We were thrilled when Cooking Channel asked us to bake up a batch of cake pops in celebration of their birthday. At our bakery, Stick&Pop, we specialize in the bite-size treats.  We focus on flavor -- playing around with different cakes, binders, and toppings to create memorable treats.  We wanted to share our top tips for creating perfect cake pops on your own.

Cake pops can be made many ways, but here are the essential steps:

1. Bake a cake.
2. Crumble it up.
3. Mix it with a binder of a frosting-like consistency.
4. Roll the mixture into balls.
5. Refrigerate until cold (this is an important often overlooked step that will prevent the ball from falling off while dipping).
6. Place on sticks.
7. Dip.
8. Sprinkle.
9. Cool.

Now that the basics are covered, let’s talk about the possibilities! Since we started Stick&Pop, we’ve brainstormed and experimented with all sorts of flavor combinations. In fact, the same flavor idea could be tackled many ways. For example, let’s say you want to recreate Reese’s Pieces into a cake pop. You could start with a vanilla cake, bind it with peanut butter and dip it in chocolate. Or you could make a chocolate cake, bind it with chocolate frosting and dip it in peanut butter shell (melted peanut butter chips). Or for a third option, you could start with the vanilla/peanut butter combo, dip it in chocolate and sprinkle it with chopped up Reese’s Pieces. Really, you could approach this one flavor so many ways!

• Vanilla cake provides a great flavor base -- it easily takes on the flavors of the binder you choose.
• White chocolate is well-suited to creating sweeter or more confectionary-like options.
• Be bold with your cake flavor choices. Lemon cake, carrot cake, coffee cake -- even breads like banana or zucchini -- can be the base for your perfect pop.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with the binder. Any mixture of a frosting-like consistency is worth trying. If your mix is too sticky, try balancing it with a neutral frosting.

French Culinary Institute graduate, Jacki Caponigro, and design professional, Christy Nyberg, launched Stick&Pop in New York in the Fall of 2010. The pair has crafted a menu of 12 delightfully creative flavors that are as fun to look at as they are enjoyable to eat. Visit their website to order a batch of your own.