The First Adventure: Cake Pops

The first thing I did with my mixer was make cake pops. I had made cake balls before, but had yet to make cake pops. I think the cake pops were actually a bit easier to make. Now, for a not great, hurriedly taken picture.

These were chocolate cake pops, dipped in candy coating. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about making them. I followed this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Basic-Cake-Balls-361550. Be aware, though, that the recipe calls for a 16 ounce can of frosting. Unless you like to have leftover frosting, buy a 13 ounce can. Also, the recipe says to put them in the freezer for 15 minutes before dipping them--DON'T! That is much too long and the coating will crack. Ten minutes is plenty, and be sure to move them over to the fridge after that. I also let mine sit out for a minute or two before I dipped them--but not too long, you still need them to be stiff.

The recipe I used is for cake balls, but it works just as well for cake pops. The only thing you need to do in addition to the directions used is before you dip the balls in the candy coating, stick a lollipop stick in them. I dipped the sticks in the candy coating before sticking them into my balls to help them stay on better, and I let that dry before continuing.