Cake Pops

[Mouseface]

HELP!!

I am a cake pop virgin 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.

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.

[FuckThisShit]

[Mouseface]

Thanks lovely, I shall be taking plenty of pics of the finished cake and said boy as long as I can get him to sit near it!

I like the look of the frosting sheets as they seem to have more depth to them. :)

[FuckThisShit]

I've used both and prefer frosting sheets, but either option is fine.

[FuckThisShit]

Arf! Gerrof, yes I can see that happening! Any excuse eh?!

Dear Mouseface, he's a special little chap and an absolute inspiration. You are most definitely allowed to get all sentimental. I'm looking forward to making them and seeing his little face!

[Mouseface]

Just a quick question - which is better, frosting sheets or rice paper? Some of the toppers are rice paper, some frosting sheets.

Clueless as ever, I'd like a bit of advice as to which to go for, the icing under the image will be white btw. :)

[Mouseface]

I'm loving the wine drinking cake pop making get together you two!

Thank you all for your suggestions, the lovely FuckThisShit has helped me out with the pops and the lovely lucamom has helped me to source the perfect topper for his cake so I will have a mixture of pops and big cake for his big day.

I actually got rather sentimental over the fact that he's almost 4 when posting yesterday, we didn't think he'd reach 2 or 3 years old, never mind 4! So thank you all for taking the time to help me out :) xx

[Gerrof]

Nemo not memo

[Gerrof]

Ooh frank it's YOU.

A cake making sleepover would be brilliant. Cn you imagine though, we would probably get t weighing ingredients and then just drink the wine whilst they sat there.

I can't bake cakes. Which is fine as I don't like them much but I love biscuits and they are beyond me as well. I tried to make some one day, destroyed four batches of different recipes and I was hysterical when dd came and and shrieked at her 'help me with that bastard fucking biscuits' and she had to take over.

The biscuit pops sound a great idea (how do you stick the stick into a biscuit though?) as you could do a memo shaped and then decorate them with that glossy run out icing or whatever it is called which always looks so pretty.

[FuckThisShit]

Maureen - I don't add anything to the candy melts.

As Masterchuff (love your name) says, to do 'authentic' ones does, IMO/E make the whole process much easier. When one makes 100+ in a go, the right mix, ingredients etc makes it a breeze.

Gerrof (tis me, Frank), come to stay (DD can bugger off with my big DDs) and I will teach you as much as I can. It may need a couple of days though, with our likely wine consumption...

[LadyMountbatten]

I RECOMMEND A CHILD AND the machine

[Gerrof]

Ooh look at the pictures!

I am no help at all OP because I can't bake shit, but you do sound lovely and hope the party goes well.

I lurk on cake threads as I am always slightly awed by those people who can decorate cakes. It's completely beyond me. I bought a Peggy Porschen book and it looks fiendishly complicated.

[MaureenMLove]

See, I tried making them the authentic way, but I couldn't get them to stay on the stick! Much easier to stick the stick in a solid cake, iyswim.

[Masterchuff]

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!

[msrisotto]

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

[Mouseface]

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

Shall pop back later xx

[MaureenMLove]

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

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!

[Mouseface]

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?

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.

[FuckThisShit]

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

[msrisotto]

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.

[LadyMountbatten]

i never chilled for any time

[LadyMountbatten]

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

[MaureenMLove]

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!

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.

[FuckThisShit]

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)