Cake pops are the latest stars in the cake world. For those who have (so far!) missed the trend: These are small, round cakes on a stick with elaborate decorations. Children especially love these little works of art because they are the right size for them and are usually lovingly decorated. But how do cake pops work? Are they hard to make? What do I need to watch out for? We have, of course, done our research and summarized the best tips here.
Helpful tips for making your own cake pops
What do I need for cake pops
To bake cake pops, you need a cake pop mold
To ensure the cake pops get their typical round shape when baking, you can either use a special baking mold or, more professionally, a dedicated cake pop maker.
For sticks, you can use either normal wooden skewers with a length of 20 cm or special plastic cake pop sticks.
To allow the finished sticks with cake pops to dry well, a cake pop station made from a large piece of Styrofoam or a shoebox lid is suitable. To make one, drill small holes with enough space between them into the lid of a shoebox. The holes should be tight enough so that the sticks do not wobble and sit firmly. The spacing of the holes should be such that the cake pops do not touch each other. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also purchase a nice cake pop holder
Cake pops stay firmly on the stick
To ensure the stick stays firmly in the cake pops, first dip the stick about 1 cm deep into the melted glaze and insert it immediately into the cake pop. This way, the sticks stick firmly in the cake pop and it is easier to decorate later.
Glazing cake pops correctly
When glazing, dip the cake pop at an angle into the desired glaze and cover it completely by turning it carefully. You can quickly fill small gaps with a small spoon. Once the cake pop is completely glazed, turn it a little over the bowl and tap it on the edge of the bowl so that everything is evenly distributed.
Decorating cake pops
Speed is of the essence when decorating, as the decoration must be applied while the glaze is still wet. Pour the desired sprinkles into a bowl and dip the still-wet cake pop into them. Did part of the decoration slip? A toothpick helps; you can use it to nudge small decorations back into the right place. If the glaze has dried too quickly, dip a toothpick into the wet glaze, apply it to the cake pop, and stick the decoration onto it.
Storing cake pops
Once the cake pops are glazed, decorated, and dried, you can store them in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. The best container is a large (tin) box lined with several layers of paper towels.
Extra tip: Glazed cake pops cannot be frozen. The glaze would suffer during thawing.
Recipe for 18 cake pops
Ingredients
- 300 g light and dark sponge cake (ready-made or homemade)
- 60 g soft butter
- 70 g powdered sugar
- 140 g double cream cheese
- 150 g dark chocolate couverture
- Sugar sprinkles
- 18 sticks for cake pops (available at Amazon
Instructions
Finely crumble the sponge cake. For the cream cheese frosting, thoroughly mix the powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese with a hand mixer for about 3 minutes. Now, using a spoon, gradually stir the cream cheese frosting into the crumbs until the mixture is easy to shape. The mixture must not be too moist, and it should not stick to your hands when shaping.
Take 18 portions from the mixture and shape them into balls. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop the couverture into small pieces and melt it over a water bath. Dip the wooden sticks 1 cm deep into the couverture one by one and insert them immediately into the balls. Place the balls with sticks on a plate and chill again for 15 minutes.
Reheat the couverture and dip the cake pops at a slight angle, turning them to coat completely. By tapping lightly and turning at the edge of the bowl at the end, excess couverture is removed and no 'drips' form. Now decorate the cake pops immediately with sugar decorations and let them dry well in a cake pop station.
Recipes for glazes
Powdered sugar glaze
Ingredients:
- 200 g powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp liquid (e.g., water, lukewarm milk (they shine especially beautifully), or juice)
Instructions:
Mix the powdered sugar with the desired liquid to form a thick icing.
Extra tip: This icing is only suitable for baked cake pops. Do not use for cake pops made from cake crumbs and other kneaded ingredients.
Couverture
Ingredients:
- Couverture (dark, milk, semi-sweet, or white chocolate)
Instructions:
Melt the couverture in a warm water bath and coat the cake pops with it.
Extra tip: It looks nice and colorful if you mix liquid white couverture with liquid food coloring. For this, add 10 g of coconut fat per 150 g of couverture so that the chocolate does not clump when coloring.
Piping glaze
Ingredients:
- 1 very fresh egg white
- 250 g powdered sugar
- Freezer bag
Instructions:
Beat the egg white until semi-stiff with a hand mixer. Then add the powdered sugar while stirring. Fill the glaze into a freezer bag and poke a tiny hole in it. Now decorate the cake pops as you like with this glaze.
Candy Melts
Ingredients:
- Candy Melts (available at Amazon
- Coconut oil
Candy Melts are melting drops made of colored white chocolate and are handled like couverture. To do this, melt the Candy Melts with coconut fat over a water bath.
Extra tip: Didn't use all the Candy Melts? Then simply let them cool and save them. These Candy Melts can easily be melted again.
Rolled fondant
Ingredients
- Rolled fondant (available at Amazon
- possibly powdered sugar
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Circle cookie cutter, 8 cm diameter
Instructions
Rolled fondant is an elastic sugar-based mass and is available in various colors. If you like, you can also make this rolled fondant yourself. Roll out the rolled fondant thinly between two sheets of plastic wrap and cut out circles with the cookie cutter. Cover the cake pops with these circles and press them on slightly.
Extra tip: If the fondant sticks, simply dust it with a little powdered sugar.
Reading about cake pops
If you are still looking for recipes, you can stock up on good reading material on Amazon. Here are wonderful books with great recipes: Book tips for cake pops on Amazon
Read also:Â Confetti cake
Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
