Strawberry Patch Pops

Tip

· You can use a black edible-ink pen instead of sugar pearls to draw seed shapes on the strawberries once they are dry.

Pick these pops for any occasion and brighten someone’s day.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls, formed into rounded triangular shapes

48 ounces (3 pounds) red candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

48 paper lollipop sticks

White sugar pearls

Styrofoam block

16 ounces dark green candy coating

Large squeeze bottle

Wax paper

Baking sheet

Toothpicks

Green Sour Punch Straws (optional)

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the red candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few of the cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the bottom of each shaped cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

Immediately place several sugar pearls onto the surface of the strawberries, and place the pops in the Styrofoam block to dry. Repeat until all the strawberries have been sprinkled with sugar pearls.

Melt the dark green candy coating in the second microwave-safe plastic bowl, and pour it into a large squeeze bottle. Pipe flowerlike shapes with 5 rounded petals onto a wax paper–covered baking sheet for each of the 48 leaf tops. Fill in the shapes with more coating and let dry. You can place the baking sheet in the freezer to speed up the drying time. You can even make these the night before.

Reheat any leftover green coating and, with a toothpick, apply a small amount of coating to the top of the strawberry. One at a time, attach the leaf shapes, flat-side up, on top of the cake pops. Let dry in the Styrofoam block.

Optional: Cut the Sour Punch Straws up into 48 quarter-inch sections. Dip one end in some of the remaining green candy coating and attach in the center of each green-leaf top. Let dry completely.

Bride & Groom Cake Pops

These do-it-yourself wedding favors will impress any guest.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls

64 to 80 ounces (4 to 5 pounds) white candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

Wax paper

2 baking sheets

Large squeeze bottle

Black candy coloring (not food coloring)

Toothpicks

192 miniature white confetti sprinkles

48 miniature black heart sprinkles (from Poker Shapes)

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

For the grooms, place half of the cake pops in the Styrofoam block to dry; you will be dipping these a second time.

For the brides, place the remaining coated cake pops, ball-side down, on a wax paper–covered baking sheet, and let dry completely.

Transfer one-third of the remaining white candy coating to a large squeeze bottle, and pipe candy coating for the bride’s dress in opposite directions (as shown in the photo). Place back on the wax paper to dry.

Tint the remaining two-thirds of the candy coating with black candy coloring. Keep adding color until you achieve a rich black. Then dip the groom cake pops in the black candy coating, holding the pop in a diagonal direction and dipping it into the coating until half covered. Remove and dip the other side in the opposite diagonal direction to form a black V-shaped jacket. Place the groom pops, ball-sides down, on a wax paper–covered baking sheet. Let the brides and grooms dry completely.

When the pops are dry, use a toothpick to dot a small amount of melted white candy coating in position for the bride’s necklace and the groom’s buttons, and attach white confetti sprinkles. Use the same technique to attach 2 black miniature heart sprinkles in position for the groom’s bow tie. The pointed ends of the hearts should be facing each other when attached.

Use some of the leftover black candy coating to finish the bow ties. Just dip a toothpick into the coating and apply a small dab over the heart sprinkles where the two pointed sides meet. Let the brides and grooms dry completely.

Baby Faces

Throwing a baby shower? Share these baby-face cake pops with guests and they’ll go gaga.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls

4 to 8 ounces of pink candy coating

2 deep microwave-safe plastic bowls

2 small squeeze bottles

Wax paper

Baking sheet

48 ounces (3 pounds) white candy coating

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

Toothpicks

48 pastel candy necklace pieces

Black, pink, peach, and brown edible-ink pens

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

You can make the bows the night before. Melt the pink candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. Pour into a small squeeze bottle. Pipe two small disks of the melted coating side by side on a wax paper–covered baking sheet. Then pipe one smaller disk in between, and overlapping, the other two for the bow. Decide how many girl babies you want to make, and repeat until you have that many bows. Let dry completely.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted white candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

For boy babies, place the pops in the Styrofoam block to dry.

For girl babies, attach 1 premade pink bow to the top of each head while the coating is still wet. Hold in place for a few seconds until the candy coating sets like glue, and place in the Styrofoam block to dry.

For the noses, pour the remaining white coating into the second squeeze bottle. Pipe small oval shapes onto wax paper and let dry. You can place them in the freezer on a baking sheet for a few minutes to speed this up.

When the pops are dry, use a toothpick to dot a small amount of melted candy coating in position for the nose, and attach a piped oval nose shape. Use the same technique to attach a candy necklace piece in position for the pacifier.

Use the edible-ink pens to draw on facial features, and let dry. Eyelashes, eyebrows, smiles, and blushing cheeks will give the pops personality.

Let dry completely.

