Somewhere Over the Rainbow Cake Pop

While perusing the wonders of Pinterest the other day (and potentially procrastinating on homework) Ashley came across the inside-out rainbow cake pop originally found on Babble.  Inside-out doesn't mean there's chocolate on the inside and cake around it.  What it means is a surprise pop of color in your cake pop.  Normally we'd say go check out our Cake Pops 101, but this time because there's different colors here's the step-by-step.

Start with a white cake box and follow the instructions for mixing. Then separate the white batter into however many colors you want.  We made 4.  But go all out and try 5 if you want.  However, don't be too much of an overachiever for this one.  Something crazy like 8 colors would be a nightmare!

Mix and create new colors with food coloring.  We started with regular red, yellow, blue and green.

We made cupcakes. If you want to make a mini-cake go for it. The goal is to bake the colors separately so you can keep the colors distinct.

Once they have cooled, crumble the cupcakes by color into separate bowls.  Add the vanilla frosting--it was about 2 middle sized spoons. Our caution is to add a small bit at a time, too much frosting isn't good.

Once crumbled. Take a small section of each color and add together to form one cake ball. Any combo works... be creative.


It's time to freeze the cake balls and wait 15 minutes, or refrigerate for a few hours.


Pick any color for the outside and dip them in the melting chocolate.  We liked the idea of having a perfectly white and somewhat plain cake pop, to then be surprised on the inside.

We had leftover chocolate so we added a couple drops of red food coloring, oil based, to make pink for a swirl on the outside.

When you bite into these cake pops......... Rainbow!

Peacock Cake Pops

Peacock Cake Pops!

These were quite the endeavor.  We have done a fair share of cake pops: hippos, babies, turtles, hearts, owls, domos, lions, and minions.  However trying to create a peacock was a challenge in itself.  But we succeeded!

Start with the basic cake pop.  If you've never made one before check out our Cake Pops 101 Guide.  It gives the detailed how to.

We used a baby blue.  You can go with brown, green, or truly whatever color you feel like.  Step 1 is to dip the cake pop in melted chocolate.

Immediately add a little colored chocolate chip. Then let dry.

 Melt green chocolate and put in a ziplock bag, cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners.  Lay down a piece of wax paper.  Start with a large dab--you will use this to attach to the cake pop.      Then start making feather-like details.

Go back with a different color (we used blue, but it can be purple or brown).  Fill in the blank areas.  Make sure to fill the entire space or there will gaps in the back.

Once dried, flip over the piece of chocolate.  Add a dollop of melted chocolate.

  Place the cake pop on the chocolate and let sit.  You may need to hold the cake pop so the feathers are straight.

All that's left are the eyes.  We use black frosting.

Peacock Cake Pops!

Cake Pop Greatest Hits

Here's a collection of cake pops we have done over the past year.  Take a look, most are pretty easy to figure out how to do. If you've never made cake pops before be sure to check out Cake Pops 101.

 MINIONS!!! These were out first cake pops. Dip the bottom in blue, then flip an dip the top in yellow chocolate.  The eyes are made out of candy necklaces. Sprinkles for the hair

Lions are next up. These were first found on Bakerella. The home to the first cake pops. She also has a fantastic cake pop book if you want more.  It's found at Target and other stores. 

We also made Domos. These used strawberry belts cut, white frosting for the teeth and black frosting for the eyes.

For the owls you will need a rectangle shaped cake pop, heart sprinkles, flower sprinkles, a candy necklace and chocolate chips.  The chips go on the cake pop before u dip them.

The turtles were pretty easy to make.  However the key for these cake pops are to make sure the ball is not too flat. It needs to be tall enough for the stick to hold.

Lower the body (not on a stick) first. Then put the lollipop stick then. Let it dry, then flip it over and dunk the ball into the chocolate.

Quickly add 1/2 and M&M and 1/2 a Mike-and-ike for the legs.  Go back with an edible pen and put a face on the M&M.

Chicks! These should use yellow melting chocolate. We tried our dyes for the first time--the color isn't as strong.

The arms and nose are little chocolate chips.  They're found next to the sprinkles in stores.  The feet are flower sprinkles and the eyes are black frosting.

This is perfect for spring time.

For a baby shower we made a bunch of little babies.  White chocolate, and immediately add the nose by using a toothpick and spoon.  Also add the candy necklace for the pacifier.

For the bows we used pink chocolate, melted it, put it in a ziplock bag, cut off a tip, and made them on wax paper.  They break easily.  The cheeks were a red edible pen that we rubbed in by hand.  The rest of the face is black frosting.

So these are some of our major hits over the past year.  Good luck trying to make your own.  Be on the look-out for our new tutorials.

Cake Pops 101

If you are reading this post, you must be interested in becoming a cake pop yoda. If you are already a yoda, then you then are in the company of fellow jedi masters and want to see creative twists on the already delicious classic. But for now... we start with the basics.

What is a cake ball?  It all starts with a box. A box of cake.  It is then transformed from a box, leave the cardboard, and shaped into various forms.  Finally resulting in a ball of cake. How may you ask, can all this be accomplished? Baking. 

Let us start at the very beginning... a very good place to start.  

Although all of the shape transformations that can occur might be complicated, the beginning is very simple.  Bake a cake. Let it cool.  Not only is this simple.  But an average cake box runs about $1.50.  Clearly, we are off to a good start. 

The next step is to let the cake cool and then progress to Aubree's crumbling secrets. 

Cut the cake into four section.  Remove two sections of the cake from the pan and have a large bowl ready.

