5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Happy New Year!

And from my house (at 28th floor), we were greeted with a spectacular firework display!

Every year, as I watched the fireworks, I would count my blessings. I don't believe in new year resolutions... but what matters to me is to live life to the fullest, and make each day meaningful.

In prepration for the count-down, JL and I got together to cook and bake. I was really excited when she suggested cake pops. That has always been something I wanted to try, but didn't know how.

Basically, cake pops are bite-size morsel of cake coated in chocolate and stuck on a lollipop stick.  JL brought along a recipe she has gotten from a baking school, and we managed to put this together.

You must be wondering how come it's not standing up. Well... since we didn't have any styrofoam board, we decided to do it our way, using whatever resources we have.  But we did have problems removing it from the plate, once hardened hee...

We kept our cake pops simple... no sprinklers but pure chocolate divine.

shaping it

like the shine! (this was before it hardens)

It's my first time eating cake pops, and my verdict: It's nice!!!

The recipe was good, but unfortunately I'm not able to share it.

I did pick up some tips from my friend though.

• We didn't melt a lot of chocolate, thus the trick is to dip the cake pops in from the sides , and keep turning so that the chocolate flows down and coat the cake evenly.

• If you find any bumps, you can use a spatula to scrap the sides to smoothen it. 

• It's also important to keep the chocolate warm (using a double boiler), to ensure it remains a smooth consistency. You don't want to keep putting the bowl back into the microwave to re-heat.

• Dip the tip of the lollipop stick with chocolate before inserting into the cake pop. This will prevent the cake pops from falling off.

• If the dipping chocolate is very thin / wet (as in dripping from the stick), good to use a fan to harden the chocolate slightly before putting on the styrofoam board to dry. Alternatively, keep swirling the chocolate till it hardens.

For more information on cake pops, can check out Bakerella, and the following video

Warning: The little morsels are addictive!

Have fun making them, and cheers to a great 2012!