Mickey Mouse Red Velvet Cake Pops

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°f and grease and flour a 6″ round cake pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, warm water, granulated sugar, Greek yogurt, egg, red food coloring, and vanilla.
4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, turn out the cake onto a cooling rack, and let completely cool at least one hour.
7. Cake can be wrapped until ready to use, or crumbled for the cake pops. Crumbs should be small and no larger than a pea.
   

For the cake pops:

1. Combine the cake crumbs and frosting in a stand mixer until fully combined. Mixture should stay together when pressed in your hand.
2. Next, line a loaf pan with parchment and press mixture firmly into about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pan. You want a solid brick to be able to cut out shapes later.
3. Refrigerate the pan 1-2 hours, or 30 minutes in freezer.
4. Next, using either a 1″ or 2″ round cookie cutter, cut out the shapes and set aside. This mix yields 8 1″ and 4 2″ circles. You can recombine scraps to cut out more shapes if you’d like, or roll into balls for classic shaped cake pops.
5. Insert lollipop sticks into each circle.
6. To attach marshmallows, melt the white chocolate in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Place a small dollop at the 10 and 2 marks on the circle (like a clock), and immediately place the marshmallow circle facing outwards. Set to dry by placing in the fridge 20-30 minutes. You want to keep your cake pops firm before dipping into chocolate.
   
7. Next, temper the chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl, add 2/3 of the chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again and microwave in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until chocolate has uniformly melted and has reached between 114° – 118°F. Then add in some of the remaining chocolate, stir to completely melt and then add more (I did three batches). Continue to stir the chocolate until it has cooled to 88° – 89°F. The chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. (Alternatively, you can heat in a double boiler on the stove.)
8. Remove the cake pops from the refrigerator for 5 minutes before dipping.
9. Then either dip directly into the chocolate, or use a ladle or spoon to pour the chocolate over the cake pops. Gently tap the lollipop stick to remove any air bubbles and get off any excess chocolate, scraping the back side on the side of the bowl as well. Set aside on a sheet of parchment and repeat until all the cake pops have been covered.
10. Finally, melt the red candy melts in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag (or directly melt in a heat proof piping bag). Cut a small amount off the tip of the bag and make zig-zagging lines across the face of the cake pop. Let set at least 15 minutes and enjoy!