GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE SNACK CAKES FILLED WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND COVERED WITH CHOCOLATE aka GF FUNNY BONES with VEGAN & DAIRY-FREE DIRECTIONS

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I’m on a copy cat snack cake kick.  I made GF Twinkies last week and wanted something chocolate this time (being a chocoholic and all), plus I had to make good use of that canoe pan I bought.  These GF chocolate and peanut butter “Funny Bones” were amazing.  My first bite took me right back to that Funny Bone taste and texture...only better!   
     For the cake I used my tried and true chocolate cake recipe.  This cake is chocolatey and moist and the recipe is easy and very forgiving. One time I left out the oil and it still came out well.  This time I accidentally turned off the oven after the first batch came out of the oven.  The second batch was no where near done at the 12 minute mark and I was confused.  It took me a few more minutes to realize that the oven had cooled down to 200 degrees.  The second batch baked for over 25 minutes and there was no difference between this batch and the one made at the correct temperature.  So glad that the second batch did not sink, but this recipe never does sink.  
     I used the Funny Bone clone recipe from the King Arthur Flour site to guide me in making the filling and coating.  As usual, I cut the sugar in the filling in half.  I measured 1 cup of powdered sugar and then I put it through a sieve, there were 1 and 1/3 cups of sugar after sifting the powdered sugar.  I used only 3/4 cup of the sifted sugar in the filling and put the rest back. 
     The chocolate coating is easy to make, but tricky to get onto the cakes.  I frosted them on a rack over a baking tray to catch drips.  I spooned some on top and spread it over the sides, adding more as needed.  No worries, even if these have no coating on the bottom like a real Funny Bone, the coating on the top and sides of the cake is enough to provide a perfect amount of smooth chocolaty moistness to each bite. 
     If you are not a fan of peanut butter just use a batch of the vanilla filling from my GF Twinkie recipe instead.  I'm sure it will be delicious too.  You could also make the GF Twinkies and then coat them in chocolate if you want.  This will be like a Chocodile snack cake.

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CAKES 

COATED IN CHOCOLATE aka GF FUNNY BONES

Makes 15 cakes in a Canoe pan or 18 cupcakes

Ingredients
CAKE
Use cake recipe from my earlier post: CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
For Dairy-Free or Vegan make cake with the Dairy-Free or Vegan instructions on that post.

FILLING

1/2 cup	Creamy Peanut Butter- I used all natural peanut butter with only peanuts (no sugar, oils or salt).
3/4 cup	Sifted Powdered Sugar - sift sugar before measuring it out
4-7 Tbs.	Milk - for Dairy-Free or Vegan use non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk creamer that I had on hand.)
1 tsp.	Vanilla Extract

CHOCOLATE COATING

1 1/2 cups	Chocolate Chips - for Vegan or Dairy-Free use Vegan/Dairy-Free chips.
1 1/2 Tbs.	Non-hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening - I used Spectrum brand

Directions
CAKE

1.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.   Prepare a canoe baking pan by greasing it or you can make your own canoe shaped cake 'pans' from aluminium foil by following the instructions on this site: Can You Stay for Dinner?.  For cupcakes line muffin tins with paper liners.

   

   Canoe baking pan aka Twinkie pan.

3.   Prepare 1 recipe for Chocolate Cake. 
4.   Fill the canoe pan(s) or cupcake liners 2/3 full with cake batter.  My canoe pan makes 6 cakes so I reused the pan a few times, cleaning and greasing the pan before each batch.

   

   Pan 2/3 full with raw batter.

5.   Bake cakes:  Canoe Pan 12-15 minutes;  Cupcakes  15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean or the cake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger.

   

   Cakes baked.  They will fall slightly after cooling.

6.   Cool canoe cakes in pan for 5 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.  Be sure to cool cakes with the flat side down to prevent lines from forming on the top of the cakes. Remove cupcakes in liners to a rack immediately.

   

   Cakes cooling completely on a rack.

FILLING

1.   Place peanut butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir together.
2.   Add the vanilla & 4 Tbs. of milk and beat with an electric mixer.  
3.   Add more milk, 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing after each addition, until the filling is smooth, creamy and easily spreadable.
4.   Place all the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a pastry filling tip.

   

   Peanut butter filling in a pastry bag fitted with a pastry filling tip.

COATING

1.   Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
2.   Heat, on a low setting, stirring constantly, until the chocolate melts.  Remove from heat and stir until completely smooth.
3.   Use it to frost the cakes immediately.

ASSEMBLING THE CAKES:

FILLING THE CAKES

1. Cradle a canoe cake in your palm.  Insert the pastry tip into one end until it reaches the center of the cake.  Squeeze the bag as you pull the pastry tip back out to the insertion site (at this point in the instructions you can tell that I am a nurse).  The cake is moist and will stick to the pastry tip so place two fingers on the cake on each side of the insertion point as you squeeze and pull out the filling bag.  You can also fill the cakes using the three hole filling and tunneling method from the Twinkie recipe.

