Monkey Cake Pops

It was lil sas’s first birthday yesterday and I (with lots of help from Andrea, the frosting machine! Thanks!) made these delicious little Monkey Cake Pops! They are so cute and super moist and yummy! I first would just like to say if you have not visited http://www.bakerella.com/ you should, that is one talented woman. I have concluded that these will most likely be a staple at all the remaining children’s birthdays in my life.

First you just bake a boxed cake according to the directions. Then once the cake is cooled you crumble it up and get your tub of frosting and add about 3/4 the tub to the cake. I tried to do this part with a spoon but it was no good so I just used my hands, until it was nice and mashed!

Then you roll the cake into little balls and place them on some wax paper, and put them in the fridge for a little while to firm up.

Then you take them out and melt a little bit of chocolate to stick on the ears and insert the sticks. I just used some mini Keebler cookies cut in half for the ears and they worked great. For the sticks, just dip the ends in chocolate before you put them into the cake balls.

Then back into the fridge or freezer until the chocolate is set up. Now this is where the magic happens. You get some Almond Bark (we also tried regular chocolate chips, and it did not work so well) and you dip them completely and then tap them lightly to get off excess chocolate then put them in a Styrofoam block to dry.

And once they dry, you go crazy decorating! We used buttercream frosting for the mouth (you can also use a dot to stick on the eyes) and you can use the rest of the chocolate tub for the lips and hair. We used mini M&Ms for the eyes.

Ingredients: and supplies

1 box cake mix
2 chocolate frosting tubs
1 box Keebler cookies
mini M&Ms
buttercream frosting
2 packages Almond Bark or Melting Chips
lollipop sticks
Styrofoam block
wax paper

Directions:

1. Bake cake mix according to directions on the box. Allow to cool completely. In a large bowl crumble the cake and add 3/4 the tub of frosting. Mix well.

2. Shape into quarter sized round balls and place on wax paper on cookie sheet. Put in fridge or freezer to set up for about 15 minutes.

3. Cut the Keebler cookies in half. Melt a small amount of the Almond Bark and use to stick on the cookie halves as ears. Dip 1/2 inch of the lollipop stick into the chocolate before sticking into the cake ball. But back in the cooler until the chocolate hardens.

4. Melt enough Almond Bark to cover the cake balls when being dipped. Lightly tap off the remaining chocolate and place sticks in the Styrofoam until the chocolate sets. Once the chocolate has set, decorate with the M&Ms, buttercream frosting and remaining chocolate frosting (you may need another tub of chocolate frosting).

5. Enjoy!! You deserve it after all that work!