Since I made the Surprise-Inside Heart Cake in a 6-inch size rather than 8-inch I ended up with some extra cake batter and buttercream frosting. I couldn't bring myself to bin them so I asked myself what could I do? Immediately I thought of Cake Pops and Surprise-Inside Cupcakes! I love how one dessert can produce two more.
The cupcakes are really simple to put together, trust me. Since I only ended up using half of the baked pink cake I turned the rest in to little heart shaped cake bites with the help of a petit fours cutter. To make the cupcakes I poured a spoonful of the white cake batter in to a paper lined muffin pan and placed the heart cake bite standing upright. I then spooned more cake batter over to cover it completely and baked like normal. A swirl of the buttercream and a dusting of pink, red and white jimmies finished it off. It's not until you slice the cupcake do you discover the surprise heart inside!
Cake pops were the perfect way to use the leftover cake trimmings and buttercream. I recommend reading this post from Bakerella who is the queen of cake pops. The technique couldn't be easier. You just break up the cake in to crumbs and mix in some buttercream to create a Play-doh like dough. Roll in to ping pong sized balls and refrigerate until firm. Then you dip the cake balls in to melted candy melts (I got mine from Michaels) and decorate with sprinkles!
