Cake Pops

I've been wanting to make Cake Pops for awhile.  Bakerella is the original inventor of these, she even has a book out with all kinds of different recipes and decorating ideas..  However, I really wanted to muddle through it on my own.  I needed a treat to take to my husband's family party on July 3rd (for more info on that, check out my family blog) and I wanted something fun and easy to eat outside. 

I had read somewhere along the line that the cake pops were cake, mixed with frosting, then dipped in candy melts.  So, first I prepared 2 cakes, one chocolate and one yellow. 

This might be the right time to mention that I ALWAYS do homemade cakes.  And Frosting.  I have rarely  used jarred frosting in a pinch, and I do keep a couple cake mixes on hand for when my husband is feeling domestic, but overall, my homemade cake and frosting recipes are so good, I just can't bear to use a box mix. 

So, I made the cakes (recipes to come another time).  I let them cool overnight.  I prepared my frosting the next morning, then I crumbled up the cakes...

From July 2011

From July 2011

Placed them in my wonderful mixer...
and added my frosting a little at a time until the cake started sticking to itself. 

From July 2011

From July 2011

I let the mixture cool in the fridge for about 4 hours.  Then I rolled the cake into balls, stuck in the sticks, and put them back into the fridge for a couple hours (next time, I'll freeze them). 

From July 2011

I melted the candy melts in the microwave, then dipped the cake pops in them...

From July 2011

Then I put on sprinkles and colored sparkles. 

I wanted them to dry all nice and round, so I punched holes in a shoebox, and dried them right side up.  I didn't take a picture of that, and it might have had something to do with the fact that my counter was covered in sprinkles and sparkles...seriously, they were everywhere, I need to work on my application technique. 

The finished product...

From July 2011

They were a hit at the party, I got rave reviews.  I even took the leftovers to work the next night, also to rave reviews.  One of the parents at work even decided to help himself...(okay, that was a little weird, and we had to hide them after that.) 

It was a relatively easy process, but it was time consuming.  However, I enjoyed every minute of it!