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["Start by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place cupcake liners into a baking pan**. Set aside until needed.", "In a food processor, puree the raspberries. Pour the pureed raspberries into a small bowl, and add the milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.", "In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.", "In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add half of the flour mixture. Once the flour has fully mixed in, beat in the milk mixture. Then gradually add in the remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the pink food coloring, if using.", "Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.", "**I bake the cake in cupcake form because I believe it's easier to count how many cake lollipops the cake batter will make (1 cupcake makes about 2-3 cake lollipops). I use a 12-count cupcake pan for this recipe. The cake also bakes faster when it's smaller in cupcake form instead of a larger cake. I use really cheap baking liners because I end up throwing them away. However, you can liberally grease the pan, or use silicone baking cups if you prefer to not use paper liners.", "While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Cream the butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.", "Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and mix (gradually increasing in speed) until the sugar is fully incorporated, about 5 minutes. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times.", "Add the vanilla and whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Once the buttercream is creamy and airy, the buttercream is done!", "When the cupcakes are done cooling, place a few of the cupcakes in a food processor. Pulse until the cupcakes are broken down into small crumbles. Pour the crumbs into a large bowl. Continue pulsing the remaining cupcakes until there are none left.", "Once all the crumbs are in the large bowl, add the buttercream, starting with 1/4 cup. Stir the buttercream into the cake crumbs until the crumbs have ""soaked"" up all the frosting and the mixture can hold together. If the mixture doesn't hold together, add more buttercream. Be sure not to add too much frosting. You don't want the frosting to be too wet, it just needs to be moist enough that you are able to make a ball and it sticks together. If you do have any frosting left over, you can place it in a sealed container in the refrigerator and use it for later use.", "To make the cake balls, roll small round balls, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball, out of the cake and frosting mixture. Place the cake balls on a baking sheet. Once you have finished creating all the cake balls, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to firm up the cake balls (no longer than 15 minutes).", "While the cake balls are in the refrigerator, melt the candy coating. Place the candy coating in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pot of simmering water. Stir the candy coating until they have completely melted and are smooth. Remove the bowl from the pot and place it on the counter. If using different colors, you can melt them all at once over different pots of simmering water, or you can melt them one-after-another using the same pot of water. Just be sure to cover the melted candy coating with a sheet of foil to keep it warm and melted while you melt the remaining colors.", "Now you are ready to create your cake lollipops. Remove the cake balls from the refrigerator and place the tray next to your bowl(s) of melted candy coating. Also place the lollipop sticks and styrofoam next to everything. I think it's easiest to create an assembly line on the counter: lollipop sticks, cake balls, melted candy coating and Styrofoam.", "To make the cake lollipops, stick the end of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating (abut 1/4 inch up). Place the stick into the bottom of the cake ball (the flatter, bottom side where it was placed on the baking sheet). Dunk the cake lollipops into the candy coating until the cake ball is fully covered in the candy coating. Turn the cake lollipop right side up and carefully tap the excess candy coating off of the cake lollipop. Place the cake lollipop stick into the block of styrofoam to harden. If you are adding sprinkles to your cake lollipop, sprinkle them over the top of the cake pop before placing it on the styrofoam. Or if you want to add decoration like I did, leave them plain.", "Finish with the rest of the cake lollipops. Allow them to completely harden before decorating. To decorate the cake lollipops like I did, use a little dot of candy coating to press on the flower sprinkles. To cover the top of the cake lollipop with sprinkles, dip the top of the pop into the melted candy coating and then immediately into the sanding sugar/sprinkles.", "To serve, place the lollipops in a short cup, mug or bowl. Or just lay them on a plate. These last up to 7 days in a sealed container. Enjoy!", "Cupcake recipe adapted from Sprinkles Cupcakes, via Martha Stewart. Cake Lollipop idea from Bakerella. Method from my own experience."]
