Basketball Cake Pops

I'm back!! We had a great vacation... we spent the past week snowboarding in Snowshoe, West Virginia. Yep, you read it right. I went snowboarding! Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm not an overly adventurous person. When we originally booked the trip I was signed up for skiing, but my husband is a snowboarder... so a few days before we headed north, he switched my rentals and lessons to snowboarding. My initial reaction was Is he insane?! But I went along with it and had a blast! I was pretty awful at first. I took a few brutal falls. But it was awesome! :)

What does snowboarding have to do with these cake pops? Well, we stopped at Starbucks on our way home to stretch our legs and refuel on caffeine. To my surprise, Starbucks is now selling cake pops and whoopie pies. I don't know that I will ever bring myself to buy them (since I make my own quite frequently), but they had a promotion where we got a free one with the purchase of a drink. I chose a cake pop for my freebie, and I was instantly craving more after eating it! So, I decided to whip up a batch this weekend. Since St. Patrick's Day is this week, I wanted to decorate them with green. But this week is also the beginning of March Madness (which I'm very excited about!) so I had to throw in a few basketballs too. Not that you should need a reason to make cake pops, but just in case... I've given you two. :)

I posted a pretty detailed "how to" when I blogged about my holiday cake pops, so if you've never made cake pops you may want to start there. You can obviously make whichever cake and frosting flavors you like... I went with a butter cake and cream cheese frosting for this batch. For the St. Patty's Day pops, I used green and white candy melts and green sprinkles. For the basketball pops, I tinted half of the melted white candy with an orange (oil based) candy coloring. After dipping the pops, once the orange candy had set, I melted dark chocolate for the basketball lines and used a candy squeeze bottle to draw them on.

Now you'll have to excuse me, I have a cake pop screaming my name! :)

Holiday Cake Pops

It is time to start cranking up my festive baking. With Christmas carols ringing in my ear, I couldn't resist a go at these cake pops any longer...

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree"

"Frosty the snowman, was a jolly happy soul"

I love cake pops, and I'm a huge fan of Bakerella and her amazing cake pop designs. I went to her book signing at Williams-Sonoma back in October, and had the pleasure of meeting Angie (aka Bakerella). After flipping through this adorable book, I knew I had to add these delightful treats to my holiday baking list. So, I decided to invest in some materials and dedicate a nice chunk of time to this baking project.

This book has great designs for any occasion, but the holiday section is my favorite. This was my very first attempt at cake pops, and I had a blast making them... and sharing them... and most of all eating them! :) I went with a white cake mix and classic vanilla frosting, dipped in vanilla flavored candy. (Yum!) You can use whichever flavor combination you choose... I may have to make some red velvet ones for an upcoming holiday party.

These cake pops were a huge hit! I can't wait to try other designs... which means there will be more baked goodness for me to enjoy, and of course more to share. :)

What You'll Need
1 box cake mix (I always prefer Duncan Hines cake mixes)
1 (16 oz) container ready-made frosting
24 oz (1 1/2 lbs) white candy coating
24 oz (1 1/2 lbs) dark green candy coating
2 deep, microwave safe plastic bowls
24 Lollipop sticks
12 x 18-in block of styrofoam, at least 2 inches thick
Toothpicks
12 yellow jumbo star sprinkles
Multicolored rainbow chip sprinkles
12 orange rainbow chip sprinkles
36 blue miniature confetti sprinkles
Black edible ink pen
Small squeeze bottle
12 mini Oreos halves
12 large dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips)

Directions 
Bake cake as directed on the box, using a 9 x 13-in cake pan. Let cool completely. This step can be done in advance.

You will need a couple of hours to complete this project. Organize your materials and get ready to crumble, roll, dip and decorate your cake pops!

Prepare your block of styrofoam before you start dipping your cake pops, so it it will be ready when you need it. Use a lollipop stick to poke holes about 2 inches apart in the top of the block (do not poke holes all the way through).

Now lets get going on these pops! Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. You can do this easily by hand... Cut the cake into four equal sections.

 Remove one section from the pan.

Break section in half, and rub the two halves together over the large bowl.

Repeat with each section. Make sure to crumble any large pieces of cake still remaining. You can use a fork to help with this.

Add 3/4 of the container of frosting.

Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back of a large medal spoon until thoroughly combined. Note: Do not use the entire can of frosting or the pops will be too moist.

Your now ready to start molding your pops. Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Roll cake mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Form 12 balls into cone shapes for the Christmas Trees. Place baking sheet into the freezer for 15 minutes. You want molds to be firm, but not frozen.

In the meantime, form 12 more balls into pear shapes for the Snowmen. Remove Christmas Tree molds from freezer (you can place in refrigerator until ready to use) and place the Snowmen molds in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, I do not have anymore step-by-step photos for you because the dipping and decorating process required me to work swiftly while using both of my hands. One day I'll figure out how to grow my third arm so I can snap pictures along the way. :)

Christmas Tree Cake Pops

Melt green candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl as directed on the package. Make sure you have enough melted candy to completely submerge your cake pops in one dunk.

When you are ready to begin dipping, remove a handful of molds from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled. Dip 1/2 inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the bottom of the mold, pushing no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted candy coating and lightly tap off any excess coating. Before the coating sets, drag a toothpick gently down the sides of the tree to create the branches. Then place a yellow jumbo star on top of the tree.

Place in styrofoam block to allow coating to set completely.

When trees are dry, use a toothpick to apply dots of melted green candy coating to the trees in places where you want ornaments, and attach multicolored rainbow chip sprinkles.

Return to styrofoam block to dry completely.

Snowmen Cake Pops

Melt white candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl as directed on the package. Make sure you have enough melted candy to completely submerge your cake pops in one dunk.

When you are ready to begin dipping, remove a handful of molds from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled. Dip 1/2 inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the bottom of the mold, pushing no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted candy coating and lightly tap off any excess coating. Before the coating sets, place orange rainbow chip sprinkle in position of the nose and hold in place for a few seconds.

Place in styrofoam block to allow coating to set completely.

When snowmen are dry, use a toothpick to apply dots of melted white in candy coating in position for buttons and attach 3 blue confetti sprinkles to each snowman.

Draw on eyes and a dotted smile with an edible black ink pen.

To make the top hats, pour the remaining melted coating into small squeeze bottle. Squeeze a small amount of coating onto flat side of mini Oreo halves, and push one chocolate chip (pointed side down) into the center of the coating. Once you have made all the hats, attach them by squeezing a small amount of candy coating onto the very top of the snowman's head and place hat on top.

Dry completely in styrofoam block.

Source: Cake Pops by Bakerella

Now your cake pops are complete. Enjoy!

"Have a holly jolly Christmas!"