Yoda Cake Pops

Begin by preheating your oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4). Line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the eggs, baking powder, flour and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined. 

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases filling each of them 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden and springy to touch.

Once the cupcakes are baked, allow them to cool on a cooling rack. You can leave the cupcake overnight to stale a bit as stale crumbs work well for cake pops.

To make the buttercream beat together the butter, icing sugar, and vanilla extract. Keep to one side.

In a large bowl, crumble the cupcake sponge finely and mix together with the buttercream to form a large ball. Break off small amounts of the mixture and roll into individual bitesize balls. Place each ball on a piece of greaseproof paper on a plate or a baking tray and leave to chill in the fridge. 

Place a quarter of the candy melts in a microwaveable bowl and gradually melt them in short blasts in the microwave, mixing each time to loosen the mixture. 

Remove the cake balls from the fridge and dip the end of each cake pop stick in the melted Candy Melt mixture. Insert the cake pop sticks partially into the cake balls and then return them back to the fridge to set.

Once the sticks have set securely, keep aside 12 of the Candy Melts and melt the remaining ones in the microwave. Remove the cake pops from the fridge and dip each one into the melted mixture. Twizzle the cake pops when removing them from the Candy Melts to give a smooth finish and then place them upright to dry (we inserted ours into a polystyrene cake dummy)

You will need to move quickly before the melted Candy Melts set. Use a clean small paintbrush to paint on the added facial features to the Yoda. Slice one of the unmelted Candy Melts in half and insert into the side of the cake pops for the ears.

Break off small amount of white sugar paste icing and roll into two tiny balls for Yoda's eyes. Position them on the face whilst the Candy Melts are still wet so that they will stick into place. For the finishing touches use an edible pen to mark the pupils in the eyes. 

Roll another small ball of white sugar paste fondant for the nose, dip in the Candy Melt and carefully position under the eyes. This will secure in place when the mixture sets.