cake pops...I've never made them... help!

[purpleme]

Okay so my sister's bday is coming up and I wanna make some cake pops ...the thing is I have never attempted to make them!

I keep hearing from people that they are difficult to make...

I would love some tips/advice on what is essential to making these popular cake pops.....

tia

[writingwithheld]

Which version are you making? The kind where you crumble cake and mix with frosting to form a ball or the kind that you use the cake pop machine to bake them in a ball? I have done both and they are really time consuming. I liked the taste of the crumble method better, but it was messier. If you bake them they are pretty easy, but if you want to fill them with jam it can be really sloppy.

[foodie2012]

Add frosting a little at a time, until the cake balls are easy to form. If you add too much, it will be a sticky hassle to work with.

Freeze the balls for a few minutes so they can harden and be easier to dip/work with.

Just be aware that these are time consuming. It takes me 2-3 hours to make cake balls.

[redheadbaker]

They're not difficult, they're just time-consuming.

I bake a sheet cake (or two 9-inch rounds, depends on which pan(s) is/are easier to reach, lol), let it cool for about 20 minutes then crumble while still warm. Then I zap a can of frosting for about 5 to 10 seconds in the microwave, just to soften it, not melt it.

Then I pour about 3/4 of it into the cake crumbles and mix. If it seems dry, I add a bit more, but I usually don't need to. Chill it in the fridge for about an hour. Then I use a cookie scoop to make the balls, then roll them. Then I melt some chocolate (I've NEVER had luck with candy melts, or coating chocolate, even when thinned with shortening or oil) and dip the ends of the popsicle sticks into the chocolate, then insert one into each cake ball. Chill in the fridge again.

Then re-warm the chocolate and dip each cake ball.