{DIY} Cake Pops

Today is Ms. Sophie Joan's summer birthday celebration at school. {Her real b-day falls on August 13th} So for her special snack day we made cake pops yesterday! I thought it would be an easy feat to accomplish. 

Boy was I mistaken!

Has anyone else tried to make these tasty treats before? 

I began my adventure documenting my process....heheh- who do I think I am?

It all seemed easy enough. I'm always up for a baking challenge. And it started out fun!The easy/fun part did not last long.

Perhaps you will not have the same problems as I did. 

::{DIY Cake Pops}::

Assemble your ingredients and tools:

• 1 box cake mix + ingredients for baking (eggs, water, oil)
• 9x13 pan
• 1 can of frosting/ or 2 cups homemade frosting {I used 1 cup...2 seemed like way too much}
• sheet pan or mini muffin pan for resting cake pops in the fridge
• FOAM BLOCK 
• lollipop sticks
• chocolate candy melts

1. Make and bake your cake for the designated time (30-35 mins). 

Pull out of the oven and let completely cool. (Hour- hour 1/2)

2. Crumble up your cake. I used a mixer to save a bit of time, 

but fingers and utensils would work absolutely fine. 

Add in the frosting and continue to mix until well incorporated. 

Allow mix to REST for a few minutes.

3. Use a melon baller or tablespoon to measure out your balls. 

Roll uniformly. {Appx. 1-1/2"}

Place on a sheet pan. Refrigerate until firm (10 minutes or so).

4. Melt your chocolate in a small dish or measuring cup in 30 second intervals.

It should have a nice, slightly runny consistency. Dip the tip of your stick into the chocolate 

{*note: Use sparingly.} Insert into your chilled, firm cake ball.

This will help the cake ball stay on the stick.

Put them back into the refrigerator to harden.

A few minutes should do the trick.

5. Set up your foam block for drying.

Make sure your chocolate is still melted- mic. it for 30 more seconds to be sure. 

Meanwhile pull out your cake pops, yet again.

6. Dip those puppies into your chocolate, tapping off any extra for a nice, smooth, even coating. Garnish with a few sprinkles (or what have you) and place into your foam block for drying! Voila! 

Keep cool until the chocolate sets. 

And there are your beautiful Cake Pops! 

{Yields about 35-40 pops}

Easy peasy, right? Sure sounds like it.

My problems arouse from not reading directions properly. (Oops).

Like, for instance, I did not realize I needed to mix in frosting with the crumbled cake. So I had to whip some up quickly. Some of the pops cracked off the stick when immersed into the chocolate. Creating a crumby mess.

I do not own a piece of crafty foam and I figured I could make some kind of makeshift stand to dry the finished project {WRONG!}. I ended up drying them the way you would make a candy apple. Which they turned out cute nonetheless. 

 Next time, {ha! listen to me....will there actually be a next time? The world may never know.} I may just buy a bag of white chocolate chips with a few drops of food coloring. {Did I mention I ran out of chocolate? So I have 5 naked Cake Pops}. And I'll be sure to have a foam block for drying. 

I lost my cool a few times in the process. Baking is NOT therapeutic, at least with these. I rushed for some information and found a GREAT tutorial website that momentarily calmed me down with the easy flow of her workings: 

Check out Cakeb0t her site is lovely and helpful or you can watch her demo on YouTube:

Good luck and happy eating!!

♥