Push Up Cake Pops

I made 50 push up cake pops and they take some time to put together (I had a friend helping me and it took us 2 hours -not including the baking!) but are so worth it for the wow factor.  I cheated and used white cake mix and bought cartons of egg whites so I wouldn’t be left with all those yolks.  You will have extra cake left over, but I just put it in the freezer and will make a little mini cake one of these days or trifle.  You need to buy the plastic push up pops and I found the best price on the internet and ordered them.  I used four colors of cakes for these pops and several batches of the vanilla buttercream frosting.  They can be made the day before.  There are stands you can buy to serve the push up cake pops, but I drilled holes in pieces of driftwood and it worked really well.  You could also use pieces of wood and paint it.  You might also try to fill a glass bowl of jelly beans or glass beads to hold them.

Step 1. Line a piece of styrofoam in a cardboard box with sides tall enough to hold the cake pops (for extra protection if you need to travel with them).  Drill holes the size of the handle every 2-inches.

Step 2.  Make a double batch of batter for each of the colors you want and bake them on 2 parchment paper lined and greased 13×17 baking trays.  Mine took almost 20 minutes per sheet, but check at 18 minutes to not over bake.  Allow to cool (can be made the day before).

Step 3. With your fingers, gently remove the layer of browned cake (so it won’t discolor the layers of cake pop) on each side.

Step 4.  Make a double batch of vanilla buttercream frosting and place in a piping bag with a large round tip.  Set aside.

Step 5. Get a clean wet towel or sponge and several sheets of paper towels ready because you will need to clean your fingers between the layers.

Step 6. Use 1 push up cake pop for each color of cake and cut rounds of cake and press the first layer to the bottom of the pops.  Gently press down so the cake is even all the way around.  Pipe a thin layer of frosting around the sides of the cake pop and in the center.  Proceed with the next layer of cake and repeat until you have 4 colors of cake. Use a star tip or a round tip and pipe a rosette of frosting on the top of each cake pop.  Sprinkle with decorations if you want and place in styrofoam lined box.