Cake Pops

1. Crumble the cakes into a large bowl with your fingers until broken up into pea-sized bits. Mix in about 2/3 of the frosting to start with, using either a large wooden spoon, or your hands if you want to get messy. Mix until the frosting is evenly dispersed. Take a small amount of some of the cake mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons or so) and try rolling it into a ball with the palms of your hands. If it stays together, continue to roll the rest of your cake mixture into balls and place them on a parchment or a wax paper lined baking sheet. If they fall apart or do not hold together, add a little more frosting until the mix is moist enough to allow you to roll an intact ball. You may not need to use all your frosting. I like to use the least amount of frosting possible, as it helps keep the texture of the cake pops more cake-like, and less mushy.
2. Once you have rolled all the cake mix into balls, place in refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes. When the cake balls have been chilled, melt a small amount of the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions. Take one of the sticks, dip about 1/2 inch of the end into the melted candy and stick it about half to three-quarters of the way through the cake ball. Don’t go too far into the cake ball, or it will fall apart. The candy melts will help adhere the stick to the cake.
3. Place the cake pop (we can officially call them pops now since they are now on a stick) back onto the parchment and repeat process with all remaining balls. Place the cake pops in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before coating. This will save you a lot of headache when trying to dip the cake pops into the hot candy melts. If they are mostly nearly frozen, you will have a much easier time getting them to stay on the stick while dipping and tapping the excess coating off, so don’t rush this step!
4. Once the cake pops have been chilled, melt the rest of the package of candy melts according to package directions, and add your candy coloring, if usingdesired. I kept the majority of the cake pops in the freezer and took them out about five5 at a time. This way, the whole pan of cake pops doesn’t come up to room temperature while you are dipping the first batch.
5. One at a time, dip the cake pops into the melted candy coating being making sure to get the coating all the way up over where theon to the stick is attached to really seal it into create a good seal. GENTLY tap off the excess coating on the edge of the bowl while rotating the cake pop, to get a nice even layer all the way around. You will want to do this quickly in order to make sure to reduce any excess of the candy coating off before it starts to set.
6. At this point you can do one of two things. If you want lollipop-like cake pops, you can stick them in a piece of styrofoam, let them dry pop side up, and serve them just like that. If you do it this way, you may want to reshape the tips of the balls a bit with your fingers before dipping them, as they may have a flattened bottom from sitting and chilling.
7. I tend prefer to to place them pop side down with the sticks up in the air. They are still just as cute, but easier to make in large quantities. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the flattened bottom since you are just putting it back in that same position anyway.
8. While the candy coating is still wet, feel free to go crazy with sprinkles, edible glitter, or even crushed nuts. If you are piping or dipping another color onto the pops, wait until the base layer is completely dry before doing so. You may need to melt more candy melts depending on how thick your coating ends up. , iIt’s always good have a few extra bags on hand.
9. Let your cake pops dry for at least an hour or two before packaging them up. I placed mine in a paper towel-lined ziploc baggies and put them into the refrigerator. You can leave them at room temp for a day or two, or even freeze them for a few weeks.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift or whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the butter and half the buttermilk. Beat with the paddle attachment on a medium-low speed until combined and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
3. In a medium sized bowl, with a fork, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, the rest of the buttermilk, and the vanilla and lemon extracts to combine, just until eggs are broken up. Add the egg mixture to the batter in 3 additions, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition, being sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl frequently.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans until they are cool to the touch, then turn out of pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter, and beat on medium high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.