Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Cake Pops...still learning!

Two weeks ago I had an order for 8 dozen cake pops for a wedding brunch. Since it was only my second time making cake pops and actually only my first paid order, there were some things that didn't turn out perfect, but overall, they were still really cute, and each time I make something new, I learn from my mistakes, so I'm OK with that. A few things I learned this time around...I made the pops too large, my coating needs to be thinner, and I need to chill the cake pops, but not freeze them prior to coating or the coating tends to crack and/or "weep." I made two different flavors...chocolate with peanut butter frosting, and vanilla with cream cheese frosting. The cake pops were displayed in baskets, and I tried to match the cake pops and the basket decor to the wedding colors of turquoise and coral. Here's the step by step process of making the cake pops...

Bake one cake mix according to directions, let cool completely, crumble and add about 3/4 cup or so of desired frosting.
 Mix until mixture forms a dough that you can easily form into balls that are approximately 1 1/4 inch in diameter.These cake balls were a bit too large. 
After forming the balls, arrange them on a parchment lined baking pan.
Dip the end of each lollipop stick in the melted coating and insert into the cake balls.

Continue inserting all of the sticks and then chill for a few minutes in the refrigerator or freezer, but do not freeze solid. 
After chilling, dip cake balls in desired chocolate or coating. You may thin it slightly with paramount crystals or a small amount of oil. Allow the excess to drip off and then roll cake pops in sprinkles or...
decorate as desired. Place pops in pieces of styrofoam or punched holes in cardboard box until  set. Wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon.

Here's the finished products...

4 dozen in each basket.

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