With Halloween just a day away, we’re gearing up in The Test Kitchen for ghosts, goblins and all kinds of treats. One of this year's most popular treats is the bite-size cake pop. Kids love them because they’re small, sweet and fun to eat – plus, everything tastes better on a stick, right? Moms love them because they’re really easy to make and are way cuter than cupcakes. There are
no set rules when making cake pops. You can use virtually
any type of cake you like and combine it with
any icing. Here are a few of my favourite combinations.
- Chocolate cake + chocolate icing
- Vanilla cake + coconut icing
- Carrot cake + cream cheese icing
- Chocolate cake + raspberry buttercream
Once you have your icing and cake flavours picked out and made, crumble the cake into a large bowl, then combine it with as much icing as you need to form a mixture that sticks together when clumped into a ball. If you’re unsure, add your icing gradually, mixing between each addition. Your finished cake pop mixture should have the consistency of a thick cookie dough. You don't have to use cake to make a cake pop–style treat. Here are some shortcut recipes that don’t require any baking.
In the spirit of Halloween, I'd like to share a recipe for these super cute and super easy Pumpkin Patch Cake Pops. Since the amount of cake will vary each time, I've provided a list of ingredients that can be scaled up or down depending on how many pops you want to make. [caption id="attachment_5411" align="aligncenter" width="400"]
Jack-o'-lantern and Pumpkin Patch Cake Pops[/caption] Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cake pop mixture – any combination of cake and icing works here
- Orange and white candy melts, such as Merckens
- Pretzel rods, cut in ½-inch (1 cm) pieces
- Orange decorating sugar
- Lollipop sticks
Prepare your cake pop mixture and shape into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls, rolling tightly. (I like to use a small portion scoop or a tablespoon to make sure all my cake pops are the same size.) In clean bowl, microwave a small amount of orange candy melts on medium, stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Dip one end of each lollipop stick into melted candy to coat ½-inch (1 cm); insert dipped end halfway into top of rolled ball. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Melt remaining orange candy melts in microwave. Dip pops into melted candy, letting any excess drip back into bowl. Top with pretzel. If you’d like to make
Jack-o'-lantern Cake Pops, dip pops into melted candy, letting any excess drip back into bowl. Top with pretzel. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes. Using piping bag fitted with small plain tip, pipe jack-o'-lantern faces onto each pumpkin. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes. If you'd like to make
Pumpkin Patch Cake Pops, dip pops into melted candy, letting any excess drip back into bowl. Immediately sprinkle with orange decorating sugar. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes. (Tip: If the melted candy in your bowl starts to harden, microwave it for 15 seconds until just warm.) To change it up and make
Candied Apple Cake Pops, replace orange candy melts and decorating sugar with red candy melts and decorating sugar.
What kind of sweet treats do you look forward to for Halloween?
Comments