Spring has sprung, and I have a new variety of daffodil in my garden. You won’t find bulbs for these in any store, because they’re cake pops! I won’t claim cake pops are healthy, except that I like how they’re only two or three bites of cake, but still satisfying because they’re so stinkin’ cute.
I came up with the idea for these while nursing Corban in the middle of the night. I have been creating lots of cute food for She Knows, in addition to Eating Richly Even When You’re Broke, so am constantly brainstorming ideas. I was thinking about the different flowers that represent spring to me, and daffodils were the first to “spring” to mind. (Yes, you can groan, our “dad” jokes have multiplied since becoming parents)
At first I thought about doing daffodil cupcakes, but then the idea of a lemon cake pop caught my fancy. I thought the delicateness of cupcake wrappers would be the perfect petals, and started imagining ways to cut the right shape out of them.
I was so excited about the incredibly original idea, that I couldn’t fall back asleep for another hour. In the morning, I quickly did a search for daffodil cake pops, only to find that someone had done something very similar with marshmallows. Curses!
Ah well, it’s still adorable, and I think the bright flavor of lemon really pairs well with the bright and cheerful yellow.
I also chose to use a good quality baker’s white chocolate, rather than candy melts that are typically used for cake pops. I liked that I could add my own flavor and color, and that it was made with more natural ingredients.
While you can definitely use a lemon flavored cake mix and frosting, I liked using a natural lemon flavored cake mix, then adding lemon juice and zest to the cake pop dough, with a plain buttercream frosting. That way I controlled the amount of lemon. I find that lemon frostings tend to be overly sweet and not very lemon-y.
I also add a little bit of lemon oil to the white chocolate. You don’t want to do lemon juice in the white chocolate, as the melted chocolate reacts to liquid and won’t stay nice and smooth for you.
This is my first attempt at cake pops, and I think it’s a good cake pop for beginners. The cuteness is from the cupcake wrappers, so there’s less need for perfectly shaped and smooth pops, and the sprinkles help cover up flaws.
Have you made cake pops before? Do you have any tips for making them work?
Daffodil Cake Pop
These daffodil cake pops are sure to brighten your day and put you in the mood for spring.
Ingredients
- 1 9 x13 lemon cake
- zest of one meyer lemon
- 1 teaspoon meyer lemon juice
- 1/2 cup buttercream frosting, may need a little more or a little less
- 2 8 ounce bars of baker's white chocolate
- 5 drops of lemon oil
- yellow icing color
- 36 lollipop sticks
- Styrofoam blocks
- yellow sprinkles
- 36 small yellow cupcake wrappers
- 36 large yellow cupcake wrappers
Instructions
- When cake is cool enough to handle, pulse half of it at a time in a food processor, until you get fine crumbs. Mix the crumbs with the lemon zest and juice.
- Use clean and dry hands to mix in the frosting. Start with 1/4 cup, and continue adding until you have a dough the consistency of cookie dough. I find it usually takes about 1/2 a cup of frosting for me.
- Use a 1 inch cookie scoop to scoop up some dough, and roll it between your hands to make a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough, until you have about 3 dozen. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Break up the white chocolate, and melt in a microwave safe bowl. I start with 30 seconds, then 10 seconds at a time. Stir after each time in the microwave, and stop heating when it is almost melted. The last few bits should melt as you stir.
- Mix in lemon oil and add yellow food color until you get the yellow color you like.
- Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, and insert it into a cake ball. Repeat with remaining cake balls.
- Once the cake balls are all set on their sticks, carefully dip one into the melted chocolate, slowly twirling it as you pull it out. Place the cake pop into a Styrofoam block, and immediately shake some yellow sprinkles on top. Repeat with all the pops.
- Follow the photo above to poke a hole in the small wrappers, and cut out the petals in the large wrappers. Attach them to each cake pop.
- These are best eaten within a few days. If you'd like them to last longer, wait to put the wrappers on and keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, the put wrappers on when you're ready to serve them.
Notes
Nutritional information is based on the cake mix and homemade frosting I used, and may not be the same for every version.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
36 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 142Saturated Fat: 2.27gCholesterol: 18.89mgSodium: 130.94mgCarbohydrates: 25.39gSugar: 18.97gProtein: .98g
These are so cute and “spring like”!
These are the cutest things ever! Makes me excited for spring. Will be recreating for an Easter brunch this year.