Introducing cake pops

We're swooning over the new star on the sweet scene: cake pops. With their crisp chocolate coating and fluffy cake interior, it's hard to stop at just one of these delicious cake truffles on sticks. Make our Flower Cupcake Pops then buy the April issue for our Freckle Cake Pops recipe. And try our flavour twist suggestions, too.

To start, make and roll your cake balls.

basic cake balls
1 Crumble 480g bought butter cake into a large bowl. Add 120g (1/2 cup) light spreadable cream cheese or vanilla frosting and 2 tsp orange rind. Stir until well combined.
2 Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Roll tablespoons of cake mixture into balls and place on tray. Freeze for 15-20 minutes or until just firm.
3 Dip lollipop sticks (available at craft or variety stores), 1cm deep, into 500g white chocolate melts, melted. Insert halfway into a cake ball. Repeat with the remaining sticks, chocolate and cake balls. Freeze for 5-10 minutes or until firm.

Now, make flower cupcake pops (pictured above).

• Prepare the cake balls to the end of step 1.
• Roll 2 teaspoons of cake mixture into a ball and flatten slightly. Repeat with remaining cake mixture.
• Use a 2.5cm fluted cutter to cut fluted discs from half the flattened balls. Insert sticks into the centres. Place, upside down, on the lined tray. Freeze for 15-20 minutes or until firm.
• Place half the melted chocolate in a bowl and add food colouring. Coat the fluted discs, 1 at a time, in chocolate, gently tapping the stick on the edge of the bowl to shake off excess. 
• While the chocolate is still wet, top the fluted discs with the remaining flattened balls. Freeze for 10-15 minutes to set.
• Coat the flattened balls in the remaining melted chocolate and shake off the excess.
• Top with icing flowers (available at Woolworths) and insert cake pops into the foam block to set.
• To make the leaves, prepare a 330g pkt Queen Royal Icing following packet directions. Add food colouring. Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a leaf nozzle. Pipe leaves around each flower and place in the foam block. Set aside until set.

Flavour Twists

Our Flower Cupcake Pops were made with a vanilla orange cake filling. For a flavor twist, try these ideas:
Chocolate
Replace the butter cake with 480g double chocolate butter cake.
Banana
Replace the butter cake with 500g Woolworths Select Banana Bread Loaf and swap the orange rind for lemon rind.

Freckle Cake Pops

See p 109 of our April issue for instructions to make Freckle Cake Pops.