Vanilla Cake Pops with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall is almost here are you ready?!?! I know that I am because Fall means everything pumpkin, and I can’t get enough! But there’s one thing that is always working against me… Southern California weather. It’s so hot here until almost November and baking makes it unbearable. So to get my baked goodies fix without the heat I like to take pre-made baked good and add a little homemade touch. Today I’m sharing my vanilla cake pops and to make it all about Fall I’m adding a yummy pumpkin cream cheese frosting!

On one of my regular grocery trips to  Smart & Final I picked up a First Street Vanilla Pound Cake, and all of my other ingredients to make this no-bake dessert. Can I just say real quick how much I love Smart & Final? You really can’t beat the prices and I love that I don’t have to buy ridiculous amounts of what I need just to get a good price. First, you will need to get the cake pop containers, they are sold anywhere that sells baking pans or online. Mine are made by Wilton.

 Ingredients:

• 8 oz First Street cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 c First Street butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 c First Street powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, not pie filling
• 2 First Street Vanilla Pound Cakes

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl mix together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Be sure that both of these ingredients are room temperature!

2. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, then slowly mix on low adding the powdered sugar until well incorporated, about 3 minutes.

3. Add pumpkin puree and mix until fluffy and smooth.

4. Cut the 2 First Street Vanilla Pound Cakes into even slices, then use a 1″ round cutter to cut 2 circles out of each slice. If they look too thick, you can cut them in half.

5. Snip off the bottom of a pastry bag and fill it with the frosting. If you don’t have a pastry bag you can use a regular sandwich bag and snip off the bottom corner.

6. Place 1 cake circle into each cake pop container, then alternate between cake and frosting until the container is full.

7. Place the cake pops in the fridge to let the frosting set, about 30 minutes. Then enjoy!

Isn’t that a fun and easy treat to make? You can also add sprinkles or mini chocolate chips in between the layers for a little surprise. There are so many great options for cakes and desserts. When I was at Smart & Final I saw that they have pre-sliced loaf cakes in a bunch of different flavors. You could use those and skip a step! I also saw that they sell plain cupcakes. For an even easier dessert, you could buy those and then add this homemade frosting to the top to make them extra special. How do you use pre-made desserts to make them unique?