Mary had a little lamb cake pop

A coworker of mine came in at the beginning of December and told all of us that she and her husband were going to adopt a baby at the end of the year. That meant within a month she was going to be a mom.  All of us in the office were very excited for her.

So we did what any office would do... we threw her a shower.

Being the dutiful employee that I am, I offered to take care of the cake and decided that we would do a Mary had a Little Lamb theme. So I got to work trying to come up with something awesome to do for this coworker.  We shared an office and she is my office buddy.  So I wanted to do something special.

That is how I came up with these little guys.  I found them on Bakerella's website.  If you don't know who Bakerella is, oh man you should go check her out.  She is the guru of cake pops.  She may have invented them.  She does amazing things with them, tailoring them to all sorts of themes and ideas.  She is one extremely creative woman.

photobombed.

These cake pops were not too difficult to do, and they end up looking incredibly impressive.  I would not recommend them as the first type of cake pop you try making, but if you have made a batch or two before, go for it.  If you haven't done a cake pop before, I would suggest you go for the non-sprinkled version of this pop.

This guy looks a little neurotic.  Maybe because he knows his fleece is a little ruffled?

These are great for a shower or a kid's birthday party.  They would also be fun for an Easter dinner table...  or an Eid Ul Fitr dinner table. :)

Here we go...

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix of your choosing
• 2/3 can of frosting of your choosing
• 1 package candy melts in white
• 1 tablespoon unflavored shortening
• chocolate chips
• sugar pearls
• lollipop sticks
• foam block

Directions:

First make cake balls: 

Bake cake mix according to directions.  Once cake is cooled, cut into four sections.  Pick up two sections and rub the rough edges against eachother to make crumbs.  Do this with all the cake.  Alternatively you may put the cake in a food processor and pulse until it is in fine crumbs.

Mix 2/3 of the can of frosting into the cake.  It should come together into a firm dough.  If not, at a little more frosting. Be careful not to add too much or the balls will not hold together.

Roll the cake mixture into 1 inch balls.  Place on a flat sheet pan and refrigerate for ten minutes.

To decorate the cake balls and turn them into cake pops:

While the cake is chilling, take the foam block and use a lollipop stick to poke holes enough distance apart so that the cake pops do not touch when inserted into the block.  This will be your drying stand for the pops, and can also be covered in paper or fabric or even fondant if you like to use as a serving display.

Next melt some chocolate chips on low for 30 seconds in the microwave.  I put them in a plastic baggie before doing this step and squish them every 30 seconds until they seem melted enough that I can pipe them. Do this also with a small (read: tiny) amount of the white chocolate   Snip a corner off the baggie.  On parchment paper draw a lamb face with the chocolate.  I did this by making an oval then two small lines for the ears on the top "corners" of the oval.  Then pipe small white circles for the eyes and top with tiny dots of the milk chocolate for the pupils. Set aside on the counter to set.  You can alternatively buy candy faces for the cake pops at places like Michael's.  Another idea is to use some sort of roundish chocolate candy and then pipe eyes onto the candy to turn that into a face.  The possibilities are only as limited as your creativity. 

Melt the candy melts according to the directions on the package.  Add one teaspoon of shortening to the melted candy and mix until it is well incorporated.  This will ensure that the candy melts flow well enough to cover the cake balls.

Remove cake balls from the fridge.  Dip a lollipop stick into the candy melts and then insert it into the cake ball.  Be careful not to insert the stick more than halfway into the cake ball.  

I would not recommend doing more than one cake pop at a time.
I ended up with a bunch of broken pops because of this.

Then, carefully dip the cake ball into the candy melt mixture.  If needed, use a spoon to completely coat the cake ball with the candy.  You can also use a toothpick to help coax the melted candy over bald spots that are small.  While holding the stick you can lightly tap your wrist to help the candy cover the cake ball and to help the excess candy fall back into the bowl.  If needed run your finger around lollipop stick at the base of the cake ball to clean that edge as well.

While the cakepop is still wet, attach the chocolate face and sprinkle the candy pearls all around the melted candy.  Try doing this in a deep bowl, as the pearls tend to bounce all over the place.  If you are choosing not to use the candy pearls, use a toothpick to add texture to the melted candy.

I feel kind of naked... 

I just needed my fleece.  Its white as snow, you know.

Place the cakepop in the foam block you already prepared and move on to the next one.

Enjoy!

Source: bakerella