The 23rd of January is a special day. Why? It`s one of my sisters' birthday! Happy Birthday, Hanna! She`s turning the big 21 this year! Last week was too hectic for me to attempt a layered cake for her birthday, which was my original plan.
I recently purchased The Brown Betty Cookbook and wanted to make one of their famous cakes for her. I had to rethink my original idea because Hanna goes to UCBerkeley, which is 7 hours away from me. She was home for Winter Break, but I wanted her to bring the cake back to school to share. I knew my parents were already getting a cake and her friends would too. So, I didn`t want to overload her with cake! (I bet some of you would love a cake overload, though!)
I also knew she`s never tried red velvet cake pops before, so I surprised her with these when she came to sleepover at my campus apartment last Thursday.
Cake pops have taken over for years now. My first attempt at them was almost 3 years ago, when I made them for my 6 month anniversary for my ex-boyfriend. I`ve learned a lot about cake balls and cake pops since then!
Here are some tips, if you are new. I`m not a professional, like Bakerella. But, these are the tips that have helped me. :) If you want to watch Bakerella make them, you can watch this video.
- I add a little oil into the melted candy melts to achieve a thinner consistency.
- Freezing the cake balls before dipping them really helps keep their shape.
- It's okay to mess up! Just try again. :)
- It does take time, so be prepare for it.
- I prefer using candy melts over chocolate barks, since they harden faster than chocolate. I much prefer using white chocolate over milk chocolate for the same reason.
P.S. Hanna and I are Irish twins. Hehe. My birthday is the day after hers! Isn`t that cool? :P
Red Velvet Cake Pops
Yields: ~40 cake pops | Level: Medium
| Total Time: 3 hours + 2 hours chilling time
|
Ingredients:
§
1
red velvet cake mix (or your own recipe)
§
Ingredients
needed for cake mix, typically water, oil, and eggs
§
1
can of cream cheese frosting
§
2-3
bags of candy melts (color choice is up to you)
§
decorations
such as sprinkles, chocolate shavings, Oreo crumbs, etc
§
vegetable
oil (or canola oil)
|
Materials
Needed:
-
2
large bowls
-
1
rubber spatula
-
1
large baking sheet
-
parchment
paper
-
freezer
-
microwave
-
lollipop
sticks
-
1
cookie scoop
-
1-2
deep small bowls (depends on how many candy melt colors you have)
-
spoons
-
cake
pop stand/Styrofoam box
|
Directions:
1.
Bake
cake according to package directions.
2.
Cool
completely.
3.
In
a large bowl, crumble up the cake and mix in the frosting until everything is
fully combined.
4.
This
is optional: Place in refrigerator to chill (a few hours, or overnight.)
5.
Line
baking sheet with parchment paper.
6.
Using
the cookie scoop, roll cake into balls (about the size of ping pong balls) and
place them on the baking sheet.
7.
Place
baking sheet in freezer for at least an hour.
8.
Prepare
your decorations, as you need to work quickly once you dip the cake balls into
the candy melts.
9.
In
a deep bowl, melt your candy melts in the microwave with 30 second intervals,
stirring in between.
10. If you wish to thin the candy
melts more, add oil, a little at a time (about 1/2 teaspoon each time).
11. Stir with spoon until it's thin.
12. Dip the tip of the lollipop stick
into the candy melt.
13. Then, attach a cake ball about a
half way in the ball.
14. Dip into bowl. You can use your
spoon to spoon the melted candy over the ball. (Do not twist the stick/cake
ball in the bowl though!)
15. Let excess candy drip off by
gently tapping the hand that's holding the lollipop stick.
16. Add your decorations, such as
sprinkles, chocolate, etc.
17. Transfer cake pop to a
stand/Styrofoam block to allow candy to harden.
