I've been seeing these super cute desserts called Cake Pops all over, so I decided to make them myself. These snacks are a great taste of cake, frosting and chocolate all rolled (literally) into one bite of delicious goodness.
A large cake makes around 75 cake pops, so these are a great dessert to make for a party or get-together. After I made my first batch, I delivered them to friends and I was amazed at how fast so many pops went. Since they were bite sized, we had enough for everyone to have seconds and even thirds.
The recipe itself for this treat is pretty simple, but it does take a lot of work because there are multiple and lengthy steps. Regardless, these cake pops are so delicious that they are definitely worth the work. I decided to make my cake pops a variation of a red velvet cake, but any cake works.
First start by making the cake. I'm a huge fan of the food network, especially Bobby Flay, so I used his recipe from Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups AP (all purpose) Flour
3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
Frosting, recipe follows
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheiht & grease the cake pans.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
3. Cream the butter, sugar and oil in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla, vinegar and food coloring.
4. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three batches alternating with the buttermilk and mixing well after each addition. (I made my own buttermilk by mixing 1 tbsp of vinegar with 1 cup of milk and then letting it sit for five minutes.)
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until fully baked.
6. Let cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes
While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
2. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.
Now that you have the red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting ready, you can start assembling the pops.
Directions:
1. After the cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. It feels a little counterintuitive to destroy a perfectly good cake, but trust me, it will be worth it.
2. Mix thoroughly with the cream cheese frosting. It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be forewarned: it will get messy. The frosting will integrate into the cake and hold the cake together like glue.
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls, place on a stick and lay on cookie sheet.
4. Chill for several hours (you can speed this up by putting it in the freezer).
5. Make the chocolate ganache for a coating. This adds a great touch to the cake pops while also adding a shiny, attractive coat over the cake.
Ingredients:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
Directions:
1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
3. Dip cake balls in chocolate and let them dry (either in a styrofoam block or just a cup).
And voila! You just made cake pops. If you have the time to work through all the steps, cake pops are a great, original snack to bake. Enjoy!
