Cake Pops (3 page)

The cupcake pops are extremely popular, but these cupcake bites come in a close second. They rely on the use of a plastic candy mold to help form the shape of the cupcake bottom. No sticks. No tapping off excess coating. Just a neat, professional-looking finished product. And best of all, they’re easy!

Makes 48 cupcake bites

18.25-ounce box cake mix

9-by-13-inch cake pan

Large mixing bowl

16-ounce container ready-made frosting

Large metal spoon

Wax paper

2 baking sheets

Plastic wrap

48 ounces (3 pounds) chocolate candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

Large plastic squeeze bottle

Medium-sized plastic candy cup mold (with cavity openings 11/2 inches wide)

24 ounces purple candy coating

Toothpicks

M&M’s or similarly shaped candy

Sprinkles

Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Let cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside plenty of time (a couple of hours) to crumble, roll, dip, and decorate 4 dozen cupcake bites.

Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. See
“Crumbling Your Cake.”
You should not see any large pieces of cake.

Add three-quarters of the container of frosting. (You will not need the remaining frosting.) Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back of a large metal spoon, until thoroughly combined. If you use the entire container, the cake balls will be too moist.

The mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1½-inch balls and still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls by hand, place on a wax paper–covered baking sheet.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the refrigerator, or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the balls to be firm but not frozen.

If you’re making a project that calls for uncoated cupcake bites, stop here and proceed to decorate the cupcake bites, following the project instructions.

When visiting the candy-making sections in craft and cake supply stores, I began to pay attention to the various candy molds that are available. When I saw one for candy cups, I immediately thought it would be perfect to replicate baking cup liners. I love the ease of this method.

Place the chocolate candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.) Melt the coating, following the instructions on the package. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make sure you do not overheat the coating. See
“Candy Coating Basics,”
for more on working with candy coating.

Once melted, transfer the chocolate coating to a large plastic squeeze bottle.

Use the squeeze bottle to fill one cavity of the candy mold about halfway full with chocolate coating, and immediately place a rolled cake ball into the coating. The cake ball should be slightly smaller than the width of the candy mold. 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 chocolate coating. Stop pushing once the chocolate 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.

Set the filled candy mold tray on the second baking sheet to keep it from bending, and place in the freezer for just a few minutes to let the chocolate set.

Remove the tray from the freezer and separate the half-coated cupcake bites from the candy mold. Give the mold a twist and pull on the exposed cake ball.

Melt the purple candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl to be used for the cupcake bite tops.

Holding the bottom of a cupcake bite, dip the top in the melted purple candy coating until it meets the edge of the chocolate coating. When removed, if the purple coating doesn’t meet where the chocolate coating ends, you can turn it right-side up and swirl your hand in a circular motion to allow the purple coating to slowly work its way down the side of the mounded cupcake top. You can also use a toothpick to touch up any uncoated areas.

Immediately decorate with 1 M&M (M-side down) and some sprinkles and return to the wax paper–covered cookie sheet to dry completely. Repeat with the remaining cupcake bites.

Store in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for several days.

• The small ridges formed in the chocolate by the candy mold can melt when handled for too long. Wear cloth candy gloves to help prevent fingerprints when dipping the tops.
  

• You can use more than one candy mold to speed up the process.
  

• Experiment with different candy coating color combinations for the tops and bottoms of the cupcake bites.
  

You followed the directions but still need a little more help. Take a look at some of the following scenarios to see if you can find the answer.

Your cake is too moist and will not hold its shape when rolled into a ball. You probably used too much frosting in proportion to cake. Add more cake to balance it out. Try crumbling in a few store-bought cupcakes, minus the frosting.

Your coating won’t cover the cake ball smoothly. Make sure the balls are firm and not frozen. Frozen cake balls mixed with hot candy coating will cause the coating to start to set too quickly, often before the cake ball can be coated properly. If your cake balls are chilled properly and the coating still won’t cover them smoothly, make sure you are using the appropriate dipping technique (see
Dipping Methods
).

You can’t find candy coating. Try melting regular chocolate, and use shortening or paramount crystals (see
Main Ingredients
) to make it easier for dipping. This is best used when making cake balls, because chocolate does not set as hard as candy coating does, making it less suitable for supporting cake pops on their sticks.

You made cake pops and the coating cracked. You may have rolled the cake balls too tightly. And if placed in the freezer too long, the cake may have tried to expand, resulting in a crack in the coating. Don’t worry; they won’t fall off the stick if they’ve been secured by coating at the base. And you can even dip them a second time to fix up the coating or drizzle and decorate in a way to disguise the crack. I’ve seen this happen with cake pops, but not with cupcake pops or bites, because these methods use a two-part dipping method and give the cake ball time to breathe before being coated.

Your candy coating is too thick. Don’t turn up the heat. Making the candy coating hotter doesn’t make it thinner. If your coating is melted and is still too thick, add shortening or paramount crystals (see
Main Ingredients
) until it is thin enough to work with.

Your cake pops fall off the sticks. Make sure the shaped cake balls are firm but not frozen when you dip. If they start to get soft, just return them to the freezer for a few minutes to firm them up. Make sure the coating is thin enough to dip and remove in one motion. Don’t stir the cake pops in the coating. Make sure you don’t insert sticks more than halfway through the cake pops. Finally, check that the coating surrounds the cake ball at the base where the lollipop stick is inserted. Use a toothpick if necessary to direct the coating around the base of the stick.

Cake or oil is trying to push its way out of the pop. Make sure the pop is completely coated. Even the tiniest opening will invite the cake to try and escape.

Cake crumbs are getting mixed in with the candy coating. The cake balls may not be firm enough. Chill them a little longer before dipping. If you use dark-colored cake, with lighter-colored candy coating, some crumbs may show up anyway. If so, redip them in a new batch of melted candy coating. This happens more often when making cake balls rather than cake pops. Make sure you do not stir cake balls in the bowl of candy coating. Drop them in, cover with more coating using a spoon, and then lift them out.

You can see your cake through the candy coating. When you use dark cake and light-colored candy coating, this can happen. To make the coating more opaque, dip the cake balls a second time.

Your candy coating has a grayish, filmy-looking surface. “Bloom” can be caused by improper storage of candy coating or changes in temperature when shipping. To avoid this, properly store your coatings in a cool, dry place away from direct heat or sunlight and avoid temperature changes. When purchasing candy coating from a store, pick out the package with the least amount of bloom, to get off to a good start. FYI: Coatings affected by bloom may not be as pretty, but they are still safe to eat.

Plan Ahead. Being organized will save you a lot of time and unnecessary frustration. You don’t want to be counting out candies for decorating when you’re dipping cake pops. Make sure everything is within easy reach. Sprinkles can go in small dishes, and lollipop sticks can stand in a small glass. You can also make the cake the night before and let it cool. Then your time the next day can be devoted to dipping and decorating.

Take some time and read through the following pages before you begin a cake-pop project, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a pop star. When you finish a project, refer to
“Displaying, Storing Shipping & Supplies”
for presentation and storage ideas.

For more cake-pop designs from the readers of Bakerella.com, visit
www.bakerella.com/pop-stars.