Christmas cake pops to make with kids (no machine)
Prep: 60 min · Cook: 5 min · Makes: about 20 cake pops · For:
Cake pops are little balls of cake on a stick, dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles. They look like colorful Christmas ornaments and are a brilliant way to use up leftover cake. You do not need a special machine: just your hands, a bowl and some chocolate.
Decorating ideas
- Ornaments: white chocolate with red and green sprinkles, and a small round sweet on top as the hanger.
- Snowmen: white chocolate with two dots of melted dark chocolate for eyes. Children can draw a smile.
- Reindeer: milk chocolate with two pretzel pieces as antlers and a red candy nose.
Tips
- Use a narrow, deep bowl so you can dip each pop in one go.
- Do not twirl. Dip straight in and lift straight out.
Little helpers
Children can crumble the cake, mix with their hands, roll the balls and decorate. A grown-up handles the melted chocolate if it is hot.
Ingredients
- 12 oz plain pound cake or vanilla cake, ideally a day old (about 4 cups crumbs)
- ⅓ cup cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 10 oz white or milk chocolate (chips or chopped bars)
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
- 20 cake pop sticks (paper)
- sprinkles and small sugar stars
- a block of craft foam or an upturned box with holes in it, to stand the pops up
Method
- Crumble the cake into fine crumbs in a large bowl, with your fingers or in a food processor.
- Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, add it to the crumbs and mix with your hands until it holds together like soft dough.
- Roll into walnut-sized balls of about 1 inch each and put them on a tray lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate with the oil in a deep, narrow bowl, in short bursts in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. Let it cool slightly.
- Dip the tip of each stick into the chocolate and push it halfway into a ball. Chill again for 10 minutes so the sticks are fixed.
- Dip each cake pop into the chocolate until completely covered. Lift it out and tap the stick gently on the edge of the bowl so the excess drips off.
- Decorate straight away with sprinkles or sugar stars and stand the pop upright in the foam block to set.
- Let them set completely at room temperature or in the fridge, about 20 minutes.
Questions
Why do my cake pops fall off the stick?
The balls were too warm or too heavy. Chill them well, dip the stick in chocolate first, and keep the balls small.
How long do cake pops keep?
In a cool place or the fridge, about 3 days. Keep them away from heat so the chocolate does not soften.
Are sticks safe for young children?
Supervise little ones and do not let them run or walk around with a cake pop in their mouth. For toddlers, serve the cake balls without sticks.
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