Hello, sweets-eaters! So, the last few months I have been dabbling in something new, something amazing! Cake pops! I made some cute Halloween ones and some pink ones which I may still post later, but today I bring you cake pops full of Christmas spirit: Santa and elf hat pops! Some of you know of what I speak; others of you are probably asking what a cake pop is. A cake pop (originally invented by the one and only, Bakerella.) is basically delicious cake, molded into a "cake ball" and gloriously made into a' pop' by dipping it in candy coating or melted chocolate. If you are a chocoholic like me, or simply a sweet-o-holic, you cannot tread this earth without trying one....or 20!
Technically speaking, a cake pop is made by baking a pan of a regular cake, whatever flavor floats your boat, and binding it into a "dough-like" form using frosting. Once you form this dough, which I think is best explained as a meatloaf/meatball consistency, you then mold the cake into balls. Once they are firmed up in the refrigerator or freezer, you add a lollipop stick, dip into candy melts or chocolate, and decorate! Of course there are a few more technical details and steps, which I will address in this tutorial, but that's the general formula. They can take some time, and even become a full day project, especially at first, but they are super fun to make, and wicked delicious to eat! So lets get on with it...
Cake Pops: Santa & Elf Hats
What you'll need:
- a cake recipe or mix (my "green velvet" recipe is below)
- some frosting; homemade or store- bought (the amount you need will depend on the moistness of your cake, but one 'tub' of store-bought will be more than enough)
- a refrigerator.....:-)
- lollipop sticks (you can find these in the cake isle at walmart, or places like hobby lobby in different lengths) or you can just make cake balls (without sticks)
- candy melts or melting chocolate (I have yet to try regular chocolate, so I can't guide you there, yet.
- a double boiler, microwave, or melting pot like Wilton Chocolate Pro (if you don't have a double boiler, you can easily make one with small saucepan with an inch of simmering water, and setting a bowl on top. See photo below)
- a mug or other deep container or bowl (if not using a melting pot)
- a piece of block styrofoam or cake pop stand
- decorations as desired
Making the cake: My red velvet cake recipe using green dye...
- 2 cups of sugar (may use less)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa (I have also used 1 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate in it's place and subtracting about a tbsp of oil; it turned out just as amazing)
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- "kelly green" wilton food color, 1/4 tsp should be enough (this recipe as red velvet takes about 1 oz or more of red food color, I used about that much green and it was too much. Most colors will easily dye this recipe using only little, except red, where to get a true red, not pink, it takes a lot)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the sugar and oil until mixed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in vanilla. In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, and in a measuring cup, mix together the buttermilk, vinegar and food dye. Stir until the dye is all incorporated, in this case, you will get Grinch milk :-)
2. On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture gradually, alternating with the milk mixture until JUST blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Do not overmix.
3. Pour batter into a greased and lightly floured cake pan (for cake pops/balls I just use a large glass pan, greased and floured. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or so, checking frequently, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb, but is not wet/batter-y. Let cool completely! (In the glass pan, it took about 32-34 minutes for mine. A dark/nonstick pan my bake it quicker, careful.)
To make the "pop dough":
1. Once your cake is completely cool, break the cake up into a crumb. The easiest way to do this is to use a food processor, processing about a quarter of the cake at a time. You may also use your hands and a fork. A good tip I have seen for this method is to rub 2 pieces of the cake against each other, such that they crumble from the friction.
2. Add a dollop of frosting to the cake crumb. I start by spooning in about a half cup for this recipe. Use a fork to blend the frosting in by pressing down and "scraping" against the cake. Do this until the frosting is well incorporated. Keep adding a spoonful at a time until the cake forms a meatloaf-like texture. The cake consistency is right when you can roll a ball of cake dough between your hands and it does not crack/break apart, while not being too sticky and messy.
3. Make your cake balls. Using a small or medium cookie scoop (or your hands) scoop the dough into balls and roll them between your hands until it is a smooth round dough ball (see above). You can also shape them if your are making something else, like these hats, or other shapes like hearts, ovals, etc.
