How to make Cake Pops

The first time I made cake pops was last year in my little Zanzibar kitchen, and it was very messy. Lots of broken little balls that left crumbs everywhere and fell off into melted dipping chocolate. Frustrating and time consuming!

But all it took was just one bite of a finished cake pop and I was in cake heaven. There was something so delicious about biting into chocolate, that revealed soft, sweet, moist, cakey goodness.
 

If you've never tried one, biting into a cake pop is something quite unlike the taste of any type of cake or chocolate you will have had before!

 

 

What exactly is a cake pop, you ask? The idea behind cake pops is pretty simple. You use a ready baked cake and completely break it into crumbs, before adding icing/frosting and binding the mixture into balls. Then these balls are dipped into melted chocolate, left to harden, and hey presto you have little chocolate cake balls!

 

If you're making cake pops from scratch though, its going to take you quite a while. That's why you're probably better off using a cake-mix box or using left over cake trimmings from a cake you have already made. Obviously if you use a whole cake you are going to have enough cake for a lottt of cake pops.

 

Why was my first time making them so messy? When making cake pops you have to be sure that you mix enough frosting into the cake crumbs to be able to form balls, but you also don't want to add too little or too much otherwise you will have cake pops that break easily. Infact don't add to much frosting at all, otherwise you will end up with super sweet cake pops. Dipping them into the melted chocolate can be tricky and this is where they usually break apart. Basically what happened with me!

So now I've learnt the best thing to do is to pop the cake pops (pardon the pun..!) into the fridge for about ten minutes to set before dipping them in chocolate. As long as you are gentle handling them you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

In these pictures, I used the cake scraps which I had cut off my rose cake to make my cake layers the same level. Then all I had to do was use a little of the leftover white chocolate frosting and mix it into the crumbs. To keep with the white chocolate rose cake theme I dipped my cake balls into white chocolate, and added sprinkles for decoration. This made me about ten cake pops which was just enough for me!

 

Of course you can make any kind of cake pops you like, using any kind of cake - simple yellow cake, chocolate, red velvet. Add a little food colour to white chocolate, or use candy melts and they can be made into any colour cake pops you fancy too.

 

You have probably also seen cake pops mostly served on cocktail or lollipop sticks. I'm not too much a fan of this simply because its difficult to find something to stand the cake pops in and plus I think they look much cuter sitting in tiny cupcake liners! But again, the decision is totally up to you. I also haven't added any exact measurements in the directions below, as it really depends on how much cake mix you use.

 

So the first time you make cake pops might be a bit of trial and error, but in the end, when it all comes together, I'm pretty sure that one perfectly ready cake pop will be the only thing coming between you and making them again!

 

 

How to make Cake Pops

 

Baking tray

Cake scraps, or any kind of cake pieces, whole cake

Ready-made icing/frosting, small amount

Chocolate, for melting

Sweets/sprinkles, for decoration if desired

 

In a bowl, break cake into pieces using your hands and then crumble until it resembles fine crumbs. Add in frosting a little at a time until the cake is moist and is easy to roll into a golf ball size ball, yet still slightly crumbly. Place balls on baking tray and repeat process until all your cake mixture has been used. Place the tray in the fridge for about ten minutes to let the cake balls firm up. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate in the microwave, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove the balls from the fridge, and dip each one in the melted chocolate, using a spoon to help you cover the ball completely. Place back on the tray, and once all or some of the balls have been dipped, decorate with sprinkles quickly before the chocolate sets. Put back in the fridge for ten minutes or until chocolate has hardened. Place cake pops individually in small cupcake liners before serving.

This post was added to the Mouthwatering Monday's link party. Click to see more lovely recipes!