Blended Kitchen loves football season. It may or may not have something to do with a certain little nugget who plays noseguard on a team. Our weeknights of practice lead to the anticipation of game day and what else? Tailgating! These cake pops are the perfect addition to a tailgate or football party. Your football fans will love this sporty dessert, but you better make extras – people will be stuffing their faces with these before the coin toss is even over.
Football Cake Pops
With football season just around the corner, these are the perfect sweets to make to kick off the season! Trust us, this recipe is a true touch down at any tailgate – people will be doing the Heisman to get to them. This recipe makes about 25 to 30 cake pops. But, depending on the size of your pops, it could make a few more or less.
We started with a cake from (gasp!) a box. We prefer devil’s food cake, but you can choose whatever kind of cake you’d like. Bake the cake according to the box directions and crumble the cooled cake into pieces.
Make your own buttercream frosting by combining one stick of butter, one 8-oz package of cream cheese, one 1-lb box of confectioner’s sugar and one teaspoon vanilla extract. Store bought frosting will work just fine, but the buttercream will make these cake pops absolutely delectable.
Add about 3/4 cup of buttercream icing to cake mixture, using your hands to mix in the icing until it becomes easily moldable.
Roll the cake mixture into football-shaped balls.
Roll out the cake mixture into your desired shapes and put them on a plate. Stick the plate in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, or until cake pops are chilled.
While the cake pops are firming up in the freezer, put together a double boiler to melt the candy coating in.
Melt chocolate candy coating slowly over hot – but not boiling – water.
Pour the melted candy coating into a mug and pull the cake pops out of the freezer. Dip the tip of your cake pop sticks into the candy coating.
Insert the dipped cake pop stick into each cake pop, letting the chocolate set. (It will go from shiny to a little bit matte.)
Once the chocolate candy coating has set on the cake pop stick, submerge each cake pop into the candy coating to cover the entire pop.Remove pop from the candy coating and let the excess chocolate drip off.
When all the excess coating has dripped off, prop the cake pop up and let the candy coating set. We used an old shoe box and poked holes into it so that the cake pops could stand on their own.
Once the candy coating has dried, it’s time to decorate the pops. We just piped the rest of our buttercream frosting into a ziploc baggie and cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag. The buttercream frosting won’t harden like the chocolate will, so be careful when transporting the pops. If you want a more lasting decoration, use white candy coating and pipe it out of a ziploc.
You’ll be the MVP with these adorable pops.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
1 box devil’s food cake mix, prepared according to box’s directions
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese at room temperature
1 stick butter at room temperature
1 (1-lb) box confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (1-lb) bag candy coating (we get ours from Karen Ann’s Supplies in St. Louis)
Paramount crystals (to thin the candy coating – also from Karen Ann’s – don’t go to Michael’s for these!)
Lollipop sticks (also available at Karen Ann’s)
Directions
Prepare devil’s food cake according to box directions. Let cool completely.
In stand mixer, use paddle attachment to combine cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Gradually add in box of confectioner’s sugar, mixing sugar into icing completely.
When sugar, butter and cream cheese have been mixed together, add vanilla extract and stir until combined.
Crumble the cooled devil’s food cake until it reaches a dirt-like consistency. Begin by adding 1/2 cup of buttercream frosting.
Mix together frosting and cake crumbles, until it holds its shape when you roll it into balls. Mold your cake pops into whatever shape you’d like them to be in.
Place all cake pops onto plate or tray. Stick pops into freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until chilled and firm.
While cake pops are chilling, assemble a double boiler and melt candy coating over hot (but not boiling) water. Pour melted coating into mug for easy dipping. When you are finished with the candy coating, it is important that you DO NOT put it down your disposal. It will clog it completely.
Pull cake pops out of the freezer. Dip one end of each cake pop stick into the candy coating, then insert into the cake pop. Let the candy harden (it will turn from shiny to not-so-shiny when it’s set.)
Dip each cake pop into mug of candy coating, covering the pops completely. Let the excess coating drip off of the pop (you may have to tap it a few times to get it to come off) and let pop dry (like we did with our old shoebox.)
If cake pops get too warm, they will start to fall off the sticks. It would be a good idea to take a few cake pops out of the freezer at a time while dipping so that they don’t get too warm.
Spoon buttercream frosting into ziploc bag. Seal bag and cut pin-sized hole into one corner of the bag. Pipe frosting out onto dried cake pops to decorate.
Leave the cake pops out at room temperature – do not put them into the refrigerator. The candy coating will crack.
Spiral one of these into your mouth!
Nom. nom. nom.