When I started thinking about my Holiday baking this year, I kept hearing about cake pops. I really didn’t know too much about them or how they were made. But when a friend informed me of a cakepop maker on sale (one day only!) at Macy’s for $17.99 (regularly $39.99) I jumped at the chance to be a part of the cakepop scene.
Before I could try out my cakepop maker, Aya found one at Kohl’s on sale for $19.99, and she had a 20% off coupon. In addition to this crazy savings, the Kohl’s cakepop maker made 12 cakepops at a time instead of the Macy’s 6, came with a cakepop cooling rack, a filling injector, and cakepop sticks! I’d be stupid not to get it! The only downside is that the only color it came in was lavender. I’m definitely a man living in a woman’s world. Lavender or not, I had to have it!
Now that I had a cakepop maker, I decided I was going to make Totoro cakepops for Ellie’s two year birthday dinner. But I knew this was way too ambitious for my first cakepop project. I needed to just make a simple batch first for non-judging eyes to see if this would even be possible. We had lunch plans with friends lined up that would be the perfect opportunity to try these pops out.
I had a reason, now I just needed to get started. And of course, I did not read the directions first. How hard could it be, right? All I had to do was put cake batter in the maker, wait for the light to turn on, and then take them out. Or was I supposed to wait for the light to turn off? And then, how do you get the batter in holes without getting it all over the place? I guess I should have read the directions first because they addressed all of my questions, and I could have prevented all of my cakepops looking like Saturn. Luckily once cooled, the rings easily broke off and proved to be a tasty snack while baking the rest.
It took me awhile to gauge how much batter to put in and for how long to keep them in, but they all came out mostly round, and were not burnt. The next step was to inject the filling. Included with my cakepop maker was a giant syringe used to inject filling into the cakepops. As I held the giant syringe with lemon filling, I felt like a large animal vet ready to administer hormone shots to a hippopotamus. I was surprised at how easy it was. I could apply for a job at a donut shop now. I was skilled and experienced!
With the filling applied, it was time to frost them. And this is when I ran into some real problems. The cakepops weren’t dense enough to stay on the stick and kept breaking apart and falling down. The directions did not cover this part. I had to hold the bottom half of the cakepop and only frost the top half. And for ease of eating, I put toothpicks in them. I have to say, they didn’t look stylish and appetizing like the ones I saw online, but they did tasted good.
I’m assuming the technical term is cakepops because they are supposed to be on a stick like a lollipop. But since mine aren’ton a stick, they are just cakeballs. And it’s pretty clear I need more practice before I can pull off the Totoro cakepop for Ellie’s birthday.
Matt, you need tastetesters… I will volunteer!
Pound cake would be more dense. That’s what I used to do when I made 3 D cake shapes or maybe even home made cake batter. … I like Saturn!
Pound cake, good idea! 3 D Cake? Do I need glasses for that?
Good first attempt! I made cakeballs for James’s work Christmas party a few weeks ago, mine were a little different. I baked a cake then crumbled it and mixed it with cream cheese frosting and rolled it into balls. Anyhow, the frosting part should be similar. I did some research because, like you, I had no idea how to do it. Two pieces of advice that I learned: 1. dont use actual frosting. You need to get chocolate bark from the grocery store and melt it. I know the have it at Kroger. 2. after you melt it in the microwave, put a heating pad in a large bowl and put the smaller glass bowl with the melted chocolate inside of it. I put the heating pad on medium and it keeps the chocolate melted but won’t burn it. Then just dip the balls in and roll them around! It was so easy and since it’s pretty liquidy they shouldnt’ break apart on you. You could always just dip them and then insert the sticks after you take them out. Good luck with round 2!!
Thanks Jen for the info! It seems that your method is more reliable. I think when I do the Totoro cakeballs I need to to this for sure. Maybe I can use my cakepop maker to make mini quiche balls?
UM — how did i almost miss this post????!! those look like perfection if you ask me. truly. i am drooling. they also look like you need to bring them by the studio so you can have a couple qualified ladies give them a good taste-testing. TRUST me,,, i have the MOST qualified team for the job. :))))
Thanks Ksenija! If you’re lucky, there may be cakeballs in your future.
Next time you try frosting them, microwave the frosting for a few seconds to soften it up, it’ll go on way easier:) Looking good!