Well, this one was supposed to go up yesterday evening, but we had a pretty good storm here so our computer was off most of the evening. So you get it today! Continuing on with our 4th of July theme, we have a Pinstrosity from Kris: The Cake Pop Flag.
The Original Pin
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| http://www.myjuicecup.com/4th-of-july-cake-pops/ |
Kris tells us, "I decided to be super festive for 4th of July, and make this really cool looking dessert. I had made oreo truffles before, so I figured these cake balls would be super easy....they were not."
The Pinstrosity
Not bad. I'd still eat them. Let's see where she ran into trouble.
- "I didn't know where to buy 'candy melts' in my small town, so I used dipping white chocolate likes from the oreo truffles. I came to find out really quick that you CANT add food coloring to dipping chocolate because it makes it seize up. That cost me another trip to the grocery store."
- For coloring chocolate you have to use a powder or oil based food coloring. A good tutorial for coloring white chocolate can be found here. These dyes aren't usually in regular grocery stores, they will either need to be ordered online or found through a specialty baking store.
- Obviously everywhere is a little different, but I've seen different colored candy melts at many Walmart. If there is a Walmart near you (and in our family near is relative...the closest Walmart growing up was always at least an hour away...now it's 1 1/2 hours for my parents in their new house), check out their cake decorating aisle...they may have what you're looking for.
- "The balls do not come out so round and nice and perfect."
- This can be kinda tricky, as I have found out from my personal experience. They say that if you get the right cake to frosting ratio that it makes it easier. One website suggests 2 c. of frosting per cake mix. Another website says 1/2 the frosting in the container to 1 cake mix. Anyway, getting the consistency right helps, and then you should refrigerate the cake balls for about 2 hours. When I first did this I froze the balls, but since then I have learned that refrigerating them kinda dries them out a little bit and that freezing them can leave a layer of water on the outside (and chocolate and water don't mix).
- "The website that this came from didn't explain how to make cake pops, so I had to find the website to do that so I was working from 2."
- I'm not sure which websites Kris was working from, but here are 2 that I think are quite handy
- "Now that I'm looking at the website again, it does say that she rolled them in chocolate to make them like truffles. I don't know how she found colored chocolate or made it colored because I tried multiple outlets."
- Cake pops are essentially cake truffles, but cake pops is just more catchy of a name I think.
- If you can't find the colored chocolate/candy melts near you, you can order them. Wilton is the brand many stores carry and you can order online at their website.
- I thought Kris' solution was quite good...colored sugar crystals. One thing that could have helped in the presentation is instead of sprinkling the crystals on top (which is what it looks like from the picture), right after dipping the balls in the chocolate, roll it in the crystals. This will give color over the whole pop and help the color stick to the balls better.
- "I also found that freezing them was a lot easier than just chilling in the refrigerator, because the chocolate was too hot to dip them in without them falling apart. The freezer didn't make them come out any worse. They tasted fine to me and every one else at my party."
- Freezing them definitely won't hurt them, and it is faster than refrigerating them, but sometimes it can affect the dipping chocolate if there is too much water on the outside of the frozen cake balls (this is more of an issue in places with high humidity).
- "This gave me no insight on how much cake mix or frosting to buy, or how many a single cake mix batch would yield. I found that one box of Duncan Hines and half of my frosting recipe made about 55 balls...too bad I needed about 88 to make the whole flag, so I had to make a whole other cake too."
- It's true. I haven't seen anywhere how many cake pops one cake mix will make. Now we know! Thanks Kris!
The cake to frosting ratio I use came from the Wilton website. They say to use 1 cup frosting to one whole cake.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I've done these before and had similar issues.
ReplyDeleteBut where is Bakerella in your post? She is the Queen Inventor of Cake Pops! And she literally wrote the book on it.
Her tutorials/instructions are always spot-on, and her photographs are absolutely stunning!
I have never made cake balls from scratch since I have one of those purple electric cake pop makers that are like a waffle iron (kind of). They are amazing and SO easy! You can get about 48 cake pops from one box and you don't have to mess with the frosting.
