Cake pops are confectionery treats made up of cake and frosting covered in candy coating. For your cake pops to remain pliable and maintain their shape, crumble the cake into small enough chunks so as to form an adhesive mixture.
Candy melts are an economical, food-grade confectionary discs which melt easily, providing endless color choices and being budget-friendly! We highly recommend them!
Ingredients
Traditional cake pops are made by mixing crumbled cake pieces with frosting as a binder, then hand rolling 1 1/2-inch balls before being dipped and decorated to meet individual specifications. Butterfly cake pops employ a similar process but add special flourishes like sweet decorations for an added flourish!
To create the cake mix for cake pops, you should begin by crumbling a large cake into fine crumbs. This will provide soft filling texture that’s enjoyable to consume while helping decorations adhere properly when dipped. In addition, fine crumbs help the pops maintain their shapes during set.
Once the cake crumbs are finished, add the frosting and combine thoroughly until everything comes together into a smooth, soft mixture that easily forms balls. Press this dough into paper cases in a 12-hole bun tin, press out into balls, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden-brown in colour.
On Day Two, press your cake pop mixture into butterfly cutters of various shapes until they form the shapes you require. When complete, place back into the fridge to chill further before serving.
Once your cake pops are chilled to their optimal temperatures, remove each from the fridge and insert a lollipop stick about two-thirds of the way through it. Dip each cake pop in the melted candy coating (if they haven’t already), holding on tightly while allowing as much chocolate/candy coating to come off on its own as possible – once all have been covered return them back into the fridge so their coating sets.
Decorate the butterflies when their candy coating has set completely, using edible decorations such as pearls, candy beads, tiny candies and colourful sprinkles for decoration. Add finishing touches such as licorice lengths or ribbon for wings before serving immediately.
Preparation
Butterflies are beloved insects that lend themselves well to a range of food craft projects, with their delicate wings lending themselves perfectly for creative cake pop designs. Making butterfly cake pops can make an enjoyable treat suitable for birthday parties, spring celebrations or other special events.
To create cake pops, start by crumbling a large vanilla cake finely into a large mixing bowl. Next, stir in 1 tablespoon of Renshaw Vanilla Frosting until all the cake crumbs have been covered by it; this will give your pops more dough-like consistency that allows them to be formed into various shapes more easily. If there’s not enough frosting to bind together your mixture properly, gradually increase it until your texture meets expectations.
Once the mixture has set, use a butterfly-shaped cutter to shape cake pops into wings. If this option is unavailable, simply press them into a piece of cardboard to achieve similar effects. When complete, set them aside to cool before devouring your creations!
Alternatively, if making multiple cake pops at once, it may be beneficial to prepare them the day prior by refrigerating or freezing them until ready to dip them in candy coating. While the cake pops are cooling, prepare candy coating by melting some candy melts either microwave-style or double boiler style; to thin down your coating use 1 teaspoon of canola or vegetable oil as thinnant.
Once the cake pops are chilled, frost them with a light layer of frosting to seal in any remaining crumbs and set the color. For an enhanced effect, divide up 1/2 cup frosting into small bowls and tint each to your desired shade; spread this frosting across each butterfly to outline wings patterns; decorate further using edible glitter or sprinkles before setting each cake pop onto a piece of licorice length (or similar candy) as antennae for display.
Filling
Traditional cake pops are created using a mixture of cake crumbs and frosting that has been coated in candy coating, held together by the frosting as an adhesive agent to form dough-like consistency that can easily be formed and dipped. Additional ingredients may also be added into this mix for flavor or decorative purposes (cookies, nuts or candies).
As part of creating cake pops, it’s crucial that the cake be crumbled into fine crumbs for optimal shaping and dipping results. Crumbs should feel moist yet sticky when touched and form smoothly into balls when dipped; if they feel uncooperative add additional frosting as necessary to soften them up.
Once the cake crumbs and frosting have been thoroughly mixed together, use a spring-loaded scoop to portion out your mixture quickly and uniformly into cake balls. This ensures a seamless process as well as evenly sized cake balls!
If using candy melts, make sure that only small increments are heated before mixing them with hot water. Overheating can cause the candy to harden and lose its viscous texture.
Candy coating should be warm enough to easily coat cake pops without melting decorations such as crumbs or sprinkles.
After dipping, allow the cake pops to set at room temperature briefly before placing them in the refrigerator. Storage at different temperatures could cause moisture to form on their surfaces, ruining both texture and appearance of decorations.
Decorating
It’s one of my favourite cakes to make, since it requires minimal ingredients! All it requires is a cake layer, chocolate pudding and strawberries topped off with some whipped cream – making it perfect for using up leftover cake batter while being absolutely delectable!
Start by baking and cooling two 8 or 9-inch round cakes according to their respective box instructions, then freeze one of them before cutting (freezing helps reduce crumbs). When cool, slice into thirds horizontally before cutting each third into 2/3 and 1/6 pieces to form butterfly wings.
Next day – Shape cake pops into butterflies using butterfly cutters. Gently press cake pop mixture into each cutter and ease out. Once all shapes have been made place them on a tray to set.
Once your butterflies have set, you can begin decorating them. I like adding a dab of icing on each to help secure my butterfly while also adding a small piece of tape on its backside if necessary.
Add some special touches with edible gold spray around the edges of each butterfly for an extra special effect. I added colored sand at their bases as well for an integrated theme look.
Next I used each long cake pop lollipop stick and carefully dipped it in one of the color melts, taking care not to allow too much chocolate on it or it could start melting and drip off of it onto my stick. Finally I placed them all onto a tray lined with baking paper until set.
Wrapping
Now it is time to cover your cake pops with their color coating! Remove them from the freezer (they should still be firm but not frozen solid) and begin covering one by one – either gently dunking them in chocolate, or spooning it over top – just be mindful not to allow too much chocolate into each cake pop as this could cause it to disintegrate, leading to its eventual destruction! When dousing, don’t completely submerge each pop as doing so could result in its disintegration!
When using candy melts with colored colors, oil-based coloring should always be used; water-based colors could cause the chocolate to thicken and cause its surface area to decrease significantly. Wilton offers pre made colours which are perfect for this task.
Make sure that there is enough melted candy coating available to cover all parts of the cake pop; otherwise it may drip down the sides and crack once set.
Once the cake pops are covered in their desired colour coatings, allow them to dry on a wire rack before placing upright in a block of Styrofoam for storage in the fridge for up to three days if necessary.
Before storing your cake pops, if you would like to add an extra touch, why not use some of the leftover icing from creating them and attach a fondant butterfly as an embellishment? Although this step is optional, it adds an elegant finishing touch that adds depth and sophistication.
Frozen cake crumbs make an excellent binder when shaping into balls with your hands, although jam or honey could provide alternative sticky solutions that might be less sugary for those who do not prefer frosting.