Graduation Caps

In addition to making cupcake bites, you can use a candy cup mold to make other designs, such as these graduation caps. Try using candy coating in school colors and give your graduate even more to smile about.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls

64 to 80 ounces (4 to 5 pounds) candy coating in the color of your choice

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

Large squeeze bottle

Medium-sized plastic candy cup mold (with cavity openings 1½ inches wide)

48 paper lollipop sticks

Baking sheet

Styrofoam block

Shallow square plastic candy mold (with cavity openings 17/8 inches wide)

Toothpicks

Rainbow Airheads Xtremes Sour Belts, separated into colors and cut into 2-inch pieces

M&M’s Minis or similarly shaped candy for the cupcake tops

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator. Refer to the Basic Cupcake Bites method when making these graduation caps.

Melt the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl, following the package directions, and pour into a large squeeze bottle.

Fill a cavity of the candy cup mold with melted coating, and place a cake ball into the opening. Press it in slowly, allowing the candy coating to force its way up the sides of the candy mold. The top of the ball should be flush with the top surface of the plastic mold. In other words, it should not stick up past the top of the candy mold cavity. If the balls are too large, simply pinch off a little bit and roll them smaller. You can also shape them similar to the shape of the mold cavity to maximize space.

Use the squeeze bottle to pour more candy coating over the top of the cake ball. The coating should be level with the surface of the plastic mold. Immediately insert a lollipop stick into the cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Repeat with the remaining cavities and let dry. You can place the filled candy mold on a baking sheet in the freezer to speed up the drying time. Remove after 5 to 10 minutes, and pop them out by pressing on the mold underneath. Using chilled cake balls here helps the sticks stand up straight when you insert them, but to be safe, don’t try to pull them out by the sticks when they are dry.

Repeat, using the same candy mold, or use several molds at once. Stand the pops in the Styrofoam block.

Make the tops for the hats, using a shallow square candy mold. Fill each square with melted candy coating. Hold the tray above the counter surface and gently drop it a couple of times to flatten the coating. Place the tray on a baking sheet in the freezer to speed up the drying time. Remove after about 5 minutes, pop the squares out of the mold, and set aside.

When all the hat pieces are completed and dry, you can do the final assembly. Using a toothpick, place some candy coating on the bottom of each square hat piece and attach the pieces to the cake pop to complete the shape. Using the same gluing technique, apply a small amount of coating to the top of the hat and attach a Sour Belt candy tassel and 1 M&M’s Mini in the center.

Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Tip

· Pull-apart licorice pieces are another option for the tassel if you can’t find Rainbow Sour Belts.

Pool Party Pops

These fun cupcake pops are perfect for a pool party or beach theme.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cupcake Pops

Pink candy writer

Yellow candy writer

48 Teddy Grahams cookies

Black edible-ink pen

48 Life Savers Gummies candies

48 ounces (3 pounds) light blue candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

Wax paper

Baking sheet

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

Toothpicks

Blue sanding sugar

To decorate

Have the molded cupcake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Prepare the bathing suits on the bears first. Use candy writers to pipe pink bikinis onto Teddy Grahams for girl bears and yellow candy swim trunks for boy bears. Let dry. Use a black edible-ink pen to detail the faces.

Stretch Life Savers Gummies, place them around the legs of the teddy bears, and set aside.

Melt the blue candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cupcake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, take a cupcake shape and, holding it by its mounded top, dip the bottom into the melted candy coating. Remove it from the candy coating, turn it upside down, and swirl your hand in a circular motion. This will cause any excess coating to slide down slightly. When the coating reaches the bottom of the mounded shape, you can stop.

Place the half-coated cupcake shape on a wax paper–covered baking sheet, with the candy-coated side up. Immediately dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the flat, candy-coated bottom of the cupcake while the coating is still wet. Push it no more than halfway through.

Continue with the rest of the cupcake balls and let dry completely.

Now you’ll decorate the tops, resulting in a finished cupcake pop.

One at a time, hold the lollipop stick and dip the top of the cupcake into the melted blue candy coating. It should completely cover the rest of the exposed cake ball and meet the edge of the first coating.

Remove the cupcake pop from the coating, and turn it right-side up. If the coating is too hot, it will start to drip down the sides. If this happens, just let the coating sit for a few minutes to thicken. Then when you dip the tops, the coating will stay in place.

Use a toothpick to touch up any areas the melted candy coating didn’t cover and to create wavy lines in the coating.

While the coating is still wet, sprinkle the top of the cupcake pop with blue sanding sugar and attach one of the teddy bears. The Life Saver inner tube should rest on top. Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Tip

· You can also dip the shaped cupcakes entirely in blue candy coating instead of using the two-step method; however, the cupcake tops will not be as well defined.

Martians

Dark green and pink candy coating make these mini-Martians out-of-this-world cute! Add black sunflower-seed eyes to create spooky space invaders.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls, formed into balloon shapes

24 ounces (1½ pounds) dark green candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

24 ounces (1½ pounds) dark pink candy coating

Toothpicks

96 black candy-coated sunflower seeds

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the dark green candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the pointed end of a shaped cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods. Do this with half of the cake balls, and place them in the Styrofoam block to dry.

