Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Pops

After making these delectable little treats for the second time, I decided that whoever came up with the idea to make cake pops deserves a prize. Or a medal. Why? Because cake pops = little drops of happiness. They make people super duper happy!

Since I promised my friend that I would make her red velvet cake pops, surprised her with them at her bridal shower. Hope you liked them, Susan!

As I’ve mentioned before, I make an exception to my “don’t eat lazy” rule and use boxed cake for cake pops. I added more chocolate, cocoa, an extra hint of acid and a small drop of red food coloring to enhance the flavors and color. But if you’re feeling extra inspired, feel free to use my red velvet cake recipe to bake the actual cake!

My dad always says that that only way to discover a shortcut is to do the same thing repeatedly. I found this to be true with cake pops as well. I will include my tips in the recipe below. This recipe calls for 16 cake pops, while my older recipe calls for 45-50 cake pops.

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Pops
Makes 15-17 cake pops

All ingredients are available at a cake specialty shop, or at Michael’s.

Ingredients:

1/2 box of red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box)
1/3 can of cream cheese frosting
1/3 package of dark chocolate bark aka confectionery coating chocolate
1/3 package of milk chocolate bark (pink) aka confectionery coating chocolate
17 Lollipop sticks
17 candy wrappers
17 ribbons for tying
Small sprinkles
Dried coconut flakes
Scissors
Wax paper or Silpat Mat
A Styrofoam board

Optional: I added 1/2 bag of melted dark chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon of cocoa, 1 drop of red food coloring and 1 teaspoon of vinegar to the cake batter for enhanced red velvet flavor.

Procedure:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with cream cheese frosting. It may be easier to use a stand mixer, if available. (I used a little bit less frosting to avoid super duper sweetness.) The cake consistency should look like brownies.

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. Chill for about 30 minutes in the fridge, uncovered.

4. Melt about 5-6 pieces of chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, over 70% power. Mix until smooth. If necessary, pop in the microwave again for 10 seconds until there are no lumps. It is possible for the chocolate to burn and turn dark brown, so make sure you microwave over medium heat.

5. Take cookie balls out of the fridge. Add a small amount of chocolate to the end of the lollipop stick.

6. Insert lollipop stick about halfway in. Pop the new cookie sheet, with the sticks attached, back in the fridge for at least another 20 minutes (Overnight is best, if you have the time). This will help firm up the cake and make it 10 times easier for you to coat your chocolate.

7. Reheat your chocolate, as it would have hardened by now. Use a spoon to coat the entire ball in chocolate, rotating the lollipop stick and tapping off the extra. Immediately, over a separate bowl, add sprinkles or coconut, before it dries. You seriously have a 30 second window before this happens, so be quick!

8. Cover a piece of Styrofoam with plastic wrap and let them cake pops dry on it. Once it’s completely dry, wrap with lollipop cover and tie ribbon to the ends. If you have any leftover, store at room temperature. (During the summer – refrigerate!)

I didn’t have the patience to wait for the chocolate to harden, so I took a bite. Oops.

Extra Tips:

- If your unused chocolate is melted, simply add 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening or 2 teaspoon of virgin coconut oil before microwaving. Be patient – it will take a little bit longer to set!

- Refrigerating the cake balls uncovered (with the sticks already inserted) produced the best results. The cake’s firmness made it 10 times easier to work with when coating with chocolate at the end.