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Food/Recipes

Cake Pops

39 replies

Mouseface · 10/04/2013 17:19

HELP!!

I am a cake pop virgin Blush and have my lovely DS's 4th Birthday coming up on May 2nd.

I want to do something different for him, his nickname is Nemo and ideally, would love to do lots of little Nemo's but doubt I'll pull that off. Grin

So, I'm thinking pigs, cows, farm animals, or zoo animals as he loves both. Something fairly simple shape wise, but fun :)

Can anyone please, please help and tell me what I need to buy, do I use a mould or free hand to make the pops, I know I need sticks, what is candy milk? Are most things available in the supermarket these days. Should I avoid YouTube and am I better off just buying him a cake? Please be honest. He's very precious to us and I'd love to do something different.

He's not having a party as such, because he has complex SN but he also hates noise, crowds and lots of fuss so it'll just be a few friends and close family :)

Thank you in advance if you answer.

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overmydeadbody · 10/04/2013 17:21

Oh God they are a nightmare to make, and really should be left to professionals or people with lots of cake decorating experience.


Stick to a cake, seriously, think of your sanity!

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SatsukiKusukabe · 10/04/2013 17:23

buy some sugar paste make little figures and stick them on top of cup cakes

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SatsukiKusukabe · 10/04/2013 17:24

do not fuck about with cakepops. and happy bday to your Ds!

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overmydeadbody · 10/04/2013 17:27

Cake Pops Fail

Of course your 4yr old DS might not mind if they don't look perfect!

They just seem so fiddly and complicated to me, I'm sure there are other ways to incorporate Nemo into the food.

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ATouchOfStuffing · 10/04/2013 17:27

You can get special baking devices that cook up to 12 at a time I think. I am beginning to wish I had bought one of those as I went for the cheap option of a silicone tray online...as soon as it arrived I doubted my bravery at using it!
No idea re recipes as not tried any yet but you can get multi coloured sticks on the usual places - ebay/amazon etc and special stands in circles/hearts etc if you feel you want to display them in a certain way.

Think the idea sounds fab but don't envy all of the hard work involved!
Will try to find some links re the cooking things above...

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lucamom · 10/04/2013 17:29

Some people have mastered the art of cake pops, and hopefully will be along in a minute to advise you.

I'm a professional cake maker, can make the fanciest cake or snazziest cupcake, but cake pops have eluded me this far!

I find either technique for making the base (machine or cake mixed with buttercream and formed into balls) to be quite successful, but I have difficulty in coating them without them looking like my 4 year old did them!

Sorry I can't advise, other than to say that I think YouTube is a good starting point, and that in my experience melted white choc with food colouring is no less successful than the expensive candy melts you can buy.

Could you perhaps make the cake pop base and form it into fish shapes and roll it in orange sprinkles? Or cupcakes with little nemo's on top (if you're not looking to make them yourself out of fondant, you've time to order cupcake toppers. Just put nemo cupcake toppers into eBay and you should get loads, from rice paper ones to fondant shapes-even personalised).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do-hope I haven't put you off (you might be a whizz at cake pops!). Hope your boy has a great birthday, sounds like it'll be special whatever you do x

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overmydeadbody · 10/04/2013 17:31
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SatsukiKusukabe · 10/04/2013 17:31

the problem with the molds is she won't be able to make shapes coolest-kid-birthday-parties.shippony.com/images/cakes/finding-nemo-cake-02.jpg this looks beginner friendly

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ATouchOfStuffing · 10/04/2013 17:32

I'd give a few a go before deciding tbh - if they work really well then go for it, if not you can get a cake instead and flog the cake pop kit on ebay or give it away on freecycle :)

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ATouchOfStuffing · 10/04/2013 17:35
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ATouchOfStuffing · 10/04/2013 17:36

Or you could go all out and fork out £180! Shock
www.cakes4funshop.co.uk/nemo.ir?cName=cakes-4-adults-pets-and-animals

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Mouseface · 10/04/2013 17:40

Grin Wow, some real haters of cake pops then!! Wink

OverMyDead - that epic fail made me pmsl!! Grin Loving the cake with the fish on :) Thanks!

I know it's going to be hard work but he's worth it and I want to do something different so have found a cake pop baker on Amazon for £20.

ATouchOf - I may invest in a baking one, not just for Nemo but for DD too. We all like baking and it would be an investment not just a 'stick it in the back of the cupbaord' buy :)

Lucamom - great idea re the toppers!! My mum made him a Postman Pat one like that for his 2nd Birthday.

