These cake pops were inspired by a recipe we came across by Delia Smith for her ultimate carrot cake. Delia’s carrot cake recipe used coconut, and this was the first time we had ever seen coconut used in a carrot cake so it got us intrigued! The original recipe however, uses sultanas and toasted pecan nuts, but, as we were making these for a family party, we decided that it would be best to leave nuts out of them. Plus, Nial isn’t a huge fan of nuts so I guess it was partly for him also 🙂
In our version of the carrot cake, we added a higher coconut content as a substitute for the nuts. Delia also makes a cinnamon icing with mascarpone, but we opted for a plain icing to suit the children. Cake pops are a fun way for all the family to enjoy pudding, and these particular cake pops are moist and extremely tasty; a treat that all the family can enjoy. If you don’t have a cake pop mould, this recipe would lend itself very well to cupcakes, or indeed a tasty carrot cake. Below we take you through the steps to making your own carrot cake pops.
Ingredients:
For the cake pops:
- 175g dark brown soft sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 150ml sunflower oil
- 200g wholemeal self raising flour
- 3 level teaspoons mixed spice
- 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 200g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
- Grated zest 1 orange
- 100g desiccated coconut
For the syrup glaze:
- 75g dark brown soft sugar
- Juice 1 small orange
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the icing:
- 3 heaped tbsp icing sugar
- Few drops water (until required consistency achieved)
For the carrot decorations:
- Fondant icing
- Organic food colouring
This recipe makes approx 30 cake pops and cooking and prep will be 45 – 60 minutes.
1. Make your carrot cake mix:
Pre-heat the oven to 170C and grease your cake pop mould’s thoroughly.
Place the sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl, and whisk for 2 – 3 minutes. Sift the flour, spice and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and fold in gently. If any bits of bran are left in the sieve, you can add the to the mixture at this stage. Add the carrots, orange zest and coconut and combine gently.
Pour this mix into your cake pop mould’s until each indentation is 1/2 – 2/3 full.
2. Bake your cake pops:
Place the filled cake pop mould’s on to a baking tray and place into the centre of the pre-heated oven for around 15 minutes. You can check that the cake pops are cooked through by inserting a skewer. While the cake pops are cooking, start to make your syrup glaze.
3. Make the syrup glaze:
Make your syrup glaze while the cake pops are cooking. To make the syrup you simply mix the sugar, orange juice and lemon juice together. Once your cake pops are cooked, drizzle each one with a small amount of syrup; enough to keep them moist but not saturate them.
4. Make your cake pop icing and decorations:
While your cake pops are cooling, prepare your icing and make your decorations. To make the fondant decorations, add a tiny bit of orange colouring to a small amount of fondant icing and mould into tiny carrot shapes. Colour an equal amount of fondant icing with green food colouring, and create a foliage shape to add to the carrot. Make enough carrots for your cake pops, and remember the size of your cake pops when constructing the carrots.
To make the icing, add a couple of drops of water at a time to the icing sugar and mix. Be careful not to make the icing too running. Once you achieve the desired consistency, you are ready to begin assembling your cake pops.
5. Assemble your cake pops and enjoy:
Decorate your cake pops with the icing and mini carrots, and allow the icing to set. Once set, put your cake pops on to cake pop sticks, serve and enjoy.
All the ingredients to prepare these carrot cake pops can be found in most supermarkets and cake pop sets can be found in supermarkets or most online retail outlets. You can view an example of the cake pop mould required by visiting Lakeland here.
Once you have made your carrot cake pops and are confident making and decorating cupcakes, experiment with flavours and decoration ideas for your cakes. Cake pops are a fun treat for families, and extremely popular among young kids.
Let us know how you get on when making your very own cake pops. Share your photos with use by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