Rub the sections against one another until the appear like cake crumbles.  The crumbs will be fine and fluffy. Sometimes you might find chunks of egg or cake, just remove them.

The end result should look like the photo. (The book in the corner is by Bakerella.  It's another fantastic resource for cake pops.)

Frosting is next on the list. Take the frosting and add large tablespoons at a time.  Mix in with the crumbs.

Be careful! Don't add too much.  You don't want too much frosting because it will make the later steps too hard.

The finer the crumbs, the less frosting is required.
The moister the cake, the lesser the frosting required.

Usually we use 1/4 - 1/2 of a store bought tub.

Even if you want to make some crazy shape, because believe us you might want to one day, the first step is to roll the dough into balls.

There's two options: freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for a few hours.

The goal is to make the ball firm so they can be dipped into melted chocolate and not fall apart.

Freezing for too long is a bad thing as well, so stay near the 15 min. mark.

CHOCOLATE TIME!!!!

We microwave the chocolate, there's always the option to use a double broiler.

Take 1-2 pkg and microwave for 30 second increments.  Take your time with this!

We have overcooked chocolate so many times and it makes your life a living nightmare.  Trust us!

Thin melted chocolate is key for easy dipping.

Here's the trick: Start with 30 seconds. It will look like the chocolate has not melted.... but it has. Stir and wait for a bit. Heck, put the chocolate up against the walls of the bowl if it's warm.

There are a few tells of overheated chocolate. It's warm to the touch (when melted correctly it doesn't give off its own heat). The chocolate will appear shiny. If it starts to get ripples then its overheated.  Another indicator is that the chocolate is thick.  Continuing to heat the chocolate will not make it better.

Prevent overheating at all costs!!!!!!

If you do overheat it, let just say it happened... then you do have some options.  

1. Start all over. Just kidding

2. Add small amounts of oil and stir. (It helps make it thinner.)

3. Buy a mix specifically for overheated chocolate

4. Have a timeturner.  

So the chocolate is ready, the cake balls are firm, it's time to dip.

For cake balls, just dump the ball into the chocolate and have fun.

For cake pops, place 1/2 inch of the stick into the chocolate and then straight into the pop.

Then place the entire cake ball into the chocolate.

Some of the chocolate will drip off... use Ashley's move: slowly tap the stick on the side of the bowl and twist the stick around.

At this point your done! Yey!  You survived.

Storage info:  Let the cake pops dry at room temperature.  If you want to be a trickster then add candies, frosting and sprinkles in order to get the desired look.

Cake pops should be stored in the refrigerator or in a air-tight container.

Total amount 1 box makes: approx. 36

Total cost: under $8

Be on the look-out for our tutorials on the cake pops featured in this post.

Mocktails

Most mixed drinks with an umbrella are from bars or fancy restaurants.  They are expensive, hard to make, and not safe/legal for children.  Luckily, we have found a non-alcohol alternative that is still fun to create and refreshing.  It is, a Mocktail.  And even better, the ingredients are common, few, and cheap.

Step 1. The ingredients- there are 3.  As is our style, this drink is not only delicious but also cheap and simple.  All you need is some OJ, maraschino cherries, and then either tonic or club soda.  You can buy any at your neighborhood grocery store and come home prepared to be your own wannabe bartender.

Step 2: Start by pouring in the tonic/club soda.  We made both, but as you can see there isn't much of a difference.  They taste almost the same too so its all up to you.  Pour in the tonic (amount depends on cup size.  For these larger cups, you use a little less than half of a bottle).







Step 3: Add the OJ!
Next you'll pour in the orange juice.  There isn't an exact amount for this either, but it should be about 2:1.  Twice as much OJ as tonic.

Step 4: Add some color.
The last step is to add the cherries.  Begin by pouring some of the cherry juice into the glass.  It will sink to the bottom and give this mocktail it's sunset-like colors.  Add in about 1/4 cup but its mostly just by eye.  You can also do it to taste.  Lastly, pick out a cherry and throw it in (optional).  Either way, its gonna taste great!

For a little more fun, you can add umbrellas and a straw to give you that real Mocktail feel.  Bottoms up!

Churros

Churros, churros, churrros. Probably one of the best things about amusement parks by far. Of course recreating that great taste is no easy feat, even Del Taco has tried and its kind of hit or miss.  So we found this recipe online here and had a go at our own.

All you need is a package of puff pastry sheets, butter, cinnamon and sugar.  Where to find the puff pastry sheets? In the frozen dessert section-- we originally looked in Ralph's and found them for $6.99. Disappointed with the price we headed to Target and found success, only $4.67.  This yields about 36 churros so ... about 13 cents a churro.

Let the frozen sheets defrost and then cut them into 1in strips and then in half length wise. We used a pizza cutter, it's super easy.

Place on either a baking sheet with slightly greased parchment paper or we used stoneware by itself. (note the picture has wax paper but don't use wax paper.  It's not meant to be baked in the oven and will smoke)

Bake for 10 minutes at 450F and then dip in 1/4 cup of melted butter, quickly followed by a mix of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.  Place on a wire rack to cool.

Churros

1 pkg puff pastry sheet (1 sheet makes 18 churros)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Defrost puff pastry sheet. Cut into 1 inch strips width wise, then cut length wise in half.
Place lightly greased parchment paper on a baking sheet or use stoneware.
Bake for 10 minutes at 450F.
Dip into melted butter.
Dip into mix of sugar and cinnamon immediately after.
Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes or until dry.