More Cake Ball Lollipops

I've had so much fun making cake ball lollipops! I've made them 2x now...for a dessert social, and for Christina's birthday. So this week, I made them for a back-to-school luncheon. I realize I'm getting this post up after school has already started for most people. But if you're reading this...and your kids don't start school until after Labor Day, you're in luck!

I don't have the recipe here for you...but if you go to Bakerella's blog, she has the best recipes and ideas for cake ball lollipops. Plus her cake balls and pictures are WAY better than anything I could ever do.

So I made the cake balls in red, blue, and yellow, and sprinkled them with red, blue and yellow sugar sprinkles. I took them to the luncheon, and all the kids loved them (the grownups did too :-).

I've learned some tricks about making these...and I'm going to make a list of them if you decide to make them yourself.

1. You have to use oil-based food coloring if you decide to buy white candy melts and color them yourself. Any other kind of food coloring will ruin the melts. You can add 1 teaspoon of solid vegetable shortening if the coating seems to stiff/thick. I've found using 2 teaspoons to one bag of melts works pretty well.

2. Be careful not to overheat the candy melts. I melt mine in a double boiler on the stove. There is more risk to overheat them if you use the microwave, so I don't recommend that method.

3. When you're ready to coat the cake balls, dip the end of the lollipop stick in the melts, about 1 inch. Then stick it into the cake ball. This will help the cake ball stay on, and cover the ball around the stick, which sometimes doesn't get enough coverage when you dip the balls in the candy melts.

4. Use a large, deep coffee mug for the melted candy coating. Dip the cake ball in, submerge it completely, and then pull it straight back out. Rotate the ball gently to smooth out any excess, sprinkle it with the sugar crystals (if desired) and stand it straight up into a block of styrofoam to finish drying.

5. The cake balls can stand at room temperature. Don't put them in the fridge; the candy coating will sweat, and then it'll fall off. But be prepared...they're addictive, and I'll bet they won't last very long! I took 47 of these to the luncheon, and only came home with 3! Good thing I kept back 6 at home...or my kids would have started a riot.

6. I've found the easiest way to transport these is to put them in a small, short vase. Or keep them in the styrofoam block, and put that into a basket. I used shredded paper (for gift baskets) to cover the styrofoam. David build a very low platform which I put in the basket under the styrofoam, so the cake ball lollipops wouldn't be displayed too low.

Have fun...I can't wait to make more of these. The possibilities are endless...birthday parties, baby showers, dessert parties, bridal showers...you don't really need a reason!

God bless your table tonight!