International Incident Cake Pops party – Dulce de Leche cake pop

Cake pops seem to be increasing in popularity. But many people seem to be afraid to try making them at home. I did procrastinate for a little while which is why I decided to make this as a theme for April. I needed some sort of motivation. I did a fair bit of research and to be honest, I was trying to figure out the easiest but yummiest way to make these cake pops. Also I picked tips from the recent article on Herald Sunday Food that showcased cake pops as the new and upcoming pop stars.

After being introduced to Bees Knees brownies by Li (Pan Asian), I was hooked. I will make some of those dulce de leche brownies when I get back to Melbourne but for now, let’s just be satisfied with some of these lovely dulce de leche cake pops that is coated with Lindt dark chocolate.
This is also the first time that I made dulce de leche. It is basically caramelised condensed milk. I am not sure why mine turned out to be so grainy but I doubt that it affected the overall taste And I never realised how addicted it is by itself.

sponge cake and dulce de leche

Many recipes uses cake mix from a box. Personally, I am not a fan and so I adapted the sponge cake recipe from Bourke Street Bakery. I decreased the amount of sugar for the sponge cake as it was going to be whiz together with the dulce de leche to form the final cake. I had no Styrofoam and so used packed a tupperware with rice.

dulce de leche balls

It did work well in the beginning and then when I coated the balls with chocolate, Mister helped me to improvise it a little. What can I do without him? This is our roasting rack.

Drying the balls

I thought it was going to be super sweet but it was just right. Decreasing the amount of sugar in the sponge cake from its original recipe definitely work a treat. And also the bitterness of the dark chocolate definitely cut out some sweetness of the dulce de leche. So it all came together pretty well. Mister definitely could not stop at one and I was totally trying to refrain myself to have more than one.

Inside the cake pops

I could get 8 balls from this recipe but it really depends how big the balls are. Also the sticks that I am using is not the right ones. I went to Lincraft and these were the only sticks I could find with the 5mins that I had to shop for it. The stick was too flexible and Anna had a good giggle when I brought her some.

Cake pops aren’t that difficult to make but can be fiddly if you are looking for perfection in the shape.

dulce de leche cake pops

Just to note, when you guys are reading this, I may still be up in the air en route to San Francisco. I will like to say a very happy birthday month to lovely Rochelle of Acquired Life. And it is also my birthday month and I will be celebrating it in Vancouver! So I do apologise to my fellow party people that I will only be reading your blog in the next couple of days. I can’t wait to see what everyone has created. There will be so many pretty and cute cake pops popping all over the blogsphere. Thanks for joining me!

Ingredients:

Simple sponge cake

• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 50g of fine castor sugar
• 35g of unsalted butter, melted
• 85g of plain flour, triple sifted

Dulce de Leche

• 300g of condensed milk
• pinch of salt

Method:

Simple sponge cake

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Grease one 20cm spring form cake tin. Line the base and sides with greaseproof paper. Set aside
2. Break up the eggs in the mixer and then add sugar. Mix on high until the egg and sugar mixture is about 3 times in volume. During this time, melt the butter and sift the flour
3. Once the egg and sugar mixture is ready, gently fold in half the flour first and then add the rest and quicky but gently fold to combine. Then add the butter and try not to knock off too much air out of the mixture
4. Pour the cake mixture into the tin and into the oven for about 20-30mins. The cake will spring back when you press the middle and it is ready. Each cake will also shrink from the sides when it is cooked
5. Remove and allow it to cool down in the tin for about 10mins and then invert onto rack to further cool

Dulce de Leche (Taken from David Lebovitz)

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C). Pour the sweetened condensed milk  into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt
2. Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate
3. Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary)
4. Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth
5. If it is stored in the refrigerator until ready to be used, then warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using

Dulce de Leche Cake pops – Putting it all together

1. Scoop about one heaped tablespoon of dough into hands. Roll it into a ball and then place on a lined tray
2. Freeze about 30mins and then insert the sticks into each ball. Put it back into the freezer for another hour and a half
3. Dip each ball into the melted dark chocolate (250g) and then sprinkle with chosen toppings. Dry on home made stand or stick into Styrofoam

Check out the rest of the creations from clicking the thumbnails below.