The cupcake pops are extremely popular, but these cupcake bites come in a close second. They rely on the use of a plastic candy mold to help form the shape of the cupcake bottom. No sticks. No tapping off excess coating. just a neat, professional-looking finished product. And best of all, they're easy!



Ingredients

• 18.25-ounce box cake mix
• 9 x 13" cake pan
• Large mixing bowl
• 16-ounce container ready-made frosting
• Large metal spoon
• Wax paper
• 2 baking sheets
• Plastic wrap
• 48 ounces (3 pounds) chocolate candy coating
• 2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls
• Large plastic squeeze bottle
• Medium-sized plastic candy cup mold (with cavity openings 1 1/2 inches wide)
• 24 ounces purple candy coating
• Toothpicks
• M&Ms or similarly shaped candy
• Sprinkles

Directions

1 Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Let cool completely.

2 Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside plenty of time (a couple of hours) to crumble, roll, dip, and decorate 4 dozen cupcake bites.

3 Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. You should not see any large pieces of cake.

4 Add three-quarters of the container of frosting. (You will not need the remaining frosting.) Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back of a large metal spoon, until thoroughly combined. If you use the entire container, the cake balls will be too moist.

5 The mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls by hand, place on a wax paper­covered baking sheet.

6 Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the refrigerator, or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the balls to be firm but not frozen.

7 Place the chocolate candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the coating, following the instructions on the package. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make sure you do not overheat the coating.

8 Once melted, transfer the chocolate coating to a large plastic squeeze bottle. Use the squeeze bottle to fll one cavity of the candy mold about halfway full with chocolate coating, and immediately place a rolled cake ball into the coating. The cake ball should be slightly smaller than the width of the candy mold. Slowly push the cake ball down until the pressure causes the candy coating to force its way up the mold and fill in around the sides of the cake ball. You may have to experiment with a couple to get the right amount of chocolate coating. Stop pushing once the chocolate coating reaches the top edge of the candy mold, so that it doesn't form a lip around the edge. Repeat for the remaining cavities.

9 Set the candy mold tray, flled with candy coating and cake balls,
on a baking sheet to keep it from bending, and place in the freezer
for just a few minutes to let the chocolate set.

10 Remove the tray from the freezer and separate the half-coated cupcake bites from the candy mold. Give the mold a twist and pull on the exposed cake ball.

11 Melt the purple candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl to be used for the cupcake bite tops.

12 Holding the bottom of a cupcake bite, dip the top in the melted purple candy coating until it meets the edge of the chocolate coating. When removed, if the purple coating doesn't meet where the chocolate coating ends, you can turn it right-side up and swirl your hand in a circular motion to allow the purple coating to slowly work its way down the side of the mounded cupcake top. You can also use a toothpick to touch up any uncoated areas.

13 Immediately decorate with 1 M&M's candy (M side down) and some sprinkles and return to a wax paper­covered cookie sheet to dry completely. Repeat with the remaining cupcake bites.

14 Store in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for several days.

Tips

• The small ridges formed in the chocolate by the candy mold can melt when handled for too long. Wear cloth candy gloves to help prevent fingerprints when dipping the tops.
• You can use more than one candy mold to speed up the process.
• Experiment with different candy coating color combinations for the tops and bottoms of the cupcake bites.

Makes 48 cupcake bites

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Excerpted from Cake Pops by Angie Dudley. Published by Chronicle Books. Copyright 2010 by Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books.