Happiness On A Stick

Oh, cake pops.  How I love thee.  Lemon cake with white frosting, yellow cake with white frosting, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting . . . you just can't go wrong.  I had heard about these magical concoctions quite awhile ago, but it wasn't until Hubby brought one home from Starbucks a couple months ago that I had the urge to make my own.  Enter Bakerella.  Easy to follow directions, pictures to go along with them, and lots of fun ideas for personalizing your pops?  I was sold.

My first attempt was with lemon cake mix, white frosting, and white (vanilla) candy coating, the second was the cupcake pop pictured to the left (yellow cake mix, white frosting, and chocolate and white (vanilla) candy coating), and the third was chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate candy coating, and chocolate sprinkles.  And here is what I learned:

(1) Making these was not nearly as hard as it looks!  I made and baked the cake while the kids ate breakfast, mixed it with the frosting, formed the balls, and inserted the sticks while they ate their afternoon snack, and dipped them in the candy coating after they went to bed and while I watched the 10:00 news.  And while that seems like a lot of step and a lot of time, I really liked that I could split it up over the course of the day and didn't have to do the whole thing all at once.

(2)  Make all of the balls and THEN put the sticks in (which is what Bakerella suggests.)  Your hands will get really sticky/dirty making the balls and you will get it all over the sticks if you handle them before washing.

(3)  When the directions tell you to let the candy coating stand for a few minutes to harden, DO IT.  I was really afraid it would harden too much and that I would have to heat it up again, ruining it in the process!  It was not an issue at all.

(4)  Do not add all of the frosting at once!  I dumped the full 16-ounce container in the first time around and found that I did not need that much - the extra didn't hurt the taste in any way, but it made them a little harder to roll and they were quick to spread a little bit when I put them on the cookie sheet to chill.  The 2nd and 3rd time I used between 12 and 14-ounces and had better results (particularly with the cupcake pops, which required a little more manipulation.)

(5)  I don't normally make test-batches of desserts before serving them to company, but am glad that I did on these.  My neighbors were THRILLED to be my test audience, and I am super confident that the cake pops I am planning on making as favors for my sister's baby shower in June are going to be awesome.

(6)  Make sure you have milk on hand.  Cake pops + milk = awesome.