Strawberry Cake Pops

We had a very busy Father's Day weekend. Saturday we went to a BBQ for K's family, and Sunday we had a housewarming party/BBQ for his boss. I, of course, offered to bring a dessert to both! I already had cake balls or pops in mind, and as of Friday had decided to make strawberry cake pops with white candy coating. However, as I was driving home from Michaels, supplies in tow I had a brilliant idea!! It's summer, we are going to a BBQ...why not make cake pops that look like strawberries?? So, I went back to Michaels to get red candy melts, and began the process - which I completed over 2 days.

I made the cake pops for his family BBQ, and while it was a challenge in the beginning to figure out the process, they came out pretty cute. However, getting into a hot car with them proved a bit disastrous. Several of the strawberries decided they would rather be pops, and slid down the stick to sit on the styrofoam below...but most of them made it intact, and they were a big hit with the family. Not to bad for my first attempt at pops!

However, I did decide that for the remaining half, I would just prepare them as cake balls - since we would be traveling to the second BBQ as well. I found the preparation to be much easier for the balls, and while I had a minor equipment malfunction (my decorating tip refused to stay in the bag, so I had to apply the leaves with a knife), I think they turned out pretty darn cute! I am still working on perfecting the smooth texture, etc as I see in Bakerella's book...but for a novice cake baller...I am pleased with the results. As a side note, after I thought of my brilliant strawberry idea, I remembered that I had also seen one in Bakerella's Cake Pop book. I didn't follow her decorating suggestions, I used my own...but you should definitely check hers out!!

Strawberry Cake Pops (or cake balls)

Ingredients/Tools

•  Strawberry Cake Mix* (as well as water, eggs & oil as specified on box)
•  1 container Strawberry Icing*
•  Medium cookie scoop (or tablespoon)
•  Wax Paper
•  2  Cookie Sheets
•  2 - 14 oz bags of red candy melts
•  1 – 14 oz bag of green candy melts
•  Black decorating gel or edible marker (or white if you prefer)
•  Leaf decorating tip
•  Disposable piping bag (or a Ziploc works, too)
•  Plastic bowl (deep, but narrow) for the red candy melts
•  Serving table spoon
•  Toothpicks
•  Large styrofoam block (for cake pops)
•  48 lollipop sticks (for cake pops) or,
•  48 mini cupcake liners (for cake balls)

*Feel free to make your own cake/icing from scratch, of course!!

Preparation

1.   Mix and bake cake as directed on the packaging. Allow to cool completely. While still in the pan, cut the cake into 4 sections. Remove the first section and crumble into a large bowl so that there are no large pieces remaining, only cake crumbs. Repeat this process with the remaining three sections.

2.   With a spatula, scoop ¾ of the can of frosting into the bowl of cake crumbs, and mix well. Do not use the entire can or the mixture will be too wet.

3.   Use a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out 48 balls. As you scoop them, roll each one between your hands to form a smooth ball, and then use your fingers to create a strawberry shape. Lay them onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet as you go. Once you have shaped all 48 balls, put the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for 20 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes) to firm them up. If you put them in the freezer, be sure you don’t allow them to freeze!!

4.   Pour the first bag of candy melts into the plastic bowl and melt according to package instructions. Each package will coat approximately 24 pops/balls, so prepare the second package when needed. When ready, remove the first cookie sheet from the refrigerator or freezer.

5.   For cake pops, stick 1/2 inch of the lollipop stick into the melted candy, then place the stick into the bottom of the strawberry no more than half-way through. In one motion, fully submerge the strawberry in the melted candy. Remove and allow excess candy to drip back into the bowl. Stick the pop upright into the Styrofoam block to dry.

6.   Repeat this process with remaining pops.

7.   For cake balls, have wax paper laid out on the counter or on a cookie sheet. Place the strawberry into the bowl of melted candy, and use the serving table spoon to cover in candy. Try not to move the strawberry so that pieces of cake do not mix into the melted candy. Scoop the strawberry out of the candy and tap your spoon lightly on the side of the bowl to remove the excess candy and create a smooth texture. Hold the spoon at an angle over the wax paper until the strawberry falls onto it. If you are having trouble, use a toothpick to help it off of the spoon. If there is excess candy around the strawberry, use a toothpick to separate it, by “drawing a line” around the strawberry – so that once it dries, the excess will not be attached.

8.   Repeat this process for remaining balls.

9.   Once the red candy has dried, place ½ of the green candy melts into the piping bag or Ziploc baggie. Heat according to package instructions. Allow to cool slightly, then insert the leaf decorating tip. Pipe 4 leaves onto the cake pops, or 3 leaves (leaving the back side plain) on the cake pops. Place back into the Styrofoam or onto the wax paper to dry.

10. Once this layer is dry, use the black (or white) decorating gel or edible marker to place black dots (seeds) onto the strawberries. For the cake pops decorate all sides, for the cake balls only decorate the top. The black decoration gel does not dry completely, so be careful when storing and/or transporting!

11. For the cake balls, once you have added the “seeds” place each strawberry into a cupcake liner for storage/presentation.