What to do with leftover cake: Cake Pops!

So, I don't know if you have heard of this fabulous new trend called cake pops, but they are amazing! I have seen them made several different ways. One is to bake a little wad of cake and dip it in either softened icing or melted chocolate. The other way is to take cake, crumble it up, smush icing in with it, and roll it into balls (much like a meatball) and then dip that into melted chocolate. I prefer this taste, because I like the icing in there and it is usually more moist.

As much as I like cake pops, I had never attempted to make them before. You would think, since I love to make cakes, that I would have tried my hand at this. But there is a first time for everything! We had our community group coming over for the first time on Thursday night, so I figured it was the perfect time to try it out! We had leftover birthday cake from Michael's birthday and a half a can of icing. I also happened to have some brown and yellow candy melts from Ashley and Mac's groom's cake!

I took the cake leftovers and crumbled them up in a bowl. I did not worry about scraping off the old icing, because I was just going to add more! And then I added a half a can of milk chocolate icing! (next time I will probably use a little less icing, as they were a tad bit mushier than I had originally planned once they came to room temp).

 After making my hands look very nasty mixing this all together, I formed the cake into balls (again using the same process that you would with meatballs, if you have ever made them.) I did stop and refrigerate them periodically so that they weren't too mushy. Once I had made all of my balls, I went back through and stuck a stick into each one and then popped them into the freezer to harden for dipping!

 All this, I did while making a yummy fettuccine alfredo and chicken for dinner. I did not burn it, either! (okay, the smaller chicken breast was a little...done. but not burnt!)

 The next part of the process was very messy, so I did not take any pictures. Didn't want chocolate hardened onto my camera! All that you do is melt the candy melts (you can get these at Michael's or AC Moore for a couple dollars) and then dip the pops into it. Mine were a little sloppy for some, but I give myself a break because it was my first time! It was so ridiculously easy, though. I only had one incident where the cake fell off of the stick. This is why its important to freeze them if they are mushy!

Here is the finished product! They tasted delish! Michael had never heard of them before, so it was kind of fun. They seemed to be pretty popular too. I will definitely be making them again!