Cake Pops...How to Do Em Up Right...

So...just wondering...have you heard of these things called Cake Pops? Hmm? No? Yeah...they're kinda up & coming.

I love being sarcastic. My husband can totally beat me in the game of sarcasm, though. Yeah, we're a strange couple who will try & one up each other in sarcasm. We go until someone says something completely indistinguishable & stupid. I'll give you one guess who that person is... ;p

Okay, back to Cake Pops. I've attempted Cake Pops two times. First time, they were alright but I hate reading directions so I kinda just guessed my way through making them. Second time, I went a way cheaper & quicker route. I'm talking about it took me like 15 minutes from start to finish. And I'll show you what I did in a later post. But this week, I asked a friend Tabitha to tell us the proper way to make cake pops.

Isn't her family adorable? Picture perfect. 

Tabitha & her sister have a cake pop business here in Atlanta that make some impressive displays. 

I haven't met Tiffani yet but Tabitha is just so tiny & cute & so sweet. 

Before Tabitha tells you how to do some cake pops up right, how bout we see some of their handywork? 

Gorgeous, huh? 

Here's Tabitha & Tiffani's how to for cake pops. 

What you will need:

Cake Mix (any flavor)

Two containers of icing (preferably not creamy)

Ice cream scoop

 Chocolate mold sticks

Chocolate wafers*

 Aluminum foil

Cookie pan

Big block of Styrofoam (to put pops in while decorating)

Begin with baking a cake with the flavor of your choice. 

Let the cake cool after baking

Crumple the cake into small pieces

Mix in complete container of icing (half if creamy) into the cake crumbles. 

Place a piece of aluminum foil of the cookie sheet 

Create small balls with the mixture by rolling in palm of your hand (recommend using ice cream scoop to get a constant size)

Poke the stick halfway in the cake ball and pull back out

Melt small amount of chocolate in a glass bowl( or coffee mug) for about two seconds or until melted

Dip the end of the stick in the melted chocolate and place back into the cake pop

Place the pops on the cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes

Decorating

Melt chocolate in a coffee cup about 3/4 full

Take out cake pops one at a time and dip in the chocolate

(Do not spin cake pop in the cup this will loosen the stick and the pop will come off)

Tap the stick on the side of the cup to make the excess chocolate come off 

If you are adding sprinkles to your pops cake sure to do them immediately after dipping so they will stick

Stick each pop in the Styrofoam straight up to dry

After the pops dry, decorate with icing 

I had a few extra questions for Tabitha. They make it look so easy! But I needed some amatuer guidance -

1) What are chocolate wafers? Regular chocolate bark? 

It's the name of the chocolate melt at Hobby Lobby (It's the only kind we use). This is a link to where you can find the chocolate wafers online. 

2) Tabitha, you mentioned freezing the pops. The last batch of cake pops I did, I froze them then when I dipped them in chocolate, it began to crack. What did I do wrong? 

Never  freeze the pops for more them the 30 minutes.  It makes the chocolate crack, and changes the color.

(Ahh...my multitasking while they were in the freezer was definitely longer than 30 min.) 

3) How do you make such beautiful displays for the cake pops? 

First, put something heavy in the vase or whatever you're using for the arrangement. The cake pops are heavy, so you want to make sure it doesn't fall over. Then put the styrofoam in.

 Cover the styrofoam up with flowers, a  feather boa or anything pretty! Be creative. 

DO NOT put the arrangement in the sun or outside on a hot day. It's chocolate and will fall apart and melt.

Here are some more examples of the cake pops Tabitha & Tiffani have made...

Wouldn't this be perfect for a New Years Eve party? 

Baseball party...or as a gift. Bouquet of baseball cake pops. 

I'd go back to school just to get this! :-) 

This is really a work of art!

This works great as a centerpiece. 

Love those little chicks. This would be great for Easter or a baby shower. 

Last one...

I just had to show some love for the feathers! :-) 

Thanks so much Tabitha & Tiffani for teaching us the ways of cake pops. :-) 

Heads up...I'm posting again tomorrow night & it's about an award I got & I'm passing it on to others & I'm gonna show you an awesome last minute Thanksgiving idea.