Cheesecake Cake Pops with a Surprise Inside!

I never thought I’d turn into a stalker. I have no excuse, I just couldn’t help myself. As soon as I heard that my copy of the Cupcakery: Party-Perfect Cupcakes in a Flash book was headed my way, I had to track my mailman’s every move.

If you follow the blog, Make Bake Celebrate, I’m sure you understand. Toni, the author of both the book and the blog, is nothing less than a cupcake genius.

(3-tier collapsible cupcake stand pictured by Cake Pop Stand Co.)

I knew before Cupcakery even arrived that it would be filled with Toni’s usual vibrant cupcake photographs and drool-worthy cupcake recipes. Once I held the book in my hands, I realized it was much more than that. From descriptions of essential tools and ingredients to step-by-step instructions for different decorating techniques, Cupcakery supplies you with all the knowledge you need to be successful at making stylish, mouth-watering cupcakes. Plus, all of the recipes in the book start with a box cake mix, so you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to get them right and you can easily tweak them to make other baked goods.

To take Cupcakery out for a test run, I used Toni’s recipe for Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes to make cake pops.

Ingredients & Supplies

To make cherry cheesecake cake pops, you will need:

– Cheesecake cake balls (continue reading for the slight modification to the Cupcakery recipe)

– Cheesecake frosting (continue reading for the slight modification to the Cupcakery recipe)

– Maraschino cherries (approx. 40)

– Yellow and red candy melts (or white candy melts and candy coloring)

– LorAnn Oils cheesecake flavoring

– Lollipop sticks or colorful paper straws

– Cake pop stand

Make Your Cheesecake Cake and Frosting

Start by following the Cupcakery recipe for cheesecake cupcakes and frosting, with a few modifications:

Replace the butter in the recipe with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. In my experience, butter in a cake recipe can result in cake pops that leak butter and turn your cake pop sticks yellow. Using just a small amount of oil instead seems to eliminate this problem
Add two drops of LorAnn Oils cheesecake flavoring to the cake recipe. When eating cake pops, you only get a bite, so I like to make them a tad more flavorful than their cake or cupcake counterparts. LorAnns Oils make this easy because they come in a wide variety of flavors to choose from and a small amount goes a long way.

Use a cake pan to bake your cake mixture (for 22 to 25 minutes) instead of a cupcake pan. Since you will be crumbling up your cake and rolling it into cake balls, you want to minimize the amount of hard edges you have to work with.
Add one drop of LorAnn Oils cheesecake flavoring to the frosting recipe and cut the rest of the ingredients in half. Since you will not be covering a batch of cupcakes with the frosting, you will not need as much.

Turn Your Cake and Frosting Into Cheesecake Cake Balls

Start by following the step-by-step directions for making cake balls, using 6 tablespoons of your cheesecake frosting to make your cake ball dough. Put the rest of your frosting in a Ziploc bag and set aside for later use. Do not spend time rolling your cake balls into perfectly smooth circles yet. All you need is a rough round shape to work with.

Using one heaping tablespoon of dough to make each cake ball, this recipe will make approximately 40 cake pops.

Split each of your cake balls in half. Use your thumb to make an imprint into the flat side of each cake ball half. Insert a maraschino cherry into one half and place the other half on top. To seal the cherry into the center of the cake pop, pinch the edges of the cake pop dough together. Press and roll the cake ball dough as much as needed to create a smooth round cake pop shape.

Helpful Hint: Keep in mind that making cake pops is a temperature sensitive process. If at any time the cake ball dough becomes difficult to work with, set your cake balls in the freezer for just a few minutes to add firmness.

Turn Your Cake Balls Into Cherry Cheesecake Cake Pops

Microwave your yellow candy melts in a bowl on low power for 30-seconds at a time. Stop and stir after each 30-second interval then repeat until the coating is completely melted. Stir in 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon of LorAnn Oils cheesecake flavoring, depending on how strong you want the flavor.

