Chocolate cake pops

I've seen these treats creeping into more shops and onto more websites. They look great, although I'd always assumed they were difficult to make; especially as some of the stores in town sell specialist equipment to make cake pops.

However, after a quick scan online, I realised that cake pops are, in fact, an easy make. A perfect way to use up leftover cake, too (not that such stuff is often found in our house).

The recipe below was found on the bbc.co.uk/food/recipes site, with my own quick recipe for the sponge cake replacing the suggested fruit cake.

Ingredients
Approx 400g sponge cake:
110g caster sugar
110g butter
110g self-raising flour
2 eggs, beaten

160g milk chocolate (basics worked fine for me!)

For the cake pop covering:
300g milk chocolate
Sugar strands

1. Mix together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually mix in the eggs.
3. Finally, sieve the flour into the mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a cake tin or muffin cases (don't worry too much about presentation as this point; they'll be blitzed in a blender later).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180*c or until golden brown.
6. As the cakes cool, melt the 160g of chocolate in a glass bowl, over a ban of boiling water.
7. Blitz the cool cakes in a food processor, until they resemble breadcrumbs.
8. Mix the breadcrumbs into the melted chocolate, and roll into balls, using your hands.
9. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, and press lollipop sticks into them.
10. Place in the fridge until cold and firm.
11. Melt the 300g of chocolate using the same method as above.
12. Take the now cold pops and coat them in the melted chocolate. Shake the sugar strands over the cake pops and lay them back on the lined tray, in the fridge, until set.
13. Enjoy!


Difficulty rating: 7/10

Wife rating: "Moist and chocolatey!"

Toddler rating: A whole one consumed in 30 seconds. Success.