End of term treats

Week 49, Bake 49. 

No I haven't fallen at the last hurdle and given up on Bake 48... I just haven't had the time to write up my last bake entry. Since the mince pies, I have had a very busy last week of term then packed and drove up to Norfolk (250 miles) to my parents for the festive season... and now of all things I have a cold! So here is my 49th bake, cake pop treats for the kids at the end of term!

(makes about 30)

Ingredients:

• 400g of butter (at room temperature)
• 220g of caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 220g of self-rising flour
• 2 cups of icing sugar
• 250g of milk chocolate
• Royal icing and colouring
• Edible glitter

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c and line a cake tin with baking parchment.
2. First make the cake, do this by beating 220g of the soften butter together with the caster sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Now in a jug, beat the eggs together and add to the butter/sugar one tablespoon at a time, so not to curdle the mixture. Now beat in the vanilla essence into it.
4. Sift the flour and cornflour into the mixture and fold it in, so not to loose air.
5. Turn the cake into the lined tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove from the tin once cooked and cool until you are able to touch it.
7. Once cool crumble the cake into a mixing bowl, and make the whole cake into crumbs.
8. Now make your butter cream, beat the remaining butter and icing sugar together. Add this to your cake mixture and using your hands squish both the mixtures together until everything is combined.
9. You can now shape your cake pops. Once you have done this, pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden up.
10. Meanwhile melt the packet of chocolate. Now dip a lolly pop stick into the chocolate and inset it into the bottom of your pop and put in back into the fridge for another 10-20 minutes. Do this for the rest of the cake pops. To make sure they stay the perfect shape, I put them into a block of oasis.
11. Now dip the whole cake pop into the melted chocolate to cover it then twist the pop to remove the excess chocolate.
12. Pop these back in the Oasis and allow to harden. 
13. Meanwhile make the pudding decorations, a rolled out circle of white icing for the top, red balls covered in glitter and green icing to make holly leaves. 
14. Now all you have to do is assemble them, using water to stick them to the icing.