We’re so excited that we finally get to share the goodness from this Instagram photo Kelli Murray posted a few weeks ago! Mmmm, Valentine’s Day cake pops. What kid, or adult wouldn’t love to receive a homemade cake pop as a gift? You’ve still got time, so let this year be the year you make a happy baking mess in your kitchen in the name of little ol’ Cupid. Just a heads up though. You’re going to want to give yourself plenty of time to make these. It is not a quick process, but certainly rewarding (and tasty) in the end!

Supplies needed:

Cooled cake
1 tub or 1.5 cups of frosting
Melting chocolate
Food coloring (if coloring the chocolate)
Decorative sprinkles
Candy sticks
Styrofoam block or colander
Rounded measuring spoon or ice cream scoop
Parchment paper
Cellophane bags
Ribbon or string

Directions:

Use your favorite bow or scratch cake recipe. Be sure to oil/butter and flour the pan for ease in removing the cake. Bake cake in a 9/13 pan and allow to cool.

Cut the cake into four equal parts. Trim the cake to remove the outer “crust” – leaving the outer edges on the cake can create lumps in the cake pops! Using one piece of the cake at a time, cut it in half. Rub the two pieces together over a mixing bowl to create crumbs. Repeat this step for all of the cake.

Next… Add the frosting! Use a complimentary frosting to the flavor of cake. If you are using scratch frosting, buttercream seems to work best. Prepared frosting will also work. Add just enough frosting to create a moist batter. If you are making pops from the entire 9×13 pan, 2/3 to 3/4 of the frosting can should be enough. Mix the frosting in evenly using either your hands or a fork.

Using either a half circle measuring spoon or a small ice cream scoop, roll the cake pops and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or tray. Each pop should be measured the same, rolled by hand to smooth out the texture and placed on the tray. Wash your hands periodically and keep them a bit moist to help smooth out the texture and keep batter from sticking to your fingers!

We used heart cookie cutters for the Valentine’s theme! We scooped the batter with a measuring spoon, flattened it out to just over 1/2 inch thick and cut the batter with the heart shape. The thicker you make the heart, the easier it is to dip!

Then… Cover the tray in plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake pops for at least 4 hours – if you have time to refrigerate overnight, please do so! If you are making the hearts, overnight is strongly recommended!

Next step, dipping the pops! We used chocolate melts to dip the cake pops. There are several brands and varieties – use the best chocolate you can find/afford…the taste is worth it!

You can use either a styrofoam block or an inverted colander that has holes the size of the candy sticks you are using to hold the pops. If you are using styrofoam, use one of the sticks to pre-drill holes 3 inches apart – this makes life easier when the pops are dipped!

Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to the package instructions – the bowl needs to be deep enough to dip the pop straight down and be submerged in chocolate! If you want to tint the chocolate, follow package instructions – we used white chocolate added a bit of color for a soft pink shell color.

Only take a few pops out of the fridge at a time to dip. Start by dipping the candy stick 1 – 1.5 inches into the chocolate. Next, push the stick into one of your chilled cake pops. Dip your cake pop straight down into the chocolate until it is fully covered and the melted chocolate touches the stick. Tilt the pop sideways over the bowl and rotate it slowly as it drips. Gently tap the wrist that is holding the pop with the free hand to allow excess chocolate to drip – resist the urge to tap the stick onto the bowl, the cake pop might fall off! Turn the pop completely upside down for the last of the chocolate to drip off. With a clean finger, wipe the base of the stick if chocolate drips.

If you are adding decorations, add them now! We used a variety of large and small candy hearts, colored sprinkles and large sugar crystals.

Place decorated pop in styrofoam block and allow chocolate to harden.

As an added bonus, because Kelli is simply amazing, she created a printable gift tag template for you to download and print on your own. Cut them out, punch a hole, and tie them with a string onto your cake pops. A great treat for your kids to gift their friends on Valentine’s Day!

Download Kelli’s printable tags here and get started!