Spiced Pumpkin Rum Cake Pops
Autumn is here and with it the cravings for seasonal foods. Today the Chocolate Goddess was inspired by the cool crisp northeast weather to make spiced pumpkin cake pops with a splash of rum for grownups. These tasty sweet treats mark the perfect ending to an autumnal meal or Halloween party.
To make the cake pops this time I thought I would use the BabycakesNYC brand cake pop maker. I purchased it at Bed Bath and Beyond, but it can be bought on the internet. The Babycakes cake pop maker has a non-stick surface with 12 cake pops molds and is electric. It comes with a cake pop stand that is multifunctional and a fine tong fork for lifting the baked cake pops out.
The stand can also serve as a cooling plate for the freshly baked cake balls where they can nestle into smooth concave wells without getting indented by a wire rack. It can function as a stand that will hold the cake pops upside down when the stick is inserted. It also serves as a drying rack for the pops once they are frosted or dipped.
I used cookie sheets lined with parchment to further cool the cake spheres and styrofoam as additional racks to hold extra cake pops for drying.
Ingredients: (makes 60 pops)
1 box Duncan Hines cake mix (this brand is a must for proper consistency)
1 box Vanilla Instant Pudding
2 large eggs (lightly whisked)
½ cup Libby’s Pumpkin
¾ cup whole milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 ½ tablespoons of dark rum
2 teaspoons rum extract
1 pound Pure milk chocolate or milk chocolate candy melt for dipping
1 pound orange colored candy melt
60 - 4" lollipop sticks
Copper colored luster dust
Cream Cheese Frosting (for dipping or decorating)
1 - 8oz. package of cream cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
1 package confectioner’s suger
1 - ½ teaspoon vanilla
Styrofoam blocks for cooling pops
Baking Directions:
- Mix all the cake ingredients. Do not overbeat.
- Plug in Babycakes cake pop maker to preheat until green ready light turns on.
- Fill wells to about 1/16" below the top. Cover making sure latch is closed.
- Bake 3 - 3.5 mins.
- Cool in stand for a few minutes, transfer to plate and repeat until all the batter is used up. Cool at room temperature.
Dipping Directions:
- When cake is fully cool, freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for a couple hours. Remove and let stand at room temperature.
- While firming cake balls in freezer, place 16oz. of chocolate or candy melt in small Pyrex bowls. Candy melt is easier to work with - while it is not true gourmet chocolate, this project calls for a more simple method if you are not experienced with tempering chocolate. When using candy melt, ass 2 heaping teaspoons of Crisco per 16oz.
- Microwave at 50% power for 30 second intervals, stirring until all but little pieces of chocolate or candy melt remain. Never let your chocolate get hot to the touch. It needs to be only slightly warm. Then stir until completely dissolved.
- Dip lollipop sticks in about ¾ of an inch into candy melt and insert into cake balls. Let dry.
- You may need to briefly microwave the chocolate and orange candy melt again, always at 50% power for 30 second intervals. Dip pops, some in chocolate and some in orange. Let cool.
- Once cool, dip the tops in the opposite color or flavor, gently rewarming candy melt as needed.
I also decorated some cake pops completely orange then brushed them with a light coating of copper colored luster dust. You may pipe cream cheese flower, or use cream cheese frosting for dipping like I did! For a special table centerpiece, drill holes in a pumpkin and fill with festive cake pops.
Enjoy this seasonal take on the adult cake pop and please share yours!
Barbara Esatto, The Chocolate Goddess
