Cake Pops

I think cake pops are the cutest dessert idea! They are so fun! I have been wanting to bake cake pops for some time, and during the holiday break, I found some spare time to test my baking abilities. I can't find the recipe I used, but it was pretty simple.

What You'll Need:
1 box of cake mix in any flavor
1-16 ounce tub of any type of frosting
Baking sticks- you can find these in a grocery or craft store
Chocolate wafers- any color or flavor
Toppings- sprinkles, chocolate shavings, etc
Styrofoam to stick the pops in while they cool

First thing you are going to do is bake the cake. Just follow the directions on the box. Once the cake is baked, let it cool. I cooked my cake the night before and made the cake pops the next morning. Once the cake is completely cooled, cut it up into large pieces and crumble it up into a large bowl. This part is pretty fun if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.
Once the cake is all crumbled up, add half of the container of frosting and mix it with the cake. Depending on how moist your cake is will determine how much frosting you need. My cake was pretty moist, so I did not need the whole tub of frosting. Just play with the consistency, adding a little frosting at a time. Just remember, you can add more, but you can't take away.

Once you have found the right consistency for your cake pop mix, you can begin to scoop out about a tablespoon (more or less depending on how big you would like them) of the mixture and roll into a ball. After you have rolled all of the mixture into balls, melt a small amount of the wafers. With the melted wafers, take a baking stick, dip it into the melted chocolate about a half-inch, then stick it into the bake ball. Make sure to only go about halfway or 3/4 of the way into the cake pop. When the chocolate hardens, it will keep the stick and cake ball together. Do this until all of your cake pops have a stick. Now is the hard part- waiting for two hours while your cake pops harden in the fridge. This part is very important. The longer they are in the fridge, the better. I was anxious to make my cake pops, and I took them out too early and they were falling off the sticks.


About a half-hour before you are ready to take your cake pops out of the fridge, you can get your chocolate and toppings ready. The best way to melt wafers is in a double boiler, but if you don't have one of those, you can do what I do. Take a big pot, fill it with water and place on high on the stove. Find a bowl that will sit in the pot but won't fall in.

The best way to melt the wafers is to add a handful at a time. If there are to many in the bowl at one time, they will not melt properly and you could burn the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted and your cake pops are cold enough, you can begin dipping! Use a spoon to get the chocolate all over the cake pop and place chocolate where the stick and the cake pop meet for extra hold. Let any excess chocolate fall off before placing it in the Styrofoam. Let the cake pop cool for a few seconds before putting any toppings on, or the weight of the topping will make it slide right off.

After you have made a few, you will get your own rhythm and system down. I found having my ingredients set up like an assembly line worked best. Cake pop, melted chocolate, Styrofoam, toppings. When all of your cake pops are coated with chocolate and topped, you are done!

The process is a bit of hard work and a lot of patience, but the finished product is definitely worth it! I can't wait to make more for other special occasions and play with flavors, colors, and designs. I'm thinking Red Velvet will be next since Valentine's Day is coming up!
Have you ever made cake pops? What is your favorite dessert with a twist?