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When Pesach comes (it’s not so far away!), many of us can only start cooking from the time we turn over our kitchens. Purim, though—that we can plan. We can freeze things and be utterly organized. The most ambitious among us have already selected their mishloach manot baskets and have written up their seuda menus. Because there are both advance planners and last minute folk amongst you, Whisk brings you our Grand Purim Countdown—every week, up until Purim, you’ll enjoy new ideas, inspiration, and recipes that you can incorporate into your mishloach manot, seuda, and Purim parties.
We begin our Countdown with something that’s a little more labor intensive—but utterly worth it. This is not a week-before-Purim project (though we’ll be bringing you simple and quick ideas suitable for the last minute too…everything at the right time)! For those of you not inclined to fuss, you’ll still enjoy just gazing at these adorable creations from the innovative Bakerella.
And now…the fun begins!
1 (16-ounce) container ready-made frosting
32 ounces (2 pounds) chocolate candy coating
16 ounces pink candy coating
M&Ms or similarly shaped candy
sprinkles
48 basic cake balls, uncoated
Follow steps 1-6 for Basic Cake Pops.
Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator or freezer and begin shaping the cake balls into cupcakes. Take a chilled ball and roll it into a cylinder shape. Then slide it into a flower-shaped cookie cutter (1 and 1/4 inches wide x 3/4 inch deep). The cake mixture should fill the entire cutter, with any excess forming a mounded cupcake top on one side. You can use your thumb to keep the shape flat on one side, allowing the rest to form a mound on the other. When you have the shape the way you like it, gently push the shaped cupcake out of the cutter from the bottom. If the mixture is still firm enough, you should also be able to gently pull it out by holding the top mounded side.
Place the cupcake-shaped cake ball, right-side up, back on the baking sheet covered in wax paper. Continue with the remaining cake balls.
Once the balls are all shaped into cupcakes, return them to the freezer for 5-10 minutes to keep them firm. Place the chocolate candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl. These bowls make it easier to dip the cupcake bottoms completely in candy coating while holding the bowl without burning your fingers. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)
Melt the chocolate candy coating, following the instructions on the package. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make sure you do not overheat the coating.
Now you’re ready to dip. Take a few cupcake-shaped cake balls at a time out of the freezer to work with. Transfer the rest to the refrigerator at this point, so they stay firm but do not freeze.
One at a time, take a cupcake-shaped cake ball and, holding it by the mounded top, dip the bottom into the melted chocolate candy coating—just to the point where the mounded shape starts. Remove it from the chocolate, turn it upside down, and swirl your hand in a circular motion. This will cause any excess chocolate coating to slide down. When the coating reaches the bottom of the mounded cupcake top shape, you can stop. Have a dish towel handy to wipe off your fingertips, as it is highly likely that you’ll get some coating on them. Don’t use water to rinse your hands, as getting water in the coating can make it unusable.
Place the half-coated cupcake shape on the second lined baking sheet, chocolate-candy-coating-side up, mounded side down. Immediately dip about half an inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating and insert the stick straight into the flat, chocolate-coated bottom of the cupcake while the chocolate is still wet. Push it no more than halfway through.
Continue with the rest of the cupcake-shaped cake balls. Allow the chocolate to dry completely.
Melt the pink candy coating in the same way that you melted the chocolate. You will now decorate the tops. This all comes together quickly, resulting in a finished cupcake pop.
Holding its lollipop stick, dip the top of a cupcake in the melted pink candy coating. It should completely cover the rest of the exposed cupcake and meet the edge of the chocolate coating.
Remove the cupcake pop from the coating and turn it right-side up. If the coating is too hot, it will start to drip down the sides. If this happens, let the coating sit for a few minutes to cool and start to thicken. Then when you dip the tops, the coating will stay in place.
While the coating is still wet, use a toothpick to touch up any areas the coating may not have covered. Then place one M&M (M-side down) on the top and add sprinkles for decoration.
Place the cupcake pop in a prepared Styrofoam block to dry completely. Repeat with the remaining cupcake pops.
Store the cupcake pops in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for several days. You can also cover them in small treat bags, tied with a ribbon, and leave them in the Styrofoam block on the counter.
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