There’s quite a story behind these easy cake pop bars…
You see, a few weeks ago, I was baking cupcakes for my daughters birthday party, and I made a horrible mistake. I filled my baking cups way too full, and when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked more like volcanos than cupcakes. It was not a pretty sight! So, I had no choice but to remake two dozen cupcakes the night before the party.
So what was I to do with all of these ruined cupcakes? My oldest begged me to save them to make cake pops, so I put them in a plastic container and threw them in the fridge, to deal with another day. Secretly, I was hoping she would forget about it, because cake pops are just about the worst thing ever to make.
A few days ago, I finally agreed to transform them into cake pops. However once, I started, and remembered how much of a pain it was to make cake pops – the crushing, the icing, the mixing, the rolling, the chilling, the dipping, the falling-down-the-sticks – it was all too much. I searched pinterest for “easy cake pop” but no such thing existed. So, I decided to wing it, and create these cake pop bars, which are something I totalyl invented off the top of my head, not even knowing if they would turn out or not. To my delight, they did, they taste just like cake pops, but are so much easier to make!
If you want to create your own cake pop bars, here’s what you’ll need:
- baked cake or cupcakes with any brown edges trimmed off
- vanilla or cream cheese icing
- chocolate or candy melts
- sprinkles
The beginning process is a lot like making cake pops. Take the baked cake and crumble it. I placed a couple of cupcakes at a time in my mini food processor, which I absolutely love. The whole lot was reduced to crumbs in just a few minutes.
Next, add the icing. If you don’t have storebought and want to prepare just a small amount, I have a secret – I just learned this myself and was totally amazed. You can make it in your mini processor too if you have one! I threw the cream cheese in, added powdered sugar to taste, and gave it a whirl. I didn’t have to itake out my mixer and clean it for such a small batch of icing. You will only need enough to make the cake crumbs stick together, so about 1/4 cup. I start with 2 tbsp and add a tbsp at a time until it is the right consistency. Stir the icing and crumbs together until it forms almost a doughy consistency.
Line a baking dish with plastic wrap, and put the mixture in the dish. Now this is the important step: The thing that makes cake pops so delicious is the dense, chewy texture of the cake that comes from rolling them in a ball. To get the same texture, I wrapped my hand in plastic wrap and pressed down on the cake mixture. Press it down until you can’t press it anymore.
When it’s nice and dense, melt the chocolate or candy melts, and pour a thin layer over the entire dish. Before it hardens, shake on the sprinkles.
Once it hardens, cut into bars. I learned the hard way that you can’t cut through the top or the chocolate will crack. Instead, pull the whole thing out of the dish using the plastic wrap, flip it upside down, remove the plastic wrap, and cut through the bottom to make bars. The chocolate isn’t as likely to crack this way.
Store in the freezer and eat cold – and you’ll have an authentic cake pop taste but will have saved yourself so much work! Amazing, right? I want to make a red velvet version of these – they would be delicious!
If you give these a try, post a picture on instagram and be sure to tag me – I love seeing you try these things out!
Lou Lou Girls says
Hello Fabulous! Thanks for the party! I hope you get a chance to stop by our party that starts tonight at 7 pm. We love to pin and tweet every creation that comes to our party! Lou Lou Girls
Kelly Y says
What a great idea!!! I had a bunch of cake scraps left after baking cakes for a wedding cake. I came across this after searching Pinterest for a way to use up scraps. I absolutely hate making cake pops, but am trying these tonight.