Tag Archives: cake pops

Aug 1 2012

Batman Cake Pops {Giveaway}

Posted on by

In honor of the release of The Dark Knight Rises, I decided to make some Batman cake pops. I meant to do this a couple of weeks ago when the movie came out, but I ordered the background poster too late and have been waiting for it to arrive in the mail. So here they are!

I don’t know how Bakerella does it. Her cake pops are perfection. Mine never come out how I want them to, and it takes all of my patience to not throw the pops against the wall while I’m making them. Truthfully, I’m not sure why I keep making cake pops. Anyway, these aren’t exactly how I envisioned them, but they did turn out pretty cute.

Items you’ll need for this project are cake, frosting, candy melts in yellow, black, white and orange, oil, white sprinkles, pop sticks, pop stand, a toothpick, and candy coated sunflower seeds.

I used brownie mix for this one instead of cake but you can use anything you want. A box mix or your favorite cake recipe will work. Make the brownie or cake according to the directions and let it cool. Once it’s cool, break it up in a bowl and mix a little frosting with it. I used chocolate frosting but white frosting works well too. I’m not sure how much frosting to use, I just put a little plop and mixed it in with my hands. The consistency should be like clay: not too dry, not too moist. Cover the cake mixture with some pastic and chill it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Create a pop stand before you start working on the pops. This can be made out of a block of styrofoam with some holes pre-poked into it, or buy a cardboard cake pop stand from the store. I got mine at Walmart in the baking section.

For the Bat Signals, melt the yellow candy using the instructions on the package and add some oil to it a little bit at a time, until it’s nice and smooth. Dip the end of one of the pop sticks in the candy, and push it about halfway into a rolled up ball of cake. Place it on your stand.

For the Batman cake pops, melt some white candy melts with a little bit of orange and the yellow until it’s the skin color you want. Using the same technique as the other cake pops, glue the sticks onto the cake balls. When you’re done gluing the cake balls onto the sticks, put the cake pops in the fridge for about 15 minutes so the candy hardens.

Next step is to dip the pops. Dip the Signals in the yellow candy and the Batman ones in the skin-colored candy and knock off the extra. Place two candy coated sunflower seeds on each Batman pop for the bat ears. Return them to the stand and chill once again.

Melt some black candy in a bowl or mug and also melt a little bit in a ziplock bag. Dip the Batman pops in the black candy half way and stick a white sprinkle for each eye and place on the stand.

Draw the bat logo with a toothpick on the yellow pops and fill it in with the melted candy in the ziplock (cut the tip off of the bag’s corner). Also draw a mouth on the Batman pops with the bag of black candy. For the last time, chill the cake pops. You’re done!

{Giveaway}

I’ve decided to give away the Batman poster I got for the background. It’s a silk wall poster measuring 40″ x 24.” It shows Gotham City with Christian Bale’s Batman to one side. This is for US residents only as I will be paying for shipping myself.

The poster is brand new but the tape that I used to put it up for the photos with pulled off some of the ink on the corners. So if you win, you will be receiving the poster slightly damaged.

The giveaway will end on August 8th, 2012 at 11:59pm.

Read the Official Rules for more information.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin It
Mar 10 2012

Crazy for Cake Pops Review and Giveaway

Posted on by

I received a copy of Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations by Molly Bakes for review from Ulysses Press recently and decided to make something from the book. There are many great decoration ideas in this book with lots of photographs of each cake pop.

Besides the cake pop decorations, there are also many other sections of the book. It starts out with descriptions of all the equipment you’ll need for the projects, as well as recipes for chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, peanut butter, toffee, and lemon cakes and the frostings that go with them. There is also a section in the back that shows some techniques for making the cake pops.

Never made cake pops before? Don’t worry. There are detailed explanations of how to make cake pops and plenty of colorful photos to show you the process. I’ve made cake pops once before, so I was familiar with the instructions, but it was nice to refresh my memory.

As I flipped through the book I came across a ton of designs I wanted to try, but I settled on the Moustache Cake Pops. I thought these looked great and simple.

Unfortunately, I had a few issues with making these. One thing I’ve realized from making cake pops is they always end up more complicated to make than they look. I used the recipe for the chocolate cake and chocolate frosting from the book (recipes below). The cake turned out pretty good although I may have overcooked it. This didn’t matter too much though, because I mixed it with the frosting and it became moist again.

The frosting was a little weird though. I followed the instructions exactly, but the mixture was less like frosting and more like a truffle mixture. It tasted great but wasn’t fluffy like the instructions said it would be. Not sure what happened. I mixed a little half and half in to soften it, but it was still really hard. It did mix into the cake crumbles well though and the mixture seemed right, so I guess this “frosting” didn’t mess it up, but I wouldn’t use the recipe for actual frosting.

Another problem I had was that my cake mixture wasn’t holding together well enough to form the moustache. It kept falling apart. I don’t think I mixed enough of the frosting into the cake.  Oops! I was able to make regular cake pops though so this is what I ended up with:

Not too bad, although I was bummed that the moustaches didn’t work out. I’ll try them again sometime. If you think you could do better, the recipes and instructions for the Moustache Cake Pops are below. Post a picture on my facebook page if you give these ones a shot. I’d love to see them!

