Squishy birthday sweets
kids. And because it’s a recipe that encourages kids to play with their food, it provides that walking-on-the-wild side feeling that most tots can’t resist. With just a little planning ahead on your part, you can turn the next birthday party at your house into one they’ll be talking about for weeks to come—or at least as long as it takes to lick all the chocolate from between their fingers.
By Julie Kendrick
First step
You’ve seen cake pops before, of course, sitting primly on the countertops of local bakeries and coffeehouses. Hyper-decorated and covered in cellophane, they usually fetch upwards of two dollars for what is, essentially, a couple of bites of frosting-covered cake on a stick. While the fancy-schmanzy cake pop certainly has its place as a special treat, here’s a little secret about them that even the guy behind the coffeeshop counter probably doesn’t know—they are super easy, and super fun, to make at home with
40 July 2012
Here’s what you need to do: Bake one cake mix (any old kind will do, but you can’t go wrong with chocolate) according to package directions in a 13" x 9" pan and let cool in pan for at least a couple hours or as long as a day or so (a little bit drier is actually better). When the kids are ready to party, give one big mixing bowl to each “chef.” Open up a can of frosting and dole out about three quarters (about 1-1/3 cup), divided equally into each bowl. Then slice off slabs of cake and drop some into each bowl. “Kids,” you may now
intone, “Starting squishing!” The kids’ job is to thoroughly smoosh the cake and frosting together, and to enjoy the squishy fun of mashing something so delicious into a beautifully combined treat. Let them do this for as long as they’d like—they really can’t hurt this stuff, we promise. The amount of frosting you add doesn’t have to be super-precise, but you want the mixture to be moist enough to roll, but not overly full of frosting when you bite into it. You’re aiming for more cake than frosting, but cake that holds its shape nicely. So yes, now you have permission to taste it. When everyone begins to tire, and the frosting seems completely mixed into the cake, it’s time to roll the mixture into balls. You can make them any size you want—as big as bakery cake pops (about 1-1/2" in diameter) or smaller, more bite sized versions (about 3/4"). If you have an antsy bunch, you’re done. Eat them all up and call it a party well done. If your crowd has the attention span for a little bit more
The fun part of cake ball making. Photo by Julie Kendrick