Cake-Pop Passionista's Pink Mad Hatter Tutorial
Since making these fabulous little Mad Hatter cake pop creations and posting them on Facebook I have received numerous messages from people wondering how I made them, or what I used to make them, so I thought I would put together a very easy to follow step by step tutorial.
As I have mentioned in my earlier posts, I can usually create many of my cake pops with no images or sketches, but since this was a first for me, and because the had client asked for specific details including the colour, I felt the need to sketch out the steps on paper before diving into the process.
Looking at the sketch now I can tell you that I did stray in one particular area, as well as made a few additions to the top hat as I went along. I will be sure to explain those as we progress, but I am certain you will see them for yourself.
The first thing I did was create the fondant circles that I used to create the brim or bottom of the top hat cake pop. It's really important to make sure that that colour of your fondant matches the colour of the candy melts you will coat your cake pop in. Since the client asked for pink, I began with the Merken's pink candy melt wafers. These can be found in local baking supply stores, online and at Craft stores such as Michael's.
Once these wafers were completely melted I added 2 drops of the pink Wilton's Candy Dye, which I think is called cotton candy. It's the only pink in the 4 pack, so you wont be able to mess it up. I then used the Americolour Electric Pink to match the fondant to my metled candy. I realize you can purchase pink fondant, but I only had white and I actually prefer to make my own colours.
Once I had achieved the exact match I put the melted wafers aside and began to roll out the pink fondant. I wanted to keep the fondant thin, but not too thin that it would be hard to manipulate and tear. I then used a 2 inch circular cookie cutter and cut out my soon to be brims. I placed those neatly on a wax paper lined tray and immediately covered them with plastic wrap, setting them aside until needed.
I then began dying the fondant I would use to create the strips of lime green that I used as the fabric that sits on the top hat base above the brim. I am sure there is a name for this, but I am just going to call it the strip of fabric for the purpose of this tutorial. To create the lime green, I used the yellow and green Americolor dyes. It is 4 parts yellow and 1 part green to achieve a really nice lime green.
I tried to create strips that were equal in size, but quite frankly I tend to just eye things and fix them as I work. I again cut these and then placed them on wax paper and covered them in plastic wrap. if you see cracking or drying you can apply a tiny amount of shortening to your hands and then rub it on the fondant to keep it from drying on you. Air is your enemy when it comes to working with this stuff! I still find fondant very daunting, but I am not going to let that stop me! Once this is done, just put the tray aside until you need the strips.
Now it's time to begin shaping your cake into the shape needed to create your Mad Hatter top hats. I want to say that the shape is between a pear and an old fashioned door knob. I always begin with a ball of cake and then manipulate the chilled dough into the desired shape I need. To do this I used the top portion of my palm and applied a little pressure to the top of my cake ball to create a pear shape. you can then use your fingers to create the shape of a top hat. I also tap the bottom of the cake on the counter to get that really nice flat area that will become to base.
Now you are ready to insert your lolly sticks, but by now your melted wafers have begun to harden. So place your tray of cake top hats into the fridge and re-melt your candy so that you can begin inserting your sticks. I used 6 inch lolly sticks as I like them best, but I have seen others using 8 inch sticks as well. It really is about preference in the end and whatever works best for you.
Once your pink candy melts are the perfect temperature and smooth, dip your lolly sticks approximately a half an inch into your melted candy and insert the stick into the base of your top hat shaped cake. Be sure to push the stick securely into the cake as you don't want to lose it in the candy melts! Once you have done this to all of the top hats, allow them some time to dry as you don't want to dip them before the candy has had a chance to set inside the cake top hat. Now, dip and tap off all the excess candy to create a beautiful smooth coating. They should look smooth all the way around. Before I placed them onto the foam to dry, I used a small brush and sprinkled the candy coating with some pink glitter to add some glitz and glam.
At this point you can begin adorning the cake pops with those little strips of green fondant you made earlier. To do this, i just used a very small brush with water. be sure not to use too much water or your fondant will turn into a sticky piece of goop! Once I had them on nicely, I used some lime green disco dust and applied it to the band generously. This really kicked it up a notch!
So now it's time to put on the brims you cut out earlier, but first you need to put a small hole in the centre of your fondant circle. The easiest way I found to do this was with a plastic drinking straw. I punctured the centres of each one and with a little water around the hole, slide the lolly stick through the hole holding your cake pop upside down. Use your finger and apply a little pressure to the base of the cake pop to adhere your bring securely.
The next step is to secure the brim to the sides of the top hat to shape it, otherwise it will just sit flat and not have that curled up brim you want. to do this, just apply a tiny amount of water to the brim and then adhere it directly to the hat. Hold this for a few seconds until it feels secure and repeat this on the other side.
It's now time to use some white fondant to create the tag the Mad Hatter wears on his top hat. This is very simple. you just roll out your fondant and using a cutter create rectangles to resemble a tag. I made them rectangles as I wanted to curl the top and bottom of the tag. to do this, I used a toothpick and gently rolled the ends around the toothpick and then slid it out. Allow these to dry on the counter. Once they are dry, use a black edible marker or melted black candy melts to write 10/6 on the tags. You can write whatever you like, but this is just what the Mad Hatter Has on his.
To attach the tag, just use a little water on a brush and adhere it securely. You're almost done! The final touch is just a small sugar candy daisy I placed at the top to give it that little extra special touch. I attached this just using some of the pink melted candy and a tooth pick/skewer. The daisy was a last minute addition I hadn't thought of during the sketching process.Now stand back and admire your amazing cake pop creation!
I will say that making these are very time consuming due to the level of detail needed, but I can also say that I LOVED making them! The client was over the moon and at the end of the day, that is why I do what I do!
Until next time my friends, happy cake popping!
If you have any questions about this tutorial please feel free to comment below and I will be happy to get back to you!
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