Well, sort of! *grin*
I still have to perfect it further, but at least it is getting rounder.....
What is getting rounder, you might ask?
My cake pops are getting rounder and more...err.....well...ok....almost perfect....
After 3 attempts, I finally managed to get the right batter that would rise up to the top of the cake pop maker and making the top rounded.
Why this sudden craze for cake pops, you ask?
Well, blame it on my sister, Adura, or more fondly known as Chik, for getting me into this craze! LOL!
It all started with her attempting to make cake pops for our mum’s 75th birthday celebration (yeah! Still need to blog on that!) just over a month ago.
It was a 1st time for both of us trying to make cake pops. It looked easy enough. She shared videos on YouTube with me a few days earlier in preparation to make the cake pops just the day before the celebration.
Trust my sister to come up with such madness timing when we have 1001 other things to do! LOL!
It wasn't as easy as in the video, I tell you! My sister ended up sleeping early out of sheer tiredness, stress and frustration from not getting the cake pop to turn out the way it should, leaving me and my niece to finish making them late into the night.
We slept at 2.00am that night before the celebration, trying to finish up everything and get things organised!
After the birthday celebration, I could not help but feel that there must be some easier ways to make cake pops instead of baking the cake beforehand, crumbling a perfectly nice cake, adding butter cream frosting to act as glue to the cake to make them easy to form balls.
The butter cream ended up making the cake too sweet, and that’s even before you dip them in chocolate!
When you dip the cake pops into chocolate to coat them, it was like you just got a huge dose of adrenaline! LOL!
Forming the balls was easy once you have the right amount (or shall I say, huge amount) of butter cream added to the cake crumbs. Making the ball stay in that form was the difficult part.
When we tried sticking the lollipop sticks into the balls, we sometimes ended up with the balls breaking apart.
When we succeeded in getting the stick into the ball without breaking it, the ball would still end up breaking apart or crumbling the minute we dipped them into the melted chocolate.
So, not willing to give up on this new found craze, I googgled cake pops for days, watching video after video on YouTube (goes to show you how much time I spend at the airport waiting for my flights! LOL!).
That’s when I discovered the cake pop maker!
After further research, I decided that I am going to get one of this awesome gadgets that will once and for all, take away the stress of making cake pops! LOL!
I thought only my job was stressful! LOL!
I ordered my cake pop maker from an online shop called BarangOverseas. You can find them on Facebook.
My cake pop maker finally arrived after some initial disappointment of not being able to play with it over an extended weekend when the courier service closed for the weekend due to the public holiday.
Anyway, as soon as the package arrived, I immediately opened it and wanted to immediately try making some cake pops. But when I checked the gadget, I noticed that the top cover was swaying from side to side. Thinking that it might be a faulty appliance and not wanting to have the warranty forfeited if I start using it, I consulted with the supplier I bought the gadget from.
Unfortunately the supplier has never used the gadget before but has never had any complaints from customers regarding it. She suggested that I give it a go first and if it causes problems, to have it returned. However, she no longer has the 12 hole cake pop maker. She only has the 7 hole maker. Bummer!
Anyway, as suggested, the following weekend, I decided to give the cake pop maker a go.
At the 1st attempt, I had some that were round, some that were flat.
I tried the recipe that came with the cake pop maker.
The taste was nice though.
Despite all the lopsidedness, I ended up eating everything up over a span of a few days. No wonder I have gained so much weight! LOL!
Not satisfied, a week later, I made a 2nd attempt using the same recipe which came with the pop maker which I had used in my 1st attempt, but this time I tried using self-rising flour instead.
So much for self-rising flour, instead of rising high, I ended up with all my cake pops turning out flat! Only one or two pieces rise. I just don’t get it!
Since the taste was nice, though it did not look good, I decided not to waste it and instead went ahead to dip them in chocolate, put them into small gold coloured paper cups, which made them look really nice, and have some of them wrapped up in lollipop wraps.
I think no one noticed that they were supposed to be round like a ball.
I gave them all away to friends and relatives as taste test.
No one can complain when they are free, right? LOL! *wink*
Not willing to give up on making the cake pops, I posted on FB asking for some advice. I also spent whatever spare times I had, again, waiting at the airport for my flight, googgling for other cake pop recipes.
I came across 2 sites and they have the same recipe. One even had a step by step photo, which really helped.
Not all the balls came out all nice and rounded. Quite a few did not rise high enough to reach the top of the cover, causing the balls to crack slightly at the top.
At the 1st round of this 3rd attempt, I only filled up 5 holes. I did not want to waste my batter if the attempt fails again.
I did a few tests by either adding more or lesser batter into the holes with each try, and also adjusting the timing. By the time I got the amount and timing right, I ran out of batter! LOL!
Anyway, I am quite satisfied with this 3rd attempt. Although not all of them turned out perfectly round, I like the taste from this recipe. It is very nice. Not too sweet.
The texture is also just right. Not too light. Not too dense.
I guess this is a true and tried recipe. Even my son who usually does not eat much of any of my baking, except my Carrot Cakes, loves them.
He finished 4 sticks in just one sitting! Now that’s what I call being appreciative! LOL!
I went ahead to dip the cake pops into melted chocolate, and even went further ahead to add some decorations to the cake pops for this photo session taking just to show you that at least I have found the right recipe to make these cake pops.
I think I prefer the cake pops in a cupcake rather than just on a stick. It makes decorating easier. It is easier to serve too. I don’t need any special plate or Styrofoam box to serve them.
Don’t you think these cake pops look lovely and yummy?
You can order them from me if you want to *wink*, but just don’t expect 100% perfectly round balls. But I assure you the taste is nice. ;)
Next, I am going to try other recipes like chocolate cake pops, red velvet and others.
I am also going to try other forms of decorations. Keep checking back!
