I can’t promise how long this windfall will last, but I have even mooooore stuff to give you all! Though I’m just the messenger. Really, it’s the fabulous folks at Dassant Premium Baking Mixes. They sent me the best box of baking mixes. I got the Pumpkin Spice bread mix, Vanilla Bean cake mix, Cinnamon Chip bread mix and Classic Beer bread mix (my husband thanks Dassant for that one, except that it means taking a beer from his supply). Check out their entire line of cake, bread, brownie and scone mixes HERE. Which four would you choose? Gingerbread cake mix? Truffle Brownie? Applesauce cake? Best to look them over and be prepared, because you might get four boxes of your own!
Dassant has plenty of recipe ideas on their site, but I tried something a little different. After way too much thought, I made…
I had no idea if the classic cake to frosting cake pop ratio would work with pumpkin bread. It did. It so did. I couldn’t stop eating them, they were insanely good. Next time, I’ll use cream cheese frosting, but plain old store-bought worked just fine and dandy here. The recipe started with a stick-collecting adventure. My daughter and I walked down to the creek and gathered some thin, sturdy sticks.
Yes, we are in the heart of DC and we have a creek. And rocks. Aptly named Rock Creek Park runs from the top to bottom of DC. Acres and acres of woods, trails, wild animals, fields… like being in the middle of nowhere right in DC, and we’re about half a mile from one of the entrances. There’s also a two lane, heavily trafficked road that usually only DC-ers know is the best shortcut around.
you will need*:
Dassant pumpkin spice bread mix
2/3 cup frosting
*Use any recipe for buttercream frosting, or use store-bought frosting. Find the candy melts, lollipop sticks and Styrofoam block in the craft store. If using real sticks, wash them thoroughly first, and allow to dry.
To prepare the Dassant pumpkin spice bread, you’ll also need two eggs, 1/2 cup of oil, 1/3 cup of water and 3/4 cup canned pumpkin. For shortening, I use Crisco. This is melted with the candy melts to make a better dipping consistency.
step one: bake your pumpkin bread
Follow the recipe on the Dassant pumpkin spice bread mix box to prepare pumpkin bread and let cool.
step two: prepare your pumpkin spice cake balls
Crumble the pumpkin spice bread into a bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup frosting and blend well with your hands. Roll the mixture into balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange on a baking tray lined with wax paper and freeze for 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer and keep in the refrigerator.
step three: dip your pumpkin spice cake pops
Melt candy melts with a few teaspoons of shortening according to package directions. Stir well. Working with a few cake balls at a time, with the remaining kept in the refrigerator, insert the tip of a stick into the melted candy melts, then insert into a cake ball. Hold the stick and quickly dip the cake ball into the melted candy melts. Gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to remove excess and prop in a Styrofoam block to dry.
UPDATE for Barbara (I don’t want to answer in the comments because it’ll skew the numbers): Cake pops have always alluded me. I’ve either done too much frosting or too little in the past, too much and they are soggy, to little and they are dry and break apart. But this ration of 2/3 cup frosting to the pumpkin loaf (which is about 1/2 a normal sheet cake, so you’d use 1 1/3 cup for a whole cake) seems to be a good ratio. If you get your hands in there and mix it well, it really does absorb the frosting. But it IS moister than it appears in photos. That below, while it looks like a typical cake’s consistency, is a bit of an illusion.
Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!
95 Comments
Awe, great! I'd love to try those mixes!
Miki.
awesome i've never heard of those mixes before! great cake pops too!
I actually was just wondering the other day if I could turn pumpkin bread into cakeballs!!!
I swear great minds think alike, but sadly that also means that none of my ideas ever seem to be very unique… Great post!
i would like to try this mix
Yum — would love to win those mixes!
good idea!! ı like it:)
I've never heard of these mixes, either, but I may have to order some before you even choose a winner…thanks for sharing!
The mixes look awesome. Would love to try them.
I love how you presented these, so clever and fun! I don't usually bake using mixes but these sound too good to pass them up.
What a cute twist on the recently popular cake pop! LOVE it!
These look wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
Those mixes look delicious!!!!
They sound yummy!
I would love to try their mixes
I'm going to leave a comment and hope my email comes back on before you draw a winner (it's out due to the massive power outages up here in the northeast).
Those pops looks so amazing- I love that you put them on sticks. They somehow make me think of snowmen.
I'd love to try quite a few of these cake mixes- especially gingerbread and vanilla bean. Thanks for the chance to win!
Wow! They look awesome! Thanks for the giveaway!
These look like wonderful mixes. I would love to try this brand. I love to have "homemade" from scratch items on hand when people come over especially at this time of the year.
WOW! These looks wonderful. Thanks for the giveaway!
Yum. I've love to try these out!
Ooh~ They all sound good~ I definitely have to try to make the Pumpkin Spice Bread cake pops~! My children love cake pops and I've had to make so many different flavors and keep them in our freezer~ lol~
Those sound sooooo good!!!
Not entering the giveaway. Just popped in to say how cute these are, especially on the twigs.
What a cute idea! Love to try the pumpkin bread.
Yum! I would love to try any of these mixes!!
What a great variety!
That cinnamon chip bread would be delightful as muffins!
