small amount of black, white, green, blue and red fondant
20 x lollipop sticks
To make Roly cake pops:
400g grey candy melts (or 400g white mixed with around 10 black candy melt buttons)
1-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
20 x 15cm plastic lollipop sticks
small amount of black, white, grey and red fondant
METHOD(Makes 20 cake pops)
Preheat
the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4 and line and grease a 20cm
round deep cake tin. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt and
set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until
pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again. Add half of the flour
mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Add the
milk, continuing to beat, and then add the remaining flour mixture,
beating until just combined.
Finally, mix together the
bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar and add to the cake mixture
until just combined. Spoon into the lined cake tin and bake for 30
minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set
the cake aside to cool in the tin. Once cooled, break the cake up into
crumbs by hand or using a food processor.
To make the icing,
beat the icing sugar and cream cheese together until smooth. Mix into
the cake crumbs by hand or using a food processor to form a dough. Roll
the dough into 20 pieces (about 30g each) with an oval shape for Tag or a
kidney shape for Roly, cover with clingfilm and chill for 2 hours, or
until firm.
Meanwhile, shape features for Tag or Roly using the
coloured fondant and the recipe photos as a guide. Once the cake shapes
are firm and you are ready to decorate, remove them from the fridge
(avoid dipping straight from the fridge as very cold cake shapes can
crack the candy coating once they come up to room temperature).
Melt
the candy melts by following the instructions on the packet and stir in
the oil one tablespoon at a time until smooth and runny (you may not
need all of it). Set aside to cool slightly.
Once the candy has
cooled, dip the end of each stick into the candy, and insert halfway
into each chilled cake shape. Then, dip each pop, gently tap off the
excess and stand in a polystyrene block or glass to keep them upright.
Decorate with Tag or Roly features using some extra melted candy if the
pops have already set. Set aside to dry and wrap in cellophane bags.
Store covered in the fridge and serve at room temperature.
