Monday, May 28, 2012

Pippity Poppity Cake Pops!

Well, Its been a while, so long time no see! 

Since my last post, I have been laying low, not really cooking, not really doing a whole lot.  The choices in front of me regarding employment have sapped the strength right out of me.  My wife and I decided that relocating to another state was not in the books.  So, I have been trying to keep my chin up, as on July 2nd, I will begin training for a new job within Verizon Wireless.  I am extremely grateful to have been given a choice to transfer to a new job, keep my pay, and not have to relocate to another state.  In this current job market, there are thousands of people who were not given any choices, but simply handed their last pay check, and a pat on the back.

Enough about that!  I needed a pick me up.  I needed to get in and make something.  I still do not have access to 100% of my brain yet ( Most of it went on a vacation to Egypt, and is currently on a cruise of De nile....get it....ummm yeah moving forward ), so I decided....

wait for it.....

keep waiting......

CAKE POPS!!!!!!  I mean what is better than a cake pop?  Come on!!!  Its CAKE ON A STICK!!  Everything is better when its on a stick, and its Cake.  Stay with me people!!


I Googled Cake Pops recipes, and got a bunch of hits.  I went with the below blog for the recipe and inspiration.

Little Miss Momma

So, on to Cake Pop's. What could be simpler?  You bake a cake, smoosh it up, add half a tub of frosting, smoosh it up some more, make little balls of frosting and cake goodness, stab it with a stick, and dip them in chocolate.. pretty simple right?  Well....almost that simple.


I will recommend that you pick up all of your ingredients at Walmart.  You will find most, if not all of your ingredients there, and you can't beat the price!
4 Pack's of Cake Sticks 2.50 Each ( Over bought )
1 Funfetti Cake Mix .96
1 Vanilla Frosting 1.50
2 Candy Melts 2.50 Each ( Under Bought )
Styrofoam 7.97 ( I bought Styrofoam in the craft isle, you can get florist foam cheaper.  The benefit of the Styrofoam is it is a bit more durable, and I cut it to fit out cake/cupcake carrier.  When I am done making my delivery's tomorrow, I will spray it with a food safe poly urethane for repeated use )
Grand Total of 25.43

Mix up the cake as normal, ( If you are going with cake pop molds, add an extra egg, but since I was going with the smoosh method, just do it as the back of the box says )

I have found a new Friend for my kitchen.  Pam Baking spray.  This will be the 3rd cake I have made, and no sticking AT ALL!!!!! So, spray your pan!!


Pour into your greased pan, and Bake! 


Look, doesn't that cake look good in my big yellow bowl?  Its kind of orangy in this picture...but it looks great right? ( I cut it into quarters and it literally slid out of the pan.  The blog I got these ideas from lined the pan with foil and it pulled right out )


Smoosh it, add frosting, and smoosh it again with the frosting!

There is nothing that is said that you have to smoosh it into a ball, but I figured that a big ball of smooshed cake is almost as good as smooshed cake on a stick!

It calls to put the cake into the freezer.....obviously people who make these, don't store much in their freezers!  So I put it in the fridge!  These balls were made with a cookie scoop, dropped onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, then rounded off into balls.

I don't have pictures of the next couple of steps.  So...

Take one of the sticks and poke holes in your florist foam.  Your cake pops are going to set standing upright

Melt your Candy Melts in a double boiler, taking care not to scorch them.  Per the recipe add a spoonful of Crisco to the chocolate to thin it out.

Once you have thinned out the chocolate, dip the end of the sticks into the chocolate, and stick them into your balls of chilled smooshed cake

The recipe called for spooning it onto the cake balls and turning the stick.  We tried it.  We prefer to go all out and dip them directly into the chocolate, and gently turn and tap them to get rid of the excess chocolate.

I bought 1 bag of Vanilla Candy Melts, and one bag of Chocolate.  I ran out of Vanilla, so we then melted some chocolate!

*Tip*  Measure your refrigerator shelves BEFORE you try to put the Cake Pop's in.  Thankfully my kitchen sidekick Auntie C. has more sense than me. 

Let them set, and then you can either decorate them as the blog above states, or.....



EAT THEM!!!!

Normally Pygmy 1 and 2 are more photogenic...but who can blame them???  They have chocolate covered smooshed cake with frosting on a STICK!


Meanwhile...after the sugar kicked in.......

Nothing like hopping your kids up on sugar, and exiling them to the back yard.  Nothing better...unless they aren't your kids, and you are sending them home to their parents!!  =)~

Another weekend come and gone, a 3 Day weekend at that.  Time to clean the kitchen, get my coffee ready for tomorrow, and go into work.  It will be a sad state of affairs the next few weeks.  Good Friends you never thought would leave, and people who you were secretly glad were relocating....yeah I actually miss those people too.

I promise not to be a stranger, I have big idea's lurking in my recovering brain matter.  Home Made Vanilla Extract, some summer canning, and something with bacon.  Hmmmm.....Chocolate Smooshed cake with Chocolate frosting mixed with smooshed bacon covered with more chocolate and salted peanuts??  Maybeeeee................