Christmas Pudding Pops - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 1/2 lbs store-bought fruit cake
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup powdered sugar
36 None pop sticks
36 None red candy-coated chocolates
None None FOR THE ROYAL ICING
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 None egg white
1/4 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Stir chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water until smooth (don't let water touch base of bowl).
Using hands, crumble cake into a large bowl. Stir in chocolate, brandy and sifted powdered sugar. Using wet hands, shape level tablespoons of mixture into balls, squeezing firmly. Place balls on prepared pan. Freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight, until firm.
For the royal icing, sift powdered sugar through a fine sieve. Lightly beat the egg white into a medium bowl until mixture is foamy. Beat in the powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time, until it reaches desired consistency. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the lemon juice.
Dip the end of one stick into the royal icing, then push it halfway into a ball of cake. Return to pan. Repeat with remaining sticks and balls of cake. Place pan in the freezer for about 5 mins to set.
Drizzle royal icing over cake balls. Top each with a chocolate candy. Stand pops upright in a styrofoam block until set.