If you’re follwing Clones ‘n’ Clowns on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you’ll know already that I had a “fun” time making cake pops last week… For those of you who do not follow me on those platforms, the truth is it was one great MESS (and by the way, get following!). Yes I tried making cake pops for the first time ever and even though they turned out to be amazing balls of deliciousness, I had my doubts.

First of all, I’d like to admit I used a cake pop mould to make these. This is partly because I thought the process would be easier but also because I like the idea of the pop being just cake rather than it being cake crumbs held together with icing. That just sounds too sweet to me. So I bought myself a bright pink tray and followed the instructions on that to start off.

So far, so good. The recipe was easy enough to follow and when the cakes came out I was super proud and on my way to the perfect pops. Little did I know… The worst was yet to come !

I made the cakes on Wednesday and decorated them on Thursday, keeping them in a sealed container in between. So, when I got up on Thrusday to coat those cakes in chocolate heaven, I was more than ready to spend enough time on them to make them perfect. I had decided to make them Ferrero Rocher style, which meant coating them in crushed hazelnut and bashed wafer mixed with melted Nutella. Yum. It all sounded great, but :

WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU DO WITH DRIPPING CAKE POPS WHEN YOU WANT THEM TO SET ??!

I couldn’t keep holding them upside down because A/ I had other things to do and B/ all the Nutella was dripping off defeating the point… However I couldn’t put them in the stand I had thoughtfully planned out because the Nutella was dripping down the stick ! Oh dear… To give you a better idea, this is what it ended up looking like. Oops !

However, I was determined these cake pops would turn out OK. I’m not like those amazing bloggers who try their hardest again and again to get the perfect crumb or the ideal shine on the icing – I just want Ferrero Rocher cake pops to turn out right from try one ! So I came up with a solution : I had originally planned to wait until the 1st layer had dried before dipping into the dark choc but I would have to change plan and dip the cake pops into the dark chocolate straight after dipping them in the Nutella. So I did. And it worked :)

As soon as I had dipped the Nutella covered cake pops into the warm dark chocolate they were OK to stand up. The dark chocolate was setting quickly, keeping the rest locked up ! I could then place the stand of cake pops in the fridge until all the layers of coating were set and they were ready to serve. Phew !

So the Ferrero Rocher Cake Pops were only a minor catastrophe and actually I think I’d do them again now I have the correct method. The taste is SO good and they look rocky like real Ferreros too !

TO TRY IT OUT YOURSELF (let me know how it goes !), YOU WILL NEED :

- A silicon cake pop tray // lollipop sticks // 110g sugar // 110g flour // 110g margarine // 3 eggs // 1 heaped tbs of cocoa powder // 1 small pot Nutella // 1 bar of dark cooking chocolate // 1 handful of hazelnuts, crushed // 1 handfull of wafer biscuits, smashed

1 : Whisk the sugar, flour, margarine, cocoa and eggs together and pour into half the mould, cover with other half and bake for 20min at 180°C). Leave to cool.

2 : Melt the Nutella and dark chocolate seperately.

3 : Mix the hazelnuts and wafer into the Nutella.

4 : Dip each stick into the dark choc (just 1cm) before poking it into a cake pop. Leave to set (10min in freezer does it).

5 : Place your chocolate dips side by side and coat each cake pop in the Nutella, hazelnut and wafer dip before coating straight away in dark chocolate. You can use a spoon to help if you like. Make sure the dark chocolate is only a thin layer.

6 : Spin each cake pop a few times to make sure the right amount of chocolate is on it and place the cake pops on a stand and in the fridge to set.

7 : Take a deep breath and wash up !

xx