MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT "CAKE POPS"

Mr. Will-W.'s Cake Pop Bells

Inspired by Bakerella's Toronto visit last week, I decided to try my hand at her signature Cake Pops - Candy-coated balls of Cake mounted on Lollipop Sticks. They're all the rage now.

I had a bit of a struggle finding shops Downtown which carried Candy Coating Wafers - an essential part of the Cake Pop - so I turned to the help of my friends on Facebook. I wound up venturing north of the City to Michaels Craft Store, which surprisingly has a large section devoted to Cake Decorating and Baking.  Luckily, Candy Coating Wafers from Weston were on sale, so I stocked-up hardcore!

I decided to make a Red Velvet Cake base for my Cake Pops, which would be shaped into Bells hence, Cake Bells.  After having found some amazing glittery silver Decorative Sugar at Williams & Sonoma yesterday, I was anxious to put some of that to use.  Silver Bells -  how festive, right?

I actually had enough Cake left over to freeze perhaps for another batch on Christmas. In a nutshell, this is how I went about making these Confectionary sensations:

1. Let the Cake cool down completely, before crumbling it in a large bowl.

2. Fold in some Cake Frosting and mix into a doughy mixture.

3. Using a Cookie Cutter, molded little Bells out of the Cake mixture.

4. Freeze the Cake Bells for about 20 minutes on a Cookie Sheet lined with Wax Paper.

5. Melt Candy Coating Wafers in the Microwave.

6. Bring out Cake Bells six at a time from the Freezer.

7. Dip the tips of Lollipop Sticks in the melted Candy Coating.

8. Insert the Sticks halfway into the Cake Bells and then dip them in the melted Coating.

9. Tap off the excess Coating gently and try to cover exposed bits of Cake with the Coating, using a Toothpick.

10. Sprinkle some Decorative Sugar onto the Cake Bells.

11. Let Cake Bells set, mounting them on a Foam Block.

12. After they have set fully (10 minutes), wrap them individually in Cellophane and tie with Decorative String.

Ta-dah!  This is what they looked like in the end.  Nowhere near the beauty and refinement of Bakerella's Cake Pops, but not a bad first attempt.  I definitely need to work on the Dipping part a bit more as the excess Coating seemed to have masked the definition of the Bells somewhat. Anyhow, I'm sure they're fine! 20 lucky friends will be the first to try them tomorrow.  I'll let you know what they think!

Poor Billy wouldn't stop hounding me for a taste, but alas any loving Dog Owner knows that Chocolate is a no-no.  But in the meantime, he helped me guard them.  Good Boy!

To read about Bakerella's visit last week, click here.

To visit Bakerella's site and learn more about Cake Pops, click here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)