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Tag: Angie Dudley

Give your loved one cake pops for Valentine’s Day!

by Danielle
Excerpts + Food & Drink / January 25, 2011

Looking for a fun gift to give your special loved one on that very special day? Try your hand at making a few cake pops from Chronicle Books' Globe and Mail bestseller Cake Pops. I'm sure they'll be thrilled!!

Sweet Hearts
You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls (below), chilled
Metal heart-shaped cookie cutter, 11/2 inches wide
16 ounces yellow candy coating
16 ounces pink candy coating
16 ounces light green candy coating
Three deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls
48 paper lollipop sticks
Red edible-ink pen
Styrofoam block

To decorate

Remove the chilled cake balls from the refrigerator and press them,
one at a time, into a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to form the
shape, or if you are adventurous, shape them by hand. They should
be about 11/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch deep.

After shaping, put the heart-shaped cakes in the freezer for about
15 minutes to firm them up again for dipping. Once they are firm,
transfer them to the refrigerator. Remove a few at a time for dipping,
keeping the rest chilled.

Melt each color of candy coating in a separate microwave-safe
plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating
should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. Work with one
color at a time before moving on to the next. (You should be able to
get 16 heart-shaped cake pops from each pound of candy coating.)

One at a time, dip about 1/2 inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the
melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the bottom
of a heart-shaped cake, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip
the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating,
as described in Basic Cake Pops, (below).

Let the pops dry in a styrofoam block.

When completely dry, use a red edible-ink pen and write sweet
notes on one side of the cake pop.

Return the pops to the Styrofoam block and let the ink dry
completely.

Basic Cake Balls
Makes 48 cake balls

Cake balls are bite-sized balls made of crumbled cake mixed with
frosting and covered in candy coating. They are super easy to
make and form the basis of endless variations of decorated cake
pops, cupcake pops, and cake bites.

You’ll need

One 18.25-ounce box cake mix
One 16-ounce container ready-made frosting
48 ounces (3 pounds) candy coating

Equipment

One 9-by-13-inch cake pan
Large mixing bowl
Large metal spoon
Two baking sheets
Wax paper
Plastic wrap
Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl
Toothpicks
Squeeze bottle or resealable plastic bag (optional)

Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.

Let cool completely.

Once the cake is baked, get organized and set aside plenty of time
(at least an hour) to crumble, roll, and dip 4 dozen cake balls.

Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. You should not see any large pieces of cake.

Add three-quarters of the container of frosting. (You will not need
the remaining frosting.) Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back
of a large spoon, until thoroughly combined. If you use the entire
container, the cake balls will be too moist.

The mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and
still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls by hand, place
them on a wax paper–covered baking sheet.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the refrigerator,
or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the balls to be
firm but not frozen.

If you’re making a project that calls for uncoated cake balls, stop
here and proceed to decorate the cake balls, following the project
instructions.

While the cake balls are chilling, melt the candy coating.
Place the candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl.
These bowls make it easier to cover the cake balls completely with
candy coating while holding the bowl without burning your fingers.

(I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

Melt the candy coating, following the instructions on the package.
Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a
spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make
sure you do not overheat the coating. See “Candy Coating Basics,”
(below), for more on working with candy coating.

Now you’re ready to coat. Take a few cake balls out of the refrigeratoror freezer to work with at a time. If they’re in the freezer, transfer
the rest of the balls to the refrigerator at this point, so they stay firm
but do not freeze.

Place one ball at a time into the bowl of candy coating. Spoon extra
coating over any uncoated areas of the cake ball to make sure it is
completely covered in candy coating. Then lift out the cake ball with
your spoon. Avoid stirring it in the coating, because cake crumbs can
fall off into the coating.

Holding the spoon over the bowl, tap the handle of the spoon several
times on the edge of the bowl until the excess coating falls off
and back into the bowl. This technique also creates a smooth surface
on the outside of the cake ball.

Transfer the coated cake ball to another wax paper–covered baking

sheet to dry. Let the coated cake ball slide right off the spoon. Some
coating may pool around the base of the ball onto the wax paper. If
so, simply take a toothpick and use it to draw a line around the base
of the cake ball before the coating sets. Once the coating sets, you
can break off any unwanted coating.

Repeat with the remaining cake balls and let dry completely.
If you have extra candy coating left over, pour it into a resealable
plastic bag with the corner snipped off or into a squeeze bottle and
drizzle it over the tops in a zigzag motion to decorate.

Store the cake balls in an airtight container on the counter or in the
refrigerator for several days.

Tips

• The cake balls will be easier to roll if you wash and dry your
hands periodically during the rolling process. Dry your hand
completely each time, and make sure you don’t get water in
the candy coating, as it can make it unusable.

• You can use a mini ice cream scoop to get uniform-sized
cake balls.

• If you don’t want to make 48 cake balls, simply divide the
cake in half for 24 cake balls or in quarters for 12 and freeze
the remaining cake for later use. Remember to reduce the
amount of frosting

• Make round-shaped cake balls first, until you’re sure you will
end up with the appropriate number. If you start shaping
right away, you can end up with pieces that are too big.

• It’s helpful to place the cake balls in the freezer for a few
minutes to firm up before reshaping them. Don’t roll the cake
balls too tightly. They may try to expand after coating, which
can cause the coating to crack.