This is my first official baking blog post and it involves a box mix! I'm not a fan of box mixes, I find the process of baking to calming and fun to take the quick route.
But the word quick doesn't really apply to this recipe. Of everything I have ever made, Cake Pops have to be one of the most labor intensive. Luckily I chose to make these during a movie night (Never Let Me Go *tear*) with two of my friends Katie and Kelsey so that made things easier. Unluckily, we thought we should make two different types. Don't do that. If it's your first time just make one box. Trust me.
For our flavors, Katie, Kels and I probably had to much fun inventing different combinations and somehow we ended up deciding to make Red Velvet Cake Pops with Cream Cheese Frosting dipped in Semisweet chocolate, and White Vanilla Cake Pops with Strawberry Frosting dipped in Semisweet chocolate with Circus Animal Cookies Crumbs on top. Yah, don't get me started on Strawberry Frosting from a can, we chose it for childhood nonstalgia sake.
We made some errors:
1) Read all the directions before starting.
2) No really, read them all.
3) From this reading you should realize you need popsicle sticks. Recommended but not required, we used skewers. They worked, but dipping was difficult.
4) Patience. Have a lot of it.
5) Snitching some food at every stage. Way to full to enjoy the final product.
Recommended noncooking related materials:
1) A movie (For baking time, first cooling time, and second cooling time)
2) TV show season on tivo or dvd (For dipping time, cooling time, and decorating time)
3) Contacts (so you can see the tv screen from the kitchen if your like me and your eyesight isn't stellar)
4) Friends
5) Something to talk about
Overall, so worth the end product and seeing people's faces when they try them.
Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
1 can of frosting (but please if you do cream cheese, make it from scratch, for my sanity: 8 ounces cream cheese softened, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla; mix butter and cream cheese frosting, then add vanilla, then confectioners sugar a 1/2 cup at a time)
16 oz of your choice of chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanutbutter, or anyother type of baking chips
Directions:
-Bake the cake according to the directions on the box and after removing it from the oven to allow it to cool.
-Place the cake in a large mixing bowl and begin to crumble it (using your hands is easiest). Once all the largest pieces are broken up, add the can of frosting in four parts, mixing as you go until everything is completely combined. Yes, the mix should look gross, and yes it does still taste shamefully good.
-Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or until firm)
- Cover a baking sheet (or two to be safe) with parchment paper. Remove the cake mixture from the fridge and roll it into a smooth ball (mine were the size of golf balls). Take a lollipop stick and place into the end of each ball, pointing upward, and place back down on the sheet, continuing process until all cake mix is used.
-Place in the freezer until hard or until patience runs out, we lasted fourty-five minutes and it worked fine.
-Place chocolate (or etc.) chips in the double broiler, stirring until completely melted. Remove cake pops from freezer, and dip each individually into chocolate. I hadn't melted enough chocolate to completely submerge each ball so I spooned chocolate over uncovered spots if needed. Allow chocolate to drip of slightly so you don't get random strange shapes, though they do look pretty cool even if you don't.
-Place each ball back onto the covered sheet, sprinkling any desired toppings on top.
*warning: let cool until almost completely hardened before adding the clear sprinkles like the ones we added, otherwise they lose their color and look less than adorable.
Leave them be to allow chocolate to harden.
Then feel free to indulge and enjoy. Which you will. Trust me.
Yes, I am aware of my lack in camera skills. I'm working on it.
-Lauren
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