Cake Pops (4 page)

Cake pops can be made in any number of cake and frosting combinations. Here are a few common cake mix and frosting suggestions, along with candy coating flavors, to get you started.

Light-colored frostings work better with light-colored cakes. The frosting blends right in and disappears.

But don’t stop there. Adapt your own cake recipe. Just use the methods as a guide for the proportions. (These methods call for the equivalent of one 9-by-13-inch baked cake and three-fourths of a 16-ounce can of ready-made frosting. Avoid whipped frostings.) If your homemade cake and frosting recipe makes more or less than that, adjust the amount of frosting you add—more for larger cakes and less for smaller ones. And if you add too much frosting, don’t worry. Just add more cake to balance out the proportions. Store-bought unfrosted cakes work in an emergency.

You can also use one of the recipes for homemade cakes and frostings provided in
“Cake & Frosting recipes.”

There are two main ways to crumble your cake and prepare it to be combined with frosting. The first, and handiest, is to just use, well, your hands. This method works great with cake mixes. The texture of the cake causes it to crumble easily. Just cut a baked 9-by-13-inch cake into four equal sections. Remove a section from the pan, break it in half, and rub the two pieces together over a large bowl, making sure to crumble any large pieces that fall off. You can also use a fork to break any larger pieces of cake apart. Repeat with each section until the entire cake is crumbled into a fine texture. If you have large pieces mixed in, the cake balls may turn out lumpy and bumpy.

What if you’ve baked a cake from scratch? No problem. You can still crumble it using your hands. But because the texture of scratch cakes can vary so much, it may be easier to just toss small sections of the cake into a food processor. This will ensure that the texture is fine enough.

Then add the frosting and mix with a large spoon until the frosting absorbs into the cake and disappears. Using the back of your spoon is a quick way to make sure the two are thoroughly combined.

• Are 4 dozen cake pops too many? You can make as few as a dozen at a time. Each quarter section of cake yields about 12 cake pops. Remember to adjust the amount of frosting accordingly. Just freeze the extra cake quarter sections and save for later use.
  

• When using light-colored cakes, remove any brown edges before crumbling to avoid brown specks in your cake balls.
  

Crumbled cake mixed with frosting can easily be rolled by hand into round balls. It can also be molded into oval, rectangular, or triangular shapes. Subtle changes in shape can turn a Christmas tree into a bunny or a ghost into a skull. And even if you don’t change the shape at all, you’ll find that decorating with different add-ons and candies can transform a basic round shape into endless designs.

Here’s a guide to the most commonly used shapes from the ideas in this book.

Round:
Bears, lions, tigers, chicks, pigs, cows, cats, monsters, babies, reindeer, ice cream cones, game balls, koalas, pumpkins, frogs, puppies, ladybugs, turkeys, pandas, clowns, Easter baskets, graduation caps

Oval:
Sheep, mummies, witches, owls

Rectangular:
Popcorn bags, robots

Bell/pear:
Ghosts, snowmen, skulls

Rounded triangles/cones:
Trees, Santa hats, Martians, straw- berries, bunnies, apples

Cookie cutter shapes:
Cupcakes, butterflies, flowers, hearts

• Make round-shaped cake balls first, until you’re sure you will end up with the appropriate number. If you start shaping right away, you can end up with pieces that are too big.
  

• It’s helpful to place the cake balls in the freezer for a few minutes to firm them up before reshaping them.
  

• Don’t roll the cake balls too tightly. They may try to expand after coating, which can cause the coating to crack.
  

Candy coating, also referred to as candy wafers, compound coatings, confectionery coating, candy melts, chocolate bark, and bark coating, is used in candy making. It can be used for dipping, in candy molds, or even in squeeze bottles for piping or drizzling. Candy coating comes in a variety of colors and flavors. It is easy to use and doesn’t require tempering, as chocolate does. Just melt and use.

Store coatings in a cool, dry place until ready to use. Do not store in the refrigerator or freezer. If stored properly, leftover candy coatings can even be reheated and used again.

It doesn’t hurt to keep an extra bag of candy coating on hand for the color you are using, just in case. You can always use it on a future project if you don’t need it.

To use candy coating, simply melt the amount you need and you’re ready to go. Rather than melting all of the candy coating at once, I usually work with about 16 ounces at a time. Try one of the following methods to find the one that appeals to you most.

