Sunday, November 27, 2011

My First Ever Cake Pops!

Now before I write anything about my achievements in making my first ever cake pops I feel that I need to add a disclaimer otherwise I will inevitably receive a backlash of comments criticising me.... yes these 'cake pops' are not authentic, original cake pops as created and made famous by Bakerella!! These are my cake pops which rather surprisingly were made using a Babycakes Cake Pop maker! I know....I'm sure a lot of you are reading this in disbelief....not only are these not real cake pops but they were made using an electrical cake pop maker!

The thing is I have wanted to make cake pops for a while now. Like all new baking trends I was suckered into the cake pop frenzy and unsurprisingly have the Bakerella book (it was too good an offer to turn down!) however I have another confession to make....quite honestly the idea of turning a cake into crumbs, mixing with frosting and forming into balls (or other shapes for that matter) just didn't appeal! I know, I know – many of you will have stopped reading now – but I just can't help it! For some reason it brings back memories of taking slices of bread and squashing them into big doughy balls (which of course I loved as a child, much to my mums horror!)...it just didn't seem quite right. That being said who am I to judge?! The reality is cake pops are big and from what I've read and seen people can't get enough of them. I'm also sure that pretty soon I will be eating my words as it is my intention to make original cake pops and I have every faith that they will be delicious. For the time being however my venture into cake pop territory began by making perfect little balls of cake all made possible by using the Babycakes Cake Pop maker.

I have to admit I surprised myself by buying the machine and I did so rather sceptically. I'd seen the ones for cupcakes before and quite honestly had laughed at them – I mean, making cakes in an electrical machine...really?! But yet here I was, standing in the shop holding this machine, reading the instructions and actually thinking about buying it. What in the end sealed the deal on the purchase was the fact that it was on sale so if it turned out to be the disappointment I was expecting it wouldn't be too much of a loss and I would hear myself saying “I knew it!”. I was really hoping however that I was going to be proved wrong and lo and behold I was!
For it's maiden voyage I decided to try the recipe given in the instruction booklet which was your basic sponge cake recipe. I did however half it as the quantities given was enough for 48 little balls of cake, which for me seemed a little too much for the first go! So I made the batter, heated the machine (which incidentally does get unbelievably hot and is therefore not a suitable gift for children) and crossed my fingers. Once all 12 holes were filled I closed it and set the timer for 4 minutes – yes 4 minutes! Was it possibly to have lovely bites of vanilla cake in just 4 minutes? Answer – almost! They looked perfect so I excitedly took them out however they were pretty soft and I'm convinced did shrink a little after cooling so I gave the second batch 5 minutes and they were much better – no shrinkage!

To decorate them I used Wilton Candy Melts – another first for me, but they did the trick after a few practices and a couple of tutorials on YouTube to help me out! Turns out I had to add some oil to my melted chocolate/candy to get it to the right consistency for dipping – another first for me, but it worked beautifully and there was no taste of oil in the finished chocolate. I finished them off with some sprinkles and voila – job done! They are by no means perfect and not maybe as round as a proper cake pop would be but I have to admit that even with a few hiccups along the way I am super excited to make more of these – especially for Christmas time. Hopefully by then I will have perfected my decorating and they will look even better!


Tips and Hints:

  • Don't forget to lightly oil the Cake Pop Maker! It makes removing them and clean up much easier (I speak from experience!).
  • You really do need to freeze the cakes once you have inserted the sticks, otherwise they just fall off when you dip them (trust me on that one!).
  • Make sure the chocolate or covering you use is the right consistency. Too thick and it won't work, too runny and it will be too thin and you'll see the cake underneath (although its better to go too thin than too thick).
  • Try to avoid eating too many as you are making them....it's a tough one as they are just so darn delicious!
  • Lastly have fun!

22 comments:

  1. I'd actually never heard of these before, and now I want some....

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  2. They look great and I'm guessing the cake pop machine is going to be in high demand ;)

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  3. Urgh, stupid blogger just ate my lengthier comment.

