Have I told you before that even when things don't turn out perfect, they still taste great?
I made these by sheer accident!
It has been quite awhile since I have done a cake pop tutorial and I have changed my methods a little, so here is a fresh one!
First you need a cake. This is a 6 inch cake, I used the rest of the batter for cupcakes. You can also make a box cake mix in an 8x11 pan and cut it into 4 pieces, freezing 3 of the pieces for future cake pops. Each quarter of the cake will make between 6 and 12 cake pops depending on the size, I usually like making my cake pops pretty large! Once the darker part of the cake is cut off, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of icing, any icing will do! Using a spoon or spatula, break up the cake while incorporating the icing. I like to make a test ball to see how well it sticks together. If you use too much icing it will fall of the stick, too little and it won't stay together. More can always be added, but once it is in, you can't take it out!
Once your cake balls are made, chill them for about a half hour, you can reshape them easier when cold to get a rounder shape. Melt up 1 cup of candy melts or candy bark for your 6 to 12 cake pops. When I am just making a small amount of cake pops up to about 15, I find it easier to use a microwavable glass bowl, when making more, I use my Wilton Chocolate Pro that you see in my
old Basic Cake Pop tutorial. The Wilton Chocolate Pro will keep the candy at the proper temperature when needed for longer times. Dip the lollipop stick into the melted candy about 1/2 inch and then stick about halfway into the cake ball. Refrigerate again for about 10 minutes. Working one at a time, leaving the rest refrigerated, dip into your candy melts shaking off the excess. This method works quite well
most of the time.
Well, today was a different story! This was my first time trying to use the Wilton Candy Melts- Candy Cane Colorburst, for cake pops. I loved it in the
Mint & Dark Chocolate Snowflake Candy! It has a great flavor, I even added additional Peppermint Flavoring made especially for candy, you can't just use any flavoring or the candy will seize up! However, today for some reason or another this candy was a little to thick to dip, even after adding a little shortening to thin. A waste? Nope. I just didn't dip them! I think they look pretty decent without dipping. You heard me right, the cake pops were not dipped, the candy wasn't spooned on and shaken off either. Using the back of a small spoon, I
frosted the cake pop with the candy, leaving nothing to shake off, giving it a more
rustic look!
They may not be perfectly smooth, but they taste just like even better than any other cake pop, because they have additional peppermint flavoring! I even dipped some into crushed peppermint candies as shown in the top photograph. So, for those of you that don't like to dip cake pops, these can be made with no dipping!
