Star Wars BB-8 Cake

I had an order for another Star Wars cake but this time it was a break from Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. I was asked to make a BB-8 droid from the newest Star Wars movie. It was such a cute little droid in the movie and super fun to make an edible version of him. 

The cake is chocolate with a raspberry swiss meringue buttercream. I used vanilla buttercream to frost the outside of the cake. And, I used gum paste to make the BB-8 droid. It was super fun to make and I'm definitely getting faster. The whole thing took me around 4-5 hours from start to finish including all the baking and hand molding the droid. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

Recipe:

2 cups oats (I prefer old fashioned)
1 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
1/2 cup honey (you can use a little more but I wanted mine a bit less sweet)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. Roll mixture into cookie dough sized balls. I like to place the balls on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer until hardened. Then I place them in a ziploc or airtight containers and store them in my freezer or refrigerator and eat one or two when I have a sugar craving!

Roasted Garlic Chickpeas

These crunchy little chickpeas will kick your salty, crunchy craving to the curb! For real. They are super easy and wonderful for snacking on. I also sprinkle them on top of kale salads with a poached egg or other easy, delicious meals. You can also switch out the garlic powder for a ranch dressing packet, fresh or dried herbs, curry powder, parmesan cheese, etc. etc. .... the sky is the limit!

Recipe:

2 (15 oz.) cans of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
A few dashes of cayenne
A few dashes of salt

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Dry them on a towel lined baking sheet. *See Note

Place chickpeas on a non-stick baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle the garlic powder, cayenne and salt on top. Toss until evenly coated.

Bake chickpeas for 30 minutes, shaking the pan about half way through. Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container or jar with a tight fitting lid.



*If you have the time, dry the chickpeas overnight. Since they have been completely saturated by liquid in the can for who knows how long it is helpful to dry them out. This will make them crunchier!