Vanilla Cake Pops
All my grandchildren love cake pops—those yummy, truffle-like sweets on a stick—and I have to admit so do their parents and their grandparents!
After hitting a home run by making chocolate cake pops, I decided it was high time to try my hand at making vanilla cake pops. It actually took three tries before I was able to perfect the recipe. After I made the first batch, my adult daughter told me that she thought Starbucks’ vanilla cake pops were better. Hmmpf! 🙁 I, of course, considered that a challenge—ergo, the two additional attempts. The goal was getting the level of sweetness and the texture just right.
So, I tweaked away at the recipe until I was satisfied with the results. I then conducted a blind taste test with an actual Starbucks cake pop and my version. Hubby Roger volunteered to be my taste tester. A tough job, but somebody had to do it. 😉 After trying both without knowing which was the Starbucks cake pop and which was mine, he declared a winner. I’m happy to say that he chose my version. 🙂 Now, as for my daughter, the cake pop critic—she, too, gave thumbs up on my cake pop.
As I said in my post on the chocolate cake pops, making them is reasonably easy. It’s just that there are several somewhat time-consuming steps involved. When you see the happy faces of all the little (and big) ones you know, you’ll be pleased that your efforts have been worth it.
My 9-year-old great niece, Josie, visited recently. I had unfrosted cake pops in the freezer as I thought she’d have fun dipping them in the chocolate and decorating them with sprinkles. I don’t know who had more fun—Josie or me. After she had eaten her first (of two) cake pops, Josie told me that they were better than Starbucks. Score!
Vanilla Cake Pops
Makes approx. 32 cake pops using a 1½-tbl. cookie scoop
Ingredients for the Cake
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbl. milk
Ingredients for the Frosting
- 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 6 tbl. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tbl. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Nonpareil sprinkles, for garnish
Ingredients for the Candy Shell
Approx. 10 oz. Wilton Bright White Candy Melts
A few drops of red food coloring, optional
Additional Supplies
Pkg. of lollipop sticks
3 empty egg cartons (You will turn the cartons over and then punch a hole in the middle of each section that held an egg.)
Directions for the Cake
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9″ round baking pan with parchment paper. (I always spray a tiny bit of baking spray first so that the paper doesn’t slide around. Then, I use a baking spray (or grease and flour) on all areas of the inside of the pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 portions, alternating with 2 portions of milk. Mix just until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any large air pockets.
Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Once cake is cool, cut it into easy-to-handle sections and trim the sides and bottom of any really brown surfaces. Then, using your hands, crumble the cake into small pieces into a large bowl. You will add the crumbled-up cake to the bowl in which you’ve made the frosting.
Directions for the Frosting
Beat the confectioners’ sugar and butter until thoroughly combined.
Add the milk and vanilla. Continue beating until smooth.
Add the crumbled-up cake to the bowl with your frosting and beat until you have a smooth truffle-like consistency.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1½-tbl.-sized cookie scoop, place balls of the cake pop mix on the cookie sheet. I was able to form 32 balls, but I confess to having “taste tested” the mix and probably ate the equivalent of a cake pop.
After you have formed all the cake pop balls, place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Set out the lollipop sticks.
Just before removing the cake pop balls, melt the Candy Melts following package directions. I always start out microwaving at 50% power. Then I check to see how the chocolate is melting and microwave in short intervals at 50% power until fully melted. If desired, once chocolate is melted, add a few drops of red food coloring and stir to make desired shade of pink.
Remove 4 to 6 cake pop balls at a time from the freezer. If you take them all out at once, the last cake pop balls you dip may have softened too much. It will depend on how warm your kitchen is.
Insert a lollipop stick into a cake pop ball and immediately dip into the melted candy topping, twirling it to cover the pop. Remove and immediately sprinkle with nonpareils. Stand each cake pop in one of the holes you made in the bottom of the egg carton.
The candy shell will dry and harden pretty quickly. You can then remove the cake pops to enjoy or store.
I store the cake pops in a Tupperware container and just leave out on the counter. You can refrigerate the cake pops, but I would allow them to come to room temperature before eating (just a personal preference). Then again, the cake pops might be enjoyable straight from the fridge, but I’ve never tried them that way.
Note
There are several photos in my chocolate cake pops post that you may find helpful in making these vanilla cake pops.
Source: A frantastic original