diy- creating apple cake pops

when I saw bakerella's cake pops,
I was compelled to find a way to incorporate cake pop making,
into my life.

and then I saw her apple cake pops.
and I died.
because they were perfect-
for a little someone's upcoming birthday!

And so, I talked sweet GGirl into a snow white apple theme for her birthday.
partly, so I could make the apple cakes pops for her party.

....and to make cake pops with a smile on your face......
you'll need some flexibility for yourself
{and those little darlings surrounding you}.

and, in other words:
mr.m. took the kids on lots of "errands",
during the evening I was creating these.

to do:
watch this
bake a cake mix in a 9 x 13 pan.
{go for a dry cake finish versus a moist cake finish}

needed:
wax paper
cookie scoop
baking sheet
foam pieces {wrapped with plastic wrap- to protect it from dripping, melted, chocolate if you plan to re purpose it again}
cookie or lollipop sticks
melting chocolate
icing {I used: cream cheese & vanilla}




bake the 9 x 13.
let it cool.
when it's really, really cool,
crumble it into a bowl-
with your hands or a wooden spoon.



add the icing.
don't add too much.
I used about 3/4 a container per 9 x 13 cake
you want it to be sticky, but not gooey.
{if your cake mix is too icing heavy- it will fall off your stick.}

use your hands to mix the cake and icing together.



it should easily form a rounded ball.
but again- it shouldn't be gooey.



line a baking sheet with wax paper.
using your hands- or a cookie scoop,
form small balls of cake.
place them on the wax paper.



keep going- till your cookie sheet is full.
{mine are a little "bell shaped" since I was making apples}.



then- the trick:

chill them.

refrigerate them- overnight (covered).
or just for an hour (uncovered).

but the goal is to get them nice and chilled.



after chilling.

when you're ready to start dipping-
get your chocolate ready.

pour it in a micro safe bowl,
and melt it slowly.
mixing every 30 sec- till melted.



I found adding several tablespoons of vegetable oil to my chocolate,
was very helpful in keeping it thin & runny.
{other blogs suggested adding 1/4c of crisco.}

grab your cake pops from the fridge.
working quickly-
dip your cookie sticks into the chocolate.
push those into your cake pop.
then refrigerate them again-
till the chocolate around the stick is hardened.
about 10 min.
{do not skip this step- it's the do or die part of this tutorial}.



working quickly-
**again**
pull your: now-hardened-cake-pop-sticks-in-cake-pops,
out of the fridge.
slowly pick them up and coat them with melting chocolate.

I found using a spoon, and spooning the melted chocolate over the cake pop,
worked very well.

another trick:
make sure to thickly coat the spot where the cake pop and the stick meet.
that's your cake pop's foundation-
so you want it strong with chocolate.

and if you cake pops seem to be a little wobbly on their stick-
pop them back in the fridge again and let them harden a bit.



when coated.
place it upright in your foam.

tadaaaa!
here they are.
in all their red, melted, finished glory.
don't look too closely- there's lot's of imperfections.

but....I love them that way.
just like real apples, right?
a few brown spots, smudges, odd shapes here and there.



yes.
yes.
I think those apple cake pops turned out just perfect for me.
and easily charmed this darling birthday girl!