The idea of Cake Pops was created by the food blogger extraordinaire Bakerella, and these delightful little treats are very de rigueur at the moment. I made some Snowmen ones last year to include in my Christmas gift hamper, so this year I wanted to do them again but with a different christmas theme... and what is more chrismassy than a plump little Christmas Pudding? One made out of Christmas Cake and stuck on a stick - that's what!
Next, form the cake into balls, and place on a lined baking tray. When you have created all the balls, place in a freezer for about 1 hour to firm them up. Then take some candy melts of your chosen colour, in this case I chose milk chocolate ones, and melt them in a double boiler or microwave.
Dip the end of a lollypop stick into the melted coating, then stick it into the hardened balls of cake mixture. Put back in a fridge for 5 minutes or so. I had a little more mixture than lolly sticks, but I decided to just keep them and cover them anyway.
Stand your cake pops in a stand (I created one myself out of cardboard from an old shoe box), and allow them to set in the fridge.
Once they are fully set, you can ice them or decorate in whatever way you see fit. For the christmas puddings, I used royal icing and sprinkles. Make some royal icing, but not too stiff - you want it to have a little runnyness. Spoon half a teaspoon of icing on the top of each pop, and push around with the tip of the spoon to give the runny appearance. I then sprinkled some Holly and Berry sprinkles on top and voila!
Give the icing about 12 hours to fully set, then the pops are ready to put in individual bags, ready for your gift hamper.
One of the reasons I chose christmas cake rather than normal cake as the filling for my pops, was not just that it is more festive, but because christmas cake is slightly less perishable than regular cake. This is why I try to keep the amount of butter cream to a minimum. Last year, I didnt use cake at all, but made the insides out of marzipan that was allowed to dry out before coating.
I will store these in the fridge until it is time to send the gifts. As the cake is complete sealed in candy coating, as well as a wrapper, it should easily last up to a week out of the fridge.
The perishability of food is the main consideration when making edible gifts, as due to time constraints, you want to be able to start making them as soon as possible. Jams and chutneys are great for this as you can make them months in advance. I have made jams in previous years, but wanted to concentrate more on baked goods and sweets this year. These cake pops are quite time consuming, but satisfying and the feed back I have had from recipients in the past is that they are always enjoyed.
I shall be doing more edible gifts soon, so keep coming back.
NOTE: Supplies needed can be bought online from Cakes Cookies and Crafts Shop
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