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I had the opportunity to attend the Wilton Mom ReTreat outside Chicago last week and learned some amazing baking ideas. One of my favorites was a Cake Pops demonstration which resulted in some absolutely scrumptious cake pops. These treats on a stick are perfect for any occasion from birthday parties to holiday gatherings. Their versatility allows for almost any topping or color combination you can think of and is the perfect way to use up cake scraps. If you don’t have enough cake scraps from one cake, simply store them in the freezer until you do!
Ingredients
cake mix (your choice, pound cake version)
1 pkg instant pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
Wilton ready-to use icing (your choice of flavor)
Wilton candy melts
Wilton cookie treat sticks
Toppings of your choice such as sprinkles and nuts (if desired)
Directions
For the cake ball recipe, Wilton recommends using the pound cake version for a regular cake mix. Mix together 1 box cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, water and oil. Bake and cool following mix directions.
1 layer of a 8 inch cake or 1/2 of a 9×13 cake or cake scraps. This is approximately 4 cups of crumbled cake. Crumble cake into very small pieces.
Add 1/2 cup of icing.
Mix with hands to moisten and blend them together. It may be a bit messy but produces the best results.
Shape balls and firmly pack them into any shape you desire. Adjust the size to whatever you prefer!
- Small: 1 tablespoon (approximately 1 and 1/4 inch)
- Medium: 2 tablespoons (approximately 1 and 1/2 inch)
- Large: 3 tablespoons (approximately 1 and 3/4 inch)
Place on cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Chill until firm, approximately 2 hours in the refrigerator or if in a time crunch you can put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Melt your chocolate or candy melts, making sure you’ve a little shortening (or even vegetable or canola oil) to thin it out, especially with the white and colored melts. Depending on how much you are melting, start with a teaspoon of shortening or for a small amount start with a ½ teaspoon. Stir gently until it is melted and incorporated into the candy. Dip the end of the cookie stick in melted candy and insert into ball. Chill to set so your cake ball will stay on the stick when you dip the entire ball into candy coating.
Dip chilled pop into melted candy and coat completely.
Tip: If your shape is fragile, swipe the backside with melted candy, chill to set and place on cooling rack. Pour melted candy over the top to coat. Very easy with decorating bag.
Lightly tap sides on melting pop to remove excess.
Tip: If your cake pops start to move on the stick, place remaining non-dipped pops in the fridge for a bit to harden them up again. If you are doing a lot of cake pops, try starting out with only half of them out at a time.
Dip in sprinkles, nuts, mini chocolate chips or toasted coconut (or whatever else you can dream up). Insert into styrofoam piece to keep upright and chill to set.
Tip: If you are only dipping them in melted candy, chill immediately after dipping or you may leave a white shadow on your finished piece. This happens when candy isn’t properly chilled, causing the fat in the candy to rise to the surface. It will create a white film but still tastes the same. You can always cover it up with sprinkles!
The possibilities are endless! You can also use shaped silicone moles or pans to give you more defined shaped treats. Watch for more of those ideas here on Oh My! Sugar High.
If you are looking for a fun project for Halloween, try using black, orange or lime green candy melts. I piped opposite colors with a decorating bag on mine but Halloween sprinkles would have been super fun as well!
Disclosure – As a Wilton Mom Ambassador I was invited to Wilton headquarters for the Wilton Mom ReTreat, with travel costs and arrangements provided by Wilton. Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.
