Make Cake Pops
Cupcakes might be delicious; but cake pops are delicious and a lot more fun! Cake pops are a sweet treat consisting of cake turned into a lollipop. Originally made famous by Bakerella, cake pops also ended up in Starbucks and bakeries. Making your own at home is a cinch and a whole lot of fun too. And they're ideal for any party––from kid through adult, all will be delighted to bite into cake instead of hard candy.
Contents
Ingredients
- Cake mix of your choice (or make your own)
- Frosting
- Chocolate for melting - milk or dark, your choice; and some white for decorating purposes (white chocolate is optional)
- White chocolate wafers (optional)
Steps
Recipe for Cake Pops
- Bake a cake. It doesn't matter what type. Make the flavor that you enjoy most!
- Allow the cake to cool completely. After taking the cake out of the oven, be sure it is totally cool before you start transforming it into cake pops.
- Using either your hands or a spoon, take the cooled cake out of the pan and place it into a large bowl. Mix to break down the cake into fine crumbs. You can either mix it with an electric mixer, or use your hands. Make sure that all there is left is crumbs!
- This is messy fun. If you have kids, they will probably adore doing this step for you. However, be sure their hands are clean! You don't want to eat cake pops that have been touched by dirty fingers.
- Choose a flavor of frosting that you like. Add about half of it into the crumbs. Basically what you want is to form a doughy texture again. If you need to add more frosting, feel free to do so. Make sure it is all mixed and ensure that there is no part of the cake crumb mixture without frosting.
- Use a cookie scooper to scoop out little balls. Round them out with your hands; this is so they aren't as sticky. Make sure that each forms a perfect little ball. You need them to be even when you are dipping them into chocolate.
- Put each cake ball onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. if you don't have parchment paper you can also use oiled aluminum foil.Then place in the freezer for 10 minutes or so to firm up.
- Melt some chocolate in a double boiler. The chocolate that you use to cover strawberries is recommended.
- You can also use crushed-up white chocolate wafers if you prefer, as the outer layer.
- Dip the lollipop stick into melted chocolate then insert into the cake ball. Insert the stick into the little round balls a little less than halfway; just as far as it feels sturdy to hold is adequate.
- Dip The cake ball into the melted chocolate.
- Set aside to cool so that the chocolate hardens.
- Once they have cooled down, dip each cake pop into the melted chocolate one more time. This is to ensure that they are fully covered. Be very careful at this point––you don't want the balls to break and fall into the chocolate. Gently tap them above the chocolate to remove any excess chocolate.
- Add sprinkles, frosting, or toppings as desired.
- Use the Styrofoam block to stick the cake pops into and for display.
- Keep on with this process until you are all the way finished. Then (if you want) melt some white chocolate. Put it into a plastic bag and cut a hole at the corner. Decorate each cake pop using the melted white chocolate in the way you want. This step is optional but provides a great opportunity to write a person's name, the name of a sports team and to draw images, patterns or symbols.
- Refrigerate the cake pops. This is to make them stay firm and to keep them fresh until serving time
- Enjoy!
Other Varieties of Cake Pops
- Make Coconut Cream Cake Pops. These cake pops are simple, unique, creamy, and tasty too! The nice taste of coconut will make taste buds die for more.
- Make S'more Cake Ball Pops. These divine cake pops are the perfect treat for family desserts and camping trips. Chocolate fans in your house will love these a ton!
- Make Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops. What a treat these are! These pops have the perfect blend of blueberry which causes them to taste so good.
- Make Hot Cocoa Cake Pops. Sometimes, cake pops just need a little bit of chocolate to make them mouth watering. Serve these on a cold day, along with some hot chocolate.
- Make Butterfinger Cake Pops. These cake pops or balls are a great and a unique way to indulge cakes without having to modify a recipe at all, and to switch some ingredients around.
- Make Apple Cinnamon Cake Pops. We've all heard of an apple cinnamon cake, but how about molding them into little balls for cake pops? These sweet treats are great for autumn and for guest.
- Make French Toast Cake Ball Pops. They are simple and special, whoever could of that of recreating cake pops with a blend of french toast? Be prepared for a tasty mix!
