One of my favorite traditions as a kid was going to the fireworks on the 4th of July. We’d go to the waterfront downtown and beg my parents for ridiculously over-priced glow necklaces (they always caved). There was something so magical about it all!
Sadly, I haven’t been to fireworks in ages! Ever since J and I got married, he was always working on the 4th, so we never went. And for the past 4 years we’ve had a wee little monkey, and feared things wouldn’t go over so well.
This year… we’ll probably chicken out again. Fireworks and toddlers just don’t mix. Especially because you have to wait until dark, which means you’re dealing with screaming grumps long before the fireworks hit. (At least, that’s what I’m predicting. I’m too wimpy to try it out!)
Until our kiddos get a little older, I’ll have to celebrate this fine holiday with yummy treats. Which is a pretty fantastic alternative 🙂
These cake pops are very similar to my Halloween Pops I made last October, so I even stole some of the photos from that post! For these pops, you’ll need these nifty little push-up containers*. I just love them, they are so versatile! You can use them for a variety of desserts.
For the cake push-ups, you’re gonna create layers of cake and frosting. To do this, you have 2 options. You can either bake a normal cake, and cut your layers in half, horizontally. Or you can do what I did, and pour your batter into a couple pans, to create 2 shallow cakes. That way, when you cut out the cake circles, they aren’t too thick. Just keep in mind, they cook much faster that way!
{Yes, this is chocolate cake. I stole some pics from another post, remember?}
Use one of the pop containers to cut out the circles, then cut them in half (horizontally) if they are too thick.
Assemble your containers and press a layer of cake inside. Top it with a swirl of frosting and another cake layer. Repeat until your container is full, then top with a swirl of whipped cream and sprinkles!
Because of the whipped cream on top, you’ll want to serve these right away, or stick them in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. It melts pretty fast! If you’d rather make a homemade buttercream to use, that would hold up a lot longer. I used canned frosting, which doesn’t hold it’s shape, so I couldn’t use it for the swirl on top 🙂
- 1 Baked red velvet cake*, cooled (boxed, or recipe of choice)
- 1 Can of white frosting
- Piping bag with round tip OR ziploc bag with corner snipped off
- Reddi-wip
- Red and blue sprinkles
- 16 Push-up pop containers
- Using a cake pop container as a template, cut out as many circles of cake as you can. Slice the circles in half, horizontally, to make the layers thinner. *Another way to get thinner layers is to pour the cake batter into 2 pans before baking, making the cake much thinner (note: it will cook faster).
- Spoon frosting into piping bag with tip OR into ziploc bag, and snip off one corner.
- Place 1 cake circle into an assembled cake pop container, and gently push it all the way to the bottom.
- Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of first cake layer, then top with another layer of cake. Repeat with last layer of frosting and cake.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 with all cake pops.
- Dispense a swirl of Reddi-wip on each cake pop, and top with sprinkles
- Serve immediately.
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