By Diana Matthews | Photo credit by Sunny Frantz
Those of you who don’t like following exact recipes are going to love this one. A little of this, a glob of that—you can do this!
STEP 1: Bake your favorite cake recipe and allow it to cool. No shame if it’s a boxed mix. Bake your cake in a round or square cake pan, a loaf pan, or cupcake pan. It really doesn’t matter.
STEP 2: Dump that beautiful cake into a big bowl. Crumble the cake with your hands until it reaches a sandy consistency. I’d recommend setting aside a little bowl of cake crumbs in case you need to thicken your cake pop mixture later.
STEP 3: Add a nice glob of icing. Again, we won’t judge you if its icing from a can. If you are feeling particularly domestic, consider making my Vanilla Bean Buttercream Recipe.
STEP 4: Mix with your hands until icing is incorporated into cake. Now test the consistency. You want the mixture to be able to hold its shape when rolled into a ball, but not be so soft that it slides off the stick. This is where having some reserved cake crumbs and icing comes in handy. If the mixture is dry add a little more icing. If it’s too “squishy” and not holding its shape, add more dry cake crumbs. Go back and forth until you feel like you’ve nailed the consistency.
STEP 5: Use a ¾-ounce scoop to portion out the mixture.
STEP 6: Use your hands (again!) to roll the scoops into balls.
STEP 7: Melt dark or white melting chocolate in a double broiler
STEP 8: Dip the tip of the stick into the melted chocolate and then into the cake ball. Pop in the fridge for a few moments so chocolate hardens and secures the stick to the cake ball. This prevents the cake from falling into your melted chocolate—we hope!
STEP 9: Angle your bowl of melted chocolate and dip your pop quickly, twirling the pop as it enters the bowl, so the chocolate covers all sides of the cake ball. Gently tap the stick and twirl the pop until it stops dripping. Be patient!
STEP 10: Once the chocolate begins to harden, add your sprinkles. You’ll notice the chocolate start to turn from shiny to matte. This is your cue to sprinkle now.
VOILA! I like to stand my cake pops up on a slab of Styrofoam until they are completely dry. You can find Styrofoam at a local craft store.
Feel free to experiment with different flavors and add-ins. The possibilities are endless! todiforbaking.com.