Those all look SOOOOOOO good! It would be hard to pick just 4! And I love making desserts into something different than what people expect
Those look so yummy! I would lvoe to try them! @ monirr04@yahoo.com
Awesome! I've never heard of Dassant before, but I'd LOVE to give it a try!
theresa.c.shore@gmail.com
I would love to try these mixes. thanks.
nicole_melnick at yahoo dot com
I would love to try the Pumpkin Spice, Meyer Lemon, Cinnamon Chip and Truffle Brownie. Yum!
This is a new brand for me. How fun you presented them, very rustic! I love a good pumpkin bread and frankly anything that saves a few minutes and steps I am all over.
I've never heard of Dassant mixes before, but I'd love to give them a try! Thanks for the giveaway!
Would love to try these out – those pumpkin bread pops look delicious!
Those mixes look wonderful! Thank you for the idea to make cake pops out of something besides cake!
I'd love to win! The cake pops sound delicious
I have never heard of the Dassant mixes. I love to try new things! Would be awesome to win!
I would love to try these
Yum! I would choose chocolate cake, lemon cake, brownies and Beer bread of course!! These mixes look amazing.
Love reading your blog, and thanks for the chance to win mixes.
Those look delicious!!
I'd love to try these mixes!
Oh, those pumpkin cake pops look so tempting! Thanks for sharing!
These sound so good – I've never heard of the brand before and would love to give them a try! Thanks for sharing your adorable cake pops with us – they look too good to eat!
i would love to enter! i love baking!
How NICE that you live so close to such a fantastic park! Love the sticks you found and used for the pops:)
So many great mixes to choose from!
Yummy! I'd love to try those mixes!
lindsay
lindsayharmony@gmail.com
Good post, good recipe, good chance to win these great mixes!
I would love to try these mixes what fun and great taste.
Sounds yummy – thanks for the chance to win.
I love the cake pops! Your cake mixes sound absolutly yummy and I would love to win some to try out with my friends.
You're almost close enough for me to drive by to taste one of those. They look so yummy!!!! The mixes look awesome, love the fun giveaway.
These look delish! Love to try the pumpkin spice bread cake pops!
Hi, I want to make these for the holidays. The mixes I like to try are Applesauce Cake mix, Beer Bread mix,Pumpkin Bread mix, and Truffle Brownies mix. Thank Dassant for the great giveaway.
These look fabulous we love cake pops at my house!! I love the look with the twigs too – how fun!!!
Oh yum!!! I would love the pumpkin and the vanilla bean sounds intriguing. Thanks for this opportunity.
Mary Ellen
What a find this site is. I just have never warmed up to the box mixes you can get from the grocery store so I will be giving these mixes a "test" run. Thanks for the opportunity to win some free!!!
Aww! cute idea with the sticks! It looks so rustic and artsy! You can call 'em Craftsman-style Cake Pops!
I love cake pops but haven't tried making them yet. I'd like to try them with a Red Velvet cake mix. Thanks.
sweepster49 at comcast dot net
I would love to try these pumpkin balls and mixes. Vanilla is my favorite and Pumpkin is my friends favorite.
I would like to try something new. I'm ready!!!
Me! Me! Pick me!:) The mixes look amazing. Yummy!
I make gingerbread cake pops at Christmas time but, I've never made them on twigs! How clever!
would love to try these mixes — I've heard they're awesome but haven't found them locally.
On a side note, I'm wanting to try making cake pops and when I see pictures, it never seems as though there is frosting mixed in. Why is that? Does it really get that incorporated that it just blends in?
Truffle brownie! YUMMM
I would be tempted to pick four Pumpkin mixes! I love this time of year, well, as far as food goes!
I would be tempted to pick four Pumpkin mixes! I love this time of year, well, as far as food goes!
I would be tempted to pick four Pumpkin mixes! I love this time of year, well, as far as food goes!
They look great! Thanks for the tip about adding shortning to the candy melts, I always have a hard time with that part.
I love making cake pops, but never would have thought to try this! Yum! Can't wait to try it!
Mmmmm that vanilla bean mix looks yummy!
I'd love to try these mixes.
vigil.celina@gmail.com
I would love to try some of these mixes.
Thanks for the chance to win!
debra (dot) womack (at) gmail (dot) com
These look so good. Makes me hungry!
Love the sticks….very cool!
YAYAY Thanks for the opportunity to win
Those mixes look great
Thanks too for the ration of frosting
Cheers
Catie
Yums! I shouldn't look at those pix when I'm hungry! Thanks for the contest!
~Heather
Eencyweency (at) gmail (dot) com
Thank you for this giveaway,
Tatyana
sunnyfarm at inbox dot ru
These look wonderful:) I usually make pumpkin muffins around this time but a change would be nice!
I would love to try their mixes. I've only made cake balls twice and they weren't as good looking as those!
Mrsgolliday@comcast.net
All those mixes sound wonderful!
These mixes sound wonderful. Vanilla bean, yum!
Wow that is Awesome,I would like to try these mixes
Wow that is Awesome,I would like to try these mixes
Wow that is Awesome,I would like to try these mixes
Great to hear that you are in the DC area. I'm a hop, skip and jump away and can easily pop over to pick up my winnings
They look Delicious!
Yum – looks delicious!
Jessie
j_wilson04@yahoo.com
Looks so fun! Thanks for the great idea!
those look so yummy!!!
i'd love to win! so adorable!
YUM!
Wow, if I win it will be hard to pick which four to try.
been wanting to try these mixes thanks for the giveaway and have a great day
aunteegem@yahoo.com
I love all your creations. So simple yet pretty!
Those mixes look delicious! I would love to try them.