Cake Pops

When I was  a little girl, going to spend the night at Grandma's was always the biggest treat.  My dad had 5 siblings and everyone lived locally so there was always an aunt or uncle around to play with my sister and me.  We play countless games of freeze tag, go "fishing" for tadpoles and toads in the creek, and zoom around the property on the go kart.

Inevitably we would grow hot and hungry and come in the house for an afternoon snack.  We would race to the freezer and choose our favorite Little Debbie snack cake.  I think my sister preferred the Ding Dongs, but I loved the Zebra Snack cakes.  These were always a special treat because my mother did not buy things like that. 

There has been a recent craze for cake pops.  When I finally tried making them, the taste reminded me of those little Zebra snack cakes at my grandma's.  They are simple to make and hugely popular.  I am still always stunned how many people love these little balls of cake and frosting coated in chocolate.

The master of these cake pops is, of course, Bakerella.  She started the cake pop movement if you will, and takes them to a whole new level with extremely cute pops.

I have only made them a few times.  Typically, I use whatever leftover cake and icing that I have on hand from baking cupcakes or whatever.  A whole cake makes a ton of cake pops.

Cake Pops adapted from Bakerella

• 1 cake mix of your choice
• about 2 cups of the frosting of your choice (Bakerella recommends using frosting from a can, but I have not had the best luck with that.  For me, homemade buttercream holds up a bit better during dipping)
• 2 bags of Wilton Candy Melts in the color/flavor of your choice

Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.  Allow to cool completely. 

Tear the cake into small chunks and put in a bowl.  Add the frosting to the bowl with the cake bits.  Stir together.

Take about 1 teaspoon worth of mixture and roll into a balls.  Place on a cookie sheet covered in wax or parchment paper.  Stick a lollipop stick into each ball.

Place in the freezer for 1/2 hour or until cake balls are very firm.  Melt candy melts according to directions.  Dip each frozen cake pop into the melted chocolate and place back onto cookie sheet.  Allow to dry. (You can also use a Styrofoam block to dry the cake pops.  That way you will not have a flat side)