Vanilla Cake Pops
Ingredients
Cake
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature ( 4 tbsp )
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil ( neutral flavour )
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup buttermilk at room temperature ( see #1 below )
Frosting
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp heavy cream
Candy Coating
- 24 oz candy melts ( 690 grams )
- 48 ish lollipop sticks
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until creamy and well-combined, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and mixing until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
- Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar.
- Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
- Add the heavy cream and whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
Make the pop
- Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl, leaving no large chunks of cake.
- Add the frosting to the bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold and stir in the frosting until it has evenly coated all of the cake crumbs.
- Use a small cookie scoop (or 1 tablespoon) to scoop out the cake mixture and roll into a ball; place on a lined baking sheet.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours. At this point, you can smooth out the balls, if you’d like. If you do so, return them to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Melt the coating in a tall cup (a 2-cup measuring cup or mason jar works well for this!). If using melting wafers, follow the melting instructions on the package. If using chocolate, combine the chocolate and vegetable shortening and microwave on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted and smooth.
- Work with only a few cake balls at a time and leave the remainder in the refrigerator.
- Dip a lollipop stick about ½ inch into the melted coating, then insert about halfway into a cake ball.
- Dip the cake ball the entire way into the melted coating, ensuring that the coating meets the coating on the lollipop stick, which will secure the cake pop.
- Allow excess coating to drip off (at this point you can decorate with sprinkles, if desired), then insert the cake pop upright in a styrofoam block. Allow to set completely (about 1 hour at room temperature) before removing.
Notes
#1 To make your own buttermilk, put 1.5 tsp of vinegar in a 2/3 cup measuring cup, and top up with milk. Stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes.