Little chef makes cake pops.

Not many days go by without Gabrielle asking, “Can we bake something?” She’s discovered that tasting as the baking process progresses is a big highlight! I let her pour the measured ingredients into the bowls and do some of the stirring. She really wants to do the eggs all by herself, so we’re working on mastery of the crack. The apron she’s wearing in this picture was a little apron my mom saved – one that I wore when I was a little girl. Gabrielle loves the cupcake and foods apps on the iPhone – and from those she’s learned many of the common baking ingredients. So cool how technology can teach.

I’ve long admired the cute little cake pop creations of Bakerella. So when I saw the Nordic Ware Cake Pop Pan in the Sur la Table catalog recently, I decided it was time to try making some. I used the recipe for Fudgy Cake Pops that was on the cake pop pan wrapper.

Fudgy Cake Pops

¾ semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa

2 eggs

¾ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

24 lollipop sticks

12 oz. chocolate bark coating

Heat oven to 325F. Grease and flour pan. In medium saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips and butter together. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into medium bowl. Add sugar and cocoa. Mix until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add flour and salt. Stir until blended. Spoon batter into bottom half of pan (without holes) filling each well so it mounds over the top of the pan. (I used my Norpro 1tbsp scoop for this step. Worked perfect.) Place top half of pan on top and secure with keys. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out almost clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then remove cake pops from pan to cool completely. Melt chocolate bark according to package directions. Dip lollipop stick into melted chocolate and insert into cake. Repeat with all cakes. Allow chocolate to cool to secure stick in place. Dip cake pop in melted chocolate, spinning to let excess chocolate drip off. Decorate with sprinkles as desired. Place on parchment paper to set. Makes about 24 cake pops.

The only cake pops I’ve tasted are the ones at Starbucks, which I wasn’t impressed with taste or texture-wise. These are dense and rich. I used mint chocolate for the outside coating. I like them better after they had a day to “set.” The chocolate coating has a thin crunch and the inside is moist but not overly fudgy. Can’t wait to try some other flavors!

Compliments to little chef!