Print
Chocolate Cake

Yield: Makes enough for approx. 20 medium cake balls

Ingredients

  • 55 grams (8 tablespoons) cocoa powder
  • 250 milliliters (1 cup) boiling water
  • 120 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
  • 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 200 grams (1-2/3 cups) self-rising flour*, plus more for the tin
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Put the cocoa into a heatproof bowl, pour in the boiling water and stir until combined. Set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch (25-centimeter) round cake tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. Pour in the dry ingredients and gently beat until combined. Fold in the cooled cocoa until the color of the mixture is even. Pour into the tin and bake for 45–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

*I didn't have self-rising flour so I made some using this recipe: 1 cup flour, ½ tsp. salt, 1½ tsp. baking powder sifted together.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://shaneskillercupcakes.com/2012/03/crazy-for-cake-pops-review-and-giveway/

Print
Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

  • 120 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 200 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 100 grams (1-2/3 cups) chocolate, melted and cooled

Instructions

  1. Cream the butter. Gradually add the powdered sugar and then the chocolate. Continue to cream until light and fluffy. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://shaneskillercupcakes.com/2012/03/crazy-for-cake-pops-review-and-giveway/

Print
Moustache Pops

Ingredients

  • 20 medium cake balls, chilled
  • 1 (14-ounce) bag black candy melts

Instructions

  1. Roll each cake ball into a log shape with your hands. Use a lollipop stick to make an indentation in the top center and bottom center of each “log.” Squeeze and pinch the center of the “log” to shape the middle of the moustache. Now squeeze and pinch the ends, curling each one upwards to create a handlebar moustache shape.
  2. Melt the candy. Dip the end of each lollipop stick ¾ inch into the candy and insert a stick into the center of each moustache. Leave to set. Dip each pop into the candy, dipping from left to right to get an even coating. Insert into a polystyrene block to dry.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin
http://shaneskillercupcakes.com/2012/03/crazy-for-cake-pops-review-and-giveway/

{Overall Opinion}

Overall, I love this book. I personally need to practice making cake pops more often so I can make some of the more complicated cake pops in the book. For those of you that are cake pop newbies like myself, there are some easier designs to make in the book too. The great thing about cake pops is there are many ways they can be decorated, and even the easiest ones (like mine above) still look nice. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in making cake pops.

{Buy It}

Crazy for Cake Pops is available on several websites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback and e-book form.

{Win It}

Ulysses Press has graciously offered to send one of my readers a copy of Crazy for Cake Pops: 50 All-New Delicious and Adorable Creations! To enter fill out the Rafflecopter form below. If you’ve never filled one out before, sign in with either Facebook or log in with your name and email address. Then fill out the first three entries. You don’t have to complete the first three entries but you can’t get to the other entries without finishing them. Once completed, all of the extra entries will become available for completion. Let me know if you have any problems filling out the form.

I WILL BE VERIFYING ENTRIES! So please leave any requested info for the entries. If any requested info is missing from the form, I will not be able to verify your entry and will choose another winner.

The giveaway will end at 11:59pm EST on March 17, 2012. US entries only, please. Terms and Conditions are located at the bottom of the Rafflecopter widget.

Continue reading »

Pin It
Feb 9 2012

Valentine’s Day Dessert Roundup

Posted on by

I absolutely LOVE Pinterest! It has become an addiction. Over the past few weeks I’ve been pinning my favorite desserts and crafts for that lovey-dovey holiday that’s coming up on my Valentine’s Day board.

Follow Me on Pinterest

There are a lot of fun things on Pinterest for Valentine’s Day, and I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite desserts that I’ve come across for this holiday.

1. Of course I shared with you the 5-Minute Valentine Mug Cake a little while ago. It’s a quick and easy dessert that’s perfect for one or two people, like say, you and your special someone on Valentine’s Day!

2. Next up is Love From The Oven’s Pink Velvet Cake Pops. The cake pops are made with a pink velvet cake recipe (that’s provided on the website) and mixed with frosting to give it a malleable texture. Then they are rolled in balls, stuck on sticks with a little bit of melted candy as glue, chilled, dipped in white chocolate, and decorated with lovely sprinkles from ABC Cake Decorating Supplies.

3. Confessions of a Cookbook Queen is one of my favorite blogs to read, and I just love how her Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake turned out. It’s pretty and pink with a delicious sparkly chocolate glaze over the top. Yum. Also, I dare you to leave her blog without a chuckle or two. She’s too funny.

4. In Katrina’s Kitchen has these lovely White Chocolate Infused Cookies and Cream Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. I just love the idea of layering the red velvet cupcakes with the filling. Why haven’t I ever thought of that?

5. Another cupcake with a Valentine theme that I loved was Glorious Treats’ Sweet Heart Cupcakes. They are so cute and use the same idea as above by cutting the top off but on these you cut out a small heart with a cookie cutter on the top piece. Then you frost on the top of the bottom piece and replace the top. Head to their website for the recipes. Such a great idea! I want to thank Glorious Treats for allowing me to use their photo.

6. If a cookie is more to your style, try The Busty Baker’s Valentine Brownie Cut Out Cookies. They are tasty brownie cookies with decorative royal icing on top. She gives you many great suggestions about how to make these too!

What’s your favorite Valentine dessert? Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day? Leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest! Leave your Pinterest username below, and I’ll follow you back.

Pin It
Oct 17 2011

Ghost Cake Pops

Posted on by

Since I don’t share that many cake pops on here I thought these cute little ghost pops would be a nice addition. These ones were made for an About.com article that gives a nice picture tutorial about how to make them.  The one and only time I’ve made cake pops, I found them a bit more difficult than I thought they would be, but I might have made the cake balls a little too big. I think I need to give cake pops a try again, because I keep coming across so many cute designs for them.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...