven may vary so just keep your nose on it. I had mine in a little too long so my cake was browner that I would have liked. But it still tastes good.
3. While the cake is baking, get out two bowls and two coffee mugs. Pour a handful of candy melts in each bowl - one for blue and one for red. Microwave each bowl for 1 min on 50% power, stir then 30 secs on full power, stir until smooth. Pour red melts inside one coffee mug and blue melts inside another. Grab your bag of marshmallows, a bamboo skewer (i used a fondue fork), the mugs, a sheet of wax paper and a platter.
4. Get comfy. And this is where you can bring your kids in to help. Stick a marshmallow on the end of the skewer. Place it in the cup and slowly twist the marshmallow in the candy melts. Make sure you get some good coverage. It doesn't have to be perfect. Then slowly push the marshmallow off the skewer and onto the wax paper. You can leave these plain or sprinkle sprinkles on the wet melts.
Keep doing this until you have all the marshmallows you need. When you are all done, place the finished marshmallows into the fridge to let the candy melts harden. The cake should be done now.
5. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool until its no longer warm to the touch. Since it's baked in a sheet pan, it doesn't take very long for it to cool.
6. Now that your cake is cooled, grab the sheet pan and everything else - skewers, marshmallows, strawberries, star cookie cutter and a plate to hold the finished kabobs.
Note: At this point, you can save this step for the day of and make this a fun activity to do on the 4th of July. Just wrap plastic wrap around the sheet pan and set aside. Leave the marshmallows in the fridge.
Set everything down on your table. Give yourself plenty of room. Take the star cutter and press it down into the sheet cake. If you give it a slight wiggle as you press down, it will help prevent cracking.
 
Keep pressing out stars in the sheet cake until you have the desired amount. If the cake comes out in the cutter, just lightly press it out and put on the plate. If the stars stay in the cake, just peel the outside pieces away from the cut out star. If you choose to eat the scraps, I won't tell.
7. Grab a skewer. Push a marshmallow down to about 2" from the bottom.
Next, push down a strawberry.
Then a star, then marshmallow, strawberry, star.  Or whatever combo you prefer. I did notice that when I placed a strawberry near the cake though, the cake started to get soggy so keep that in mind. 
Continue doing this until you've made as many kabobs as you wish! If you make these the day before, just lightly cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to set on your table. Serve with a side of whipped cream. The spray can whipped cream is fun because then you can just squirt directly onto the kabob and eat! If you have those large number cookie cutters, you could even cut out some 4s and add those along with the stars.
These were really easy and fun to make. If you find smaller bamboo skewers, you can even make smaller ones, seen in the picture at the top. So what do you think? These were easier than last years kabobs. They also required less steps and product to make. But really, there are a lot of possibilities with these. If you don't want to use cake, make rice crispy treats instead, press into star shapes and skewer those on beside strawberries, blueberries, whatever you want. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions, just leave a comment below and I'll answer back as soon as possible.
(all these pics were taken with my iphone4!)
Thanks Kristin!!
We hope to hear more from you soon!
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