Trinkets of Sunshine

Happy Valentine’s Day Eve! (Never thought you’d hear that one now, did you?)

Well, being that it is Valentine’s Day (Eve) and all, I thought I’d get in the spirit with these deliciously, Valentine-y cake pops! They’re sure to put a smile on your Valentine’s face.

Secret: These are super easy, but super messy to make, but it’s all SO worth it in the end.

Also: You may be thinking they sound too sweet (as if that’s even a thing), but they’re actually really not. They’re made with German chocolate cake mix, which cuts back on the cloyingly sweet nature of traditional Devil’s food or fudgy chocolate cake. Trust me, you’ll see…

Cake Pops For V-Day (or any day, really)

Ingredients:

1 box of German Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Trader Joe’s brand) and the necessary accompanying ingredients (mine called for butter, eggs, and water)

1 package of white almond bark (I used Log House- but it can be anything, fanciness not necessary here)

Sprinkles, Valentine’s-themed in this case. See...super easy!!

Directions:

Bake the cakes according to the package, using a 9’’ x; 13’’ cake pan, baking until just done (leaning towards the side of under-baked)

Allow the cake to cool, but not completely. Just until you won’t burn your hands when rolling the cake pops…burned hands are zero cool/fun. (Hint: cut the cake in a grid, like you would if you were serving it, to allow it to vent more quickly…If you’re nervous that you are butchering the cake, don’t worry, it won’t matter what it looks like once we put it into “pop” form)

And we’re just getting to the messy part. With a melon scooper, scoop out pieces of the cake. Yep, just scoop right on into it. Relax, it’s going to be fine. No one will ever know or care about how pretty the cake looked before you demolished it and rolled it into pops.

Once, scooped, put your hands to work and roll the cake into little balls, about one-inch in diameter (about the size you would use for cookie dough), stick them with an hors d'oeuvre stick, and put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (Another hint: I would “skin” off the top layer of the cake. It doesn’t stay in pop-shape as well as the inside of the cake.)

Next, put the cookies sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes to let the pops set. While, in the freezer, melt the almond bark in the microwave (you could use the stove, but it tastes just the same in the microwave).

Take the pops out of the freezer, dunk ‘em in the almond bark, put them back on the wax paper, and give them a good dose of sprinkling.

Then…wait, that’s it! Like I said, super easy.
Enjoy! Happy Valentine’s Day!