After the white trash fiasco (see below) when I decided that one dessert simply wouldn't be enough for a Labor Day party, I decided to learn a little bit more about this great holiday that marks the end of summer every year. As it turns out, Labor Day was established as a day for people in labor unions and industry to have parades and party with their families. Finally, a holiday that's whole purpose is to party! So, completely absolved of any guilt about my plans to hang out with friends and drink on Labor Day, I decided to make a cake pop to demonstrate my support of this great holiday.
I did a little research on beer mug cake pops and found a few sites with photos, but no tutorials. So, below, is my version of the (non-alcoholic) beer cake pop.
You will need:
1 box of yellow "cupcake mix" or 1/2 box of yellow cake mix
1/3 tub of white or vanilla frosting
24 pop sticks
1 bag of white candy coating
1 bag of yellow candy coating (or oil based candy dye)
1 bag of little pretzels
Styrofoam board at least 1.5" thick, or a couple of styrofoam Halloween tombstone decorations...
Make up the cake mix as instructed on the box and bake in a 9" round pan. Allow cake to cool. Crumble the cake into a medium bowl.
Line a cookie sheet or cutting board with waxed paper and clear a space large enough for it in the freezer and the refrigerator. This, my music loving friends, is also the time to turn on music if you want it on-- soon your hands will be covered in cake and you will be working in silence and wishing that you had thought to turn it on before you got messy.
Mix about 1/3 of the tub of frosting in with the crumbled cake and combine thoroughly, until the mixture is moist. Go ahead and start out with a spoon, but you're going to get your hands messy sooner or later, so I say why bother wash another spoon?
When the mixture has turned into a "dough" form your beer mugs. If you have a cookie cutter the right size by all means use it! I just did them by hand, aiming for a shape about like a skinny marshmallow or a fat C battery. Set your 24 cake cylinders on the cookie sheet and leave in the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes.
When chilled, break pretzels in half as shown above and insert one into the side of each "mug" as a handle. Place the tray in the refrigerator while you prepare your workspace and melt the yellow candy coating. I use a coffee mug to hold the candy so that it is deep enough to dip a whole pop into.
Remove cake cylinders one at a time from the refrigerator. Dip one popstick into the melted candy then insert into the center of the cake about half way. Invert the pop and dip into the candy coating. Clean off the "handle" with your fingers or an extra stick and smooth the candy coating if necessary. Place each pop into the styrofoam to dry.
When all the pops have been dipped, place the whole lot back in the fridge and prepare the white candy coating in a
shallow bowl or dish. Dip each mug into the white to give the effect of foam on the top of each beer. Allow a little to drip off the side if it happens. Beer tends to spill!
Chill at least 30 minutes to assure the coating is dry before serving.
Want an update?
Check out my second attempt.
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