4. Once you mold all of your cake balls. Place them on a baking sheet lines with tin foil or wax paper. Refrigerate overnight or at least 3-4 hours, until they are firm. **Freezing also works quickly, but make sure you place them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before dipping them to avoid condensation or cracking once the candy has set. (Below is how the Santa hats will be shaped)
5. If you are adding lollipop sticks, take a couple cake balls out of the fridge at a time, you don't want them to get soft or they will fall apart when assembled. Melt a small amount of chocolate or candy melts. Insert the lollipop stick about 1/4 inch into the cake ball, just to make a small hole. Then dip about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the end of the stick into the melts. Insert into the hole you just made and about 1/4 inch more past that, but do not poke all the way through the cake ball. Roll the cake end of the pop along your palm a couple times to move the melted candy/chocolate around to ensure it completely adheres. Do this for each pop. Place cake end down on the cookie sheet and refrigerate for a little while longer. Usually about an hour. Skip this step if just making cake balls.
[Above: Making the small hole for placing lollipop stick (left), roll the cake pop in your palm to disperse the candy melts (right). These photos are from a previous "popping"]
Dipping the Cake Pops:
1. Cover a block of styrofoam with plastic wrap, we will stand the cake pops in this later. Once the cake pops have set enough so that they don't seem like they will fall off easily you can dip! If you can shake and wave the pop around and it feels solid, you are probably good to go.
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| All the different Christmas shapes I made. |
2. Melt the cake pops using one of the methods mentioned above. I used the double boiler method, as I do not have a microwave (Yup, I do all this stuff with no microwave, haha!) So far I have used Wilton brand candy melts and the Make n' Mold melts. Both work fine though I used the Make n' Mold once and they seem to have a better consistency for dipping and end up a little shinier once dried. With the Wilton brand, I have found they are much thicker. I usually add a tablespoon of shortening to the melts and mix well. This makes it thinner and much less likely to "pull" on your pops and have them break all apart. You do not want that, crumbs all in your candy melts makes for disappointing pops. Mix the shortening (or veggie oil) in well. The melts should have a thickness of pudding, maybe a little lighter.
3. Once the melts are ready, I transfer them to a coffee mug. You can use any other kind of container or bowl, but the deeper the better. The coffee mugs are deep enough to dip the whole pop in, but not so big that you have to melt 5 bags of candy. ;-) It is also perfect because it holds plenty enough to do a bunch of pops. Stir the melts well and insert your fresh-out-of-the-fridge cake pop in gently. Move the stick side to side and forward and back to make sure and cover the entire pop and part of the stick, creating a seal. If the whole pop is not covered, oil will seep from the pop making a messy stick and they may not last as long. Some oil will sometimes come out of air bubble spots once the candy sets, but a little oil is okay. Just wipe it off with a paper towel when the pop is dry.
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| Dipping a cake ball...err, cake block |
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| Gently lifting it out once covered. Before tapping.... |
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| After tapping! The same general method for tapping off the excess is used with the cake balls |
4. When the pop is covered, gently lift it out of the melts and tap on the edge of the mug to remove excess candy melts. The best method is to hold the pop at a 45 degree angle against the rim of the cup and gently tap, over and over, turning the pop slowly so that one side or another does not get depleted of its candy coating. Do this until the pop looks smooth and the coating mostly stops dripping off. If using sprinkles, sugars, or other decorations add these immediately, while the pop is still wet. Stand your cake pop by poking it into the prepared block of styrofoam or a pop stand. Allow to set, this usually only takes 15-25 minutes at most. Eat a cake pop or 2 and continue decorating until you are done!
5. Cake pops can be stored at room temperature for about 3 days with no problem. Some people have kept them out longer than a week. But mine don't last that long without being kidnapped and devoured. :-)
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| Santa and Elf Hats! |
**More on cake balls and decorating in another post, soon!
Photos by The Chocolate Cookie
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