Valentine Crafts: Pretty Presents Cake Pops

Remove the cake balls from the refrigerator and shape them, one at a time, into small squares to form the shape of a box. You can use wax paper to aid in shaping the sides. Take each side of your cake ball and slide it on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Rotate and repeat for each side to help create a flat surface. In addition, you can use the flat side of a metal cutter to cut off any rounded excess and to help form straight edges.

After shaping, put the shaped cakes in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up again for dipping. Once they are firm, transfer them to the refrigerator. Remove a few at a time for dipping, keeping the rest chilled.

Melt the candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 in (7.5 cm) deep for easier dipping.

One at a time, dip about 1/2 in (12 mm) of the lollipop stick into the melted candy coating and insert the stick straight into the bottom of the box shape, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess: Hold it over the bowl in your left hand, and tap your left wrist gently with your right hand. If you use the hand holding the cake pop to shake off excess coating, the force of the movement will be too strong and could cause the cake ball to loosen or fly off the lollipop stick. Tapping the wrist holding the cake pop absorbs some of the impact. The excess coating will fall off, but you will need to rotate the lollipop stick so the coating doesn’t build up on one side, making it too heavy on that side. If too much coating starts to build up at the base of the stick, simply use your finger to wipe it off, spinning the lollipop stick at the same time. This can happen if the coating is too thin or too hot. It’s not as hard as it sounds; it just takes a little practice.

While the coating is wet, place two candy heart sprinkles on their sides, with pointed ends facing each other on top of the pop. Leave room to place a mini M&M’s candy in between. Tilt the hearts up to form the shape of a bow before the coating sets. Let dry completely in a Styrofoam block.

Heat the red cocoa butter in the microwave following the directions on the bottle. Pour a little into a small dish. Paint ribbons on sides and tops of the cake pop with a brush.

Let the pops dry in the Styrofoam block.

This cake pops recipe is excerpted with permission from "Cake Pops Holidays" by Bakerella (Angie Dudley) and published by Chronicle Books.