An Apple A Day...
Cake pops!
Look like lollypops, taste like cake!
And did I mention they are adorable?
This was my first time making cake pops, and I owe it all to this girl right here...
Becca Jackson.
If you think these are cute, you should see the other cake pops this girl has made. I wish I had that kind of talent :) haha
So last weekend, Becca and I entered the Invisible Children Bake-Off, raising money to help rebuild a school in Uganda. There were quite a lot of contestants, each who brought their best baked good for the competition... but how can you seriously resist these cute little guys?
I have to admit, there were some really good contenders... just ask my sister... who at one point I was sure was going to vote for the caramel brownies instead of our cake pops. But... in the end, after 3 hours of taste-testing and an added 45 extra minutes for voting, the votes were tallied.
AND WE WON!!
It was great. We got this sweet gift basket filled with baking things like chocolate, sprinkles, and cake mix, plus some gift cards :)
All because of cake pops.
So here is the recipe!
Cake Pops
Ingredients
1 box cake mix (your preference; we used chocolate)
1 can of frosting (again, your choice)
about 2 bags of melting chocolate (you can find this at Michaels in all different colors!)
1 bag of pop sticks (can be found at Michaels)
Block of styrofoam (to prop the pops up while they dry)
Directions
Make cake as directed on box.
Allow cake to cool, then in a large bowl, finely crumble cake.
**tip from Becca: don't crumble edges! they're too hard which makes it more difficult for the cake pop to stick together (so cut them off before crumbling!). Also, if the top of the cake is too hard, don't crumble that either.**
Add about half of frosting to cake crumbles, and mix together with hands. (it's important that there is enough frosting to make the cake moist enough - about half a can usually works, but you can always add more if needed!)
Form cake balls into desired shape and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Refrigerate for about one day (this step is important!) so that the cake can stick together!
After refrigerating, melt a small amount of chocolate, dip one end of pop stick into chocolate and insert into cake. (the chocolate will help keep the cake stuck on the pop)
Melt rest of chocolate, dip pops, shake off excess, and stick in styrofoam to dry.
After chocolate has dried, decorate pops as desired!
This recipe is seriously all thanks to Becca. If you can remember, I tried making brownie pops a way long time ago..... not so much a success. Now I know how!!
And so because of this.... I dedicate this post to her :)