Cake Pops

I've been wanting to make cake pops since the craze first stared but I've never been sure which method to use as there are three main ways; using a 'cake pop maker', combining pre-brought cake with butter cream icing or using a cake pop mould (like the one I used below).

Making the cake pops themselves is the easiest part, simply weigh out and combine; caster sugar (4oz), butter (4oz), (3) eggs, plain flour (4oz) and vanilla extract to form the cake mixture. The mixture then needs to be spooned into the individual moulds (up to the rim) but make sure it isn't the side with the little air hole as that is the top.

A top tip to make sure they don't stick to the mould once they are done is to (very) lightly coat the silicone tray beforehand with oil (using a spray oil is the easiest way to control the amount you use) and flour. They need to go into the pre-heated  (180oc) oven for approximately 20 minutes, however I found they needed a little longer than this but be careful not to take them out to early as it will cause them to drop in the middle. 

Once they have cooled for roughly 20-30 minutes, melt the chocolate you are going to use to coat the cake pops and individually dip the sticks into the melted chocolate before inserting them into the cake pops. You need to be careful not to push them too far as they might go through the other side. I'd recommend inserting them a third of the way into the cake pop. 

There are a range of different cake pop stands online but with a bit of wood and a drill my dad quickly rustled me one up and my mum (justpootling.blogspot.co.uk) being the keen crafter she is, set to work decorating the cake pop stand, which you can see above. I found the how-to for this cake pop stand from rosebakes, it provided a great step-by-step guide.

       

Once the cake pops have been left in the fridge for roughly an hour and a half, you can begin dipping them into the melted chocolate. The best way to do this is to melt the chocolate over a bain marie, allowing more control over the temperature of the chocolate (less likely to burn). It will also keep the chocolate hot whilst you coat each cake pop, as when microwaved it will begin to thicken as it cools at a much quicker rate (as you can see above).

I choose to melt milk chocolate and white chocolate for these but you can choose whatever chocolate you want to coat the cake pops. 

There are a thousand different ways to decorate cake pops (you only need to do a Google search to see the vast amount of cake pop designs), but it is completely up to you as to what you choose to decorate them with. As you can see I raided the cupboard and found every single tub of sprinkles possible.