Cake Pops - Takes 2, 3, 4 and 5!

Among the requests we got after that first batch of cake pops (see previous blog post about those) was to do a WEDDING! We had to make 80 cake pops in 4 varieties, I believe it was -- and we were still doing them "the old way" where we baked cakes, mushed them into balls and then decorated -- so it took a few hours to do that many. But we did it -- and they came out great!

We had perfected the process a bit by this point -- the balls were smaller, and we'd learned to use big styrafoam pieces as "stands" for letting the decorated pops cool/set. We could work a lot faster this way. However, everything really improved for the better when I happened past this incredible gadget in Bed, Bath & Beyond:

This nifty machine can cook the cake pop balls from scratch in just 5-6 minutes (depends if it's yellow or chocolate cake, or awesome SIL's invention of brownie pops instead of chocolate cake) -- so no more baking a cake, cooling a cake, reconstituting a cake into balls with frosting, refrigerating, and THEN decorating. It's much faster, the balls are perfectly sized every time and structurally sound, AND I think these taste much better than the reconstituted-from-cake version.

 

Without further ado, here is a gallery of my cake pop creations to date -- they include a pastel colored baby shower (with cute ribbon stand), my first attempt at cupcake pops using Reese's cups for the base (these were adorable but not too stable, may have to try Bakerella's approach next if I were making these for more than immediate consumption and cute pictures), Valentine's, Halloween and Christmas pops, and a groovy assortment I made just for fun/practice.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the fun times & inspiration, Erika! 

Here's to many more cake pops and the corresponding celebrations!

Cake Pops "Take 1" & a "Growth Mindset"

I can't remember when I first saw cake pops or wanted to make them -- I think it was on the cover of a groovy baking book I passed in a store or perhaps on a baking blog -- but for a long time I wanted to try. One day, my awesome sister-in-law (SIL) and I decided to give it a go. We bought a book and some supplies at Michaels, did some googling for tips, and dove in. And the result was....that we had fun and learned a lot, but the cake pops were far from those you'd see on the cover of a book. This is where the "growth mindset" comes in. We didn't give up -- my next blog will be "Cake Pops - Take 2" -- we've gotten good, it just took a few rounds of practice and learning from experience.

This is such an important lesson for me to remember; so often I try something new, especially when "crafting," and expect to do perfectly the first time -- I'm facing this struggle right now with both my attempts to paint and sew; I'm a total novice and need to just try things, practice and not care if they're "bad," but that's hard for me to do.

However, like anything in life, most new skills take learning/lessons and practice. So I am trying to remember that and adopt a "growth mindset" that I can learn and get better at anything new if I'm willing to try, mess up a few times, and keep at it! Must remember and re-read this when my next painting and sewing projects turn out less beautifully in real life than the visions I have in my mind's eye. And I'm hoping to chronicle more of my crafting attempts and successes on this blog -- and I'm sure I'll get better at blogging along the way too :)

So, on to cake pops...

Here is our very first every batch of cake pops -- they are the size of caramel apples -- too big to eat off a stick and very hard to coat as well because they get heavy!

Now a bit about how we *used* to make cake pops (before we'd learned from experience and tried a few methods a few different times)...

Everything I read initially said to make a cake, then let it cool, mush it up into a million crumbs, add some frosting to "glue" it back together, roll into balls, insert lollypop sticks with a bit of melted chocolate, refrigerate then coat with melted chocolate or other candy melts and decorate, and then refrigerate AGAIN one last time for good measure (and to be sure the shell and decorations firm up enough). In case it's not obvious, that is LABOR INTENSIVE, my friends!

Here's how it all went the first time:

Bake yellow and chocolate cakes. Check.

Cut up and let cool. Check.

Crumble into a million pieces and add frosting. Check.

Roll into cake balls. Check.

Insert sticks with a dab of melted chocolate, refrigerate. Check.

Decorate and refrigerate again. Check.

And voila, cake pops!

Pretty cute, right?! We were certainly proud of ourselves at the end -- though they took HOURS to make and they were... fragile! Again, the balls being the size of apples (and from reconsituted cake) made for all sorts of problems in making (and eating) them. But, even though they weren't book-cover-good yet, we had a blast, still loved the outcome and were determined to learn how to make them better/cuter/faster. Plus, when people saw these, they started asking us to make them for parties -- so we knew had to get both better and more efficient at it. Stay tuned for our progress in Cake Pops - Take 2!

The ORIGINAL "30" Cake!

The "30 cake" idea was inspired by the photos you see in magazines of XYZ celeb celebrating a birthday at a club, and the photo has a larger-than-life cake with tall, sparkly candles -- I wanted Shenny to have such a cake (and photo!) for her big 3-0 in LA!

So, as we embarked on a traditional LA afternoon of shopping & eating (brunch at "Toast" in this case....and shopping that included sparkly tops for going out that night from a little boutique on Robertson), we started asking around at bakeries for tall, sparkly candles and were directed to a restaurant supply store nearby that had just what we wanted (and 90 gazillion other things that you didn't even know you might need in your kitchen, all piled high on industrial-sized racks...I was so tempted to by gallon-sized jugs of cookie sprinkles, but since I was just in LA for the weekend I restrained myself)!