Helpful Hint: Make sure that you use LorAnn Super Strength Flavors, which are made for flavoring candy and chocolates. If you use a water-based flavoring, such as LorAnn Baking Emulsions, your coating will seize up. Save the emulsions for when you want to make awesome sugar cookies and funfetti cake cookies!

Dip the end of a lollipop stick or colorful paper straw into the melted coating and then into a chilled cake ball, gently pushing until the stick is about half way through the cake ball and the cherry. Turn your cake pops upright, set them in a cake pop stand, and place them in the fridge to chill before dipping.

Helpful Hint: If you have a cake pop stand designed for sticks but want to display your cake pops on colorful straws, simply insert lollipop sticks into all the holes in your cake pop stand. Then, slide the cake pops on straws over the sticks.

Dip each chilled cake pop straight down into the yellow melted coating until the cake ball is completely covered and sealed. If you need to angle the cake pop, gently tilt it in one direction and then another. Resist the temptation to stir the coating with the cake pop. If you do, your cake pop may fall off of the stick into a candy coating abyss. For more cake pop dipping tips, see 5 Tricks to Stop Cake Pops from Falling Off Sticks.

Remove the cake pop from the melted coating by pulling it straight up. Then, turn the cake pop at an angle and gently tap off any excess coating.

Helpful Hint: A tall narrow bowl works best for dipping cake pops. Keeping the coating warm throughout the entire dipping process is key to having a smooth coating on your cake pops. To avoid having to repeatedly reheat your coating, a chocolate melting pot is a great tool.

Turn your cake pops upright, set them in your cake pop stand. Allow the yellow coating to cool and harden completely before continuing on to the next step.

Microwave your red candy melts in a bowl on low power for 30-seconds at a time. Stop and stir after each 30-second interval then repeat until the coating is completely melted.

Use a spoon to drizzle a small amount of red candy coating on top of a yellow cake pop. Slowly tilt the cake pop from side to side to drip the red coating down the sides. Set your cake pops in your cake pop stand to dry.

Just before serving your cake pops, add a dollop of frosting to the top of each one. Use a pair of scissors to snip off one corner of the Ziploc bag holding your frosting. Apply pressure to the bag to release the frosting as you swirl it on top of your cake pops.

Transforming a delicious cupcake recipe into cake pops is easy. Your only challenge is figuring out which recipe in Cupcakery to try next! Mocha Swirl and PB & J cake pops are at the top of my list.

Cherry Cheesecake Cake Pops

Yield: Approx. 40 cake pops

Cherry Cheesecake Cake Pops

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 box white cake mix

4 tbsp. instant cheesecake pudding

4 large egg whites

1/2 cup sour cream

1-1/4 cup milk

2 drops LorAnn cheesecake flavoring

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

For the frosting:

2 tbsp. instant cheesecake pudding

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 drop LorAnn cheesecake flavoring

3 cups powdered sugar

2 - 3 tbsp. milk

For the cake pops:

Maraschino cherries (approx. 40)

Yellow and red candy melts

Lollipop sticks or colorful paper straws

Cake pop stand

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 cake pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together cake mix and pudding to remove any lumps.

On a low speed, in a separate bowl, beat egg whites, sour cream, milk, and cheesecake flavoring.

Add-in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Add oil and combine.

Beat mixture on medium for about 20 seconds and immediately stop to avoid overbeating.

Pour mixture into cake pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and cool completely.

In a large bowl, crumble cake into fine crumbs using your hands or a food processor.

For the frosting:

In a small bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk.

In a separate bowl, cream butter on medium speed.

When butter is soft and creamy, beat with cream cheese, vanilla flavoring, and cheesecake flavoring.

Add-in powdered sugar one cup at a time while mixing.

Mix-in pudding mixture.

Add-in milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Beat frosting for two minutes on medium-high.

For the cake pops:

Add six tablespoons of frosting to cake crumbs and mix together with hands until completely combined.

Put remaining frosting in Ziploc bag and set aside.

