Cake Pops

Cake Pops
From www.ratedbymom.com

For pictures to go with the instructions click here

Materials:

1 box of white cake mix (and whatever ingredients you need to make the cake)
1 container of white frosting (I used whipped frosting, which is lighter, so I ended up using an entire XL container)
2 packages of candy melts (I used the pink ones from Michaels) They carry a variety of different colors, or you can buy the white ones and dye them to your liking. Only use gel food coloring to dye candy melts, as the liquid stuff won’t work.
1 bag of lollipop sticks (also from Michaels)
2 tb of shortening
sprinkles (optional)
large foam ring (found in the “wreath making” section at Michaels)

Step 1: Bake the Cake



You don’t need to do anything special. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box. Let it cool off completely before you work with it.

Step 2: Crumble the cake and mix in the frosting.



You really don’t need to over-think this part. Add half the can of frosting and start mixing. Keep adding more frosting to the mixture until it gets sticky enough to roll into a ball. I used a spatula to mix the cake and frosting together, but you can also use your hands to get the job done.

Step 3: Roll the cake/frosting mixture into balls.





Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Next, take small portions of your cake/frosting mixture and use your hands to roll them into small balls and place them on the lined cookie sheet. The balls should be the size of a large gum ball. If you make them too big, they will fall off the stick during the candy coating process. Also, their circumference grows when you coat them with the candy, so start out making them smaller than you want your end product to be.

Step 4: Insert the lollipop sticks.





This is what makes the cake a pop! Prepare your candy melts using the directions on the back of the package. I used the microwave directions and melted the candies in a small round tupperware container. Follow the directions carefully. If you burn the candy melts they will taste really, really bad. Not that I would know or anything. *wink, wink* Dip one end of the lollipop stick into the candy melt and then insert the same end directly into the cake ball. After all the cake balls have lollipop sticks in them, put the cookie sheet in the fridge or freezer to set.

Step 5: Cover the cake pops with the candy coating.



You might need to re-heat your candy melts again. If the mixture still seems too thick, you can add a tablespoon or two of shortening to thin it out. I suggest putting the shortening in before you re-heat the candy melts. Carefully dunk the cake pop into the melted candy. Turn it around until it is completely covered. Then, take the cake pop out and gently turn it over and over until all the excess candy melt has dripped off. You only need a very thin layer of the candy melt.

Step 6: Stick the cake pops into a foam ring to dry and decorate them with sprinkles.



Stick the wet candy coated cake pop right into the foam ring. Before it dries, sprinkle it with whatever toppings you desire. If I could have done one thing differently, I would have purchased a larger foam ring. I ran out of drying room for my cake pops. I had to wait for them to dry before I could finish the rest of the batch. Place the foam ring full of cake pops in the fridge to harden.

Congratulations! You have just made cake pops!

Once your finished cake pops have hardened you can take them out of the foam ring and store them in a container. I used a cake pan to store mine in the fridge. I made them on a Thursday to take to a party on a Friday, and they totally held up. Look how gorgeous they turned out:


Michaels also sells small plastic baggies that you can tie over the tops of each cake pop to be used as party favors, or you can cover your foam ring in colored plastic wrap and use it to present your cake pops. I arranged my cake pops on a pretty plate and they looked great. It’s hard to go wrong with cake pops.