Spooky Ghost Cake Pops

I love baking, but find cake pops quite daunting.  Dr Oaker sent us some ingredients to try their Spooky Ghost Cake Pops and over the weekend we will be giving them a try.

Preparation time: 2 hours plus cooling and chilling
Cooking time: 40 minutes plus 10 minutes to melt 2 lots of chocolate

​Ingredients:

For the cake balls:

·  120g Dr. Oetker 72% Cocoa Extra Dark Fine Cooks Chocolate

·  150g soft unsalted butter at room temp

·  200g Light Muscovado Sugar

·  3 medium free range eggs, lightly beaten

·  2 tsp Dr. Oetker Madagascan Vanilla extract

·  125g Plain Flour

For the cake pops:

·  2 X 100g bags of Dr. Oetker White Chocolate Chips melted for sticking the balls onto the sticks & coating the cake pops

·  Teaspoon of vegetable oil

To decorate the ghosts:

·  1 x  pack of Dr. Oetker White Regal Ice

·  Icing sugar for rolling out

·  Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing for sticking the regal ice to the cake pops

·  Dr. Oetker Jet Black Gel Food Colour

Method:

1.     Preheat the oven to 140°C (275°F, gas mark 1). Grease and line an 18cm (7 inch) square cake tin

2.     To make the fudge brownie mix melt the extra dark chocolate in a microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted,  or in a heat proof bowl on a gentle heat over a bain marie. Leave to cool.

3.     Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand beater for approx. 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. If you haven’t got an electric mixer you can do this with a wooden spoon in a bowl .

4.     TIP: if you are in a rush or the butter is quite cold, the addition of a couple of tablespoons of boiling water at this stage, beaten on slow until mixed will speed up this process.

5.     Add your eggs on a slow speed about a third at a time, mixing until combined.

6.     Add your cooled chocolate stirring continuously.  Add the vanilla Extract and stir. On slow speed mix in the flour until just combined. Do not over beat. Alternatively fold in by hand.

7.     Pour the mix into your cake tin and bake for approx 40 mins. Check it with a sharp knife or metal skewer. You want this to be slightly under baked, so the knife should come out pasty, with a nice paste on the knife.

8.     Leave to cool, then turn out into a bowl and crumble with your hands to fine fudgy crumb.

9.     To make the cake balls, take a handful of fudge cake mix and squeeze together tightly - you are aiming for little balls about the size of a large walnut, approx. 30g each. If the mixture is dry, the addition of a little chocolate or vanilla butter cream will help the mixture stick

10.  Once you have all of your balls ready, dip the end of your stick into the melted chocolate chips  and push the stick into each ball, about half way in. Hold the ball to stop it splitting open when the stick goes in

11.  Once all the cake pops are ready, refrigerate them for 1-2 hours before dipping them, or pop into the freezer for 30 mins, so the balls are firm enough to hold when dipping in the coating

12.  To coat the cake pops melt Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks White Chocolate on low power in a microwave bowl until just melted -  stirring occasionally or over a bain marie on a gentle heat

13.  Plunge each cake pop into the chocolate coating until completely covered. Tap the cake pop gently on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Once all are covered, dip each cake pop again

14.  To decorate the ghosts roll out half the white regal icing into a large rectangle using plenty of icing sugar and a large plastic rolling pin. Roll fairly thinly – 2 to 3mm thick. Squeeze a little Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing onto the tops of the cake pops or brush with some melted white chocolate, to aid sticking of the sugar paste

15.  Using a cake cutter or small bowl, cut out circles of regal icing and place on each of the pops, smoothing down with your fingers to create the white sheet effect. Allow a little wavy movement by using your fingers to create smooth

If like me you find cake pops a little daunting, then there is a really great video tutorial here

Disclosure: We were sent some ingredients to make our own cake pops and I will share our results with you.