Arrow-right Camera

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Leftovers: Bite-size cake pops are adorable and delicious

Cake pops can be made from a leftover or a brand new cake.  (Julia Ditto/For The Spokesman-Review)
By Julia Ditto For The Spokesman-Review

Have you made or eaten a cake lately? And by some miracle, was there any left over, sitting forlornly on a cake stand or in a pan, wondering what it should do with itself now that the party was over?

It’s not a common occurrence, but it does happen, even to the most ardent treat lovers among us. Since throwing away perfectly good cake is not an option, something else has to be done, and it is turning the leftover cake into adorable, delicious and bite-size cake pops.

This is an especially fun idea for Valentine’s Day. Imagine handing a super-cute sprinkled cake pop to each of your little valentines or presenting a bouquet of them in a vase for a special dinner at home – or even just popping one in your mouth as a treat to yourself.

Regardless of whether you have cake on hand from a recent celebration or need to bake one to make these indulgent cake pops, the effort will be worth it. The number of cake pops you end up with depends on how much cake and frosting you have at the start, but, on average, one boxed cake mix will yield about 48 cake pops.

It starts with the cake, and although it might hurt your heart at first to dump it into a bowl and begin crumbling it to pieces, don’t worry. Soon, the frosting and cake will incorporate into a thick, dough-like substance that you’ll roll into individual balls, chill, stick lollipop sticks into and then dip in melted chocolate.

Darling sprinkles and chocolate drizzles will be all it takes to help you see that your decision to turn leftover cake into cake pops is the best choice you have ever made. Sorry, soul mates. The cake pops are the winners this Valentine’s Day.

Decadent Valentine’s Cake Pops

Adapted from tasteofhome.com.

Leftover cake with frosting

or

1 box cake mix, along with the ingredients required for the cake mix (usually eggs, oil and water)

1 jar frosting, or a homemade batch using your favorite recipe

Candy melts

Lollipop sticks

Sprinkles, crushed candy or other edible decorations (optional)

If using leftover cake, crumble the cake and frosting into a medium-size bowl and mix gently until cake and frosting are incorporated.

If starting from scratch, bake the cake according to the package directions in a 9x13 pan, and allow it to cool completely before crumbling it into a large bowl. Add the frosting ¼ cup at a time and mix gently until the cake and frosting are incorporated.

For leftover and from-scratch methods, add more frosting one spoonful at a time until the mixture holds together when pressed. Be careful not to add too much frosting, as that will make the cake balls soggy and prone to falling apart.

Scoop the cake mixture into balls using a medium-size cookie scoop. Gently roll each ball in your hands to make a smooth sphere. Place each ball on a cookie sheet lined with parchment, foil or wax paper and allow to chill in the refrigerator for a few hours or the freezer for about 45 minutes.

Once hardened, you can re-roll the balls to round out any tops that were flattened while resting on the cookie sheet.

Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and dip the tip of a lollipop stick into it before inserting the stick halfway into the cake ball. This “glues” the lollipop stick to the cake ball.

Holding the lollipop stick, gently dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate and allow excess chocolate to drip off before turning upright.

Immediately add sprinkles, crushed candy or other edible decorations, if desired. Make sure to do it before the chocolate hardens, which will happen quickly.

Allow the finished cake pops to harden by placing them upright in a cardboard box with tiny holes poked into it, Styrofoam block or tall glass filled with uncooked rice. One hardened, present with fanfare to your delighted valentine.

You can also place the cake pops in a plastic container and freeze them for up to six weeks.