My mom loves “infomercials” and is always bringing home the newest gadget that catches her eye during her shopping excursions. Prior to her surgery, she brought home a pan set called Bake Pops because I had been talking about making cake pops, but never got around to doing it. I know that there is a way to make the popular cake pops organically by baking a full cake and forming them into balls by breaking the cake up and using cream cheese to bind the cake pieces (like this recipe on Little Miss Momma). Knowing most of my friends make them that way, I felt a little bad about making them with the Bake Pops because I felt a little like I was cheating.
My very first batch was a bit of a disaster. I just used the recipe as instructed on the cake mix box and used a glaze over them rather than frosting or candy coating, which made them more like donut holes than cake pops (and not as moist). After another trial and error batch, the cake pops I made finally looked and tasted just like the ones I’ve bought or that were made by my friends. All in all, I think this is a fairly easy way to make these popular cake pops if you use the tips I provided below. Enjoy!
1. Use the alternate recipe that they provide in Bake Pops instruction booklet: Replace milk for water, add an extra egg and add a packet of pudding mix. This will make your cake more dense and incredibly moist. I used the Pillsbury Moist Supreme strawberry cake mix and added a small packet of vanilla pudding. My kitchen smelled heavenly.
2. The cake pops actually come out a bit egg-shaped after they come out of the oven, and they are not as round as they appear in the commercials (my husband says they look like acorns). This is due to the slight separation between the top and bottom pans, in addition to the holes in the top pan (which allow for rising). To get them to more of a “ball” shape, just scrape the middle and tops of the cake pops. I put the lollipop stick in the part of the cake pop where they rose out of the hole, so that the rounded portion is on top. Also, the candy coating can hide most anything if you don’t wish to scrape the imperfections away.
3. Place your cake pops in the freezer to cool prior to coating them. My niece came over to help make them, and we bypassed the cooling part and it took longer for the coating to set. For my second batch, I placed them in the freezer prior to decorating them, and the coating set beautifully (note: strawberry cake & light coco candy coating makes for tasty cake pops).
(Note: This is simply a review of the product, conducted solely at my discretion. I did not receive any compensation, product or discounts when I purchased the product.)
When baking with Duncan Hines always make sure you have all your ingredients and tools ready to go. For cake pops, you’ll need a styrofoam block, lollipop sticks, nuts, sugars and any decorations ready beforehand. You can use shortening or vegetable oil to thin out the melted candy coating. Once you’ve dipped your cake pops the coating hardens quickly, so please apply decorations before it dries.
It’s funny that you thought they came out looking like eggs, your husband thought acorns, and my first thought was BOOBS. This proves that I still have some catching up to do with my maturity.
At any rate, now I want to bake.
Hi Stephanie! Actually, my husband did say what you said first…then said the acorn thing once I reshaped them. I chose to put the PC version on the blog (lol) 🙂
xoxo
Hi Cy! I think the cake pops pictured actually turned out pretty good. I’d buy them 🙂 Ronia and I actually made a batch a few weeks ago and they looked half as good as yours. I put too much batter into the pan and had baked batter all over the place. We did use chocolate candy dip/coat and it turned out nice. I thought it was a bit too much work but Ronia enjoyed the process, and we all enjoyed eating them of course.
Hope you’re Mom is doing well. Take care and see you soon!
Hi Noel! Trust me, my first version wasn’t that great looking either. Once I got the hang of it, they very much improved (which is what I captured in the blog, lol). But it sounds like you and Ronia still had fun!
My mom is finally doing better. I’ll see you next week!
xoxo
(correction: your, not you’re)