How To: Rudolph Cake Pops!

Hi Nibblers!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you’re all having a wonderful time with friends and family and spending this season with things that you hold most dear. I’ve been away for a while but, I’ve acquired a few gadgets in the time that has passed. With a new editing companion, I’m looking forward to moving Nibble Nation onwards and upwards and experimenting with how I can improve the delivery of my content.
I’m excited to end the year with this Christmas recipe though! Delicious cake pops to top off the year and full of Christmas spirit.

How To: Rudolph Cake Pops (Orange and Cream Cheese frosting)
Makes about 10 cake pops

What you’ll need:
For the orange sponge:
– 180g self – raising flour
– 1 tsp. bi-carbonate soda
– 125mL of sunflower oil
– 2 eggs
– 1/4 cup orange juice
– 1 tsp. orange zest
– 85g sugar
Cream Cheese Frosting:
– 125mL unsalted butter (softened to room temp)
– 125mL cream cheese
– 1 tsp. lemon juice
– 100g icing sugar
– 1 tsp. vanilla essence

For decoration:
– 20 brown M&Ms
– 10 red M&Ms
– 10 pretzels cut in half for Rudolph’s ears
– 250g dark chocolate (Melted)
– 10 lollipop sticks (if available)

How To:
Orange Sponge Component:
1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius
2. Line a 20cm tin with baking paper or lightly grease then set aside
3. Sift flour into a bowl then add sugar and orange zest and mix until week combined
4. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients then add eggs, oil and orange juice and fold until well combined
5. Place cake batter into tin then pop into oven for 30 minutes or until cooked (check to see if cooked by inserting a skewer)
6. Once cooked, leave to completely cool then crumb mixture into fine breadcrumbs then set aside

Cream Cheese Frosting
1. Beat cream cheese and butter on high for about 5 minutes until well combined. It should turn from a yellow hue to an off white colour
2. Sift icing sugar and mix with vanilla essence and lemon juice until well combined

Assembling Cake Pops
1. Combine orange sponge crumbs with cream cheese frosting and mix until well incorporated
2. Mould cake into approximately 3cm x 5cm curved rectangular shapes then place on a baking sheet and pop into a freezer or fridge for about 15 minutes
3. While the cake is setting, melt chocolate on a double boiler until smooth
4. Insert lollipop stick a cm into melted chocolate then place in the bottom centre of cake pop
5. Pop into the fridge to set for 5 minutes
6. Remove from the fridge and place cake pop into melted chocolate, allowing the excess chocolate to drip to create smoother surfaces
7. With brown / red M&Ms place on top of cake to create Rudolph’s eyes and nose
8. Place halved pretzels on top of the cake pop to create Rudolph’s antlers
9. Leave cake pops to dry on a lined baking tray (unless you have a cake pop stand – leave cake pops to cool on rack) for about 10 minutes or place in the freezer for 5 minutes for a faster set – note (some of the chocolate will stick to baking paper so be sure to trim some of the excess chocolate for a cleaner look)

I loved how these cake pops turned out! It definitely put me into the Christmas spirit. The zest from the orange does hit you unexpectedly which adds a little surprise for guests that may not be expecting it. I hope you Nibblers enjoyed this recipe! Be sure to comment below with any thoughts at all.