There was no time to bake a cake, and there is too much uncertainty in that anyway -- what if it won't come out of the pan, or doesn't rise, etc. etc. -- so we purchased two cakes from the supermarket and armloads of frosting (though not enough and we had to make an emergency drive-as-fast-as-you-can trip back at the last minute in order to make our dinner reservation WITH the cake in hand!). In Shenny's kitchen, the magic took place:



And here is the final result, which we carefully covered back up and took with us to the restaurant for dinner (another AWESOME reason to use the pre-made, store-bought cakes -- handy carrying containers!):



The birthday dinner was a collection of friends (and family!) and was an absolute blast.





And here is Shenny getting to blow out her tall, sparkly candles on her fabulous pink cake!



Couldn't that photo be in US Weekly under "this week in the life of Hollywood"?! I sure think so :) And this was just the beginning of many fabulous & fun "30 cakes" to come -- next up for the big 3-0 and a cake for the occasion, Colleen in MN I think!!

Good Fortune, Good Cookies

The other night Ginny let me in on one of *the coolest* baking adventures I've had to date: FORTUNE COOKIES!

"It's not really that hard!" she promised when I accepted the offer to come over and help. The key, I now realize, is getting them baked just long enough and then folding AS FAST AS YOU CAN when they come out of the oven. We had at least one person per two cookies -- so you can bake them faster with more people.

First, you make the batter and spread it think on baking sheets (or a bit thicker on the griddle like pancakes but we didn't do it that way this time around):



When they come out you lay the fortune down, fold them like a taco shell, and then press the bottom of the "taco" against a drinking glass edge to crease it away from you and fold the two taco ends together. The result? Viola!



Ginny was taking them in for final presentations before the final exam in the chinese class she is taking, so the fortunes said, "Kao Shi Cheng Gong" or "Success on your exam!" and we made 30+ for everyone in the class.




You will notice that individually they don't all look so good, but together I think it's pretty impressive. I made a few for my family with customized fortunes -- everyone said they tasted WAY better than "regular" fortune cookies -- quite a compliment to our chef! Next time I want to dip the ends in chocolate and sprinkles :)

We also got creative with the final batch of cookies -- making them into other things. These little "bowls" look so elegant -- they're just a over-sized round "fortune cookie" instead molded into a cupcake pan. I plan to try them for my next dinner gathering!



Next up in Ginny's kitchen: Making chocolate caramels -- YUMMY -- can't wait!!

Brides-to-Be Galore!

This is wedding season and it is so fun to have Sab & Suz getting married in close succession because it's twice the fun -- especially the bachelorette parties. AND, we are all getting to see lots of each other -- which is special because since living together ("a drawgroup" in the housing lottery) college we have dispersed and gotten busy with our various pursuits!

We've been planning Sabby's pirate-themed bachelorette party for years -- since she lived in LA and became a pirate-fan playing PuzzlePirates on the computer (we all rooted for her character pirate, La Tijera in honor of Sab's LA neighborhood, to win enough points for that cute outfit!!).

Pink-and-Black-Pirate-Perfection abounded complete with tank tops, Mardi Gras beads and boas, and all sorts of things Sabby has collected in her pirate-wardrobe over the years (look closely and you can even spot a plastic sword!):



I just love the memory and pictures of my groups of girlfriends having a blast together in adorable matching shirts themed just for the bachelorette that we are all gathered to celebrate!



We had a fabulous Saturday night eating at Michael Minna at Bellagio and then partying at the new club XS at Wynn's Encore. It was definitely one of the best clubs I've ever been to I think -- great DJ/music, tons of outdoor space all around the pool, lots of places to sit, and even a fun, down-to-earth celebrity sighting -- see if you can spot the DWTS celebrity in the photos :)



Next up for the drawgroup: WEDDINGS!!!

Bachelorette Party 1 of many!!

Today I bring you Suzy's Final Fling before the Ring!

Thanks, Suz, for being the star of the blog today :)

From across the country we converged on Miami Beach, FL -- many for the first time -- and got decked out for a night on the town. Doesn't the bride look fabulous in that dress?!



There was also lots of fun hanging out at the condo -- opening gifts, drinking mimosas, and having a blast being together:



A hallmark of these events are customized matching shirts -- they will make up a whole entry on their own as soon as I can get together pictures of all of the different shirts friends and I have made for these bachelorette bashes! There must be at least 10 now -- so it may take a few more days to get all of the pictures in order, or to find all of the shirts and photograph them again. They make for great sleeping/workout shirts once the party is done -- and it's fun to wear them again on the wedding day :)

Here we are all together in our "Suzy's Fabulous Florida Final Fling before the Ring" tank tops:



Sadly, I only got to spend one night with the girls -- as too many things were calling me back home -- but I was able to have a little fun in the sun before I left. And everyone else had an incredible day on the beach:



Wow did I miss some good times -- not that I could have managed to jump in the air at the right time anyway! I was relieved to learn that the girls had to take about 40 shots to get that one with everyone in the air -- and that in the others there's always someone with a leg down or arms all over the place. This just shows you it's worth it to try until you get a good photo though.

These pictures make me miss you girls, and the beach -- thankfully bachelorette parties mean we'll be together soon (in sunny CA) for the weddings!