Sometimes experiments can take you for a ride, I mean the good way. The little cake hearts I made were so little in quantity that they got over in no time. So I had to kick my 'nowadays laziest' self and make something on similar lines. With just 2 days to go to our Anniversary, I thought these cute 'Struck by an arrow' heart shaped cake pops that I had eyed on Pinterest shall be a good idea. A perfect treat for the 2 Valentine's of my life, my husband Vishal and our darling daughter, Vaanya.
For me and Vishal, I decided to go the boozy way and added some dark rum to the cake crumbs. And for our daughter, I made some non alcoholic cake pops in her favourite colour Pink.
Cake pops have been a rage in the world of confection for some years now. In simple words, it is cake shaped as lollipops. The credit goes to Angie Dudley, a food blogger who runs a blog called Bakerella. On February 1, 2008, she posted something on her blog that literally changed her life. She posted these cupcake pops
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| Image from Bakerella |
These cupcake pops became so popular that they paved her way to a new chapter of life. A month after she posted these adorable treats , she was invited to the Martha Stewart show. She went on to write a book and is recognized worldwide as the inventor of cake pops. For more details about her journey read here.
Ingredients : No particular measurements here. I made my favourite Comfort Chocolate cake with a little more cocoa powder and used it. You may use any cake recipe.
- about 1 1/2 cups cake crumbs (just crumble the cake with hands)
- 1-2 tbsp dark rum (you may use vodka,wine or make them non boozy with some orange juice) I made half batch boozy and another non alcoholic for my daughter
- about 1/2 cup Melted white chocolate(done on a double boiler)
- red food colouring
Procedure:
Take cake crumbs in a bowl and mix rum/vodka/wine a little at a time. Take a little mixture in your fingers and see if you can bind it.
If apprehensive to use alcohol, leave it altogether and use some melted butter, chocolate ganache, some cream or orange juice for binding. Remember to use a little at a time because you just need to bind the cake crumbs together and not make a gloopy glue :)
Take a little mixture at a time and shape them in hearts. Keep them on a greased plate and refrigerate.
Take melted chocolate and dip one end of the lollipop sticks (you can use the wooden ones like I did or stick to the plastic ones) Insert that end to the cake hearts from one side and leave it to set. If you want, you may also insert the lollipop stick at the bottom of the cake heart.
Dip half of the hearts in the white melted chocolate and keep aside to set. Remember to keep them on a piece of parchment/butter paper. Once set, you will need to dip them again to give a second coating as the chocolate cake will see through white chocolate coating. Once done keep a spoonful of the melted white chocolate in a piping bag.
To the remaining white chocolate, add a drop of the red food colour. Ideally gel based, but I did mine with the regular liquid food colour. Add drops and mix till you get the desired pink colour.
Now dip the remaining cake pops in the pink coloured chocolate and repeat the same process as done with white chocolate coated cake pops. After the second coating is dried, take a spoonful of pink coloured melted chocolate in a piping bag.
At any point of time if the chocolate gets hard, put it back on double boiler.
Now just drizzle randomly pink coloured chocolate on the white cake pops and white one on the pink cake pops.
Allow to set.
Dip half of the hearts in the white melted chocolate and keep aside to set. Remember to keep them on a piece of parchment/butter paper. Once set, you will need to dip them again to give a second coating as the chocolate cake will see through white chocolate coating. Once done keep a spoonful of the melted white chocolate in a piping bag.
To the remaining white chocolate, add a drop of the red food colour. Ideally gel based, but I did mine with the regular liquid food colour. Add drops and mix till you get the desired pink colour.
Now dip the remaining cake pops in the pink coloured chocolate and repeat the same process as done with white chocolate coated cake pops. After the second coating is dried, take a spoonful of pink coloured melted chocolate in a piping bag.
At any point of time if the chocolate gets hard, put it back on double boiler.
Now just drizzle randomly pink coloured chocolate on the white cake pops and white one on the pink cake pops.
Allow to set.
Vaanya, my daughter, enjoyed the non alcoholic heart shaped cake pops I made with half the batch. Her thumbs up to my bakes is my biggest reward.
Happy Cake pop eating
and Happy Anniversary to us :)
Amrita
