CAKE.POPS.

I have finally done it. I have tried and tried and cried and eaten-so-much-Wilton-chocolate-melts-to-taste-test-but-it’s-worth-it and FINALLY have mastered the cake pop.

BEHOLD!

andddddd

annnnndddddd ladybugs!!!

TA DA!!!!!

I am very excited about these recent projects (can you tell!?!?) and I wanted to share some photos of the process and finished projects.

If you don’t know about cake pops already–they are pretty basic…. well, you would think.

Bake a cake. Crumble it and mix with frosting. Form into balls. Dip a stick into them and dip with chocolate.

Sounds simple enough right??

WRONG.

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile (xoxox to all of you!) you know that I have “struggled” with cake pops. But they did not bring me down!!!

Sometimes you make them and they come out like this:

fail page!

This is a big bummer. Very annoying. Very unlady-like language ensues…..

Don’t be discouraged–the trick is the actual cake ball. The ratio of cake to frosting is crucial. I haven’t exactly measured it yet to be able to tell you but it also just depends on the moistness of the cake, and all cake batters come out differently so it’s just a matter of getting a feel for it. These boogers up there were too moist and the stick wouldn’t stay in, and they were falling apart when dipped in chocolate. They were delicious!! But not cute.

Another thing I have learned is to tilt the bowl of melted chocolate and actually dunk the whole cake pop into it–or as much as you can. Like this:

I also did a sort of pendulum motion with the pop to make sure all the cake was covered. **You must must must cover the ENTIRE cake pop with chocolate–otherwise the moistness of the cake will seep out the little tiny spot that you missed and it looks like you have water pooling where the stick is inserted into the cake ball. Not cute.

And I finally bought a decent cake pop holder. Guess what it is —

A block of that green floral styrofoam that you use to stick flowers into for pots and crafts! SO easy. SO cheap. Craft stores have them on sale for like $5-10 PLUS there are always coupons you can use which are usually for 50% off! Winning! (I was traveling with these on my lap in the back seat, middle seat on a road trip for St. Patty’s Day. Note–you CAN bring cake pops across the Canadian border!)

Here are a few more pics of the ladybugs. I made them for the daughter of a friend. They were just so cute. They made me smile. They made me giggle to myself with glee.