Party cake pops

This undated photo provided by America's Test Kitchen in May 2018 shows party cake pops in Brookline, Mass. This recipe appears in the cookbook “The Perfect Cake.” (/America's Test Kitchen via AP)

Makes: 36 cake pops

Start to finish: 4 hours

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg plus 2 large yolks, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

2 1/2 cups (15 ounces) white chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips

Lollipop sticks

Multicolored nonpareil sprinkles

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pan.

Whisk flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Fit stand mixer with paddle; add butter, sour cream, egg and yolks, and vanilla; and beat on medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula and stir by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake until light golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. (Cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours.)

In clean, dry bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle, break cake into rough 1-inch pieces. Add milk and confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium-low speed until broken into fine, evenly moistened crumbs and cohesive dough begins to form, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with 1 packed tablespoon cake mixture at a time, roll into balls and place in single layer on prepared sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm but still pliable, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Microwave 2 cups chocolate chips in 2-cup liquid measuring cup at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Working with 1 cake ball at a time, insert lollipop stick into cake ball, stopping at center. Dip entire cake ball into melted chocolate and turn until completely coated (tipping measuring cup to the side as needed). Lift up from chocolate (do not turn upright) and gently shake side to side to allow excess coating to drip off evenly. Turn cake pop upright, gently twist back and forth to even out coating, and insert stick into foam block. Sprinkle with nonpareils. Stir and rewarm chocolate in microwave as needed to stay fluid; add remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and melt when chocolate level becomes too low to dip easily. (If cake balls become too soft, refreeze until firm.)

Let cake pops sit at room temperature until coating is set, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Cake pops can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 hours or refrigerated for up to three days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

Nutrition information per cake pop: 132 calories; 62 calories from fat; 7 g fat ( 4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 27 mg cholesterol; 35 mg sodium; 16 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 12 g sugar; 2 g protein.

For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com . Find more recipes like Party Cake Pops in “The Perfect Cake .”