French Vanilla Cake Pops

Goober turned 1 on Friday and we had his party Saturday afternoon.  It was a small party, with family and a few close friends.  I think T and Princess got more presents than Goober did, but that's okay because everyone was happy.  Anyway, I made an awesome chocolate cake and also some french vanilla cake pops, which were awesome!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 box french vanilla cake mix (I chose Betty Crocker, but you can choose any brand, or make it from scratch)

Frosting:
7 extra-large egg whites
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 bag cake pop (or lollipop) sticks, at least 6" tall
2 bags melting chocolate, in your favorite color (I chose vanilla flavored light blue chocolate)
floral foam or styrofoam block

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350

-Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Add batter to a 9"x13" pan or a large round cake pan (mine is a 13" round).  Bake 30 mins or until light brown on top.
-Let cake cool 10-15 minutes.  Using a dull knife, scrape all the brown off the top.  Cut around the cake edges and remove.  Flip the cake onto a plate and scrape the brown off the bottom, so all your cake is a uniform white color.

-Crumble the cake into a large bowl.

-In a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, whisk together egg whites and sugar until sugar is melted and mixture reaches 140 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes.  Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high until stiff peaks form, 12 to 15 minutes. Add cream of tartar and beat for one minute more.  Reduce speed to medium and add butter, a few pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Transfer to refrigerator; chill for 15 minutes .

-Mix frosting into cake crumbs a big spoonful at a time until the cake and frosting mixture is really moist and can be rolled into balls and hold together.  You will not use all the frosting (I mixed the rest with the cake scraps and let the kids eat it).  Chill for at least 30 minutes.

-Cover a tray that will fit into your freezer with waxed paper.   Roll cake mixture into uniform balls (mine were about 1 1/2"  in diameter), then put a stick in them, about 3/4 of the way through each ball.  Lay them on the waxed paper and freeze 20-30 minutes.

-While the pops are in the freezer, pour melting chocolate into a heatproof bowl over simmering water like you did for the frosting.  Stir constantly until melted.  I usually turn off the burner once the chocolate is melted and it stays warm for a while.

-Take the pops out of the freezer and dip them in chocolate so all the cake is covered.  I use a big spoon to help drizzle chocolate over the part near the stick.  Shake off excess chocolate so the pop is evenly coated.  If the cake slides off the stick, you need to freeze it longer.  Stick pops into the styrofoam until the chocolate is set.  Refrigerate finished pops until 1-2 hours before serving.