Cake pops, chocolate-coated cake balls on a stick, are the new cupcake. Several companies sell the dessert that is surprisingly easy to make at home.
When cake ball shops started popping up last year, Kathy Phan tried them and thought they were good, but she didn’t catch cake pop fever until she saw the cutesy cake balls on a stick that sites like Bakerella (www.bakerella.com) have popularized.
How to make cake pops
Phan says you can make cake pops from scratch, using homemade cake and frosting, but it’s easier and usually just as tasty to use boxed cake mix and canned frosting. The easy part is making the cake mix according to the directions on the box. The hard part is waiting until the cake has cooled entirely before starting the project. Phan says you can make the cake up to two days ahead of time, as long as you cover it well with aluminum foil.
After you’ve baked the cake and have let it cool, break it apart in a large bowl until the cake has an even crumbly texture. Mix in the can of frosting by hand or with a stand-up mixer. Depending on how moist the cake is, you might not need to use the entire can of frosting, Phan says.
Then, using your hands just as you would make meatballs, roll the cake-frosting mix into small balls. (A melon baller or cookie scoop will help make evenly sized balls.) The size of the cake balls depends on the size of the lollipop or cookie sticks you’re using. For thin paper lollipop sticks, cake balls should be about the diameter of a quarter. For cookie sticks, which are made of plastic and are thicker, the cake balls can be larger.
Place the cake balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for at least an hour. (You also can place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.)
To prepare the chocolate coating, heat melting chocolate in a small dish or ceramic dipping pot in the microwave at 50 percent heat, stirring chocolate every 30 seconds until completely melted. A double boiler also works to melt the chocolate.
Phan says you’re looking for a texture that is slightly thinner than yogurt or pudding, and you might need to add a hint of shortening to thin it out.
Once the cake balls are cooled and the chocolate is warmed, dip about half an inch of the end of a stick in the chocolate coating and push about halfway into the ball. The coating helps the ball stay on the stick. After putting sticks in all the cake balls, refrigerate the cake pops again for 30 minutes.
When they are cooled, hold on to the stick and swirl the cake ball in the chocolate coating, covering the entire surface.
To let the cake pop dry upright, push the stick of the pop in a foam block.
For a simple decoration, try sprinkling the pops with any kind of sugary sprinkle, toasted nuts or coconut just after dipping the cake balls in the chocolate coating.
Most grocery stores carry an array of cake mixes and frosting, so get creative in your flavor combinations. You could dip carrot cake mixed with cream cheese frosting in orange-colored coating. What about lemon or orange cake with vanilla frosting dipped in yellow candy melt? You can combine half peanut butter and half chocolate frosting to make cake balls that taste like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
About the Author