We got invited to a Halloween party and were asked to bring a "treat." I was ecstatic, I have a huge list of fun Halloween treats I've been dying to try. This time I chose a Chelsea classic, Cake Bites! With a Halloween twist; on lollipop sticks and turned into Frankensteins! I've seen "Cake Pops" done so creativley but it looks like the work is long and exhausting. Cake Bites already take me awhile so I didn't want anything that would take too much longer to decorate. I saw a post here:http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/10/craft-o-maniac-monday-link-party-with.html where the Frankensteins were really dipped marshmallows, which also looked yummy! (Her's look way better than my Frankie faces! I guess I need a more steady hand!!) Well, needless to say I got hit with inspiration!
Here's what you're going to need:
1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix, plus the ingredients to mix up the cake mix
1 Can of Cream Cheese Frositng
In addition to, semi-sweet chocolate chips, lime green candy melts (I used Wilton's Spooky Green color," lollipop sticks, Black Frositng Decorating Gel (not pictured) and something to hold the Cake Pops. I used Wilton's Cake Pop Stand, but I'm thinking I would have preferred just a plain styrofoam rectangle.
1. Mix up a Red Velvet Cake Mix according to it's package directions. I prefer Red Velvet, I think it's the best, but really you can use any kind of cake and frosting mix. I also recommend the Duncan Hines brand, their Red Velvet is amazing!
2. Pour the cake batter into a 9x13 pan and bale according to the package directions.
3. Let the cake cool about 45 minutes. You want the cake to be a tiny bit warm still. Crumble the cake into a mixing bowl and add only half the jar of frosting. (If you let the cake cool completley, then you will end up using the whole container of frosting. If it's a little warm, you will only need to add half of the frosting. This way you can cut some calories and the cake bites won't be overwhelmingly sweet. This is all just my personal preference.) :D
4. Mix the cake and the frosting together until it forms a dough! Freeze the dough for about 1 hour so that it handles easier.
5. Take a half cup measuring cup and scoop out the dough. Then divide the 1/2 cup of dough into 2 balls. I use this method so that all of the Cake Pops will be identical in size.
6. Take the dough and roll it into a ball to condense it. Then roll it into a cylinder and tap the top and bottom, lighlty onto the counter to make them flat. They should be about the size and shape of a large Marshmallow. Insert the lollipop sticks and freeze for about 30 minutes so they wont slide off when you dip them in the chocolate.
7.Melt the green melting chips in a bowl. I found it easier to use a spoon to put the chocolate on the Cake Pops.
Then I tapped them on the side of the bowl to take off any excess and to even it out.
8. Now dip the "heads" in the melted semi-sweet chocolate chips!
And finally, the BEST part, decorating!!!!!!! It took me a bit to get comfy with it but once I did I went wild! lol. I liked getting creative and making each face unique.
WIth a few of the Cake Pops I made them into faux cupcakes for a bit of diversity. I topped them with Halloween sprinkles. ALl I did was put semi-sweet chocolate on the bottom half and white chocolate on the tops. If you're gonna add sprinkles, do it right away because the chocolate dries FAST!
The best part of having a Red Velvet cake is the Blood Red Centers! lol.
These were a hit for both kids and adults at the party. The best part is most people thought they were marshmallows until they bit into them and got a Flavor Explosion Surprise!
