Cake pops
From cake crumbs to balls
Basic cake pops recipe
Makes 12 cake pops
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg
75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese (full fat)
70 g sieved icing sugar
butter for the tin
1 Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C (Gas Mark 2.5, fan oven 140 °C) and butter a small loaf tin (approx. 18 cm long).
2 Whisk together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the egg and combine well. Stir together the flour and baking powder and gradually add to the wet mix.
3 Spoon the mix into the tin and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes. Leave in the tin for about 30 minutes until cool, then turn it out and place on a cooling rack until completely cool.
4 Stir together the cream cheese and icing sugar until well combined. Cut the hard crusts off the cake, then crumble the rest of the cake with your hands. Combine the cream cheese and cake crumbs and shape this mixture into 12 balls. Place the balls in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until firm - or put them in the freezer if you're short of time!
5 For a dark cake, use only 60 g flour and stir 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the cake mix at the end.
6 Attach the cake balls to cake pop sticks when they are completely cool. It is a good idea to dip a few centimetres of the sticks in icing or chocolate glaze first, then insert them to that depth in the balls. This will help the balls to stay on the sticks. Once the "glue" has dried, you can serve the cake pops.
Afro
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg
75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
100 g whole milk chocolate ready to roll fondant in white, yellow, orange, green and red
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 egg white
1 Make 12 cake balls as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put each ball on a stick.
2 For the decoration, break the chocolate into pieces and melt over hot water. Dip the cake balls in the chocolate, then leave to dry.
3 Thinly roll out the white and yellow fondant and cut out 12 flowers with a flower cutter. Thinly roll out the orange and green fondant and cut out smaller flowers.
4 Using a little whisked egg white as glue, stick together one yellow, one orange and one green flower, and attach to the cake pop as hair. Attach the white flowers to the stick and push them up to make the collar.
5 Make a nose and mouth out of the red fondant for the face, and stick onto the ball. Make the eyes out of white fondant and chocolate glaze.
Fairy
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 45 minutes (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg
75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
100 g white chocolate
pink decorating sugar
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 Make 12 cake balls as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put each ball on a stick.
2 For the decoration, break the white chocolate into pieces and melt over hot water. Dip the balls in the chocolate, then immediately coat or sprinkle them with the decorating sugar. Leave to set.
3 Place the cake pops in paper cases with the stick pointing up, and decorate the sticks with bows in matching colours.
Chicken
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg, 75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
350 g icing sugar
8 tbsp orange juice
yellow and orange food colouring
50 g almond paste
melted chocolate
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 Make 12 cake balls as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put each ball on a stick.
2 For the decoration, stir together 300 g icing sugar and the orange juice to make a thick icing, and colour it with yellow food colouring. Dip the cake balls in the icing, then spoon the remainder of the icing into a forcing bag with a very small nozzle and use to pipe the wings.
3 Knead together the almond paste, the remainder of the icing sugar and the orange food colouring and roll out thinly. Use a modelling tool to cut out 12 tiny combs, and press them into the icing on the head. Make the face out of marzipan and melted chocolate. Leave the cake pops to set.
Sheep
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg
75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
100 g white chocolate coating
2 handfuls of grated coconut
ready to roll fondant in black, red and white
1-2 tbsp icing sugar
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 Make 12 cake balls as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put each ball on a stick.
2 For the decoration, break the white chocolate coating into pieces and melt over hot water. Put the grated coconut in a deep plate. Dip the pastry balls in the chocolate, then immediately coat in the grated coconut. Leave to set.
3 Use the black fondant icing to make the heads, ears and feet, and the nose and eyes from red and white fondant.
4 Combine the icing sugar with a little water to make a thick icing. Use to stick all the parts together and secure them to the cake pops.
Moon
and stars
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg, 75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
310 g icing sugar
8 tbsp orange juice
yellow, orange and red food colouring
silver sugar balls
melted chocolate
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 Make the mix for the cake pops as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put moon- and sun-shaped moulds on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and fill the moulds with cake. Carefully remove the moulds and push the figures onto sticks.
2 For the decoration, make icing with 300 g icing sugar, orange juice and yellow or orange food colouring. Dip the cake pops in the icing, then leave to dry.
3 Make a sugar glaze from the remainder of the icing sugar and water, and colour one part of it with red food dye. Make the faces with the sugar balls, melted chocolate and red and white icing.
Elk
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes baking, approx. 30 minutes cooling and approx. 1 hour chilling time)
Makes 12 cake pops
For the cake mix
70 g soft butter
70 g castor sugar
1 egg
75 g flour
big pinch of baking powder
40 g cream cheese
70 g sieved icing sugar
To decorate
100 g whole milk chocolate
2 tbsp icing sugar
24 black sugar balls
12 red dragées
red food colouring
Additionally
butter for the tin
1 Make 12 cake balls as described in the basic recipe (pages 18 /19) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Put each ball on a stick.
2 For the decoration, break the chocolate into pieces and melt over hot water. Dip the cake balls in the chocolate, then leave to dry.
3 Put the remainder of the liquid chocolate in a piping bag with a nozzle or into a little bag made of greaseproof paper, and pipe 24 antlers on greaseproof or baking parchment. Leave to set.
4 Combine the icing sugar with a little water to make icing, and use to stick the antlers to the cake pops. Put a little of the icing in a forcing bag with a small nozzle and pipe the eyes. Press black sugar balls into them as pupils. Use icing to stick one red dragée onto the cake pop as the nose. Colour the remainder of the icing red with food colouring and pipe on the mouths. Leave to set.
Mouse
cake pops
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus approx. 15 minutes...
