Lemon Cake Pops & Chocolate Cupcakes

Baby Shower Goodies round 2!


Last night i finished making the lemon cake pops, and also made chocolate cupcakes.  Let me just be straight and say I USE CAKE MIX AND IM NOT ASHAMED! When it's something simple like chocolate or vanilla, i just use cake mix.  you cant taste the difference and its a lot less work. If im making something more interesting (key lime cupcakes, peppermint chocolate chip cupcakes, etc) then I will make it from scratch.  Almost everything I make, I make from scratch.  Basic Cakes and cake pops are the exception! 


For these cupcakes, I used Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix, with Pilsbury's Extra Creamy Strawberry Frosting.  Just bake according to the directions, and let them cool completely before frosting them.  I used a Closed Star piping tip and piping bag, and frosted each cupcake.  Im going to put the little cupcake charms that I made on Sunday, on the cupcakes right before the party 

For cake pops i ALWAYS use cake mix and canned frosting.  its way too labor intensive/expensive otherwise.  You bake the cake as normal (a drier cake is better than a super moist cake for cake pops), then put it in a large mixing bowl after it has cooled.  dump a can of frosting in the bowl, and use a mixer to blend the 2 together until you get a doughy substance. I have found that using the mixer is much easier and cleaner than using your hands :)  Use a 1" mellon baller and scoop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet.  Freeze the balls for at least 1 hour (I did it over night).  Reshape the balls into a sphere and place it on a lolli stick.  

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and dip/cover each ball.  Decorate the cake pop before the chocolate dries.  I used three different types of pink sprinkles.  Usually I would stick the lolli on a piece of styrofoam to dry, but I didnt have one to use.  Instead i just put them back on the cookie sheet.  the tops flattened but its not super noticable once in the cello bags.  

Place the cooled cake pops in little cello bags and tie them off with a piece of ribbon. look how cute these came out!!

the party is in a few hours, so I will post pics from the party this weekend.  Happy Friday, Everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day. We spent Christmas eve with my in-laws and are spending Christmas day with my parents :) taking a break now while my dad is cooking up a seafood FEAST for dinner. I am writing this from my blogger app on my iPhone! Testing it out to see how well it works.

Wanted to share a super simple treat: cake pops! Cake pops are REALLY easy to make and everyone just loves them! I made a batch of these chocolate peppermint cake pops as gifts for all of my co-workers. They were a HUGE hit!

Supplies you will need...
1. Cake mix (I love Betty Crocker)
2. Coordinating frosting for cake
3. Wilton candy melts
4. Lollipop sticks
5. Small Cello bags
6. A piece of styrofoam

For these goodies, I used double fudge chocolate cake mix and double fudge chocolate frosting both from betty crocker.

Directions...
1. Bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box. I baked it in 2 9" rounds.
2. After the cakes have been cooled, mix in the can of frosting. You should get a doughy like substance.
3. Shape dough into 1" balls and place in the refrigerator for 1hr
4. Melt the Wilton Candy Melts on a double broiler.
5. Stick a lolli stick into the cake ball, and dip it into the melted candy
6. Stick the lolli in a piece of styrofoam to cool and add decorative topping
7. Once the candy has cooled and hardened, place into a small cello bag

Super simple and yummy treat! I had some issues with the dough being too soft. No matter how much I chilled the dough, it just wasn't hard enough! Next time I will bake the cake a little longer to dry it out. I also had some issues with the balls being too big and heavy, so when I put the cake pop upright on the styrofoam to cool, it fell straight down the stick! Infuriating at first but I finally got some that looked pretty good.

Enjoy!! And merry christmas!!