Cake Pops

I first discovered cake pops at Starbucks and thought they were pretty cute (and delicious). I thought they looked simple enough to make, so I started looking online to see if anyone else has attempted to make them before. I feel like I have been living in a cave or something, because it seems that everyone but me has made these! I was recently in the United States and noticed that cake pops are all the craze there. They haven’t quite caught on here in Canada yet, but something tells me they will very soon. Anyway, enough of the small talk. You probably want to know how to make these guys.

You will need:

• one cake (get the boxed kind of your choice and follow the baking instructions)
• icing (I used the store-bought kind)
• chocolate discs to melt and dip the cake pops into (available in a large variety of colours)
• lollipop sticks
• sprinkles, if you wish
• 1 or 2 styrofoam blocks

Once you’ve made the cake and it’s cool enough to handle, crumble it all up into a large bowl. Start mixing in the icing, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Make sure you don’t put too much in. I made that mistake with my first batch and it didn’t handle well and tasted way too sweet. You will want the consistency of the cake/icing mixture to be similar to play-doh.
Once you’re done with that, take the mixture and roll it into balls. How big you want to make them is a personal preference, but I made mine just a tad bigger than an average meatball. Place the balls onto a tray covered with parchment paper, and place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Tip: the deeper and thinner the bowl, the better. Microwave for 30 seconds, take it out and mix it, and repeat until it’s all melted. Get out all your decorations at this time.
Now take your cake balls out of the freezer. Get a lollipop stick and dip just the tip of it in the melted chocolate. Stick it about halfway into the cake ball. Holding the stick, dip the cake ball into the chocolate until it is all covered. Tap the cake pop on the bowl to get any excess chocolate off. You will get the hang of it after one or two cake pops. If you want to decorate your cake pop, now’s the time. Stand the cake pop on a styrofoam block (you can get these at a craft store or dollar store) as soon as you are done with it and move on to the next one.
Have fun with your cake pops! I have seen so many creative ideas on the net, and the possibilities are endless. These almost look too nice to eat, but you’ll forget about that after your first bite.