Imagine this, you are a very cute little kindergarten girl, and you open your lunch box to find two googly eyes staring up at you!
Do you scream??
I can’t work out whether I am a good mum or a bad one… but four children, at two different schools had that experience today. I packed them my cake pop Halloween Eyeballs for recess. (insert evil laugh).
My poor kids, last week they had Bikini Body Biscuits in their lunchbox and now Eyeballs! Hopefully I don’t cause them any lasting food aversions!
…anyway, I have made cake pops in the past and each time I have sworn I will never do it again. They are not particularly difficult to make but they end up taking a lot of time for a couple of little bites of cake. However, somehow I always find myself back making more… they are just too cute, and they have so much potential to be really special so I just can never resist.
In a bid to save time and make the cake balls a more uniformed size I decided to try a cake ball tray this time. When making cake pops using this method the cake is baked in a ball shaped pan, rather than food processing the cake with frosting and rolled into balls. (as in this recipe)
Now that I have tried both methods I have come to the conclusion that no method is quicker or easier. It takes about the same amount of time to do both so it probably comes down to personal preference.
So how did I make these gruesome snacks?
Firstly I chose to make a batch of my famous Red Velvet Cake, because I feel the inside of an eyeball should always be red. Also my red velvet cake is quite dense and the cake pan manufacturer suggests this style of cake will work best in the pan.
I then poured the batter into the specific cake ball pan using a jug and attached the top cake ball tray as a lid.
The cakes were baked for 15 -20 minutes at 170 degrees. The filling did overflow slightly as the manufacturer predicted so I trimmed the cake from the top pan before I removed the cover.
Allow the cake to cool completely.
Then on to the fun part!
Making Eyeball Cake Pops
Ingredients:
- 200gm white chocolate
- 18 red jubes
- 1 tube black wilton icing
- 1 tube red wilton icing
Method:
Line a baking tray with paper and place the cake balls in the freezer on the tray for at least one hour, or until very cold.
Place half the white chocolate in a glass and melt in the microwave for one minute. Stir the chocolate periodically until it is completely melted.
Using either a skewer dip the ball into the chocolate and place back onto the prepared tray. The chocolate should start to set quite quickly.
Once the chocolates have been dipped return the tray to the fridge.
Place 3 or 4 jubes at a time on to a plate and microwave for 10 seconds (experiment with times). The aim is to soften the jube enough so that it can be squashed with the back of a spoon easily. Too long in the microwave will turn the jube into liquid.
Once you have heated and flattened the jube, use a knife to slide under the lolly to remove it from the plate. Place the jube on the eyeball, if necessary use a dot of the remaining white chocolate to secure the sweet in place.
Continue to do this until all the red irises are in place.
Use the red wilton icing to draw veins coming from the pupil.
Use the black wilton icing to add a pupil to the eyes.
Return the eyeballs to the fridge until needed.
Whilst making these delectably delicacies I thought a nice Halloween game might be Bobbing for Eyeballs in red jelly…
What do you think? Do you get into the Halloween Spirit? (no pun intended) Do you dress up in Halloween costumes and trick or treat?
This year I have decided I will dress up as a black cat! I can’t wait!
