Chocolate Cake Pops

Last week was Enid Blyton's 115th birth anniversary. If the books you read as a child were written in English, more often than not, they would have been written by her. At an age when one's imagination is boundless, her books were the perfect vehicle for one's flights of fantasy!! It all started when you made friends with 'Noddy' and 'Big Ears' and stayed with you as you went secretly scouting with the 'Secret Seven' and the 'Famous Five'. And if you were a little girl, you wished and hoped you could go to a boarding school like 'Mallory Towers' or 'St.Clare's'.

But, my all-time favourite has to be the "Magic Faraway Tree" series. A series of stories about three kids who discover the "Magic Faraway Tree" in the "Enchanted Woods"!! Each time the kids climb up the tree, there is a new magical land waiting to be discovered. With names like "The-Land-Of-Do-As-You-Please" and "The-Land-Of-Take-What-You-Want", the book was the stuff of kiddie dreams. And characters like "Moon-Face" and "Saucepan Man" ensure that the book will always be an all-time bestseller!!!

And for all the adventures that were going on in these books, the food was equally important. With her way with words, Enid Blyton got us excited about lemonade, cucumber sandwiches and even, hard-boiled eggs!! I've lost count of how many times I wished for a midnight feast like the ones in Mallory Towers. But nothing fired up my imagination, like the Faraway Tree treats - "Google Buns", "Toffee Shocks" and my inspiration for today's post, "Pop Cakes"!!

No, I won't attempt to make Pop Cakes. Some things are best left in the realm of imagination as reality can only disappoint!! But, I use them an an excuse and an inspiration to try my hand at cake pops. Invented as a solution for leftover cake and popularised by 'Bakerella', these bite-sized creations have caught the fancy of the baking world!!

There is nothing complicated about cake pops. It's just time consuming with a lot of steps, much like a craft project. I went with chocolate crumbs bound by chocolate ganache, rolled them into balls that were stuck on top of lollipop sticks. Then, dipped some in white chocolate and some in white chocolate tinged with colour and tried my best to make them look pretty. Browse the internet for inspiration on how to customise these cake pops and trust me, you will be amazed by people's creativity and patience!!

 

I don't think I need to elaborate on how they tasted. Chocolate cake crumbs held together by chocolate ganache and then, dipped in white chocolate - close your eyes and it will come to you!! And no matter how old you are, there is something delightful about biting and breaking into that hard-ish white chocolate shell, only to encounter this luscious, soft chocolatey filling. These are not just crowd-pleasers, they are crowd-winners!!!

Thank you Enid Blyton!! As a child, for my flights of fantasy and as an adult, for keeping the child in me alive!!

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Chocolate Cake Pops

makes 10 cake pops

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cake crumbs (I crumbled pieces of this cake, you can use a store bought or cake mix cake)
• 3/4 cup chocolate ganache (I simply mixed 100 ml cream with 65 ml melted dark chocolate)
• 150 gms white chocolate
• A few drops of food colouring
• 10 lollipops sticks

Directions:

• Place the cake crumbs in a large bowl.
• Add the chocolate ganache spoonful by spoonful to the mixture and combine the two. I did the mixing with my hands to get a better feel!! Add just enough ganache so that the crumbs bind together so that you can form them into balls.
• Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll into a ball. Place it on a baking sheet that has been lined with some non-stick paper.
• Once all the balls have been formed, place the baking sheet in the freezer for thirty minutes to harden up.
• Remove the baking sheet after thirty minutes. Take a lollipop stick, dip it in some melted chocolate and stick it into a cake ball, about halfway through.
• Once all done, pop them back into the freezer to harden up for atleast fifteen minutes.
• Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Remove the cake pops from the freezer. One by one immerse them completely in the melted white chocolate until they are completely coated. Hold them over the bowl until all the excess chocolate drips off and then place them standing up in a glass and into the refrigerator to set.
• You can add a few drops of food colouring to the white chocolate and then drizzle over the cake pops. You can even use sprinkles, chocolate shavings ...Be creative!!
• Tip: To understand the process better, check out this link: http://divascancook.com/2012/04/how-to-make-cake-pops-easy-best.html