I've been attempting cake pops recently. Now, I haven't gotten to the point of being able to decorate them and make them all cool. Just getting this far has been a challenge. (This far: smooth cake pops that don't fall off their sticks.)
But I think I might be getting the hang of it. A little. Maybe after a few more batches of plain cake pops I'll be ready to try something exciting.
I have been using the Cake Pops book by Bakerella for reference and I think she has some great tips (read: I wouldn't even be this far without them).
If you've made cake pops before and know what I'm talking about, or if you haven't but are using a book like the one mentioned above to get started, I'll let you in on a few of my secrets.
- My favorite version of the cake pop is made with chocolate cake and rainbow chip frosting. Be careful not to use too much! Rainbow chip is quite moist.
- Cake crumbles more easily if it is dry. If your cake recipe calls for 3 eggs, use only 2 and that should help.
- I have been using Wilton Melting Wafers and they work great.* If you want to try cake pops, collect a few bags when they're on sale and dive right in.
- *When I say "they work great" I mean that they do work well, but you still have to practice to get them melted to the perfect consistency: not so cool that they fall before solidifying and not so hot that they create too-thin shells.
- Make extras to use as testers! If you need 20 pops for a party, make 30 balls so that you can make a few mistakes without having to start the entire process over again.
- When attempting cake pops, set aside a good amount of time for working on them. You have lots of waiting time (baking, cooling, chilling in fridge, etc.) that can't be skipped out on.
- Make sure you have your Styrofoam to set the pops in to solidify. You'll get very frustrated without this.
- Give yourself a break if they don't look perfect. No matter what they look like, they taste delicious.
