Hey, wake up, I haven't even started yet!! :-)
First you have to make your cake. Pick whichever cake recipe you love. My order called for red velvet, vanilla and chocolate so I made my cakes. Instead of using round cake pans, I like to use a large rectangle shaped Pyrex so it's easier to take out and crumble. You can see the hole I make in the middle with a tooth pick to make sure the cake is cooked through. LOL
Let the cakes cool completely and then take them out and place them into a large bowl. You'll need the space to crumble the cake. I like to wear gloves whenever I make anything and I have found that the Playtex disposables for cooking are great!! Here's a pic in case you want to buy them. You can get them at any local grocery store. Crumble the cake until there are no large pieces. You can use a mixer to do this but I find using your hands is much better when you get to the next step.
Now it's time to add your buttercream. You can use regular icing sold at your food markets. I find that making fresh buttercream is much yummier and my goal is to make the yummiest cake pops! Mix thoroughly. I prefer mixing by hand because the mixer paddle will get full of cake stuck to it and it's a pain!! You should add enough buttercream to the mixture so it resembles cookie dough at the end.
Place it in the fridge and let it cool for at least a few hours. Take it out and make the balls that will become cake pops. I use an ice cream scoop (small or medium). You can measure it yourself in your hands but I find this method faster and with all the cake popping I do, I have to keep it as quick as possible. Thinking of giving it up yet? Stick with me. Only a few more short steps till the end and you'll know how to make your very own cake pops.
Once you make the first set, then you need to roll them into perfect little circles like the picture below. You want to have pretty round circles, not lop sided orbs! :-)
Temper your chocolate (or candy melts) carefully! What a major, massive headache for me in the beginning. Melt it too fast and it will get overheated and it will not work as you need it to. It feels like the chocolate is laughing at you as you wait for it to set. TAKES FOREVER TO HARDEN! Leave it too cool and it will not cover as you need it to and it will be clumpy and mock you once again. Unfortunately, there's no secret or perfect way to do it. Practice will make perfect! I use a microwaveable measuring cup so it's deep enough to dip the cake pop into. You can see the chocolate chips still melting in my pic.
Now place the lollipop stick tip into your chocolate and then into your cake pop ball and let it set well.
You're finally ready to dip your cake pops into the chocolate. Tap it a few times against the rim of your cup to remove any excess chocolate. Don't tap too hard or you will find yourself cursing the little cake pop ball you gave so much love to as it disappears into your chocolate after falling off your lollipop stick. If you want to add sprinkles, do it before your chocolate hardens or they won't stick. If you are doing other types of decorations, set your cake pop aside and let it harden. I use foam blocks so I can stand them upright while they dry.
You can see the foam blocks in this last picture but most of all, you can see the beautiful cake pops! This was a huge order and not all 145 fit in the picture. It took several hours. They are tedious and time consuming so make sure you have time to make them when you're going to give it a try.
If you made it this far, you didn't fall asleep and that means my guide wasn't too long. YAY!
GOOD LUCK!!
If you have any questions or comments, please share!!
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