Cupcake pops

 

Cupcake on a stick! Everything looks cuter on a stick, no?  Turns out they're pretty simple to assemble.  Basically, you bake a cake, crumble it up, mix it with frosting, shape them, chill them, dip them, then eat them. The toughest part was finding the right cookie cutter! I went through THREE stores to finally find the right one...AND it only came as part of a larger set, so I also had to buy the rest of the cutters that I do not need...guess it's time to look for other projects that could make use of them! The other difficulty was pinning down a styrofoam block for the pops to stand! As a small apartment dweller, I dispose of anything that's remotely dispensable...so no space-consuming styrofoam at my place! Of course, I ended up finding the perfect block, where else but at my mother's house!
Once I've got these missing pieces, I was ready for some cake pops!



Chocolate cupcake pops
Makes 15-20 pops

For the chocolate cake:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
35 mL vegetable oil
70 mL buttermilk
60 mL espresso or strong, hot brewed coffee
1 egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 tablespoon vanilla

For the cream cheese frosting:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
125 grams cream cheese, at room temperature

For assembly:
1/2 cup dark chocolate candy melts
1/2 cup violet colored candy melts (I chose violet for this batch, but it could be any color!)
20 lollipop sticks
Styrofoam block, approximately 20cm X 30cm X 5cm

Start with the chocolate cake. This one is super easy...

Preheat oven to 350° F (180°C). Prepare a 6-inch round cake pans with butter or line with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and beat with hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until everything is incorporated. Pour into prepared pan. Batter will be liquidy.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until skewer/cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

In the mean time, prepare cream cheese frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat together sugar and butter with hand mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and continue beating until creamy, about 1 minute. Cover and set aside.

When the chocolate cake is completely cooled, cut into large chunks and place in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse about 10 seconds until cake becomes fine, even crumbs.

Turn out crumbs into large mixing bowl. Worrking with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix in frosting.

Mix until cake and frosting becomes homogenous. (It will resemble Play-Doh.)

Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape cake mixture into balls about the size of golf balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Chill in refrigerator about 30 minutes until firm.

Shape each "cake ball" into a log shape and fit into a flower-shaped cookie cutter, about 2.5-3cm in diameter. With your fingers, flatten on one end and form the other end into a small mound, creating a "muffin top". Slide out the cutter By gently pushing from the flat end.

Return to baking sheet and refrigerate a further 30 minutes.

When the "cupcakes" are chilled, remove from refrigerator and prepare coating. Start with the dark chocolate candy melts as it would be easier to first prepare the base of the cupcakes. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate candy melts on medium heat at 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth and melted.

Holding the "muffin top" with your fingers, dip the base of the cupcake into the melted chocolate. Lay, top side down, back on baking sheet and insert a lollipop stick through the bottom of the cupcake about halfway into the cake. Repeat for the rest of the cupcakes. Allow the coating to set, about 10-15 minutes.

Melt the colored candy melts the same way. Holding the cupcakes by the lollipop stick, dip the muffin tops into colored coating. You may need to swirl it around a bit to ensure that all exposed areas are covered. Sprinkle with colored sugar and adornments. Allow to dry on a styrofoam block.

When the coating has hardened (10-15 minutes), they're ready to eat! They can also be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for 3-4 days...but why?