Sushi Cake Truffles Recipe from Crazy for Cake Pops

Photo courtesy of Ulysses Press; recipe reprinted with permission from Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations

Totally sweet! I'm not so big on health food, but I am quite keen on eating cake that LOOKS like health food, so these cake pops got me super-excited! As the book entry says, "These sushi-inspired cake balls look so realistic you could serve them as canapés at your next party and astonish all your guests."

Sushi Cake Truffles

Makes 20 pieces of sushi

Ingredients

• 20 medium cake balls, chilled
• 1 (14-ounce) bag white candy melts
• ¼ (14-ounce) bag each orange and red candy melts
• White sugar strands or sprinkles
• 50 grams (¼ cup) black fondant, kneaded

Equipment

• Rolling pin
• Small palette knife

Procedure

1. Split each cake ball in half. Keeping them in pairs, shape each half into a rectangular block—they can be irregular sizes.
2. Melt the white candy. Stick each pair of blocks together, using the candy as glue, and insert a toothpick into each sushi piece. Leave to set. Place a sheet of parchment paper under a wire rack. Holding it by the toothpick, dip each piece fully into the white candy and shake off the excess. Run the toothpick through the wire rack and leave to set.
3. Melt the orange and red candy separately. Dip the top half of 10 sushi pieces into the red candy and the other 10 into the orange candy. While the orange candy is still wet, use a toothpick to draw chevrons on it with the white candy. Give it a gentle shake to smooth it out. Return to the wire rack to dry. 
4. Dab the remaining white candy around the bottom of each piece, sprinkling the white sugar strands as you go. Remove the toothpicks and leave to set.
5. Roll out the black fondant and cut out 20 strips about ⅝ inch wide and 4 inches long. Working quickly before the fondant dries, wrap them around the side of each piece. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper to set.

Want more sweet recipes? Find the book: Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations.

Pop It: Raspberry Red Velvet Truffle Pops Recipe from Duncan Hines

So, you guys. In case you missed the big news, I was invited to attend the Emmy Awards Red Carpet viewing party with Duncan Hines this past weekend. And it ruled. Of course, it was very exciting to see famous people in pretty dresses and very nice suits. But--here's the big thing--there was also plenty of cake.

A slew of cake pop recipes were created by Team U.S.A.’s World Cup Pastry Team’s captain, Chef Gilles Renusson, and Duncan Hines was the official dessert sponsor of the 63^rd Primetime Emmy Awards Governor’s Ball; this one in particular impressed this sweet sleuth, with raspberry preserves adding a certain something to Red Velvet cake filling--a certain something that made me wonder how many I could fit in my mouth at once.

They were kind enough to share the recipe, which appears below; the Red velvet pops are the white chocolate coated ones in the photo above. Click on the names for recipes for the other varieties, Chocolate Almond and Chocolate Orange Liqueur. 

Raspberry Red Velvet Truffle Pops 

Duncan Hines® Red Velvet Cake Mix with Chambord, Comstock® or Wilderness® pureed raspberries, and Duncan Hines® Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 2/4 cup Baked Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake crumbs 
• 1 T. Duncan Hines Butter Cream Frosting
• 1 t. Chambord raspberry liquor 
• 1/3 cup Pureed Raspberry Pie Filling (or jam would work)
• 14oz White Coating Chocolate (recommended: Wilton Candy Melts)

Instructions

1. Bake Duncan Hines® Red Velvet Cake Mix as directed on the back of the box in a 13x9 cake. Allow to cool completely.
2. Crumble cake up into a large bowl.
3. Soften glace in microwave for 10 seconds.
4. Add softened frosting, Chambord and pureed raspberry pie filling and stir until incorporated.
5. Roll mixture into walnut-sized cake balls and transfer to a wax paper lined baking cookie sheet. Make sure balls are tightly packed and look smooth with no cracks.
6. Transfer cookie sheet with cake balls to freezer or refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Place white pate glace in a small, deep microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time until completely melted. The melted coating should coat a spoon but still be able to slowly drip off. If coating is too thick, add shortening or vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Do not exceed 2 teaspoons per 16 ounces of candy coating or the cake pops will crack.
8. Remove cake balls from freezer. Dip tips of lollipop sticks into white pate glace and insert sticks into cake balls no more than halfway into center. Let them set for 1 to 2 minutes, resting on the cake ball, sticks in the air.
9. Pick up cake pop by the stick and dip into white pate glaze. Gently tap stick against side of bowl and rotate cake pop to help excess coating fall back into bowl. (Reheat and/or melt more glace as needed.)
10. Poke stick of cake pop into Styrofoam block to stand up straight and dry completely, about 5 minutes.

Batter Chatter: Cake Pop Chat With Freeport Bakery of Sacramento

Cake Pops: they're so hot right now. But what does the trend look like from a bakery owner's point of view? I found out by chatting to Marlene of Sacramento's famous Freeport Bakery, a longtime bakery owner who has found adding the pops to be a sweet surprise, business-wise:

What made you decide to offer cake pops? Did you know that the original cake pops have been made for hundreds of years in bakeries all over the world? They were called rum balls. The bakers would use fresh cake scraps, add a little frosting to get them to stick together and a dash of rum. The weren't called cake pops, of course. That didn't happen until someone thought to put a stick in them. What a great idea! It's a cake pop. We toyed with the idea for a while. When our sales staff got excited about them, we gave it the green light. Good decision!

Were you initially hesitant to offer them? A little. We usually are not trend jumpers. We stay current but don't hop from one thing to the next. When realized that we could be really creative with flavors we decided to jump in.

To make your cake pops, do you use cake scraps from layer cakes, or do you bake cake specifically for the pops? What began as a use for cake scraps, has become our "custard croissant" gift. We started using day old croissants, filling them with custard and almond slivers. Then we re-baked them (doesn't work right with fresh croissants, too soft). They got so popular we were baking more and more of them to make the custard croissants. So yes, we are now baking more cakes for cake pops.

Has the response to cake pops in your retail bakery been surprising to you? Yes and no. I didn't think they would be this popular. But if you can get great flavors at a reasonable price point, how could they not be so popular?

Who is buying cake pops? Individuals just buying one or two, or larger orders for parties, etc? Everyone! We are selling them for birthdays, bridal showers, and just ones and twos while people are picking up something else. We were lucky enough to get asked by the west coast promoters of the new Harry Potter movie to do a tie in with a contest. We made BertieBott's Firepops. A chocolate cake pop with red chili powder rolled in chocolate and Graham cracker "dirt." We had facebook contests running for about a week. It was a huge success. The mint chip and tiramisu seem to be the best selling ones this week.

Do you see them as a growing part of your bakery's business? For now. I think they are hot, a good price point and fun. So as long as we can come up with great flavors and our customers buy them, it's good.

For more information on Freeport Bakery, find them online here.