Making Cake Pops!

My daughter made a bunch of cake balls before Christmas. She baked the cake, crumbled it, mixed the frosting in, and scooped it out (forming a ball) with an ice cream scoop. She put the balls on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper, and put them in the freezer.

When they were firm, she dipped them in the melted chocolate bark or white bark, then drizzled the opposite color over them.

They were very yummy!

Cake pops are my specialty my family loves the ones I make! I'll tell you my tried and true delicious method. I don't use frosting because it always sounded to me like a too rich, sugary option.

What I use is a frozen sara lee plain cheesecake that I defrost on the counter til it's soft enough to scoop out of it's crust and mix it with a baked box cake mix. My favorite is lemon flavored cake pops. I use a lemon cake mix with an extra lemon squeezed in because I love my lemon deserts.

Anyway you can use any flavor cake, I've done red velvet and those were a hit too. So you crumble the cake as much as possible and then combine the Sara lee cheesecake and mush it all together. Then form into balls and put in freezer for about half an hour.

Ok it's best to use candy melts because I've done it a few times with melted chocolate chips and it just makes it way harder to handle and drying time is twice as long. I never add vegetable oil and have never had a problem, I've even added a drop of food coloring to get my desired color and they always come out great.

Once you melt the candy melts you can take the cake balls out of the freezer and start dipping them. What you do is take some cake pop sticks which you can find at a Michael's or whatever craft store is in your area, and dip one into the melted candy melts and then stick it into the cake ball about a little more than half way. The candy melts help it stay put.

Then dip the whole ball into a the candy melts and make sure to coat evenly. It's best to use a small round bowl for easy dipping. Then sprinkle with whatever color sprinkles you like. I'd stick to something simple especially if it's your first time trying these. Maybe use blue candy melts (which you can get at a craft store again) and white sprinkles.

After you dip each one you can stand them up on wax paper placed on top of a cookie tray and put in fridge until ready to serve. I have also used edible sticks by using graham cracker type sticks instead of the traditional ones. Or some people don't use sticks at all but I think it makes handling easier.

I've always used this method and have gotten rave reviews, good luck:)

have you tried looking on youtube for different videos ? that might help at least for the handmade ones if you don't get more info here.

lol for some reason this is the only dessert i can resist.

I've never had the cake and frosting version, but I have a cake pop machine and have been told by everyone that they're awesome and taste like the handmade ones.

I laughed when I saw that you're making these for a work event. The first time I used my cake pop machine (babycakes version), I made them for the folks at dh's office.

I've used the machine many times since (birthday, church bake sale, holidays). I've also used mini-cake molds with cake mix in the oven and turned those into cake pops too, but they're a heck of alot more work than the ones I make with the machine!

My machine pops are always moist and if I get the right amount of mix into the wells, turn out perfect. The key is to get the exact amount needed in each well, otherwise you get half-moons if you don't use enough batter, or little Saturns if it's too much batter. The good thing with Saturns is you can shave off the rings and they look pretty perfect.

If you want to mold pops into something other than spheres, you can do so by hand and/or with a cookie cutter or mold while they are still warm. It's tricky...but can be done. The machine I have comes with an injector so you can fill them. You can also use the machine to make non-cake hors'd ovres and mini snacks.

The trick to keeping cake pops from slipping down the stick is to first dip the stick in the melted candy or chocolate, then insert into the cake and chill immediately. The melted candy/chocolate hardens inside and prevents slipping. After they are completely chilled, you can decorate them with no trouble. I think this method works with handmade pops too.

For decorating, I've used almond bark, pure cocao melted, melted peanut butter, caramel, you name it. Frosting, marzapan, etc. Sprinkles add pizazz and are a great way to hide flaws if you're just starting out and making mistakes. You don'thave to use cake mix only with this either. At our house brownie pops are top pick, next to red velvet with cream cheese filling.

I love this machine! It is so easy and fast! Even very young kids can easily use it with supervision. It's a nice thing to have if you're into making really creative and cute treats with little hassle. It's well worth the money if you're into baking alot. I got mine at Kohl's. When they go on sale there, they've had the best price around...as low as $20....otherwise they tend to run about $40.

Some people say these are too rich of a dessert. Maybe so, if one eats too many of them. But I find most people like these because the serving size is very small! One pop is less cake than a regular slice of cake. So not really that heavy if you temper what you eat. This makes this a nice alternative to cake at birthdays if you don't want kids getting hyped up on too much sugar. A pop is small and fun but tempers the over abundance of too much fructose nicely.

See:http://thebabycakesshop.com/

The traditional way (crumbled cake and frosting) makes for a heavy dessert. I've never used the other way but no doubt they have less calories. Cake pops take a learning curve. Candy melts need to be thinned with vegetable oil to make a smooth finish. They are harder to make than they look, but if you are an ambitious baker/chef, you'll be up for the challenge. If you want a great tasting easy no nonsense dessert make a "Darn Good chocolate Cake" by the cake dr. in a bunt pan.

I do it the traditional way. Check out Bakerella.com - she's the queen of cake pops and everything you need to know is there.

They are time consuming so plan way in advance.

Thank you for asking this question. I have always wondered how difficult it is to make cake balls and you got some great ideas on how to do it! Thanks to all the moms that answered!

We use an ebelskiver pan.

Frosting... A bunch of different ways... Including injected (like with ebelskivers).

Royal icing works well, because it sets.
Buttercream, not so much.
Ganache heated up to liquid works well (sets as it cools)
Marzipan or fondant works well, too.

I usually only make these when making gingerbread houses as something to snitch and eat. Or if I do a hansel & gretel house over Halloween.

Otw.. I prefer warm unfrosted cake, myself.