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You’ve no doubt heard of cake pops since they entered the trendy world of cakes a few years ago. Well now, they’ve morphed from simple cake and icing on a stick, to just as extravagant as custom cakes you see on celebrity cake maker shows (or the NEThyme kitchen!).
If you’re looking for a fun treat to make for your Halloween party this year, and have been meaning to try out cake pops, Halloween themed cupcakes or cake pops are just what you need! The possibilities are endless, really. You could make creepy eyeballs, spiders, ghosts, or little pumpkins. If you really wanted to go all out, you could even make little Frankenstein or witch heads. The decorating part is all up to your creativity and skill level, and so are the flavours of cake and icing. But, if you’ve never attempted cake pops before, here are the basic steps.
Cake pops are the perfect opportunity to use those cake scraps that you’ve cut off of other cakes to make specific shapes. Just make sure it’s thawed before you begin. If you’re baking the cake from scratch, that’s also fine, just make sure the cake is cooled before you begin.
Then, in a mixing bowl, use your hands or a food processor to crumble the cake until no large chunks are left. Add your favourite flavour of creamy icing and blend it with the cake until it’s all combined and the icing holds the cake together. You don’t want so much icing that you’re just rolling a ball of icing, but you don’t want too little that your pops are dry and don’t hold together. You’ll know.
Next, roll your cake pops into the shape and size you desire (this will vary depending on what you want the end result to be), just like if you were rolling meatballs. Make sure the ball is as smooth as possible – this makes for smoother icing. Then, place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill them for at least two hours to allow the cake and icing to meld together.
Once they’re chilled, insert a candy stick and decorate as desired. In their basic form, cake pops can simply be dipped in melted icing. Then you can add the layers and creativity from there! Or, why not make it a party trick and set up a decorating station for your guests to give it a try?
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