Red Velvet Cake Pops

So I made some cupcakes for a friend a few weeks ago and this week I needed to make something that didn't require my cupcake pan as I had not yet retrieved it.  So on Tuesday I made cake pops, sticking with my portable obsession.  I love red velvet, so I whipped out one of my mixes and went to work.  Here they are:

 Meet Mauria, my house manager.  

Dry Mix:
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c cake flour
1 tsp baking soda


You can mix all of these ingredients together and store in a plastic bag for a quick cake mix.

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c shortening
3 eggs
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c buttermilk
3 tsp vinegar (optional, adds a bit more silky texture)

Other:
1 can of frosting (whatever flavor and brand you like)
candy wafers (about 1 1/2 lbs)

       Heat your oven to 350°. Cream together wet ingredients and add in dry while still mixing.  Don't overmix, it is okay for the pops because you will break the cake up, but if just making the cake it may get rubbery if overmixed.  Pour in a 9x13 pan and bake for 20-30 min until a toothpick comes out clean.
       Once the cake is cool break the cake up into a bowl.  Add 1/2 c of icing (I used cream cheese for this recipe) and mash all together with the cake bits. Add more if needed for the mixture to be formed into balls that will hold together.  Next I use a tablespoon to scoop out the cake mixture and roll into balls.  Once all the cake mix is rolled up I put the balls in the fridge to harden up a bit.
       While they are in the fridge I melt candy wafers (from the candy making isle of the craft store) in the microwave.  I used pink and dark chocolate.  I also get my lollipop sticks and some of that green flower arrangement foam at the craft store, I love Hobby Lobby, affordable, nice people, great products.  Make sure to keep the cake balls cold during all of his so that they don't break all apart.
       I poke hole in each of the cake balls with the lollipop sticks.  I put a bit of the melted chocolate in the holes and stick the lollipop sticks back into the holes to glue the sticks in.  Then roll the pops in the melted chocolate to coat and push the sticks into the foam to let the chocolate dry.  Once the chocolate is dry you have delicious portable cake morsels.

This may sound really involved and hard, but I swear it is not that bad, and it is super fun and everyone (even those who hate red velvet) will love these!



Now I hope you and yours enjoy these!  But please keep those in the South in your prayers right now.  We were struck with a horrible storm this weekend.  While myself and friends and family were blessed, many of my fellow North Carolinians and other Southerners were really affected and harmed by this storm, so please keep all of those affected in your prayers and thoughts.  With all of the death and destruction it will be a very long time until many here recover!  Thank you!