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Mouseface · 10/04/2013 17:41

Grin ATouch - er, it might end up costing me that to get it right!! But nope, I shall not be buying that, as gorgeous as it is!

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FuckThisShit · 10/04/2013 17:44

Mouseface - I've a sneaky feeling I know who you are (I'll FB message you in a mo).

I've made a gazillion cake pops and while they can be time consuming, they are easy as pie once you've grasped it.

Pic is of one of the ones that DD3 did, just to give you an idea of ease (she was just 3 then)

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MaureenMLove · 10/04/2013 17:52

Well, I have mastered them, but I don't want to do them very often! They are time consuming.

I bought a silicone mould, which makes 20 balls, but it took me at least 4 attempts of baking to get the absolute right amount in each 'ball' to get a it right.

Then, the dipping took a while to master. 70% chocolate is the best and easiest to use. DO NOT buy candy melts. Pointless waste of time and money. If you are going to use white chocolate or milk chocolate, you'll need to thin it down a bit, by adding vegetable oil a bit at a time, until you are happy with the thickness.

The next thing to remember, is to chill at every stage! You AND the cakes! Grin

Chill the balls for an hour. Then melt a small amount of chocolate and dip the sticks in and push them into the balls. Then chill again for an hour. You can stand them directly on a plate to do this. Eventually there'll be enough on the plate to make them all stand up.

Now the trick stuff starts! You need somewhere to stand the dipped cakes. A peice of polystyrene or florist oasis maybe. Melt the chocolate, as above and dip. I put the cake pop almost all the way in and spoon over the chocolate. Then you need to let the excess drip off. Resist the urge to tap too much, or the pop will fall off!

The world is then your oyster, for decoration. Personally, I've found the best are simply covered with proper hundreds and thousands, not sugar strands.

I'll look for a picture and stick it on my profile. Smile

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LadyMountbatten · 10/04/2013 17:53

gah they are easy imo
cake mix in the machine job done, dip in choc

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LadyMountbatten · 10/04/2013 17:53

i never chilled for any time

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msrisotto · 10/04/2013 17:57

Oh I love making cake pops. I can't recommend silicone cake pop moulds highly enough. There are cheaper ones on Amazon but i've linked to that as the comments from Ann in the reviews are invaluable.

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FuckThisShit · 10/04/2013 17:59

I disagree re candy melts. I made several hundred for two events last year and found that candy melts were by far the easiest way.

I don't make the balls in a special mould or maker, rather make cakes, crumble and mix with a cream cheese frosting, so I can get them to a chewy deliciousness. I freeze after each stage - makes it way easier to do

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Mouseface · 10/04/2013 18:06

FuckThisShit - job done, thank you ever so much. xx

Maureen - I like the idea of a silicone tray so will invest in one and practice between now and the big day, FuckThatShit is going to help me out, and I am going to get a Nemo cake topper from eBay as suggested by Lucamom as I've just had a peek and there are heaps on there!! They are great!

I want to learn to make them, as I think they make nice treats/cute gifts for friends, no doubt DD and her friends will like them, as will mine and I'm sure they go with wine, right? Wink

Thank you all for your input and so fast! DH is a whizz in the kitchen with cakes and we have polywotsit to put them in so that should be okay, I am going to watch some YouTubers having a go too.

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MaureenMLove · 10/04/2013 18:08

LOL! Even in the simple subject of cake baking we can't bloody agree! Hilarious! Grin

Do you use added oil with the Candy Melts then, FTS? I just can't seem to get the viscosity (oh, that's a good word!) right.

Forgot I could upload straight to here too!

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Mouseface · 10/04/2013 18:12

OOOooohh, lovely!!

I am deffo going to give them a go but not going to try to be a whizz by his birthday.

Thanks again for all your help, it's bath time for the little fishboy Grin

Shall pop back later xx

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msrisotto · 10/04/2013 18:16

Ooh this is new! I'll try to post my christmas pops

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Masterchuff · 10/04/2013 18:19

I just made 100 for a wedding and have 15 to make for next week. They should be made from crumbled cake & frosting for authenticity and I have no idea how just cake would stay on the stick but it must work as so many do it that way. I find them easy and I'm not arty and have made all sorts. And Maureen, adding oil to candy melts is a must!

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