Cake pops are all the rage these days and for good reason — they are easy to bake, look great and have a built-in portion control mechanism… If you can stop at just one.
Christmas is all about bringing out your inner child and what better way to do that than with cake pops. If you haven’t heard of them before, think of the wonder of a cupcake combined with the convenience of a lollipop. Or think of a cake on a stick, but cuter.
You don’t need any fancy equipment to make cake pops but if you do have a cake pop tray, or want to invest in one, it will make your life a little bit easier. But if you don’t have a tray — don’t worry. There are a few ways you can pop a cake and we’ve given you some fun ideas.
Basic cake pop recipe
Ingredients:
- 240 grams of plain flour
- 200 grams of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 175 grams of soft, unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla paste
- 150 millilitres of sour cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and lightly grease a cake pop tray or an 18-centimetre cake tin.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and fluffy. Mix the eggs, vanilla paste and sour cream together, then beat into the butter. Stir in the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth and well mixed.
- If you’re using a cake pop tray, spoon the mixture into the tray and bake for 15 minutes or until springy and cooked through. If you’re baking a larger cake, pour the mixture into the greased cake tin and bake for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
Christmas pudding cake pop
Rum and raisin flavoured cupcakes that look just like Christmas puddings? Yes please! Even if you hate Christmas pudding, you’ll love these little treats.
Directions:
- To the basic cake pop mix, substitute 40 grams of flour for 40 grams of cocoa powder and add in 1/2 cup of rum-soaked raisins. Bake as usual. If you have baked a whole cake, crumble it up using a food processor and mix it in a large bowl with 100 grams of melted milk chocolate before rolling into small balls. Refrigerate until cold before icing.
- To ice the cake pops, melt 200 grams of milk chocolate over a double boiler. Poke a stick into each cake pop then dip into the chocolate, turning it around until it is well covered. Shake off the excess coating and stand in a cup to harden.
- Once the chocolate coating is hard, melt 100 grams of white chocolate and spoon a small amount over each cake pop to resemble white icing. Let it set then pipe on red and green coloured icing sugar to resemble holly if desired.
Silly snowman cake pop
Fun for kids and adults alike, these silly snowmen cake pops will have you grinning from ear to ear.
Directions:
- To the basic cake pop mix, substitute 40 grams of flour for 40 grams of dessicated coconut and bake as usual. If you have baked a whole cake, crumble it up using a food processor and mix it in a large bowl with 100 grams of melted white chocolate before rolling into small balls. Refrigerate until cold before icing.
- To ice the cake pops, melt 200 grams of white chocolate over a double boiler. Poke a stick into each cake pop then dip into the chocolate, turning it around until it is well covered. Shake off the excess coating and stand in a cup to harden.
- Once the chocolate coating is hard, decorate your snowman by piping on brown and orange icing for eyes, a nose and a mouth.
Creamy bauble cake pop
If you’re after a fresher flavour this Christmas, these strawberry and cream bauble cake pops are a cinch to make and look great as part of a vintage table display.
Directions:
- If you have baked a whole cake, crumble it up using a food processor and mix it in a large bowl with 100 grams of melted white chocolate before rolling into small balls. Refrigerate until cold before icing.
- To ice the cake pops, melt 200 grams of white chocolate over a double boiler. Poke a stick into each cake pop then dip into the chocolate, turning it around until it is well covered. Shake off the excess coating and stand in a cup to harden.
- Once the chocolate coating is hard, decorate your cake pop by piping on coloured icing in lines, dots and zigzags to make your cake pops look like Christmas baubles.
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