Monday, January 31, 2011

Cake Pops

If you know me at all, you know I have recent obsession with baking. Cakes, in particular. I just love it. So if you ever have any need for a cake -- any occasion, I'm your girl. Anyway, thanks to Bakerella http://www.bakerella.com/, I am currently in love with Cake Pops. (Shout out to Molly for starting me on this with Bakerella's Cake Pops book for Christmas!) As far as I know, they're a pretty new phenomenon. And they're pretty phenomenal.

So this weekend I gave cake pops my first attempt. They aren't the best ones I'll ever make, but they weren't bad for a rookie.

How do you make these cake pops, you ask? Well you can buy Bakerella's book, or you can visit her website. But I'll give you a quick recap:

Needed:
1 Cake recipe (box or homemade)
3/4 can frosting (or the equivalent amount of  homemade frosting)
candy coating
lollipop sticks
sprinkles/coloring/flavoring if desired

Bake the cake according to the recipe, using a 9x13 pan. Cool completely. Using your hands, crumble the cake into a large bowl, making sure not to leave any chunks or your cake pops will be chunky. Mix the 3/4 can of frosting into the crumbled cake, mixing with a spoon until smooth. Roll this mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. You want them firm but not frozen.

Melt your candy coating according to package directions. Using a microwave is easiest, but be sure you don't over-heat the candy coating. You can add flavoring or coloring to spice things up a little. Take a few of the cake balls out of the fridge at a time--you don't want to take them all out at once or they'll be too soft. Take a lollipop stick and dip 1/2 in of the tip in frosting. Then insert this end into the center of a cake ball, pushing it about halfway through the ball. Dip the ball into the candy coating, coating evenly. Tap off the excess coating so it doesn't run. You can dry the coated cake pop standing up supported in styrafoam, or you can invert them and set them on a plate to dry. If you want to add sprinkles be sure to do it before the candy coating dries, or nothing will stick. Once dry, your cake balls are finished!

Transporting said cake balls has been my biggest struggle so far. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Ok, so now for my results. I decorated mine three different ways, just to make things a little more exciting. And because I didn't want to eat them all myself.



The first ones I made to keep at home because I didn't want to give the most error-prone ones away. And I had to make sure they were edible :)



The second ones I made into little wedding pops to give my friend Kayla who is getting married in March. Super cute, if you ask me. My favorite so far.






   
 
 
 
 
 
 


The third set I made  for my friend Kate, who decided that Monday was a good excuse to make and eat cake. They weren't the prettiest things on earth, but I like the way she thinks. 











Now you've seen my first attempt at Cake Pops. Thank you Bakerella for the inspiration!

 I think this is gonna be fun.












And in case you were wondering... they were delicious!

5 comments:

  1. So THATs what those things in the fridge at work were. They looked delishious. Can't wait till I have kiddo and can eat stuff like that again. I'll definetely try these once I can. How'd you do the tuxedo frosting? Too cute!

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  2. Yeah, taking them to work was the easiest way to deliver them to Kayla.
    For the tuxedos, I dipped them in white candy coating and then dipped each side in black candy coating. Then used a candy-squirt-bottle filled with black coating to do the dots and bow. Much easier than I thought they'd be!
    And yes, after you have the little bambino we'll get you some yummy treats... and your pancreas won't even care!

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  3. Oh so good! I brought them to work and they were gone in second! Ames you are an amazing baker!

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  4. I have to admit, these cake pops look delicious! I haven't attempted them yet but with all this snow and no school I am seriously considering trying. So glad I found ur blog!

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  5. Love Bakerella...I have been thinking about making some cake pops for some time (I just need to find the time!).

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