Troubleshooting Problems: Trying to Fix Your Cake Pops
- My cake pops won't stay on the stick... Don't forget you need to freeze your cake pops before poking them on the stick. Otherwise it'll just fall off and crack. Fresh cake is too soft for the balls to hold together on a stick. Another tip: Try sticking the top of your your cake pop sticks with icing or frosting. The frosting/icing is like glue when you place the ball on top, and it should stay on better by not falling off.
- My cake pops are cracking... Cake pops that crack are not a really big deal; You can easily cover it up with frosting or melted chocolate. However, when adding icing or glaze on your cake pops (or maybe eating them plain) you'll see the cracks and they don't always look pleasant. Insure your cake pop balls are not too big, the bigger the pops, the harder it is to have it look round like a ball. Cake pops should be about the size of munchkins. If you're still seeing cracks, you might have not added enough frosting in the cake when you were rolling it up. Add 1/2 cup more and try again.
- My cake pops are too sweet... It's either the cake or frosting that made it too sweet. If you made the cake and frosting homemade, check to make sure you added the right amount of sugar and vanilla. If the cake is boxed and the frosting is canned, you might want to try making yours homemade or try buying a new box/can. Factories sometimes accidentally use too much sugar in their food, Adding too much fondant or toppings on your cake pops can also make them sweet as well.
- I used melted chocolate on top of my cake pops but it's cracking... Sometimes overheating the chocolate before dipping causes the chocolate to crack from the heat. And freezing your cake pops for too long makes the chocolate to crack from the cold. Once the chocolate on the cake pops are hard from freezing immediately remove them. Don't melt your chocolate for too long as well, once the chocolate is a liquid it's done.
- The toppings (i.e sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc..) I put on my cake pops are falling off... Remember to immediately top your cake pops when the coating is still wet. Have your toppings set up on your cooking space before you start covering the cake pops.
- After coating my cake pops these bubbles appear... Those are air bubbles and happen a lot. The oils or butter from the cake pops try to get out and those bubble start to appear. You can't really avoid air bubbles from coming unless you take out the butter or oil all together. However, when air bubbles strike the grease gets out of the pops and doesn't leave them tasting so good. While the coating is wet, use a toothpick to pop each air bubble when it appears. The grease is still here and the cake pops have not lost their flavor.
Tips
- Try making a marble cake so it gives a swirl and nice patterns on the inside!
- Fancier versions can be made using culinary paint and other cake decorations.
- Don't leave the cake pop in the freezer for too long.
- After you've made these, experiment some more. Try making animal shapes with ears, beaks and whiskers, or people's faces, etc...
- You can also cut a straw in half to make a stick too.
- For added fun, try different types of chocolate, hazelnut and mint.
- There are many possible variants on the outer coating of a cake pop, including different types of frosting. This chocolate coated version is one, very delicious type.
- If you want you could mix two cake mixes like chocolate and vanilla.
- You may want to give them to an honest friend or relative so that you can get a good opinion on how they taste.
- You can purchase a cake pop maker at many stores, including WalMart, Target, Sam's Clubs, and many major drug stores or department stores. Most are relatively cheap (less than $20).
- Add Crisco to the dipping chocolate to make it more smooth. However, don't add Crisco to the white chocolate. This will ruin it.
- If the candy becomes overheated and difficult to work with, try adding a few Paramount Crystals or a drop Crisco. Stir these in a little at a time until you have a smooth consistency again.
- Add salt on the chocolate coat! It may sound crazy but it's really not! Salt brings the flavor out in chocolate! However do not put too much salt, just a light sprinkle.
- Use candy melts (for dipping) to look professional, instead of normal cake frosting! Candy melts come in many different colors, too. Frosting has a clumpy texture, and doesn't hold very well.
- Don't add too much frosting. This makes the pops too sweet.
- Add crushed cornflakes.
Things You'll Need
- Lollipop sticks
- Cake pan
- Cookie pan
- Cookie sheet
- Electric Mixer
- Styrofoam block; make sure it's suitable for placing on display for a party
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