Geek N’ Bake: Harry Potter Golden Snitch Cake Pops
Other than some crisps there hasn’t been a whole lot of baking just yet! Sure we’ve boiled, brewed and stirred some wonderful concoctions but we haven’t gotten stuck into a mixing bowl. Well that’s about to change!
I have always wondered why wizards and witches of all ages were so obsessed with Quidditch – it seems like one of the most terrifying and dangerous activities magical folk can take part in – riding break-neck speed on a broom as two cannonball like bludgers hurl towards you all in the hopes that you’re Seeker can catch the Golden Snitch before the opposing team can! Madness!
Now if the players were chasing after delicious cake pops rolled in white chocolate and gold sugar crystals and flakes with caramel wings… you might catch me trying to play the game or even eat the Snitch. Thankfully though this recipe allows you to catch the beauty of the Golden Snitch without ever having to mount a broom.
DIFFICULTY
Normal
TIME
Cake
10 minutes cake prep
55 minutes cooking time
Cake Pop
60 minutes to set
20 minutes to decorate
INGREDIENTS
Madeira cake mix, vegetable oil, 200g cream cheese, 150g icing sugar, 350g white chocolate, gold sugar crystals, caramel (optional)
PROCESS
Yes you read that right! Hey! Wizards shouldn’t take shortcuts but we’re not dispelling a curse here! Just trying to speed up things a little. You can use any cake mix you like but I’m a fan of madeira cake so I chose that. Follow the instructions as per the box/packet,
Once you’re cake is out of the oven and cooled you can begin the next stage… smashing it to bits!
After all our cooking and baking this week there is something therapeutic about taking something you’ve made and crushing it into little bits and pieces!
The cake will clump in places and any crunchy pieces will stick out like a sore thumb so be sure to take those out – once you’ve worked the cake into a crumbly pile, scoop out the cream cheese and sift the icing sugar into the bowl.
Using either a spoon or your (clean) hands mix the ingredients together ensure the cheese and sugar are well combined with the cake pieces. I rolled into a large lump, flattened it out to make sure there were no clumps of cheese or icing sugar left unmixed before rolling it back into a ball.
Then taking a lump out of the main ball, roll it into a small ball, using the palms of your hand. You’re going to want to shape them into a workable size, just smaller than a ping pong ball.
Once you’ve rolled out all your snitches, place onto a tray and then into the fridge for about half an hour to set.
While that’s resting in the fridge, you can start getting ready for the next stage. Break up your chocolate but don’t melt it just yet. Pour your sugar crystals into a bowl and if you want to work with caramel and create some delicious golden wings for your snitches you can start that here! Not sure how to make the perfect caramel? I’ve got your back!
Your cake mix should be ready by now so take that out of the fridge and let’s start decorating!
Melt your chocolate in the microwave – it’s much faster and convenient than the double boiler method and when completely melted set aside. Don’t roll the cake ball into the chocolate straight out of the microwave as it could be too hot.
Once the chocolate has cooled slightly, pierce the cake pop with a tooth pick, dip and roll it in the chocolate until you get a nice coating. Then dip the chocolate covered pop in the gold crystals and place back on the tray. Repeat this step for each cake pop until you’ve covered them all.
Place them back in the fridge to set the chocolate faster.
Now if you’ve decided to make caramel wings, you’re going to want to follow the recipe linked above up to the point where you’re sugar is completely melted – do not add the condensed milk, butter or salt. Take the caramel off the heat and let it begin to cool. Dip the handle of a wooden spoon or chopstick into the pan and draw your caramel out, if it holds a nice shape while still remaining some flexibility it’s at the right temperate to make your wings.
You need to work faster here but remember you can get a nasty burn if you touch the contents of the pan so keep cool. If the caramel gets to hard, you can heat it up again, let it cool and repeat.
Once your cake pops are set, remove the fridge and then taking a small sharp knife, pierce the pop and gently push a caramel wing into the hole. You can glue this in place with a little left over chocolate if you have any to spare.
Place on a golden platter and serve with wings spread or served atop crunchy nests of delicious caramel.
You’ve got to be fast to grab one of these though, the delicious treats are the right size but don’t be surprised if your guests start rushing back for more.
Optional – you can buy liquid food gels in many colours. Find a gold one to get sweet little swirls and designs to add that extra bit more to your Golden Snitches.
Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
