Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round pans; Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil.
Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and pecans, if using. Pour into pans.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Fold in nuts.
Cake Pops & Assembly
Using a knife or spatula, cut cake into small pieces and place in a large bowl.
Place pieces of cake into a food processor and process until fine crumbs form (you will probably need to work in batches depending on how large your food processor is). Pour cake crumbs into a large bowl.
Add about 1-3/4 cups of cream cheese frosting that you made earlier and mix well to the cake crumbs.
Take about 1 tablespoon of the cake dough and shape into a rosebud or long Hershey kiss shape. You can do this by first rolling the mix into a ball and then rolling one side into a skinnier tip. Leave about 1/3 of the dough to make the flower petals.
Place flower buds in the freezer for an hour then take them out and insert lolly pop stick. When you are done stick them back into the freezer.
Cut out 2 pieces of wax paper about 4" square. Take a small piece of dough, about 1/2 teaspoon full, and roll into a ball. Place the ball in the center of one of the wax paper squares then lay the 2nd sheet over the top.
Using a rolling pin, flatten the ball into a oval shape, about 1/8" thick (don't flatten to thin or your petal will fall apart when you dip your finished cake pops in the chocolate).
Using a pizza cutter, cut away the edges of the oval so you are left with a long raindrop shape.
Take one of the cake pops out of the freezer, lightly press your petal in place, and gently peel off the wax paper. Return cake pop to the freezer so petal has time to set. Repeat process until all cake pops have 1 petal. (Making sure to return each flower to the freezer after each petal is placed. Then move on to the 2nd petal and continue pattern until you have 4 petals on each flower. You can cut out multiple squares of wax paper and roll out petals in groups (I ended up doing 4 at a time). If you find a more efficient method, that's great! Just remember to keep your cake pops cold so they will hold their shape).
Note: Make sure to exaggerate the shape and thickness of your petals because after they are dipped in the chocolate they will lose a lot of their detailing.
Place a few of your chocolate pieces in a zip-lock bag add any type of food coloring you would like.
Microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Cut a very small hole in the tip of the bag and pipe a ring around the bottom of each flower (this will secure the flower to the stick and seal the end so cake doesn't start oosing through. When finished you can now place your flowers right side up by sticking the lolly pop ends into a block of foam.
Place cake pops into the fridge (not freezer) for at least an hour.
Melt chocolate in a tall/thin microwave safe bowl or cup in 30 sec. increments, stirring each time until completely melted. If you feel like your chocolate is too thick you can add a little bit of shortening (mix in about 1/4 teaspoon at a time until desired thickness is reached).
Take cake pops out of the fridge one at a time and dip into chocolate. Keep the flower face down and let the chocolate drip off the end. You can even twist the lolly pop back and forth with your fingers until the chocolate hardens.
Once chocolate is set, return cake pop to the fridge (insert back in foam), grab another one, and repeat these steps until they are all done!
For optional stem:
Place a small strip of hot glue and the top of the lolly pop stick. Apply ribbon and twist downward until you reach the end of the stick. Cut the ribbon and hot glue to the end. Cut a piece of ribbon about 3" long and tie to the top of each stick to resemble leaves.