   

   Cakes filled using 3 hole method on right front.
   All other cakes with filling inserted at each end.

   

   Filling a cake while holding the cake with two fingers to keep
   the chocolate cake from coming out with the pastry tip.

2. You can fill cupcakes by inserting the tip into the top center of each cake and then squeezing the filling into the cake.

   

   You could also use this hard plastic cake filling tool to fill cupcakes
   or to fill the canoe cakes with the 3 hole method.

3.   Place the filled cakes, flat side down on a cake rack that is sitting on a baking sheet. This step is not necessary for cupcakes as they will be dipped into the coating.

   

   Cake on left filled by the 3 hole Twinkie method.
   Cake on the right filled from each end to look like a real Funny Bone.

COATING THE CAKES

1.   After filling every cake or cupcake make the coating.
2.   For cupcakes dip each cake into the coating, allow it to drip a few seconds before turning it right side up and placing it on a tray to set and dry.
3.   For coating the canoe cakes, spoon some coating along the top of the cake.  Using a small spatula (or knife), spread the coating down all the sides of the cake.  If some area is not covered, scoop some more coating with the spatula and spread it on the uncoated areas.  (There will be no perfect looking cakes here.  I think the factories get it perfect by using a machine or by dipping the whole cake.  It would be necessary to make a lot more coating in order to dip the cakes and then the bottom coating would probably stick to any surface and come off when you lift the cakes.)
4.   Place the coated cakes on a rack or plate to dry and set the coating.  You can put them in a refrigerator for 10 minutes or so to rush this process along.

   

   Cakes on a rack letting the chocolate set.

5.   Eat cake!
6.   These can be stored at room temperature for up to a week or frozen for 2 months.

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CAKES COATED IN CHOCOLATE aka FUNNY BONES Makes 15 cakes in a Canoe pan or 18 cupcakes Ingredients CAKE Use cake recipe from my earlier post: CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE For Dairy-Free or Vegan make cake with the Dairy-Free or Vegan instructions on that post. FILLING 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter- I used all natural peanut butter with only peanuts (no sugar, oils or salt). 3/4 cup Sifted Powdered Sugar - sift sugar before measuring it out 4-7 Tbs. Milk - for Dairy-Free or Vegan use non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk creamer that I had on hand.) 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract CHOCOLATE COATING 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips - for Vegan or Dairy-Free use Vegan/Dairy-Free chips. 1 1/2 Tbs. Non-hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening - I used Spectrum brand Directions CAKE Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a canoe baking pan by greasing it or you can make your own canoe shaped cakes by following the instructions on this site: For cupcakes line muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare 1 recipe for Chocolate Cake. Fill the canoe pan(s) or cupcake liners 2/3 full with cake batter. My canoe pan makes 6 cakes so I reused the pan a few times, cleaning and greasing the pan before each batch. Bake cakes: Canoe Pan 12-15 minutes; Cupcakes 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean or the cake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger. Cool canoe cakes in pan for 5 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely. Be sure to cool cakes with the flat side down to prevent lines from forming on the top of the cakes. Remove cupcakes in liners to a rack immediately. FILLING Place peanut butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir together. Add the vanilla & 4 Tbs. of milk and beat with an electric mixer. Add more milk, 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing after each addition, until the filling is smooth, creamy and easily spreadable. Place all the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a pastry filling tip. COATING Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat, on a low setting, stirring constantly, until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Use it to frost the cakes immediately. ASSEMBLING THE CAKES FILLING THE CAKES Cradle a canoe cake in your palm. Insert the pastry tip into one end until it reaches the center of the cake. Squeeze the bag as you pull the pastry tip back out to the insertion site (at this point in the instructions you can tell that I am a nurse). The cake is moist and will stick to the pastry tip so place two fingers on the cake on each side of the insertion point as you squeeze and pull out the filling bag. You can also fill the cakes using the three hole filling and tunneling method from the Twinkie recipe. You can fill cupcakes by inserting the tip into the top center of each cake and then squeezing the filling into the cake. Place the filled cakes, flat side down on a cake rack that is sitting on a baking sheet. This step is not necessary for cupcakes as they will be dipped into the coating. COATING THE CAKES After filling every cake or cupcake make the coating. For cupcakes dip each cake into the coating, allow it to drip a few seconds before turning it right side up and placing it on a tray to set and dry. For coating the canoe cakes, spoon some coating along the top of the cake. Using a small spatula (or knife), spread the coating down all the sides of the cake. If some area is not covered, scoop some more coating with the spatula and spread it on the uncoated areas. (There will be no perfect looking cakes here. I think the factories get it perfect by using a machine or by dipping the whole cake. It would be necessary to make a lot more coating in order to dip the cakes and then the bottom coating would probably stick to any surface and come off when you lift the cakes.) Place the coated cakes on a rack or plate to dry and set the coating. You can put them in a refrigerator for 10 minutes or so to rush this process along. Eat cake! These can be stored at room temperature for up to a week or frozen for 2 months.

-->