The messy, gooey goodness of your average state fair corn dog signifies the decadent wonder and endless possibilities of putting food on a stick.
Going well beyond its origins as a way to munch with one hand while playing a carnival game with the other, food on a stick took a more upscale turn with the advent of the cake pop. A simple “why didn’t I think of that” sort of creation, a cake pop is a (generally) small, round baked good that sits atop a stick. But, it’s far more than that, with culinary artists adding personal touches in the form of shapes, decorations, and all manner of creative flourishes.
A food trend that shows no sign of fading, the cake pop has even earned its own special day, National Cake Pop Day, March 24. To celebrate, and get your own cake pop (or sans stick, a cake ball) groove on, here are some helpful YouTube recipes to get you started.
1) The basic pop
Starting from scratch, the popular vlog, My Cupcake Addition offers a how-to with all the necessary ingredients and tools of the trade to dazzle your friends and family with your cake pops. At this point, I’ll let you in on a little secret: One great shortcut to create decent cake pops (or balls) is to get you hands on a Babycakes maker. Essentially a George Foreman Grill for busy bakers, this appliance is a Swiss Army knife for the home cook, and its cylindrical non-stick molds help create uniform goodies.
2) The pop culture pop
Cake pop perfectionists have taken to transforming ordinary sweet treats on a stick to visual treats by decorating them to resemble popular fictional characters, like:
Hello Kitty:
Super Mario:
Monsters, Inc.:
Will these homespun creation give Duff Goldman a run for his money? I doubt the young and young at heart who devour these fun foods will really care.
3) The no-bake pop
Just because you lack baking skills (or an oven, for that matter), your cake pop mojo shouldn’t take a hit. If you have some Oreos on hand and some faux frosting, you can make some no-bake cake pops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OxsAUxX7nQ
4) The non-dairy pop
And in deference to my fellow vegans who most often have to press their noses in agony at the local cake ball shop (yep, there are lots of them around), here’s a recipe that is non-dairy to make some passable cake pops.
Make ’em, buy ’em, or hope your coworkers bring them in to share—the only decision left to make after grabbing one of these babies by the stick is how many to eat before going into a sugar coma.
Photo via Pixabay (CC BY 3.0)