The upcoming sequel to one of our favorite foodie flicks, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, hits theaters this fall and these these sweet spaghetti and meatball cake pops are sure to be a hit at the table!
That’s A Tasty meat-a-ball!
I’m a big fan of desserts that pose as dinner, and these unique treats are sure to impress. They look real enough you might even fool your friends! With the vanilla frosting, strawberry jam, chocolate and nuts, they taste like an ice cream sundae! Yum!
Spaghetti and meatballs cake pops
Yields about 12-24 cake pops (depending on the size of your cake balls)
Ingredients:
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 1/2 can (16 ounce) chocolate frosting
- 32 ounces chocolate candy melts
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 jar strawberry jam
- 1 can (16 ounce) vanilla frosting
- Yellow icing color
- 12-24 plastic forks
- Mini paper doilies
- Decorative ribbon (optional)
Directions:
Prepare the decorations
Once it’s time to decorate your cake pops, it is going to go pretty fast so it is best to have all of your ingredients ready to go beforehand. Pour your nuts and jam into small bowls and, if you want ribbons on your forks, tie those on beforehand as well (trust me, way less messy). A good time to do this is while your cake is baking. Also be sure to clear out space in the fridge or freezer if needed, as your cake pops are going to need to be chilled temporarily.
Make the cake balls
- Bake cake as directed on the box instructions. Let cool completely.
- Crumble the cake up into a large bowl.
- Soften chocolate frosting in microwave for 10 seconds and add to the crumbled cake. Start with 1/2 can of frosting and mix together (I used two spatulas) until frosting is completely incorporated into the cake crumbs. Test the consistency by squeezing a handful of the mixture together. It should hold together without cracking or falling apart. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more frosting.
- Roll the mixture into meatball-size balls (about 2 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter) and place on a wax paper-lined plate or cookie sheet. The cake balls should be tightly packed and smooth without any cracks. How many cake balls you get out of your mixture depends on how large you make your “meatballs.” I used an ice cream scoop to help keep the size uniform. I made mine rather large so that they would really look authentic!
- Place your sheet of cake balls in the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.
Stick a fork in it
- Heat the chocolate candy melts in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time (or according to directions), stirring in between until chocolate is smooth.
- Dip the tip of the fork into the chocolate and gently push it into the top of the cake ball. Repeat for all cake balls.
- Place the cake balls back into the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.
- After chocolate is hardened, test to make sure that you can pick up the cake ball using the fork. Now you have your cake pops!
Dip and sprinkle with nuts
- Lay your paper doilies on a tray or cookie sheet. You can also use white paper rounds, small plates or cupcake liners; basically anything that will catch the drips from the chocolate and jam.
- Reheat the chocolate candy melts until smooth. Dip each cake pop into chocolate to completely cover. Pull out and let excess chocolate drip off.
- While chocolate is still wet gently sprinkle on chopped nuts.
- Place the chocolate-covered cake pop on your paper doily and let cool until chocolate is dry and hardened.
Add “sauce”
After the cake pops are dry, gently spoon on small amounts of jam letting it run down the sides of the meatball until it is covered in “sauce.”
Add “noodles”
- Now it’s time to add the noodles! Color your vanilla frosting using a small amount of yellow icing color to get a pale yellow-colored noodle. You can also add a VERY small amount of brown icing color to get a more natural-colored noodle.
- Add your frosting to a piping bag. Using a small round frosting tip (I used a Wilton #5), pipe frosting in random squiggles onto the top of the cake pops near the base of the fork. Pile the frosting in a few layers to cover up most of the top of the cake pop (and to hide any holes where the jam shows through). You can even add a few stray “noodles” down the sides. Go ahead and get crazy! The noodles should look messy.
TIp
If you do not have a piping bag or frosting tip, you can use a plastic freezer bag and just snip a small hole in one corner of the bag to use to pipe your frosting.
Bon appétit
Serve your “meatballs” and enjoy! One last note, if you aren’t serving your cake pops right away, it is recommended to keep them refrigerated so that the frosting doesn’t melt and run together.
More desserts on a stick
Cake pops: Basketball style
Popcorn shaped cake pop recipe
Chocolate dipped fruit pops!
Get Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 early on digital today. Get it on Blu-ray combo pack Jan. 28.
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