Easter Egg Cake Pops

Ingredients:

For the cake:
125g unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup
95g Golden Caster Sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
125g self-raising flour
1 lemon, zested
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp milk

For the cake balls:
75g full fat cream cheese
2 tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup
110g Icing Sugar

For the coating and decoration:
200g white chocolate, broken into pieces
Easter sugar sprinkles

Method:

You will need a 20cm loose-bottomed round cake tin, greased and the base lined with parchment paper, 30 lollipop sticks and a block of polystyrene pierced to hold the cake pops.

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°, Gas 3.
2. Combine the butter, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Caster Sugar in a bowl and beat together with an electric hand mixer for about 2 minutes until soft and creamy.
3. Add the eggs a little at a time until well incorporated. Sift over the flour and fold in with a metal spoon.
4. Stir in the lemon zest, juice and milk to make a soft consistency that will easily drop from the spoon.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until well risen, golden brown and a fine skewer comes out clean when poked in the middle.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Discard the paper, break the cake into a food processor, process to make a crumb-like consistency and tip into a bowl.
8. Add the cream cheese, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Icing Sugar to the processor and quickly process until smooth.
9. Stir into the crumbs to make a moist mixture. Roll into 30 equal-sized egg-shapes, place on a tray, cover and chill for 1 hour or until firm.
10. Put the chocolate into a small, deep heatproof bowl and microwave on a medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Alternatively, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted.
11. Dip one end of the lollipop sticks about 1cm into the chocolate, then push the sticks halfway through the centres of the firm cake balls.
12. Dip the cake pops one at a time into the chocolate ensuring that they are covered right up to the top of the sticks to secure.
13. Gently tap the side of the bowl to remove any excess, then decorate with the sugar sprinkles while they are still wet.
14. Stand upright in the polystyrene block for about 30 minutes until firm. Repeat with the rest of the cake pops.
15. Store at room temperature for 2 days, or in the fridge for 1 week, covered with parchment, so they don’t sweat. Serve in glasses.

Recipe courtesy of Lyle’s Golden Syrup