Shabby Chic Christmas Cake-Pop Tutorial

Bringing a Little Vintage Inspiration to Cake-Pops

Vintage Christmas Card

I was recently working on a very special birthday request for a lovely woman ready to celebrate her 70^th   year of life. When her daughter asked me to come up with a special custom cake-pop, I was struck by how many things her mother had been around to see in her 70 years. I could scarcely wrap my head around it at first, but I knew that I had to make these cake-pops really special.

I wanted to create a cake-pop that gave the impression of being old, something one could find in a thrifty vintage shop. I also wanted to work in the fact that we are just 28 days away from Christmas, so I decided to put together a Vintage inspired Christmas cake-pop tutorial whilst I also worked on the birthday cake-pops.

It always begins with a very basic cake pop mixture of your choosing. For these  I used a vanilla buttercream cake as I would be coating them in an ivory coloured candy coating. The only difference with these is that you don't need to scoop any cake and roll balls, instead you will be rolling out the dough onto a flat surface. I always roll my dough out on top of wax paper to keep things a little cleaner and to prevent the dough from sticking. It's always a good idea to work with chilled dough.

You want the dough to be at least 1/4 of an inch thick as you need to be able to have enough dough to insert the lolly stick. Once the dough has been rolled, grab your oval shaped fondant/cookie cutter to begin pressing out your cake. I used the middle oval as the size is perfect. It's roughly a little bigger than an inch. You may have to repeat this part several times to use up as much of your dough as possible. Place your cut out ovals on a wax paper covered tray or cookie sheet and place the sheet into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This is done in order to be able to insert the stick.

While the dough is in the freezer tidy up the mess and begin putting together everything you will need to decorate and coat your cake-pop with. I use a white chocolate wafer that isn't a bright white and can be found in bulk in many local grocery stores. This will create a very nice ivory shade coating for your cake-pops. Pour the wafers into a microwavable container, or melt your chocolate in whatever manner is suitable for you.  Once your chocolate has melted and has a smooth consistency, it's time to insert the lolly sticks and allow them to set.

You will also need some White Nonpareils and any type of sugar candy decorations that can be found at any of your local baking supply stores. Having this all out and organized will not only save you time, but will ensure you get them on before the coating hardens.

I inserted the lolly sticks into the frozen cake from the bottom as you can see from the photo above.  Dip the stick into the melted chocolate about a 1/2 of an inch, then insert into your dough securely , then lay them flat back onto the tray. Allow at least a minute to set and continue to place sticks in all of your cut out ovals. Be sure to push the stick in far enough or you could lose your cake in the candy coating when you dip it, and that would be awful!!

Once the Stick has set, you can them begin dipping your pop into the white chocolate. Be sure to have your sugar candy decorations and your white nonpareils ready to go. I pour a little into a bowl and for this I just used my fingers to sprinkle the nonpareils onto the back and sides of the oval shaped cake-pop. You want the sprinkles to land softly around the front as well, just not in the center, as this is where you will affix the sugar candy Christmas decorations before the coating dries.

Once you have tapped off the excess chocolate it's a good idea ti have the bowl of nonpareils close by as you want the candy to stick. Sprinkle the little beads quickly moving the cake-pop from side to side. Once you are happy with it, turn it over and place your Christmas Candy decoration in the center of the front.

You can add some more little nonpareils to the front to create the illusion of a snowfall. Your vintage inspired cake-pop is lovely and ready for that special someone this Christmas. Set the cake-pop on a foam stand and allow at least  an hour to dry before packaging. Add some pretty Christmas ribbon and place them into a pretty container to display them.

I hope this tutorial has inspired you to make some Shabby Chic, Vintage Christmas cake- pops. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year! Be sure to keep posted to the Cake-Pop Passionista's Blog for more bite sized cake couture....

Vintage Christmas Card

Stella & Dot Themed Cake Balls

Every Girl Needs a little BLING...

