Cake Pops

I was in search of a cake pops recipe that started with cake and frosting from scratch rather than cake mix and canned frosting. I mechanized the process where possible (e.g. using a mixer, first with the paddle and then the dough hook) to combine the cake crumbs and frosting) but of course most of the labor is in shaping and dipping the pops. I was expecting to make about 50 pops, which is Bakerella's yield from a 9x13 cake, but my yield from two 9" rounds was 117 cake balls; I used a tablespoon cookie scoop. (Someone in the recipe's comment thread posted a yield of 54 pops, so your mileage may vary. Widely.) Because I had so many pops, I melted another 12 oz of chocolate chips, and then had enough chocolate left over to dip odds and ends such as mini pretzels. I used 1/3 of a cake of paraffin with each 12 oz of chocolate too (one paraffin cake=1/4 pound); that's the proportion that my husband's family's recipe for buckeyes has for chocolate coating. The recipe says refrigerating the dipped pops will lead to weeping chocolate, but I haven't found that to be the case. (Our dipped buckeyes don't weep either; maybe the wax helps?) Anyway, there's uncooked cream cheese in the pops, so I didn't want to leave them out at room temperature for too long, much less outdoors in the mid-80s for a Labor Day weekend picnic.

The recipe posted links to Bakerella's and Pioneer Woman's cake pops recipes. Bakerella prefers to put her pops stick-side down in a stand, and the Kitchn prefers putting the pops head down on a pan. Pioneer Woman likes to lay hers flat; I took that option because that fit best in my freezer.

The pops were good--definitely a treat, but not overly sweet. I would keep some milk nearby for a chaser after eating a couple, though! Our guests, both children and adults, enjoyed them.