Pumpkin Cake Pops

For years now I have been having an on-going love affair with pumpkin. This time every year, I sneak off to the local cafe to embrace my much adored pumpkin spice latte and succulent pumpkin bread. In the evening, I put my lips to a bowl full of sinfully delicious curry pumpkin soup. At night, I nibble on pumpkin seeds. And for dessert, I let the rich taste of pumpkin pie melt on my tongue. Oh yes, I LOVE pumpkin!

Just when I thought there were more than enough pumpkin sweets to choose from, I had to go and create yet another. It isn't enough that there is pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin chocolates....No. I had to take it one step further: pumpkin cake pops! The funny thing is, I wasn't intending on making cake pops when I started this recipe. In fact, I was trying to make a soft delicious pumpkin bread. The problem was, it was a little too soft! As I flipped over the bread pan, the bread fell apart along with my dreams of eating pumpkin bread that evening. But for all the sweet breads out there that fall victim to the sticky bread pan, there is a solution: cake pops. Its a wonderful way to turn a disaster into a ridiculously sweet and satisfying creation.

So thanks to the dangerously delicious invention of cake pops, I was able to still enjoy the sweet pumpkin flavor that I am infatuated with.

Now, I know the picture below isn't a picture of the pumpkin cake pops. But honestly, I didn't decorate the cake pops so they looked kind of plain. Instead, I'm taking to opportunity to be the annoying mom by showing off the other love of my life, my son. And hey, there's a pumpkin in the picture so it still counts, right?

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1  teaspoons ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in yogurt, vanilla, and pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until cake tests done. 

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Ingredients:
Cake (recipe above)
1 12oz container of frosting
White chocolate for dipping (make sure NOT to use white chocolate chips. They wont melt correctly. Be sure to use white chocolate that is specifically for melting and dipping such as Baker's chocolate!)
Lolly sticks (I just used bamboo skewers that I cut in half)
Styrofoam or other support base for drying the cake pops on

Once the cake is cool, crumble it finely with a fork. Scoop the frosting into the cake and stir until it starts to combine. Add more frosting as needed. The mixture will begin to feel soft like dough.

Using an ice cream scoop, or your hands, make round shapes about the size of a golf ball. Line on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, stick a lolly stick into each ball and freeze over night. Be sure to dip the tip of the stick into the melted chocolate BEFORE you stab into the cake ball. This will help secure the cake ball onto the stick, preventing it from sliding down the lolly stick later on.

Once the pops are firm, melt the chocolate in the a microwave safe bowl for about 1-2 minutes, or until thoroughly melted. Dip each pop in and gently shake off the excess chocolate.

Using a piece of Styrofoam or other support base, stick each cake pop upright so the chocolate can drip down over the cake pop as it sets. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve.