Dessert for Valentines

Michelle Gonzalez, Reporter/Photographer

Who doesn’t love desserts? Here’s a nice recipe that makes 25 to 30 heart-shaped cake pops, ideal to share with your loved ones on Valentine’s Day.

According to the website Hello Little Home, here is what you’ll need:

  • 2 8- or 9-inch baked cake layers (any flavor you like)
  • ¼ to ½ cup frosting
  • two different color candy melts (they’re a type of coating similar to chocolate)
  • vegetable shortening
  • lollipop sticks
  • a small Ziploc bag.

The first thing to do is put your baked cake in a large bowl. Using a fork or hands, break it down into crumbs. When that is set, put enough of any frosting of your choice into the cake crumbs so that you’re able to roll it into a ball.

To create the shape of a heart, place a tablespoon of cake onto your palm and roll into a ball. Then, slightly flatten the ball, being careful to make sure it’s not completely flat. Next, pinch the bottom end of the “ball” to create the bottom point of a heart. Using a toothpick, separate the top of the flattened ball to create the top of a heart.

After, smooth the hearts out and place onto a parchment-lined platter or baking sheet, refrigerating for two hours or freezing for 45 minutes. When ready, microwave the candy melts for a few minutes. Then dip each lollipop stick into the candy and insert inside the side of the heart. Repeat this step for the rest of the hearts and freeze for 15 minutes.

Next, it’s time to cover the pops with candy melts. Pour candy melts once again into a bowl, saving 1/3 of a cup for the end and follow the package’s directions for heating up. When the candy is ready, stir in two teaspoons of vegetable shortening and keep stirring until the candy is smooth. Dip each heart until everything is covered. Slightly tap the stick onto the edge of the bowl to remove excess candy. Place the dipped pops onto the tray, repeating the process for all hearts (you can do half of one color and the other half with another color).

Leave the pops in the freezer until the candy coat is hardened and then decorate them. Using the saved melted candy, place the candy into a Ziploc bag and cut off a little part of the corner. To prevent a mess on the decorating site, make sure to cover that area.

Hold pop in one hand and then “drizzle” from the Ziploc bag (use the opposite color of the pop to make it stand out) with the other hand. Repeat decoration for the rest of the hearts and finally refrigerate for about an hour. They’ll then be ready to eat.