Guest Sweet: Cake Bites for a Wedding

One of my mom's friends was recently married and asked my mom to make the cake, along with some cake bites. The cake looked beautiful, and I love the vibrant colors of the ribbon and the butterflies!

The butterflies are made from gum paste, and they were carefully cut out by hand. My mom then used food coloring mixed with almond extract to paint the beautiful colors onto the butterflies.

Here is the cake set up with just some of the 650+ cake bites she made for the wedding reception. If you look at the flower arrangement behind the cake, you will see how perfectly she matched the fondant ribbon and butterflies to the wedding decor.

If you've ever made cake pops or cake bites, you know it's no easy task. Candy melts and melted chocolate can be finicky and difficult to get perfectly smooth when dipping those fragile rounds of cake. For this project, my mom tried using Paramount Crystals in the candy melts, and she said they made a HUGE difference. Adding the Paramount Crystals to the melted chocolate produces a more fluid product, making the overall process much easier and faster.

Tips for making cake bites:

- Use only half a can of frosting (about 1 cup or 8 oz.) for one baked cake mix. If you use more, the mixture will be too soggy.

- Use a Tbsp. to measure and scoop the cake ball mixture. Make sure to level it, and you've got the perfect amount for a cake ball.

- The Tbsp. will make the perfect size to fit inside 1 1/4" mini cupcake liners.

- If you don't own a chocolate dipping fork http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=8306&categoryid=336#.UA_-zPUn2So, you can make do with a disposable plastic fork. Just break off the two middle fork tines, and it'll work just fine.

STATS:

Cake Ball Tutorial
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/cake-pop-lesson-1-the-cake-ball/

Candy Melts
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts

Paramount Crystals
http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/paramount-crystals

Mini Cupcake Liners
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Mini-Muffin-Cups-Count/dp/B0000AE61X

Happy Caking, Everyone!

Pirate Cake Pops

Things I've learned about cake pops:

1. They're not as easy as they look.
2. They are time consuming, but worth the effort.
3. Add a little vegetable oil to your candy melts to get a smooth look.

(Thank you for the tip, Heather!)

Heather made some awesome pirate cake pops from Bakerella's new cake pop book, and I had to give them a try. My son saw the pirates Heather made and said, "THAT'S what I want for my birthday!"

Here it is!



...and a little pirate cake to match!



Shiver me timbers! Those are some cute pirates!



...but not as cute as my own little buccaneer! Happy birthday!



Cake Pop STATS:

Cake Pops
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/back-to-the-sweets-bakerellas-signature-cupcake-pops/
Here's a tutorial Bakerella did for The Pioneer Woman Blog

Glace Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar : 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup : 1 Tbsp. milk
(Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired consistency in icing.)

(I didn't have an edible food marker or sprinkles on hand, so I used glace icing for the polka dots and the face. They turned out fine, but if I make the pops again, I'll try to use the right stuff.)

Cake STATS:

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/vanilla-buttercream-frosting/39107a19-be94-4571-9031-f1fc5bd1d606

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant (for the polka dots)
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Chocolate Apple Cake Pops

1 baked and cooled chocolate cake (can use cake mix or any favorite recipe)
2/3 can of your favorite pre-made frosting (or your favorite homemade recipe)
14 oz. bag red candy melts
pretzel sticks
green royal icing

lollipop sticks

Crumble entire cake into very large bowl using fingers.

Add about 2/3 of can of frosting to crumbled cake, using fingers to incorporate well. Use slightly more or less frosting, depending on the consistency of your mixture. It shouldn't be dry and crumbly, but it shouldn't be sticky either. It needs to be able to hold together when you start shaping it.

Shape into quarter-size balls. (You'll end up with about 45 or 50.) Pinch one end in a little to give it the tapered shape of an apple. Create an indentation in the top of the "apple" with your finger. Place apple-shaped cake balls into the refrigerator to help them become firm.

While they are cooling, start melting your candy melts. Heat for 30 seconds at a time on 50% power in your microwave. Stir every 30 seconds, and repeat until the candy has completely melted and looks smooth. Boil a cup or two of water in a tiny pot. Remove from heat. Place bowl of melted candy on top of the pot of hot water. This will keep the melted candy warm and smooth, without burning it.

Retrieve cake balls from refrigerator and place a lollipop stick 1/2 way up through the bottom of each ball. Dip in candy melts and use spoon to coat evenly. Place sticks in styrofoam blocks to allow candy to harden.

While the candy is still soft, place 1/4" piece of pretzel stick on top of each apple cake pop. Allow to completely dry and harden (15-20 minutes). Pipe leaves onto apples using royal icing. Allow to dry completely before wrapping.

And...a close up of the cute little apple!

All dressed up and ready to go!


Thanks to www.mylittlecupcakepop.com and http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ for the inspiration!