Microwave:
Melt candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Repeat until the coating is completely melted. When you first stir, the coating will still be firm. That’s okay; just keep repeating, making sure not to overheat the coating. If the coating gets too hot, it will thicken and become unusable. In addition, be sure not to let any water mix with the coating.

Double boiler:
I don’t usually use this method because most of the time I melt more than one color of candy coating, and it’s easier to use the microwave and work with smaller bowls. However, if you are using one color, the double boiler method is a great alternative. Fill the bottom section of a double boiler with water and bring to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and place candy coating in the top section. Stir continuously until completely melted and smooth.

Warming tray:
A warming tray allows you to use several oven-safe bowls at one time. Make sure they are small and deep enough for dipping. Turn the tray on low and you will be able to keep multiple colors melted.

Working with candy coating can be lots of fun, but only if it is working with you. Sometimes the coating is too thick, making it more difficult to dip the cake pops. Darker-colored coatings sometimes have this problem. An easy way to thin the coating is to use a product called paramount crystals (see
Main Ingredients
), adding a few pieces to the coating. Stir until melted and the coating is fluid. You can also use regular shortening or even vegetable oil as an alternative. Start by adding just a teaspoon. Stir in until melted. Add more as needed until the coating is fluid enough to work with easily.

Regular chocolate can be used as a substitute for candy coating, but keep in mind that the coatings are made to do just that—coat. Baking chocolate and morsels will cover the cake balls but will not harden in the same way that candy coating will. Therefore, this alternative is best when making cake balls instead of cake pops, because the pops need a hard coating to give them extra stability on the sticks. You may also need to thin chocolate with shortening or paramount crystals to make it more fluid.

Although candy coating comes in a variety of basic colors, sometimes you need to tint your own to get just the right shade. Tinting white candy coating is also a great alternative if you need only a small amount of one color and don’t want to buy a whole package of coating. Add a few drops of candy coloring to start. Add more color, a few drops at a time, until you achieve the shade you desire. If you add too much color, you can lighten it by adding more white candy coating.

Make sure to use oil-based candy coloring and not regular food coloring, which contains water. Food coloring will ruin the coating.

In addition to candy coating flavors such as chocolate and peanut butter, vanilla candy coating is available in a rainbow of colors. Here is a side-by-side chart of coatings from three popular candy coating makers. All three offer many of the same colors; however, the shades may be slightly different.

Milk chocolate flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Dark chocolate flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Peanut butter flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Butterscotch flavored
: Merckens

White–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Superwhite–vanilla flavored
: Merckens

Light pink–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens

Dark pink–vanilla flavored
: Merckens

Orange–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Yellow–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Blue–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Navy–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold

Light green–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens

Dark green–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Red–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Orchid/lavender–vanilla flavored
: Make ’n Mold, Merckens, Wilton

Peach–vanilla flavored
: Merckens

Midnight black–vanilla flavored (Available for Halloween)
: Wilton

Some candy coating colors are also available in mint flavor, including chocolate, white, green, and pink.

Keep in mind that dark-colored cakes may show through white or light-colored coatings. If you want the coating to be completely opaque, try dipping a second time.

Combine candy coating colors to create different colors or lighten any color by adding white candy melts.

Besides adding color to your candy coating, you can also flavor it with candy oils. These intense flavorings are stronger than the regular flavorings and extracts you’ll find in the baking section of the grocery store. You need to use only a small amount. Some flavor examples are blueberry, bubble gum, watermelon, and peppermint.

I mention these methods throughout the book, but they are so important that I want to provide them for you here in one place.

The question I have been asked the most is, “How do you get your coating so smooth?” Well, it’s really simple.

Use small bowls so the melted candy coating is about 3 inches deep. Make sure the coating is thin enough to dip and remove the pops easily. You can use paramount crystals, shortening, or even vegetable oil to thin coatings. And then just tap excess coating off gently using one of the following methods.

Cake balls:
If you’re making cake balls, drop a ball into a small, deep bowl of melted candy coating. Cover the entire ball with coating, using a spoon, without stirring or moving the cake ball around in the coating. Then lift it out of the coating with your spoon. With the ball still on the spoon, tap the handle of the spoon on the side of the bowl several times, until the excess coating starts to fall off and back into the bowl. Then let the cake ball slide off the spoon onto a wax paper–covered baking sheet to dry.

See complete instructions in
Basic Cake Balls
.

