Cake [Pop]

They are all the rage right now, cake pops.


So i just had to try my hand at them.  For my annual family "Cookie Day" I thought they would be perfect!


Here is the result of my first cake pop: Red Velvet Snowmen Cake Pops. 
  

I didn't get a chance to take pictures for a tutorial of how to make the cake pops, this time around.  But I did take some for a transformation of the decorating:

 This is what the snowmen look like right after they are dipped into melted white almond bark. I've let them sit overnight in the refrigerator. Do not freeze them is what I read, they will crack.

 Used a mix of Powered Sugar+1% Milk mixture for the decorating frosting.  The more powered sugar you add the more thicker your frosting will be.  This is after I added the eyeballs. They look like little Halloween Ghosts. I should try them out for next year's Halloween.

Now they are beginning to look a lot more like snowmen when you add the orange "carrot" nose. I picked up a box of Wilton Food Coloring (had 12 different color options to choose from). It's about $13.00 a box, but I know I will use it a lot more in the future.

Wasn't exactly sure what color to do for the scarves of the snowmen. I tried to do a purple, but my food coloring mix turned out to be more of a black/purple. Too close to the color of the eyes. So I went with Pink. :)


I used an old egg carton bottom and a piece of styrofoam that I picked up at the local Hobby Lobby for about $2.00. The styrofoam worked a lot better holding them into place. I may have to go pick up another block or two, before I make my next round.

Added some thicker dots to the bottom for the buttons, same frosting used for the eyes.


No two snowmen looked exactly alike.


They were a HIT at my Cookie Day, and I'm so glad that my first round of making cake pops turned out so great!  Can't wait to do it again.  Whenever I make the next batch, I'll be sure to photograph my how-to create the actual cake pop.


Has anyone else tried their hands on making cake pops? I've seen a cake pop mold (Kohl's is where I saw it). Not sure if they work or have the same consistency of a homemade "cake pop".  I'd love to hear about yours!


BRIEF RECIPE HOW-TO:


Cake Pop:
1 box of Red Velvet Cake (included whatever is needed to bake it)

1 can of Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package of White Almond Bark (I got mine at Fleet Farm)

1 package of candy sticks (I got mine at Walmart)

Bake the cake according to the instructions. Let it completely cool.

I know it seems so wrong, but break the cake up into little, little pieces. All of the crumbles can be put into a large bowl.

After all the cake is broken apart, mix is the can of frosting. Not all of it needs to be used, just enough to make the cake mold/form when you mix it.

After it has the right consistency, use a spoon and form whatever you'd like. In this case, I did a look of almost two balls, they weren't separate because I didn't want them to fall apart when dipped.

Once they are all formed. Dip the end of the candy stick into the melted almond bark a little, just so it's covered. Stick that end into the bottom of the cake pop. This helps the cake form stay on the stick.

Let the bottom almond bark harden.

Once that is harden, you are able to dip them directly into the almond bark. There are different techniques I saw out there. I haven't perfected one yet because this was my first batch.  But if I ever do, I'll let you know.

Once it's fully coated, shake off gently the excess almond bark.

Stand upright and let it harden.  These can be placed into the refrigerator to completely set. Do not freeze. I repeat...DO NOT FREESE. I read that your cake pops will crack once you try to "de-frost" them because they'll expand.

Decorating Frosting:

Powdered Sugar

Milk (I used 1%, that's what I had)

Food Coloring (I used Wilton)

Mix until you have the right consistency. You will not need much milk at all. The more powdered sugar you add, the thicker your frosting will be.

Add any kind of food color to give it a different look.


Decorate your cake pop however you'd like! :)