ReplyDeleteMelting chocolates can be found at most craft stores, like Joann's or Michaels. I'm sure if you had time to allow for shipping, you could find them on Ebay or Amazon as well. All places carry TONS of colors. If you are only looking for white, try Wal-mart, and something called Almond Bark. It's the same thing as white chocolate.
Michaels' Craft Stores also carries all colors of candy melts. They also sell molds for the cake pops and offer classes in candy making depending on your area.
ReplyDeleteThe one who made cake balls is who I trusted. Mine came out perfect first try! Bakerella- http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/ They should be simple, it just takes a lot of time to make because of the baking and freezing times.
ReplyDeleteI've used a cake pop tutorial from YouTube by michele1218, and they came out perfect. I role mine by hand and as long as you are patient, they can come out pretty even. I've also melted white chocolate in the microwave and colored it using you typical liquid food coloring drops from the grocery store without any problems.
ReplyDeleteI make cake balls all the time and I usually get about 50 or so from one cake mix. I made these for the 4th of July and used red candy, white candy, and a light blue candy that I added the oil based navy coloring (bought online - Amazon). I used about 1 1/2 cakes here. Here's how they turned out... http://pinterest.com/pin/184577284698625765/
ReplyDeleteI, too, have used color from the grocery store to color my chocolate. Here's how you HAVE to do it: Put the chocolate in your dish. I always use a microwave, not a double boiler. Then add the color and some vegetable oil to the dish too. If it melts and combines at the same time, I don't have problems. If I melt the chocolate and THEN add the color, I have issues. BUT, you'll never get as rich of a color because you are using WHITE chocolate. Red will turn out pink and blue will be light blue.
ReplyDeleteTo make the balls smooth, you MUST tap off the excess chocolate! My sister loves the Wilton's candy tool for that (it looks like a 2 prong fork) but I just use a plastic fork and break the inner 2 prongs off of it. Works great! Your chocolate MUST be the right consistency too. It should POUR off the cake ball not plop off the cake ball.
I, too, find it makes smoother balls if they come from the freezer and have never had any issues except that I do occasionally find I may have to reheat my chocolate. That's not a huge deal to me and the cake balls are prettier.
And, YES, where is Bakerella? She even featured one of my sister's creations on that section of her blog where she features other cake pops. Cool.
By the way, those cake pop cookers are COOL but they can, in no way compare to the yummy goodness of a cake ball made with icing. Together, the icing, cake and chocolate make it perfection.
I use 2/3 of a can of frosting to one box of cake mix. It ALWAYS works and I have probably made 25 batches of these. I always put it in the freezer, it should be very cold when you go to shape the ball (with your hands) I always spray my hand with non stick spray beforehand and it makes it way easier.
ReplyDeleteFor clarification: Cake pops or Cake Bite pops are on sticks. (Think: Lolli "Pops"). Cake Balls are made with crumbled cake, mixed with icing, rolled into a ball and dipped in candy coating. (Think: gooey stuff rolled up into a "BALL") Cake Bites are actual little round cakes, dipped in a candy coating. (Think: a little round "BITE" of cake.
ReplyDeleteAs far as comparing them goes, I sell all four and I have found that people who like a lot of icing tend to prefer the cake balls. Those that usually leave the icing on their plate prefer the cake bites. Either way, I sell more cake balls/bites than all my other baked goods combined. If the order is for adults, they generally buy balls or bites, if the order is for kids it is almost always for pops.
As far as Bakerella, she is a goddess and I bow before her! LOl Seriously, if you want to learn how to do just about anything with cake balls, check out her blog or buy one of her books. She explains the how-tos of this treat very clearly! I owe a large percentage of my income to her.
Just made a strawberry cake,cooled and crumb the cake. I only added two tablespoons of frosting and they seem bit too moist . Maybe its the cake. Think I should bake the cake abit longer making it even drier.
ReplyDelete