Saint Patrick's Day Cake Pops

St. Patrick's Day cake pops are fun and festive especially for kids. First, I bought a box of Lucky Charms cereal and picked all the marshmallows out of it because they are the perfect St. Patrick's Day decorations for my sweet treats. I made a yellow cake mix and baked the cake batter in a per-greased cake pop baking pan which I had recently purchased at Target. After the cake balls had cooled, I melted some Ghirardelli white chocolate bars (found in the baking section of most grocery stores.) I dipped the sticks in a little bit of the melted chocolate and stuck it into the top each cake ball and let the chocolate cool down and harden. Then placed them on a plate in the freezer for at least 15 minutes preferably more. I pretty much left the majority of the pops in the freezer until I got to the next section taking them out in small batches. I placed the melted chocolate into a really tall mug and dipped and tapped each one before placing back into the original cake pop stand that doubled as both a baking pan and a holder/stand for the cake pops. Working quickly, I placed on colorful sprinkles and one Lucky Charm Marshmallow per pop. After allowing them to dry for at least an hour or two they can easily be wrapped individually and make adorable/tasty gifts!

St. Patrick's Day Cake Pops

 Recipe by: Julie Hodges

Ingredients:

• cake mix plus eggs, oil, and water
• box of Lucky Charms cereal (marshmallows is all that is needed)
• white chocolate from baking section preferably Ghirardelli white chocolate bars
• multicolored sprinkles

Supplies:

• double broiler (pot of water with a metal or glass bowl that can fit on top of it)
• sucker sticks
• cake pop pan/s
• optional: cake pop stand or a piece of foam for the sticks to fit into to dry (pan works great for this)

Directions:

Sort the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms cereal. Then Follow the recipe on the box of cake mix or whip up your favorite cake recipe. Using a pre-greased cake pop pan sprayed with baking spray, place a spoon of batter in one half of the cake pop pan. Fill each one most of the way full.  Place on the top half of the pan and clip into place. Bake 10-15 minutes dependent on the mix or recipe. You will notice pieces of batter cooking out of the holes in the top when they are done. Open the pan and let them cool. Then trim excess cake with knife or kitchen scissors.

After the cake balls have cooled, melt a few squares of chocolate in the microwave by tempering the chocolate. Dip each stick in the chocolate and place into the top of each cake ball. Allow them to set and place in freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes preferably longer.

Then melt the rest of the white chocolate in a double broiler over medium heat tempering the chocolate. After the chocolate is melted and ready to use, place in a tall mug, cup, or bowl. Then in small batches remove the pops from the freezer and dip each one individually into the chocolate making sure to remove the excess by gently tapping it on the side and allowing it to drip off. Place into a cake pop stand, foam block, or the cooled cake pop pan used from baking as shown above stick side down. Sprinkle on the multicolored sprinkles and place one Lucky Charm marshmallow on the top. Allow the chocolate to set and dry for several hours. Then they can be served and or individually wrapped.

pictures and recipe blogged by Julie Hodges