Melt the dark pink candy coating in the second bowl, and dip the remaining Martians, adding them to the Styrofoam block.

When the pops dry, use a toothpick to dot a small amount of candy coating (matching the color of the pop) in position for the eyes. Attach 2 coated sunflower seeds, pointed sides facing in and down. Hold them in place until the candy coating sets like glue.

Place the pops back in the Styrofoam block to dry completely.

Robots

Tip

· If you don’t have a microwave-safe bowl large enough for 3 pounds of candy coating, you can work in batches, melting more coating as you need it. Keep in mind that the shade of gray may not match from one batch to another.

Candy necklace pieces make great eyes, especially for these colorful robots. Place them close together or far apart, and have fun with their faces.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls, formed into squares and/or rectangles

48 ounces (3 pounds) white candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

Black candy coloring (not food coloring)

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

Toothpicks

96 candy buttons

Candy necklace pieces in assorted colors (you’ll need at least 144)

Red Rips Licorice Belts

Life Savers Candies

Japanese somen noodles

To decorate

Have the cake shapes chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. Stir a few drops of black candy color into the melted white coating until you achieve the desired shade of gray.

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

Let dry in the Styrofoam block.

To attach the robot details, use a toothpick to dot a small amount of melted gray candy coating in position for the ears and attach 2 candy buttons that match in color. Place 2 dots of coating in position for the eyes and attach matching candy necklace pieces. Cut mouths out of the Red Rips Licorice Belts, and attach them in position using the same technique. The coating will dry and work like glue.

Using a toothpick again, apply coating at the base of the robot head where it meets the stick, and attach a Life Saver by sliding it up the lollipop stick. Hold it in place until the candy coating sets like glue. Add more coating to the bottom of the Life Saver and attach a candy necklace piece in the same way.

Break the somen noodles into ½-inch pieces, and carefully insert them into the tops of the cake pops for antennae. Some robots can have one antenna and some can have two. For robots with one antenna, you can attach another candy necklace piece around the antenna, using the same gluing technique.

Have fun and create an assortment of expressions by varying the placement of the candy pieces.

Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

Monster Pops

Kids will get a kick out of these cake pops. Let them help and make messy monsters.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls

64 ounces (4 pounds) purple candy coating

Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

Large squeeze bottle

White candy writer

Chocolate jimmies

Blue edible-ink pen

Black edible-ink pen

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the purple candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the melted coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

Let dry in the Styrofoam block.

Pour the remaining purple coating into a large squeeze bottle, and pipe random, drizzled lines all around the monster head. Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

On some of the pops, pipe two small white circles with a candy writer for the eyes, and insert 2 chocolate jimmies before the coating sets.

On the remaining pops, pipe a single large, white circle. Let dry completely and draw a large blue circle inside the white circle, using a blue edible-ink pen. With a black edible-ink pen, outline the circle and draw a pupil to finish the eye.

Let dry completely.

Note: You can also use melted white candy coating for the eyes.

Pirate Pops

Watch out! These double-dipped pirate pops will steal your heart with their friendly faces.

You’ll need

48 uncoated Basic Cake Balls

48 ounces (3 pounds) white candy coating

2 deep, microwave-safe plastic bowls

48 paper lollipop sticks

Styrofoam block

24 ounces red candy coating

About 15 white confetti sprinkles per cake pop

Toothpicks

48 red M&M’s Minis

48 red jumbo heart sprinkles

Black edible-ink pen

To decorate

Have the cake balls chilled and in the refrigerator.

Melt the white candy coating in a microwave-safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the package. The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easier dipping. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

When you are ready to dip, remove a few cake balls at a time from the refrigerator, keeping the rest chilled.

One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted white candy coating, and insert the stick straight into a cake ball, pushing it no more than halfway through. Dip the cake pop into the white coating, and tap off any excess coating, as described in Dipping Methods.

Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

For the bandanas, melt the red candy coating in the second microwave-safe plastic bowl and dip the top half of each cake pop in it, holding the pop at a diagonal. Before the red candy coating sets, place miniature white confetti sprinkles randomly on top. (You can also attach the sprinkles after the coating dries by using a toothpick to dot on coating and then attaching the sprinkles.)

Let dry completely in the Styrofoam block.

To finish the bandanas, use a toothpick to dab a little red candy coating onto one side of the pop, and attach a red M&M’s Mini. Hold it in place until the candy coating sets like glue. Use the same technique to attach a jumbo heart sprinkle, with the pointed end toward the cake pop, for the final touch, and let dry.

For the faces, use a black edible-ink pen to draw on eyes, patches, and mouths.

Let dry completely.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 532