Cake pops:
The same tapping technique works for cake pops, but it’s done in a different way. Make sure your coating is deep enough to completely submerge the firmed cake pop. Small, narrow, and deep microwave-safe plastic bowls are best, so you can hold the bowl easily without burning any fingers. Glass bowls can get too hot. Dip about ½ inch of a lollipop stick into the melted coating and insert it into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through.

Then dip the cake pop in the melted coating, completely covering the cake ball, and remove it in one motion. If the coating is too thick, gently tap off any excess. Hold the pop over the bowl in one hand and tap your wrist gently with your other hand. If you use the hand holding the cake pop to shake off excess coating, the force of the movement will be too strong and could cause the cake ball to loosen or fly off the lollipop stick. Tapping the wrist holding the cake pop absorbs some of the impact. The excess coating will fall off, but you will need to rotate the lollipop stick so the coating doesn’t build up on one side, making it too heavy on that side. If too much coating starts to build up at the base of the stick, simply use your finger to wipe it off, spinning the lollipop stick at the same time. This can happen if the coating is too thin or too hot. It’s not as hard as it sounds; it just takes a little practice.

See complete instructions for cake pops in
Basic Cake Pops
.

Cupcake pops:
This is a two-part dipping method, but it’s actually the one I find the most fun to do. After you’ve formed the cupcake shapes with the cookie cutter and chilled them until firm, dip the bottom of a cupcake-shaped cake ball into the melted candy coating by holding the mounded top with your fingers. Dip to the point where the mounded cupcake top starts. Then turn your hand over to allow the coating to slide down. This will help make sure the entire cupcake bottom is covered in candy coating. While holding the cake ball upside down, swirl your hand in a circular motion. This is equivalent to the tapping for the cake pops. The swirling motion forces the coating to slide down the side of the cupcake while creating a smooth surface at the same time. When the coating reaches the mounded top, transfer the cupcake pop to a wax paper–covered baking sheet, mounded-side down. Immediately insert a lollipop stick about ½ inch deep into the melted candy coating, and then insert the stick into the bottom of the cupcake no more than halfway through. Repeat with the remaining cupcake pops before you dip the tops.

When dipping the tops, let the second color of candy coating sit or cool for a few minutes before you start dipping. Coating that is too hot can run down the side. If it is slightly cool, it will stay in place.

To dip the top of a cupcake pop, hold the pop by the lollipop stick and dunk it into the melted candy coating until the top is completely covered and the coating meets the edge of the bottom candy coating. You can use a toothpick to direct the coating and touch up any exposed areas of cake.

See complete instructions in
Basic Cupcake Pops
.

Cupcake bites:
This is another two-part method. However, you dip only once. Place one type of melted candy coating in a squeeze bottle and use it to fill a cavity in a plastic candy cup mold about halfway. Place a firm cake ball (smaller in width than the mold shape) into the mold cavity. Slowly push the cake ball down until the pressure causes the candy coating to force its way up the mold and fill in around the sides of the cake ball. You may have to experiment with a couple to get the right amount of coating. Stop pushing once the coating reaches the top edge of the candy mold, so that it doesn’t form a lip around the edge. Repeat for the remaining cavities. Place the mold in the freezer for several minutes to allow the coating to set. Remove the mold and pull out the cupcake bites by holding their exposed tops. Give the mold a little twist, too, to help release the cupcake bites.

Then simply dip the exposed mounded cupcake tops into a second melted candy coating by holding the cupcake bottoms. Try to be quick, because if you hold the bottom for too long, the ridges formed by the mold will pick up fingerprints. You can use candy gloves (see
Equipment
) to help avoid this.

See complete instructions in
Basic Cupcake Bites
.

• Do use a bowl deep enough to dip your cake pops and remove them in one motion.
  

• Don’t get any water in your candy coating.
  

• Do keep a dry dish towel or paper towels nearby to wipe off your hands.
  

• Don’t overheat your candy coating.
  

• Do use shortening or paramount crystals to thin coating that is too thick.
  

• Don’t use regular food coloring to tint candy coating.
  

• Do use special candy coloring to tint it.
  

• Don’t push lollipop sticks more than halfway through the cake ball.
  

• Do dip the sticks in melted coating before you insert them into cake pops.
  

• Don’t dip frozen cake balls. Firm, yes. Frozen, no.
  

• Do have a lot of fun.