[Coconut] Cakepops

It's Valentines day this Saturday (14 February), so I wanted to post something that you could make your loved one as a special treat, or perhaps you are having a night in with your friends, in which case, these would be great fun to all make and decorate together. Although of course, they can be made for any occasion. The mould I have actually contains 4 different shapes, one of them being a heart, which made them perfect for Valentines day, but any mould shape is fine - it is all in the decoration!

Valentine's day is not something that I have ever really gone all out on. I will obviously be spending the day with my partner, but we prefer to stay in and cook a special meal that we wouldn't usually have, share a bottle of wine and watch a movie. Of course, everybody has different preferences, and I know some among you would much prefer to go and be wined and dined in a restaurant. Either way, I think these cake pops are a perfect little something extra for your partner that are homemade, and have taken time and effort. My partner and I do not do presents for each other on Valentines day, so I think these are just a little something I can give him instead, which I know he will love and appreciate.

Now before we get into the recipe, something I did not have available to me whilst making these was a cakepop holder. I thought I would be able to improvise. However, this didn't entirely go to plan. The ones I have seen in shops are not exactly cheap for what they are, but I really do recommend investing in one. It will make your life a whole lot easier. Alternatively, if you have some polystyrene floating around your house, this is a great option!

I am not for one second about to say these cakepops are healthy. They really are not. However, I have halved the quantities of sugar and butter and replaced the other half with healthier alternatives; agave nectar to replace the sugar (a sweetner made from the agave plant) and coconut oil to replace the butter. Not only is coconut oil extremely good for you with a long list of health benefits, it provides a subtle coconut flavour to the cake mix, which you will notice more if you dip your finger in the cake batter!

Ingredients

2 eggs

4 oz self raising flour

2 oz butter

2 oz caster sugar

3 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp milk

0.6 oz coconut oil

1 tsp baking powder
some cake decorations

If you do not have agave nectar and/or coconut oil, then the quantities of using just sugar and/or butter are 4 oz of butter and 4 oz of caster sugar.

Cake decorations are sold in an abundance of places. Big supermarkets have a wide variety in their baking sections and Lakeland is great for anything baking orientated. The cakepop sticks and moulds are sold in the same places, as well as online.

Preheat your oven to 180C. Add the eggs to your mixing bowl and whisk. Sieve in your flour and baking powder, and then add the remaining ingredients (you may need to melt your coconut oil, if so, just melt in a saucepan and add in). Using an electric handwhisk, food processor, or a good old wooden spoon, you want to mix thoroughly to ensure your mixture is light and fluffy to help it rise. Grease and lightly flour your mould.

Spoon the mixture into the half of your cake pop mould without the holes in (if that isn't obviously enough already!) so it is level with the top of the mould.

Pop on the other half and place in your oven. The tricky part with cake pops is knowing when they are done - you don't want to keep opening the mould and checking. Leave them in for 16 minutes, and then using a cocktail stick, cake tester or something similar, poke it through the hole in the top of the mould (this hole is to allow air and steam out whilst cooking) to the bottom of the cakepop and pull it out. If it is clean, your cake pops are ready. If not, pop them back in for a couple of minutes and check again.

Once you have taken them out of the oven, you want to get them on to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can decorate. I used Wilton's Candy Melts which I can't say are the easiest things in the world to work with, but they do come in lovely colours and the finished result is pretty. You certainly need perseverance and determination, although once you have the knack of it, it's not too bad. I know for a fact Lakeland sell these, I am not sure what other shops do, but you will be able to find them online.

An alternative is melted chocolate or normal icing (icing sugar and water).

Whatever you are using to coat your cakepops, prepare this now. For the candy melts, you melt them just like you do chocolate; either in the microwave or over a bowl of simmering water. These are still too thick once they have melted, so I added in 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil to thin it out. You can use any vegetable based oil, but again the coconut oil gives a lovely taste.

Once your coating has melted/is prepared, dip the end of a cake pop stick in, and insert into your cakepop. This acts like glue to ensure your cakepop remains in place. Do this for all your cake pops, and then give them a few minutes to set.

Now, you just have to dip the cakepop into the mixture and cover. If your candy melt mixture is still too thick, add in some more oil, or use a knife/spoon to spread the mixture on the cakepop instead of dipping it in. The dipping option should definitely be easy for chocolate and icing. Be careful as once the cakepop is coated, it becomes heavier and may cause some implications to it staying on the stick. Just be gentle and it will be fine. You want to place any decorations on the cakepop whilst the coating is wet so that is sticks.

I was decorating mine with desiccated coconut, chocolate sprinkles, freeze dried strawberry pieces, and some small heart and flower icing shapes. 

Once decorated, this is when it is important for you to have something in place for the cakepops to stand up in to dry - and yes, you can be creative if needs be!

You can buy little bags with ribbon to individually wrap each cakepop, which makes them perfect to give them as a gift. 

And there you have it! A great little gift for someone, or to have available at any occasion. You can get as creative in the decorating, or make it as simple as you wish. Whatever you do though, they always look great!