Football is a wildly popular sport throughout much of North America. That popularity kicks up a notch come January, when collegiate and professional players are battling it out in their respective playoffs with an end goal of winning a championship.
Watch parties have become a game day tradition for millions of football fans, and it’s customary to provide some delicious food when hosting such get-togethers. Chicken wings and nachos might be must-have foods for adults come game day, but it’s important to provide something special for young fans as well. This year, playoff party hosts can whip up these tasty “Football Cake Pops” from Lines+Angles for young fans.
Football Cake Pops
Makes 30 servings
31/2 cups cake flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup prepared chocolate frosting
2 to 21/4 lbs. milk chocolate
3 tablespoons shortening
40 candy sticks
White icing, for decorating
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift or whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and half the buttermilk. Beat with the paddle attachment on a medium-low speed until combined and smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. In a medium sized bowl, with a fork, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, the rest of the buttermilk, and the vanilla to combine, just until eggs are broken up. Add the egg mixture to the batter in 3 additions, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans until they are cool to the touch, then turn out of pans and cool completely on wire racks.
5. Make sure the cakes are completely cool before you attempt the cake pops, otherwise your frosting will melt and you may have some trouble rolling intact balls.
6. Put your baked cake in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to crumble the entire cake. Add about half of the chocolate frosting to the crumbled cake. The frosting is what acts as a glue to hold the cake balls together. Use your hands to mix the frosting evenly throughout the crumbled cake mix until the cake mix is well moistened. Your cake mix should be moist enough to shape into a large mound and keep its shape.
7. Roll your cake mix into 11/2-inch, football-shaped cake balls using the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 30 to 35 football-shaped balls from a single batch of cake mix.
8. To prepare the chocolate shell, pour milk chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and melt on 50 percent power for 4 minutes, or more time if necessary.
9. Pull out your melted milk chocolate and stir thoroughly with a spoon until completely smooth. Once smooth, add shortening to the chocolate to thin out the consistency a bit. Stir thoroughly again.
10. Take a candy stick and dip into the chocolate about 1 inch and place it into the center of your cake ball on the top. This will act as a glue keeping your cake pop and stick attached. Continue for all cake pops. Wait 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden on the stick and on the cake pop.
11. Now you are ready to coat your cake pops in the chocolate. Place the pop in the chocolate at a sideways angle with one hand. Using the other hand, spoon the chocolate mixture all around the pop. Try to do this as quickly as possible before the chocolate begins to harden and get lumpy. Once you have evenly coated the pop, gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to get off any excess chocolate that would drip. Once the chocolate shell hardens, decorate the football pops with grip marks using the white icing. Let the icing dry and serve at room temperature. TF261556
