Valentine Cupcake Pops

Once the cake is completely cooled it needs to be made into cake crumbs. I know, seems like a waste, right? It won't seem like that for long. The easiest way to make crumbs is to cut it into pieces, toss them into your food processor, and give it a few pulses until you have some crumbs. Just make sure you have cooled the cake or it will not be what you want. You'll want 1 entire pan and 1/4 - 1/2 of the other pan if you use my favorite recipe above or a 9" x 13" if you make a sheet cake.

Not on the cake, IN the cake! You want to mix in 2 cups of frosting if made from scratch or one store bought can of the frosting of your choice. Do not try to mix it in all at once, but in smaller dollops dotted in several spots. I recommend making the frosting on the spot, not ahead of time, if you're planning to make it from scratch, for the best results and ease of mixing. Mixing with the back of a rounded spatula works well but you may want to use your hands near the end.

Now you may choose to use the mini ice cream scoop or melon baller for this step, or just use a spoon to scoop some of the mixture out and roll it into balls that are about 1 & 1/2" (1.5") in size (a little smaller than a golf ball) and place them on a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or the melted chocolate in the next step won't want to stay stuck. You can also flash freeze in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Wait! They are already in balls, isn't that the shape? If you want cake balls, it is, but not for cupcake balls. To make cupcake balls you need to make the part that would normally be baked in the paper, so roll the ball slightly to elongate it a bit and work one end into a mini cookie cutter, pressing to fill in the shape's edges. You can press against your hand or the wax paper to make the bottom flat. The other side should be rounded to look like the top of the cupcake. Remove the mini cutter and return to the cookie sheet. They need to be covered and returned to the refrigerator for an hour or the freezer about 5 - 10 minutes.

Now you need to follow the directions and melt your chocolate that you'll dip the molded ends into. This makes the "paper" part of the cupcake. You can use milk, dark or white chocolate. Don't let it get cold and don't get water in it. Dip the cupcake balls by holding the rounded end and coating the other end with chocolate, then put them back onto a cookie sheet covered with more wax paper with the chocolate coated ends up. Take a lollipop stick, dip the end in the chocolate and then push into the dipped chocolate end before it cools. Push in only as far as the chocolate coating. Let the chocolate cool and set for about 20 minutes.

After the bottom chocolate is cooled the tops can be dipped into an alternate color by carefully holding them by the stick. After coating the tops, immediately decorate them with candy sprinkles, colored sugar, chopped nuts or even chopped chocolate. Then poke them into a piece of florist Styrofoam so they can completely cool.

Finally, cover with a clear treat bag (or take the time to decorate one while they cool and dry) and secure the bottom with a small twist tie or some pretty pieces of ribbon. Then you can put them in a gift box or fit a cup, glass or basket with some of the Styrofoam and poke a few into that, then cover it with something decorative and give it as a unique and homemade Valentine's Day gift from the heart!