Roll one heaping tablespoon of dough into a rough cake ball shape. Repeat until all dough is used.

Break each ball in half and insert cherry.

Reseal and roll cake ball.

Melt yellow candy coating.

One at a time, dip stick or straw into coating and insert into cake ball.

After coating has hardened, dip each cake pop into yellow coating to completely cover.

Set aside on cake pop stand to allow coating to harden completely.

Melt red candy coating.

Use a spoon to pour small amount of melted red coating onto each cake pop. Tilt the cake pop to run the coating down the sides.

Set aside on cake pop stand to allow coating to harden completely.

Cut hole in the tip of Ziploc bag containing frosting.

Pipe dollop of frosting onto top of each cake pop.

Adapted from Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes in Cupcakery by Make Bake Celebrate.

http://sugarkissed.net/cupcakery/

Now, how ’bout we celebrate the release of Cupcakery with an amazing giveaway? Don’t miss your chance to win a new KitchenAid mixer and a whole host of other cupcake-making essentials! There’s 10 different ways you can enter, so scroll down and get started.
1. 9in Milkglass Cake Stand – provided by Country SweetArt Kitchen
2. 4 Piece Wilton Tip Set – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
3. Mama & Madison Custom Apron – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
4. Paper Straw Party Combo – Provided By Sweets & Treats
5. Sprinkle Prize Pack (assortment picked by sponsor) – Provided By Country SweetArt Kitchen
6. $50.00 Credit to Sweets & Treats – Provided By Sweets & Treats
7. AmeriColor Gel Color 12 Pack – Provided By Country SweetArt Kitchen
8. 12 Ct. 12in Disposable Decorating Bags – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
9. KitchenAid Measuring Cups – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
10. Kitchen Aid 4.5 Qt Stand Mixer Winners Choice of Color – Provided by Make Bake Celebrate
11. 2 Pk. Pink Mini Spatulas – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
12. Wilton 24 Cavity Cupcake Pan – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate
13. Wilton Filling Tip & Cupcake Corer – Provided By Make Bake Celebrate

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Giveaway is open to US entries only. Proof of purchased or entry validation may need to be provided by winner upon winning. Winner will be chosen at random on July 08, 2015. Make Bake Celebrate, and all participating bloggers have the right to display winner name(s) on all electronic publications including but not limited to; blog posts, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. If for any reason a prize is unavailable Make Bake Celebrate has the right to replace said prize for another similar item of equal value.

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48 Responses to Cheesecake Cake Pops with a Surprise Inside!

rachel cartucci says:

June 25 at 7:54 am

I would love to have cupcakery for my baby shower,my son’s birthday or my niece’s birthday!!!!! Thanks so much!

Jacquelyn says:

June 25 at 12:50 pm

I’d love to have cupcakery for practicing some new things to help with my business.

Nakia says:

June 26 at 7:23 am

I really hope I win. My true passion is baking and I would love to turn it into a full time career. I would love to win this kit.

Toiya says:

June 26 at 7:40 am

I would love to win this! Thanks cupcakery!

Vanessa says:

June 26 at 1:51 pm

I would love to have cupcakery for my sisters birthday.

sherri crawford says:

June 27 at 11:49 am

i’d like to have it for fall and holiday baking.

Jan DAguiar says:

June 28 at 9:57 pm

I would like to have you for a Summer Soiree with friends and family.

Melanie says:

June 29 at 12:03 am

These cake balls look so cute and yummy, can’t wait to try them!

Alyssa Emmett says:

July 7 at 9:39 pm

Love cheesecake! I haven’t had some in a while and this recipe is making me want some!

- Janine says:
  
  September 17 at 7:27 pm
  
  I hope you try it and love it as much as I do, Alyssa!
  
Laura Marcel says:

July 7 at 10:03 pm

I will love to have Cupcakery for my birthday or for my graduation party. 😀

Ernesto Savinon says:

July 7 at 10:07 pm

I know my girlfriend and I, will love to have Cupcakery for our birthday, because its the same day. 😀