Pomegranate Cupcakes & Coconut Date Balls at The Advocate’s White Christmas Photo-shoot

I’ve always fantasized about the creative, photo-snapping, professional light setting of a good quality (food) photo-shoot.  One where you get to pick the perfect plate, the perfect tablecloth, and the perfect slice of cake right before snapping your picture.  As a photographer and cook, I know how demanding it is just to get the right shot and how, with the right equipment, all of the little tweaks and effort can really be worth it.

Several weeks ago, I spent the afternoon participating in one of the more serious food photo-shoots I’ve been on: my editors at The Advocate – Baton Rouge’s Food Section were putting together their annual Christmas issue and, this time, with a “White Christmas” theme.  Food Editor Cheramie Sonnier had been dreaming up a white Christmas theme for about ten years now, and with the right combination of dishes and writers, she finally got to see her idea brought to a snowy white Christmas table.  By the time I arrived, all of the columnists and editors were moving around dishes and forks, making necessary adjustments for the perfect table.  Although I happily plated and contributed my dishes (seen on the right-hand side here and below), it was nice to sit back and watch longtime food writers assemble the cover shot.

Pictured: columnist Corrine Cook working on the Christmas table and moving around glasses for her recipe for Milk Punch.

We spent several hours swapping out white and silver plates, cookies, tablecloths, and lights to capture a beautiful holiday table.  By the time the table was properly setup, it felt like the only thing missing was a Christmas party, as if the news staff would walk in at any moment and start drinking hot chocolate or munching on sugar cookies.  The final table was beautiful, and each sugary confection was a little piece of wintry heaven.

For my contributions to the cover story, I baked a new version of my favorite Pomegranate Christmas Cake, but this time in cupcake form:

Pictured: ruby red pomegranate seeds glisten on snow-white cream cheese icing.  Pomegranate seeds are just one natural and easy way to bring Christmas reds to your holiday table!

Or, you can see Heather Mccelland’s shot of this image at The Advocate here:

And of course, the infamous Linda’s Coconut Date Balls, now infused with almond extract and pecans instead of walnuts.  My neighbor told me yesterday that he devoured the Coconut Date Balls I had given him even though he isn’t a fan of coconut. Something about the almond infusion and gooey center really gives this dish life:

Pictured: hands down, Coconut Date Balls are my favorite holiday recipe and a frequently requested item from Christmas cookie recipients!

When we finished up the shoot, we were all pretty spent on tasting each other’s sugary confections and decided to wrap up with coffee and snacks at Corinne’s house down the road.  I had a dozen portfolios to grade, but was incredibly happy I went as I got to taste one of the most incredible cranberry appetizers I’ve ever had (Corinne’s Cranberry Salsa recipe, of which I’ll be making sometime next week for you readers).  Better yet, I know my English 2000 students were happy to receive the cupcakes and date balls the next day as we wrapped up the semester and discussed their time in class.

For your own White Christmas table, try the recipes for my Pomegranate Christmas Cupcakes and Coconut Date Balls below.

Pomegranate Christmas Cupcakes

Yield: 28-30 cupcakes.

Calories: 276.4 (see here for full nutritional information)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 to 35 minutes

This recipe is a revised version of last year’s Christmas cake here.  For the small-scale version, try these cupcakes.

Cake

* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 6 tsp. baking powder

* 1 1/2 tsp. salt

* 2 1/2 cups sugar

* 1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1 tsp. almond extract

* 1 1/2 cups milk

* 9 egg whites

Icing

* 1/2 cup salted butter, softened (1 stick)

* 8 ozs. cream cheese (regular, room temperature)

* 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1/2 tsp. almond extract

* 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

* Pomegranate seeds, to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cream sugar, butter, vanilla and almond extracts, milk, and egg whites. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until the batter is fully incorporated, making sure to scrape down your bowl for any leftover dry ingredients.

2. Line a standard 12 (1-cup) cupcake pan with cupcake liners and pour batter three-quarters full. Bake cupcakes for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Meanwhile, prepare icing: Cream butter and cream cheese with vanilla and almond extracts until well incorporated and smooth, making sure to whip out any lumps created from the butter or cheese. Slowly incorporate confectioners’ sugar, adding 1 cup of sugar at a time. (I like to use the medium-fast speed on my KitchenAid standing mixer so that all of the ingredients are incorporated smoothly and evenly.)

4. Remove cupcakes from oven and transfer to a rack, cooling completely. When cool, ice cupcakes and sprinkle with pomegranates seeds for a ruby red Christmas touch.
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This recipe was re-published for the “White Christmas” Food Section’s Cover Story with Louisiana’s state newspaper, The Advocate, on Thursday, December 24th, 2012.  You can read the reprint here.

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Coconut Date Balls

Yield: Makes 2 dozen balls.

Calories: 129.5 (see here for full nutritional information)

Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 to 30 minutes

For the original post for this recipe in 2011, see here.

Ingredients:

* ½ cup butter

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 egg, beaten

* 1 cup dates (no-sugar, whole), cut up

* 2 cups Rice Krispies

* ½ cup pecans, chopped

* ½ tsp. vanilla extract

* ½ tsp. almond extract

* Dash of salt

* Sugared shredded coconut, for rolling

1. Add butter, sugar, egg and dates to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Combine and stir (occasionally) for five minutes. Remove from heat and cool for two minutes.

2. Add Rice Krispies, pecans, vanilla and almond extracts, and a dash of salt. Mix to combine.

3. Using a wooden spoon, scoop up the desired size of dough for your Coconut Date Balls and roll in coconut (either in a bowl or on a clean surface). Transfer ball to wax paper and repeat.

Note: If using chopped sugared dates, cut down the sugar to ¾ cup. This recipe assumes that you are using whole, non-sugared dates.
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This recipe was re-published for  the “White Christmas” Food Section’s Cover Story with Louisiana’s state newspaper, The Advocate, on Thursday, December 24th, 2012.  You can read the reprint here.

–Helana Brigman

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