How to make a cake pop bouquet

Spring is in the air here in the UK, so we decided to celebrate the blooming flowers by making a cake pop bouquet!

This is a fun way to get the kids involved in baking, and cake pops are always a popular choice.

This cake pop bouquet would work well at a party or picnic.

Here's what to do to make this fun cake pop bouquet. It takes some patience but the steps are actually very easy.

Instructions

Make the sponge

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).

Cream the butter and sugar.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Fold in the flour, baking powder and cocoa.

Spread the batter evenly in the lined cake tin and bake for around 25-30 minutes until springy on top.

Allow the cake to cool completely.

Make the cake pops

Cut the cooled cake into large chunks and place in a large bowl.

Crumble the cake with your hands gently until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Use your hands to work in the frosting until it starts to come together as a crumbly but mouldable mixture. You might not need it all.

Roll your cake mixture into 20 equally sized balls. Try to get them as round as possible but don’t squash them too much – you don’t want them to be too dense.

Prepare the melted chocolate in a bowl and dip each cake pop stick in about 5mm, then push it halfway into the cake ball.

Repeat until you’ve pushed all the sticks into an equal depth, then put them all in the fridge to chill for at least an hour, preferably two or more.

Coat the cake pops

Melt the candy melts as directed and get the sprinkles ready in a separate small bowl. Make sure everything is ready before you take the pops out of the fridge so that they stay as cold as possible.

Dip each cake in turn to cover the whole pop, then twist a few times over the bowl to get rid of the drips.

If you like, you can dip some of the cake pop in the sprinkles before the candy melts set.

Push each cake pop stick carefully into an upturned colander or box lid so that the pops stand up while they set.

Arrange the bouquet

When your cake pops are ready, arrange 4-6 in your empty sprinkles tub, as if arranging flowers.

Wrap with coloured paper as you would flowers, secure with a little tape and ta da! An edible spring bouquet – perfect for sharing!

Some helpful hints for how to avoid your cake pops from cracking, recipe ideas and storage instructions.

What are cake pops?

Cake pops are essentially lollipops but made out of cake crumbs that have been mixed with icing or chocolate and rolled into small balls.

Cake pops are fantastically fun to make from scratch or a great way of using up leftover cake.

What is cake pop dough? What flavours can I use for my cake pops?

If the cake you love has a traditional crumb then the sky's the limit. So whether you enjoy white sponge with a hint of vanilla and lemon or chocolate cake with cherries and freeze-dried strawberry you should be able to make it work as a cake pop. Just make sure you have enough frosting to make the cake crumbs hold together

To decorate use anything from fun sprinkles to chopped nuts and puffed rice. If you want to get more creative you can think of a fun cake pop shape ahead of time and what you need to make it. I've used some waffle cones to make microphone cake pops and it was tons of fun.

Can I make cake pops from cake mix? Is making cake pops from scratch better?

I don't have too much experience with using cake mix, but they're generally quite heavy on raising agents, which might make forming them into balls a little more difficult. I find a cake made from scratch will have the perfect density and crumb for a cake pop.

Can I make my cake pop other shapes? Are there cake pop moulds available?

For simple balls cake pops are easy to roll with your hands, but there are all sorts of fun shapes you can bake or press your pops into.

The simplest option is to use a large cookie cutter shape and press your cake and frosting mixture into it until it's decently thick. I remembered simple shapes that aren't as likely to fall apart like stars and circles.

If you're using a mould there are two types to choose from...

The first type of mould is where you spoon the cake mixture into the bottom half of a mould and then put the top on so it bakes into the perfect shape every time (in theory).

The other kind is where press your crumbled mix into a hinged mould - this one is much easier if you're working with little hands!

Can cake pops be frozen? Can I make them ahead of time?

Yes they can - if you want to freeze the cake pops after dipping then they should keep well for at least a month if stored in an airtight container. To defrost leave in the fridge overnight.

Why do my cake pops have condensation on them? Why are there beads of water on my chocolate?

Condensation or 'sweating' happens when the water vapours in the air hit something cold enough to turn them back to a liquid - in this case the outside of your cake pop.

To avoid this from happening store your cake pops in an airtight container in the freezer and don't take them out of the container until they have warmed up, which will expose the cake pops to less temperature variation and water vapour.

What's the difference between a chocolate coating and a colour melt coating?

Colour melts are a type of candy coating that is easier to work with and is generally more stable and gives a uniform finish.

Why did my cake pops break? Why didn't they stay on the stick?

Make sure that the diameter of your cake pops are a good ratio for the size of the stick you're using. Usually, the trouble is a big cake pop on a little stick where the weight of the cake pop means it breaks away from the stick.

A small cake pop and a big stick will cause the balls to simply flatten out and crack rather then pierce the cake pop.

If you didn't roll the cake pops tightly enough this can also be a problem. You don't want to press so hard it's no longer a sponge cake but you should make sure they feel solid in your hand.

If you didn't use enough frosting to bind your cake pops this can cause them to fall apart and they're too loosely bound.

You could have also used too much oil, which will make the mixture looser.

Why are my cake pops cracking?

If your cake pop balls are fridge-cold and dipped into the hot liquid coating this can cause your cake pops to crack. Getting the cake pop balls down to room temperature first is important, so it's best to aim for a finished cake pop as soon as your bake has cooled down to room temperature.

Why are my cake pop coatings not smooth?

If the cake pop balls are too cold it will set the chocolate before you have time to drip the excess off, so make sure your cake pop balls are a little closer to room temperature before you begin dipping.

Why are there little bubbles in my cake pops?

If you mixed the chocolate or melts too much then they will take on a lot of air bubbles which can get transferred to the surface of your cake pop, so try to mix with a light hand.

Why are my candy melts so thick and claggy?

Whether using a microwave or stove to melt your candy, be careful not to overheat the mixture - if the sugar in the candy gets too hot it will burn, and even a little can dramatically change the consistency and taste.

The best way of avoiding this is to pay careful attention while cooking and remember that as the mix will contain a lot of heat, so you don't need to keep heating until all the buttons are melted. Instead, turn off the heat and then keep gently stirring until all the lumps are gone.

Some candy melts can be very thick even when fully melted, making them hard to use to coat your cake pops. If you've excluded the above issues, then try stirring in a little Trex or Crisco vegetable fat, a little bit at a time, until you have a thinner, more workable coating.

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