Cake Pops

Cake Pops.....We've all heard of them, right? Well, perhaps not if you're not into baking. But recently these little darlings have become a sensation. You may have noticed that they're even selling them at Starbuck's now.

If you really want to see some awesome work, either visit Bakerella's site, or pick up her book. The woman is a marvel, I tell ya.

I've been trying my hand at them lately cuz, really, they are so cute and yummy.

The ones in the photographs in this post are made from banana cake, mixed with my new favorite buttercream, Magnolia Bakery's Fluffy Vanilla. I swear, I could eat that frosting with a spoon!!

In case some of you would like to try this, it's really fun to do, and not that difficult. First, collect some scraps from a cake you've levelled, or a layer that you've baked and perhaps frozen for later use.

Crumble the cake up nice and smooth, and add about 1/4 cup of the frosting to it. Recipes I've read have called for up to 1/2 cup for an entire recipe (2 layers), but I like to start with less and add more as I go.

You mix this all up till it's a nice consistency. Then use something that will give you equal measurements, like a measuring spoon, or melon baller, or cookie scoop, and grab yourself some of your cake-ball mix. Roll it into a nice ball. Place the ball on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Continue with the rest of the mixture.

Once you have all your cookie balls made, either pop them in the fridge for a couple of hours, or freeze for about 15 min, then put them in the fridge.

When you're ready to dip them, take some candy melts and a little bit of shortening (to make the chocolate a little thinner), and microwave until melted. I think the rule of thumb is about 3-4T of shortening for a whole bag of melts, so you can gauge how much to put in based on the amount of chocolate you're melting.

Then, take a few of the cookie balls out of the fridge. Take a lollipop stick, and dip it about 1/2 inch into the melted chocolate. Put the stick into the cake ball, being careful not to come out of the top of the ball. About halfway, or a little less, should be safe. After we've done a few, return them to the fridge to set. Continue until you have "stuck" all the cake balls with lollipop sticks.

When they've firmed up some, (maybe an hour or so), again, take a few out at a time, and dip them in the chocolate, making sure to cover the entire ball. It is easier if you have the chocolate in a deep enough container so that you can fully submerge your cake ball.

Tap the stick lightly on the edge of your container to let the excess fall away. The chocolate will start to firm up fairly quickly, so if you're going to do any decorating, now's the time. You can roll the cake pop in sprinkles, or jimmies, or cake crunch. You can let the chocolate dry, and then draw designs on the pops with candy writers that come in little tubes. You can even decorate them with fondant.

There are literally thousands of ways to decorate your cake pops. I hope that you'll try them out with your favorite cake recipe and enjoy.

At SweetCakes, we are currently offering cake pops in the following flavors: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, lemon, pumpkin spice, banana, white almond, vanilla malt, coca cola (regular and cherry), root beer, and coconut. They are available by half dozen of one flavor, and range from $1.00 for small ones, to $1.50 for the largest size.

Cake pops can also be made into bouquets, much like cupcakes can. Call us today to order your own!!!