Cake Pops

Yum! I learned how to make these last week at my homemaking group (part of our church's Titus II ministry) and wanted to give them a try.

Here's what you need:

• Box cake mix and required ingredients (water, oil, eggs)
• Store bought frosting
• Almond Bark Chocolate (or basically any quick melting/quick setting up candy chocolate)
• Candy sticks
• Embellishments (sprinkles, white chocolate drizzle, crushed up candy, etc.)

Make the box cake according to the directions. After it cools, slice it up into tiny pieces and scoop them into a large bowl. Stir/chop the cake until it is very crumbly.

Mix in approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of frosting. The amount of frosting depends on how moist your cake is. I used about 2/3 of a cup. You'll basically be rolling the cake/frosting mixture into cake meatballs, and want just enough frosting for the cake to hold together (but no more).

Freeze the cake balls for 20 - 30 minutes until firm. Make a pilot hole in each cake ball with your candy stick, dip the tip of the stick in melted chocolate, and put it into the hole. (The melted chocolate on the end of the stick acts like glue). Put back into the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes to harden the chocolate.

Melt the almond bark chocolate according to the directions on the package.* Dip each cake ball in the chocolate, making sure it's entirely covered.

Decorate, and you're done!

*FYI: If you're tempted to use regular chocolate chips, don't do it. They'll take a long time to set up and harden (ie. you'll be sitting at the table holding each cake pop for 20 minutes until the chocolate shell is hard enough to set down without denting/smudging). Also, I am chocolate chip melting impaired. I couldn't do it- I kept ending up with a large, hardened, smelly, burnt ball of unmelted chocolate. Does this happen to you? So chocolate chips were a no go.