How to make Christmas Cake Pops
These Christmas cake pops are easy to do and look fantastic and provide a great treat for kids and adults alike.
Cake Pops can be quite scary to try first time around, and you will no doubt encounter a few, er, hiccups in your first couple of attempts. But persevere and you’ll find that they are actually quite easy to make, very versatile and are the perfect treat for anyone with a sweet tooth.
I saw these lovable Reindeer Cake Pops on the Pink Whisk and thought I just had to make them. So here’s how I made the Pink Whisk’s Reindeer Cake Pops.
What you’ll need:
- Cake
- Buttercream
- Lollipop Sticks”
- Candy / Chocolate drops
- Smarties (red and pink)
- Pretzels
- White fondant icing
- Black edible paint / pen
1. I cheated. I’ve never ever used packaged cake mix before, but as I was short on time I gave it a whirl. I used Betty Crockers chocolate and vanilla marble cake. (As a side note I must say I was impressed with the cake – it was bouncy, light and moist. A little bit too sweet for my liking, but nice). So whether you cheat or not, the first step is to get some cake!
2. Put the cake into a food processor / stand mixer and mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
3. Add buttercream to the mixture. Note: Only add a small amount of buttercream to 
the mixture and combine thoroughly until all absorbed. I think my first couple of attempts at cake pops didn’t turn out too well because my mixture was too moist, so this time I added just a small amount. If your mixture comes together and starts forming a ball then you don’t need to add any more buttercream. If it doesn’t, then add more a little at a time. Remember you can always add more, but you can’t take it away if you’re over-zealous!
4. When you have a playdough-type consistency (i.e. pliable) put the ‘dough’ mixture in the fridge for at least hald an hour.
5. After half an hour, take out of the fridge and begin shaping the dough. I did the majority of my mixture as reindeer and a few as Christmas Puddings. To make the reindeer shape, simply roll a small ball, then roll between your thumb and fore-finger to create a dip in the middle and a slightly oblong shape.
6. Melt your chocolate. I used Renshaw Simply Melt chocolate buttons, which are easy to use and taste great – simply pop the pouch in the microwave! Take your lollipop sticks and dip the end into the chocolate, then insert this end into the shapes you’ve just created (for this part I kept the chocolate in its original packing). Then place back in to the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
7. If needed, heat the chocolate again and then decant into a glass – I have to say that thi
s is the best tip I’ve had (thank you Pink Whisk) for cake pops. It’s very obvious, but I hadn’t done it before and it does definitely make dipping the cake pops a lot easier, than using a bowl!
8. Take the cake pops out of the fridge and one by one dip into the chocolate. Do this quickly, but with care. They should be dipped for 3-4 seconds and the excess then tapped off. Dipping in to a glass maes it easy to get a full, even coat quickly.
9. Place into styrofoam or a holder and push half a pretzel into the side of the head.
10. Once dried (which is very quick), roll white sugarpaste into small balls, flatten slightly and stick on to the reindeer’s face using a drop of the melted chocolate. Do the same 
with smarties to attach its nose. I then used an edible ink pen to add the blacks of the eyes.
To make the Christmas Puddings, I simply dipped in the chocolate and once dried I used Royal Icing for the ‘white custard’ and pre-bought sugar holly leave’s as decoration.
