How-To Tuesday: Holiday Cake Pops From Jackie Alpers’ Sprinkles!

All this month, we're cracking open Quirk Throws You 5 Awesome Parties for how-tos to help your holiday party be The Greatest. This week, Holiday Cake Pops are on the menu. (This recipe can also be found in Sprinkles!) These silver and gold cake pops not only add a festive shimmer to your shindig, but they make perfectly sweet finger food to munch on while mingling!

You'll need:

1.  1 (18 ¼-ounce) box cake mix, any flavor*
2. About three-fourths of 1 (16-ounce) container prepared frosting, any flavor
3. 1 pound (16 ounces) white chocolate candy melts, preferably Belcolade White Chocolate**
4. 1 to 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
5. 12 lollipop sticks
6. Large foam block, optional, for drying***
7. ½ cup pearlescent or metallic dragées, nonpareils, and colored sugars of your choice
8. 1⁄8 to ¼ teaspoon metallic luster dust and/or spray-on glitter, such as Color Mist

* Dark-colored cakes may require a second coating of white chocolate.
** Real white chocolate such as Belcolade has a smooth cream-colored finish.
*** To create completely round cake pops, dry them upright by pushing the sticks into a large foam block. Alternatively, you can place them upside down onto the lined baking sheet, sticks pointing up.

Directions

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
2. Prepare cake according to the package directions in any size pan. Let cool.
3. Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Mix frosting into cake crumbs, ½ cup at a time, until mixture has the consistency of a firm dough. Roll into 1 ½-inch balls.
4. Place balls on the lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 15 minutes. (Freezing the cake balls keeps them from falling apart during dipping and helps the white chocolate set faster.)
5. Melt white chocolate in a heatproof bowl, either over a pan of simmering water or with 30-second bursts of high power in the microwave, stirring after each interval until smooth.
6. Dip about 1 inch of each lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and immediately insert into a cake ball. Return to the lined baking sheet.
7. Dip pops into the white chocolate and spin to cover completely. Decorate with pearlescent or metallic dragées, nonpareils, or whatever sprinkles you like. Let dry before painting on luster dust with a brush dipped in vodka or applying spray-on glitter.
    

Try different metallic sprinkles, dusts, and coatings; gold or silver edible spray paint; or edible glitter or sanding sugar. Visit a baking supply store for products your supermarket doesn’t carry, or try online suppliers such as cakeart.com, candylandcrafts.com, or kitchenkrafts.com.

This recipe makes 12 cake pops.