Cooking Column: Holiday Edition

By Sarah Reiff ’20 and Astor Wu ’20

Now that winter break is over, students are starting to reminisce about the holiday cheer. This issue, Cooking Column brings these delicious Peppermint Cake Pops, with winter’s chilly feel to block out Los Angeles’ burning hot weather. Even though this recipe takes time, the end product makes it worthwhile.

Peppermint Cake Pops

Note: In order to make cake pops, first need to bake cupcakes that you crumble to make your cake pops.

Ingredients for Cake:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
3. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.
4. Stir in boiling water (the batter will look very thin but don’t worry, that’s how it should look).
5. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners until they are ¾ full.
6. Bake for around 25 minutes, then let cool.

Ingredients for the Peppermint Frosting:

• ½ cup room temperature butter
• 6 ounces room temperature cream cheese
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Steps:

1. Place butter into a stand mixer. Mix slightly.
2. Add cream cheese and mix until fully combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Add powdered sugar slowly and mix on low speed until fully combined.
4. Increase to medium speed and mix until the texture is fluffy.
5. Add vanilla and peppermint extract.
6. Slowly add heavy cream until desired consistency is reached.
7. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
8. Use at once or store in refrigerator (frosting will last for several days but you may have to re-beat for the best texture).

Optional decorations:

1. Melt ½ cup white chocolate to roll the cake pops in.
2. Crush up 5 candy canes to also roll the cake pops in.

Making the Cake Pops:

1. After letting the cake cool off, crumble it into little pieces.
2. Take frosting and combine it with the crumbled cake pieces. Make sure everything is evenly incorporated and that you can form little balls with the cake-frosting mix without it falling apart.
3. Using either hand or an ice cream scooper, create little balls with the cake-frosting mix that are your desired size.
4. Cover the balls in the melted chocolate, and then roll them through crushed peppermint sticks.
5. Put a peppermint stick into the cake pop so you can hold the pop.
6. Put in freezer until the chocolate has hardened.
7. Enjoy!