Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Cake Pops

Move over cupcakes, whoopies and macaroons, cake pops are the new bake on the block!! Cake pops are always a big hit with kids. They're perfectly bite sized and oh so pretty! The good thing about them too is that you can use off cuts of cake, and even shop bought if you want.

In some ways the concept is really simple, just break up your cake into crumbs and then smoosh it back together again with some buttercream, some people also use cream cheese (chocolate philadelphia anyone?) and then cover it in chocolate. However, in reality cake pops can sometimes be a little trickier than they first appear.
I have tried cake pops once before but unfortunately it ended in tears as my pops fell off the stick and this is not an uncommon problem. My second attempt as you can see, stayed firmly atop their perch! The reason...I attended a cake pop course to learn the mystical art.

Way back in October I entered a cake competition, the theme was autumnal cakes and I was very excited to be pronounced the winner with this three tier homage to autumn, incidentally it was also one of my first blog posts. The prize was a course of my choice at Cakes 4 Fun and last weekend I finally attended their cake pop course.
So after my first failed attempt where had I been going wrong? The mistake...I didn't freeze the cakes, I only refrigerated them so they weren't firm enough to withstand a dipping!! So hopefully next time I try them at home they'll be a success.

To coat the cake balls you can obviously use melted chocolate but an alternative is Wilton's Candy Melts. The advantage of Candy Melts is the array of different colours...perfect for all your cake pop designs...orange for halloween pumpkins, yellow for Easter chicks and green for Christmas trees to name but a few. They come in button form and can then be melted down with a little oil to cover the pops. Once covered the cake pops can be decorated in any design that takes your fancy. The pig ears and snout were made from flowerpaste, as were the flowers and bows.

The cake pops I made here were really well received and I can't wait to have another go and try out some different designs! If you want to try making your own cake pops, you can check out a step by step guide here and there are plenty of recipes on the net. Or maybe try out a local cake pop class.

25 comments:

  1. I LOVE your pops! I really wish I had the patience to make these tiny designs...you make it look like so much fun! I must admit it's inspirational to look through these~

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  2. You are a clever poppet! Beautiful! X

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  3. How pretty and yummy these pops. Well done you!

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  4. Thanks...I think cake pops could become addictive to make...they're certain addictive to eat! :-)

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  5. These are super cute! I love cake pops although I've recently been lazy and made cake truffles instead. You can definitely use cream cheese - works just as well if not better in my opinion. Can't wait to see what else you come up with :)

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  6. These are ridiculously cute! Never made a cake pop, but really want to now!

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  7. Super cute Laura. The blue one with a bow is so adorable, actually all of them are adorable. Well Done.

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  8. These look great - when I made cake pops the candy melts weren't runny enough (I melted them in the microwave, maybe I should have done it for longer) so rather than dipping them I ended up having to sort of spoon it over, which didn't give a very smooth finish!

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  9. These look adorable; must be fun to make!

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  10. They are genius! Pigs and Tiffany and Co style boxes... amazing! xx

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  11. OMG! they are so adorable. Cake pops are getting popular here in Malaysia as well. I can see the fun in preparing them!

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  12. First of all hats of to your patience. Had I made them I definitely would not want any one to finish it off in a jiffy. Tickling Palates

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  13. I've not tried cake pops yet but this might inspire me... Your pops look gorgeous!

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  14. they are really adorable and perfect!

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  15. Cute and delicious little bites of heaven my friend :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  16. I love the pig cake pops. They're gorgeous!

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  17. These are all so amazing, you did a wonderful job on these! I would have to have these to look at for awhile before eating. Impressive. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  18. These are beautiful! I haven't tried making cake pops again since a failed first attempt (yep, they fell off the sticks) but you may have inspired me to try! LOVE the bow topped one, looks like a little Tiffany box!

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  19. Those are gorgeous. I just made some cake last night I wasn't entirely happy with,so I may try to make some. Thanks for the tips :)

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  20. You have inspired me Laura. I am going ton try making some tomorrow. Got everything I needed today and baked cake last night. I wasn't happy with it for the cake I needed, but it is perfect for cake pops.

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  21. How exciting...I can't wait to see some pics! I hope they go well...your cake sounds perfect for them! :-) AS it happens I'm also hoping to make my first bookmarked recipe tomorrow too...I've got my fingers crossed it works out!

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  22. Wow! These are pretty, your cake pop class sure paid off! Thanks for the tip about freezing the cakes by the way, that's probably where I'm going wrong! And those Candy Melts, and idea where I can get them as I've never seen them before?

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  23. Well done for winning the course Laura - I'm off to check out your winning entry now. Your cake pops look really cute and professional.

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  24. Your cake pops are really gorgeous! You are so talented - they look perfect! X

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  25. They look so pretty! You are so talented, Laura!

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