DRAGON BITES carb-counted recipe
A family-friendly, mostly healthy (sometimes treat-y!) easy recipe for families living well with Type 1 Diabetes.
Easy Sweet Treat, Fun to Eat!
During the global pandemic, many of us found ourselves at home for hours, bored and perhaps sad and worried. We could all use a bit of a lift…. With spring and Easter colours to lighten your days and celebrate the season… get your lift with fun and delicious cake pops!
Plus, if you’re looking for a family activity to occupy the kids during these days at home, there’s a variety of ways that children of all ages can get involved in making this recipe, from getting their hands into the mix, to rolling cake balls, to dipping, to decorating. Turn on the tunes and have some baking fun, with a yummy treat at the end!
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Low-Carb? No
Gluten-free? Yes
Dairy-free? No
Nut-free? Yes
Prep: 30 mins
Bake: 30 mins
Refrigerate: 2 hours
Ready in: 3 1/2 hours total
Total Yield: 18 cake pops (or more or less, depending on the size of each)
Carb Content: ~27g of carbs each
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 boxed Gluten-Free cake mix1 AND, as indicated in package instructions:
- eggs
- butter
- vanilla
- milk and/or water
- Up to 1/3 cup (90g) ready-made frosting2
- ½ cup (90g) white chocolate chips3
- (optional) Food colouring
- Sprinkles and other cake/cookie decorations
You will also need:
- 18 cookie sticks
- Styrofoam block
Notes:
- We used Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix [370g of carbs; 110g of fat]. If you're not concerned about gluten, any boxed cake mix will do.
- We used Betty Crocker Creamery Deluxe Vanilla Frosting [61g of carbs; 13g of fat]
- We used Chip-its Pure White Chocolate Chips + blue food colouring, so that the result is gluten-free. [~50g of carbs; ~20g of fat actually used in recipe] We also used Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip-its for some cake pops pictured above.
If you are not concerned about gluten, feel free to use Candy Melts instead – they offer a variety of fun colours, and are easy to work with, but they “may contain gluten.”)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.
Bake cake mix according to package instructions. Cool.
2.
Crumble cake into a large bowl.
3.
Add a few tablespoons of frosting and use your hands to combine with the cake crumbs. Continue adding frosting gradually until the cake is moist and will stay in the ball shape. Do not overdo it on the frosting – too much will make it sticky, greasy, and harder to handle. For accurate carb counting, make note of how much frosting you actually used (if it differs from the 1/3 cup recommended in the ingredients).
4.
Use a consistent measure (1/4 cup measuring scoop, or mini ice cream scoop) to scoop out a ball of cake mixture.
Roll the mixture into a tight ball and place on a tray or plate. Don’t fuss too much over perfecting the shape, you can reshape them later. Repeat until all the cake mixture has been rolled into balls.
5.
Refrigerate the tray of cake balls for approx. 2 hours to chill. This will make them easier to roll into balls, to smooth the surface, and to decorate. (This step is optional – if you’re pressed for time and/or concerned more about taste than presentation, skip on to the next step.)
6.
Once the cake balls are chilled…
Place white chocolate chips into a microwave safe container. Note the weight of this initial amount. (You will also measure the amount leftover at the end, and subtract it from this starting amount, to accurately count the carbs of the chocolate you actually use.) Note: Use a cup or other container that is relatively narrow and tall (vs. a flatter bowl), to make dipping easier.
7.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Add food colouring as desired and mix to combine. Make sure you have enough depth of chocolate to completely submerge a cake ball.
8.
Take one cake ball, re-roll it to perfect the shape and smooth the surface. Dip the tip of a cake pop stick into the white chocolate and insert halfway into the cake ball. (This will help the cake pop to stay on the stick.) Then dip the cake ball carefully into the melted chocolate until covered. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Swirl and tap gently if needed.
9.
Add the sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. It will harden quickly.
10.
Stick the decorated cake pop into a styrofoam block to hold it upright until the chocolate has completely set.
11.
Weigh the amount of leftover chocolate and subtract from the initial amount, to calculate the amount of dipping chocolate actually used. Calculate your carbs based on this amount.
12.
Once set… enjoy the yum!
Store extra cake pops in a cool area in a single layer, in an airtight container. They can be frozen for future use.
CARB & FAT CONTENT:
Total yield: 18 cake pops with a total of 481g of carbs and 143g of fat.
Carb Content: 27g of carbs in each cake pop.
Fat Content: 8g of fat in each cake pop.
Should I Give Insulin to Cover the Fat???
Please don’t rely exclusively on my carb counting! Nutritional information is given for general information only, and will vary depending on the amount, type and brand of ingredients you choose - Please verify your carb and fat content when you make your own version of this recipe.
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