take my word for it wednesday.. the graduation party was a success and the cake pops were da'bomb!

May 29, 2013

take my word for it wednesday.. the graduation party was a success and the cake pops were da'bomb!

shelby, my youngest, my baby is graduating.. {jake graduated from college also and will be attending law school in the fall, we are immensely proud of them both, but this party was for shell, you wouldn't know it because he is in most of the pictures while shell is not.. ha not sure how that happened} in honor of her graduation we had a party.. i started planning it 6 months ago, scouring pinterest for ideas.. i believe, other than some wind, it turned out pretty darn perfect.. well as perfect as you can get.. the food was wonderful we had it catered by buca di beppo and wow was the food good.. we were expecting 50-60 and with everything else we were doing cooking all the food seemed like way to much and i have to tell you i was extremely pleased with the food.. i am addicted to eggplant parm.. it was so good.. i have compiled some tips, tricks and ideas which i have posted here on their own page if you would like to check it out.. there it will show you all the fun crafty things we did and some of the ones that didn't quite work out.. check it out.. even though i didn't make the entree i did do appetizers and some of the desserts.. the below cake pops for one.. they were a huge hit.. very very easy.. time consuming yes.. but easy non the less.. and below the recipe are some photos from the party.. we really did have a good time.. {i have to give a huge thank you to uncle paul and aunt carey they came in early from phoenix to help get the backyard ready and they listened to me whine and didn't bonk me on the head or anything.. i honestly don't think we would have gotten it all done had they not been there to help..)

a couple of years ago for christmas my brother bought janet a cake pop maker.. so i borrowed it and it worked really well.. i love it i am going to get one.. the possibilities are endless.. i am thinking maybe pancake batter with a chunk of sausage on a stick for the kiddos.. how cute would that be..

when they come out of the maker you have to trim the edges, i used my kitchen shears and cleaned them up.

i took white almond bark, melted according to package directions and dipped my stick in the melted candy then stuck it in the cake pop...

i used muffin tins to hold them in.. i wasn't going to have my displayed stick down and cake pop up i wanted mine cake pop down and stick up.. so that is why i used the muffin tins if i had done it the other way i would have used styrofoam or craft blocks to hold them.

the muffin tins worked well because i added sprinkles to the bottom so when i placed the cake pop into the well the bottom got covered with the sugars..

i used a coffee cup to dip the cake pops into the melting candy a bowl wasn't really working it wasn't deep enough..

they were easy to display on a platter.. i also made oreo truffles for the platters.

shelby picked funfetti as the cake for the pops... now i know the popular way to make cake pop is to bake your cake then crumble it up and add frosting then form into pops.. i did that once and shell hated it :/ she didn't like texture or the taste so the cake pop maker was the way to go for us..

funfetti cake pops

cooking time: 4-5 minutes per batch
servings: 28 pops

ingredients:

cake pops:
1 pillsbury funfetti cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil

decorating:

1 - 2 packages of white candy melts {i used white almond bark but wiltons white melting candy would work}
colored pearls
wilton white sanding sugar
any color of sugar and decorations you want... our party theme was black, purple and silver so that is what i used..

pre heat your cake pop maker.. spray the wells lightly with pam.. combine all the above cake pop ingredients together until well combined.. i then spooned it into a zip lock bag, snipped off the end and piped the batter into the cake pop wells.. you want them pretty full so they puff up into the top well and bake a ball but not so full they squish out all over the place.. for step by step guide i suggest checking out this site it was very very helpful to me and i am sure it will be helpful to you.. once you have pipped the batter into the wells, close the lid {it's just like a waffle iron}close and wait, it only takes about 4 minutes maybe 5 for them to be done... they will be screaming hot so i used two spoons and gently scooped them out of the maker and placed them in a clean empty cupcake pan but a cookie sheet would work also, just be careful that they don't roll all around.. once they are all done place in the freezer for about an hour.. then remove from freezer and melt a little of the white candy according to package directions, dip the end of the your stick into the melted candy and then into the pop.. once they are all done place in the freezer again for another hour.. fill a mug about 3/4 or a little more of the way full with candy melts and melt according to package directions then gently dip your cake pop into the melted candy and coat the entire cake pop then immediately place in cup cake well {i sprinkled the bottom of each well with candy so when i placed the cake pop in it the bottom would have sugar decorations too..} you need to then immediately decorate each one after your dip it.. i sprinkled with random sugar to whatever my mood was.. after they have all been decorated place back in the freezer for another hour or so.. i removed mine from the freezer about 2 hours before the party.. removed them from the cupcake sheet and displayed them on my platter.. they were a big success.. and remember to enjoy and get cook'n!!