So where did we leave off? I believe I had just ventured in to the world of Pops by Post and I had promised you I would start to share some of my hints, tips, tricks (and probably pitfalls) ad recipes - so that's where we should kick off then isn't it?
With regular Kid's classes and parties under my frilly pink belt (What do you mean you didn't know I did these? Check out the website or facebook won't you, they run practically every week!) demonstrating the cakepop knack is something that's keeping me super duper busy and frequently covered in buttercream no less - so I'll be using this blogalot today as a place to share so you can give it a bash too!
Anyone who has tried making a cakepop before will agree that it often results in a pile of cake shmush, tears, frustration, binning the cake pop sticks and a series of expletives. Your cake crumb and your buttercream and your sticks will leave you certain that they are the work of the devil and are conspiring against you. It's a possibility, but probably not. So why don't we start this week with how to make the perfect cakeball? .
Your cakepop dough.
I make my own sponges but for the sake of saving your sanity I hereby whisper to you in my best Nigella impression - you can use shop bought, I won't tell anyone, or some leftover cake you might have hanging around (Leftover, what does that even mean?!). We can come back to madeira recipes another day.
Now for your buttercream - EASY PEASY, you won't be needing a lot so to start off why don't you beat 100g of unsalted butter until pale and fluffy, sieve in 200g of Icing sugar and a drop of vanilla then mix until thick, stiff and pale in colour. And tastes like buttercream. See, so far so good.
Now obliterate your sponge. In a large mixing bowl break it down to crumbs. That's the fun part! Slowly, tiny bit by tiny bit add the buttercream to the crumbs until it sticks together to form a ball. You don't want it to be too moist you want it to just hold. If you add too much buttercream then you can guarantee the emotional breakdown will soon follow suit. Don't add enough then it will fall apart too. Its a case of trial and error and practice. Just take it a dollop at a time until you get the best consistency. It should be firm and not wet. The best way to check is to try making one. Take a scoop and squeeze in one hand until it holds and roll between your hands to create a perfectly formed ball. If it holds without cracking then you've nailed it. You're aiming for a golf ball size or smaller and repeat until all of your cakeballs are made.
Whilst they are chilling melt yourself some chocolate (and have a cup of coffee). Depending on how many balls you made you'll probably need 100g per 5 or 6 balls as a guideline Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in to the chocolate and insert in to each ball, just by a about 0.5cm. Pop them back in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes. Then one by one dip them until they are fully immersed in the chocolate. Remove, then over the bowl, tap and rotate gently to let all of the excess chocolate drain away then leave to stand in a cake pop holder or even some polystyrene.
And that's a simple cakepop! Go, Master it, then we can start getting all fancy and start making all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes on sticks! If it didn't go quite right this time - don't panic, it just takes a little practice - or why not ping me a message and we'll try figure out where it went wrong together :) Or, if you are feeling a bit crazy you could always arrange a gals night in/party and have cakepop making as a feature (cakepops and prosecco are a perfect pair don't you know!)
I'm off to the kitchen now to get cracking on my Mother's day beauties - boy do I have some treats for you, Keep an eye on the facebook page and website and I'll upload them in no time.
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