    If you dip the sticks in chocolate melts before pushing into the sponge, that helps them stop falling off.

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  4. mmm they look so good! great job Lynz!

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  5. I'm with you on the not destroying perfectly good cake. Any chance of you posting a pic or the 'machine' I have no idea what it would look like!

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  6. They came out beautifully! :) The sprinkles are the perfect touch.

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  7. Thanks everyone! I have to say I was pretty pleased with how they turned out for my first attempt! That plus the cake actually stayed really moist and delicious for days after making them - result!

    Val - I think, no wait I know it will be!! I'm definitely going to get my monies worth out of this baby!

    Thanks for the advice Sarah - I did actually do that but obviously didn't leave them for long enough cause a couple fell off! No probs after I froze them briefly though : )

    Janice - I actually did a link to the Baby Cakes maker so you could check it out. If you look at the text I think the first time I mentioned it is where the link is...once on the webpage just click on the photo and it will give you other pics. Unfortunately I don't think you can get such a machine in the UK (at least certainly not on Amazon!)....hopefully one day soon though as they are fantastic! Who would have thought?!!

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  8. I've not heard of a cake pop maker.... but now I think I want one! What a great idea... they look delicious!

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  9. They are adorable! Who doesn't love sprinkles!?!?

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  10. Such gorgeous cake pops. I think they are just so fun to make and lend themselves to so many variations.

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  11. You did really good for a first time these look like something you'd see in a bakery!

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  12. Thank you all for such wonderful comments! You are all so lovely! I just have to warn you now though that I think I have caught the cake pop craze so there might more than a few cake pop posts coming up!!!

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  13. Ahhh great job with these! You'll be a pro before you know it =)

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  14. Lyndsay,
    Bravo on your cake pops and what gorgeous photos. Just seen it on top9 - congratulations! I have never made them before (well, always making something else I guess) and they look so tempting and colourful.
    Was thinking of you the other day since home to Edinburgh for Xmas. If you're going to be around it would be super to see you!
    Cheers to many more of your cake pops to come.

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  15. A cake pop maker?!?! I must get one! We love cake pops around here!

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  16. Thank you so much Peggy, Jill & Jen!

    Jill - Would have been lovely to meet up but unfortunately I won't be home :( We were meant to be but since my wee guy turns 2 just after Christmas we had to pay for him as well which wasn't really the plan (and we didn't realise until we went to book our tickets)!! Needless to say though I went back with him for a month in October which was lovely and I thought of you as I passed the Outsider! Would have been so lovely to have met for lunch! Oh well - hopefully next time. Next on my list of firsts to try are macarons! Can't wait! Hope you are well x

    Jen - Best buy ever!!!

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  17. I've got to tell you, I tried making cake pops. They came out okay, but, like you, it was a little strange for me to be mashing up cake & adding frosting...I made a few batches that were way too sweet. I will try them again (just because everyone else seems to love them), but your version looks much taster and much easier!

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  18. Wow these look amazing so so much better than my first attempt at cake pops! Well done

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  19. I've wondered if the cake pops were good, but your blog has convinced me to try them. Thanks for the great tips.
    Nana Clares Kitchen

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  20. Thank you all : ) It has been great fun and I'm delighted so many people love cake pops!

    For me these are definitely the way to go (for the time being anyway!). You can't beat unspoilt beautiful cake with a delicious coating - I really like them and they are so easy but you do need the Cake Pop Maker to get the round cakes.

    I hope for those of you that make them you have as much fun and tasty delights as I have had : )

    Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read my blog and leave your wonderful comments!

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  21. Your post really makes me want to buy the babycakes cake pop maker now! I've been working with cakeballs for a couple months and they are different in a sense that you crumble the cake and add icing to form the dough, but i feel like you can add filling to these and they'd be great too! Yours look so perfect and clean!!! Thanks for sharing and making me optimistic!!

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  22. Thank you so much Kristeeny! If you like these you should see what I'm working on now! It will appear before Christmas and all I can say is no matter how it ends up looking it has been so much fun! :)

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