Cow Cake Pops

So when I was thinking about making these, I had no idea how they would actually turn out. You have these grand visions in your head, and then when the finished product is actually sitting before you, sometimes it looks nothing like your vision! These definitely don't look as cute as my inspiration picture, but I like them nonetheless. AND they are even more delicious than I imagined! Here are the step by step instructions for making Cow Cake Pops.

First start out with a cooled 13x9 in. cake. (Choose whatever kind you want. This time, I used devil's food cake...and got it on sale for $.97!) I baked my cake one evening and crumbled it the next day when I found the time.

Using a fork or your hands, crumble the cooled cake in a large bowl. (About halfway through, I wondered how a food processor would have worked...it probably would have been much faster!)

Choose a frosting to compliment your cake. Mix 2/3 of the frosting in your cake crumbles until you can't see anymore of the frosting.

Once your frosting is completely mixed in, roll the dense mixture into small balls (if I had a little scoop, I would have used it). Please note: your hands will get very dirty! :)

After you have rolled the cake mixture into balls, place your baking sheet in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes or in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

I decided to use jellybeans cut in half for the cows' noses. The picture I saw used pink M&Ms, but they were too expensive at the craft store. I also thought about using pink marshmallows but couldn't find any when I looked at the store. Go ahead and cut your jellybeans in half before you start dipping your cake balls.

I used mini chocolate chips for the cows' ears and feet (the feet are optional, but I think they look cute.) Dump some out in a bowl or shallow container for quick, easy access!

Pour your candy wafers into a microwaveable bowl and begin warming them up based on the directions on the package.

I found that the cake balls stayed on the lollipop sticks better if you dipped one end up the stick in the melted wafers, stuck that end in the cake ball, and then chilled it for a little longer (maybe 10 minutes or so). Once your cake ball on a stick is chilled, you may need to rewarm your candy wafers.

You will also need some styrofoam or a sturdy cardboard box to stand your cake balls up to let the candy shell harden. I thought I was so smart to recycle a cereal box! BUT... It definitely did not work well. The cake balls are a "little" top heavy and constantly fell over. Next time I will most definitely invest in a bit of styrofoam! Once your stand is ready, you are ready to start dipping those cake balls!

Unfortunately there are no pictures to show from the actual process because you have to move fast! But I'll tell you exactly how I did it!

I watched a video demonstrating one lady's method for coating her cake balls. It was very helpful. You can find the video here. I do not recommend moving your cake pop around in the melted candy too much. You would think that it would be easiest to just drag it around in the candy but doing so will most likely result in the cake ball pulling away from the stick. So I just kind of spooned candy over the cake ball to get it covered. (If there's a little cake showing closest to the stick, that's ok because people won't see that part!) Next, make sure you roll the pop around in your hand and lightly tap the stick to get rid of the excess candy coating. (Also, Bakerella demonstrates how to do this in her video...again...very helpful to watch first!)

Once the excess has dripped off, you'll need to work fast getting your decorations on! The candy shell dries quickly. First I stuck the jelly bean half on the cake ball, and I pressed it firmly to get the
"pointed" end of the jellybean really stuck on there! Then I put 2 chocolate chips on top as ears. Then (quickly!) I stuck 4 chocolate chips around the bottom as feet (or hooves I guess I should say.)

Stand your cake pop in the styrofoam and let it fully harden. (It will harden at room temp - no need to put it in the fridge unless you're really in a hurry!) If you were just using sprinkles, you would be finished! But now it's time for the cows' spots and eyes.

Using the remaining 1/4 cup of frosting, pipe 2 dots of frosting right above the pink nose for eyes. Then pipe spot outlines on the cows' bodies (I also piped a little extra inside the spot and then spread it around the with backside of one of the kids' baby spoons.) You could stop there, but I had black sprinkles that I poured on top of the icing. [Looking back, I wish I would have done something a little different for the spots (I think there's an edible-ink pen that you can use for things like this that probably would have worked much better.) When you're wrapping your cake pops, you have to worry about the frosting (the eyes and the spots) getting smudged.]

Your finished product may look something like this!

I wrapped mine in squares of plastic wrap because the little lollipop bags I bought at the store wouldn't fit over the cake ball. But they do sell larger bags that would have been much easier to use! Wrap a bow around the bottom and call it quits people!

So there you have it. The sweetest cow you'll ever eat!