cake pops

Cake pops are great because they are cute, portion controlled desserts that you can easily make for any occasion.  You can make them any flavor, and you can dye the shell any color.

They are a bit obnoxious to make if you aren't paying close attention, but that is mainly because of dipping the pops into the shell coating.

I got my favorite cake pop recipe off the Nordic Ware website.  It makes great fudgy pops.  I apologize in advance for the horrible pictures for this recipe.  I don't know what happened.

In a small pot heat the butter and chocolate chips until they have melted and become smooth and shiny.  Stir often to prevent burning, and don't let it boil.

When the butter and chocolate look like this take it off the heat and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix in sugar and cocoa powder

It should end up well mixed and stay shiny

Add 2 eggs (one at a time) mixing well in between.  Lastly, mix in flour and salt.

If you have a cake pop mold like me spray it well and add a large tablespoon full to each divet.  They should bubble up a bit, remember, they will rise but you want to end up with a full sphere.  A little too much is better than a deflated looking pop.

If you don't have a cake pop mold pour the batter into a prepped 9x9 baking dish.

Checking on cake pop molds in the oven can be tricky.  You can't take the top off, and if they are under cooked they won't hold together well.  When in doubt, give them an extra 2 minutes.

When they are done pull them out of the oven and let them sit for several minutes.  Pull any overflow pop off the tops (they should come off easily), then take the top pan off.  Let the pops cool, then place them on a cooling rack.

If you didn't spray your mold thoroughly enough, or just have some very resistant pops and they break while being taken out, don't worry.

This isn't entirely fair because I'm truly terrible at making "classic" cake pops look pretty.  This is why I use a mold, but I thought I should show both ways anyway.  I've already explained the mold version, the classic version involved crumbling up the baked and cooled cake and mixing in with frosting, just enough to hold it all together.  In this case I've used chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  Try to make the cake pop into the best ball you can.

Sometimes the molded cake pops get a ring around the middle.  Grab a pairing knife and quickly trim this off.

Sorry, I don't know why I don't have a picture of the actual process, but make a batch of royal icing with whatever color food coloring you want and water it down (very slowly) until it reaches the consistency able to dip the pops in.  Pour your icing into a cup for ease.  I find the red solo cups to be perfect for this.  Dip the stick in the icing an inch, then stick it in the pop.  Dip the whole pop into the cup, then tap it gently to release extra icing.  Set the pop gently onto a freezer bag or parchment paper to set.  Allow the pops at least several hours to set fully.  Do not refrigerate.  When they are set you can decorate additionally with royal icing.  Since the pops are not flat make sure the icing is very firm and/or cold to prevent dripping.  Spot the creepy exorcist needing pop that was made with icing that wasn't cool enough?

I know traditionally cake pops are coated with candy melts mixed with crisco.  I hate white chocolate and crisco.  Why would I want to smother my chocolate pops with that?  Ugh.  This is why I use royal icing.

One of my favorite parts about cake pops is that you can make them up to 3 days in advance.  The icing coating covers them completely and keeps them moist.

Jeff insisted I take a picture of the exorcist needing pop because it is hilarious.  Liam told me that the pop looked sad and that Jeff needed to eat it.

Here is Liam's "happy" cake pop.

Give a kid a cake pop and you have a happy kid for ... at least an hour.   :)

See how fudgy and delicious this looks?

Here is my favorite cake pop recipe.  Nordic Ware's fudgy cake pops

and use this royal icing to cover the pops