I was asked to make some cake balls for a friends Stella & Dot party this weekend and since she is an Independent Stylist for the company I decided to really try to take all the colours and jewelry they use into consideration. Little did I know that the shade of blue they use is a little hard to achieve with candy melts. It's not quite teal and a little darker than baby blue, but none the less with 5 parts sky blue and 1 part leaf green, the Stella & Dot blue came to life.

It was also important to keep the cake balls very simple as to not create something your crazy eccentric aunt would wear, but the type of jewelry that's soft and pretty. These cake balls are perfect for an evening of wine, jewels and fabulous girlfriends.

Every woman deserves a little cake couture in her life....

To host your next Stella & Dot Party - Contact Natalie via her Facebook Page.

"Bite Sized Cake Couture" - Cake-Pop Passionista

Mad Hatter Cake-Pop Tutorial

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!

Cake-Pop Passionista Classes

Christmas Themed Cake-Pop Classes

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening.....

It's that time of year again and what could be more wonderful then creating your very own Christmas themed Cake-Pops for your friends and family! These classes will focus on cake-pop basics and troubleshooting techniques, as well as Christmas trees, Frosty and if we have time, a few snowballs!

All Classes are $35.00 + Tax


The Next Dates are available so be sure to reserve your seats as the class size is limited.

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012 - 7:00pm

Cakeaters EdibleArt
8180 Champlain Crescent
Vancouver, BC
604-689-9490

Monday, December 3rd, 2012 - 6:30pm
Sprinkles & Trinkets
103-15955 Fraser Hwy.
Surrey, BC
604-424-9065

Thursday, December 6th, 2012 - 6:30pm
Devine Deals
243 Sixth Street
New Westminster, BC
604-522-8444

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 - 7:00pm

Cakeaters EdibleArt
8180 Champlain Crescent
Vancouver, BC
604-689-9490

Be sure to keep posted for more classes in the New Year! Happy Holidays Everyone!

The Cake-Pop DIVA is Back.....

 Making Cake-Pops into Bite Sized Cake Couture

Welcome, welcome, welcome! It's soo good to be back and able to share my cake popping adventures with you all. As some of you know I have recently gone solo with my cake-pop business, and I could not be happier. I am ready to get this chapter of my life underway and I want to share it with you all!

My hope is to be able to motivate and inspire others with my confectionery creations. You can make your cake pops as basic or as chic as you want, either way it's really about having fun as you create them. Cake pops can be daunting to even those that have baked and created amazing works of art out of cake, but rest assured that with practice and a LOT of patience you too can create magical balls of yummy goodness on a stick.

I actually just finished working on some amazing Alice in Wonderland themed cake pops for a fundraiser and I have to say that the finished product is even cuter than I had imagined.  The other thing the client wanted was that I make everything as girly and pink as possible.  This was sounding better and better by the minute, cause you all know I love anything pink and anything that challenges me.

They asked me if I could create three characters/objects from the show, and when I asked the client which ones they had chosen, I was honestly a little surprised by their choices. Instead of the main characters like Alice, the White Rabbit or the Queen of Hearts, I was asked to create the Mad Hatter's top-hat, the White Rabbit's pocket watch, and the teapots.

Most of my work comes from objects or characters we see on a daily basis, so I am able to just make them without too much research, but these were going to be a little different . I was able to draft some rough sketches of how I wanted them to be made, but in the end I changed a few things as I went along.

I began with the Mad Hatter's top-hat and found I really struggled with what I could use for the base and brim of the hat. I finally decided on dying some fondant pink and them matching my candy melts so the shades would match perfectly.  I also dyed some fondant lime green to use and the band of fabric that wraps around the base of the hat to add an accent. The thing about working with fondant is that you have to keep it covered so that is doesn't dry out on you. I would cut my strips and place it on wax paper, then cover it with plastic wrap. I also used white fondant to create the hat tag you see on the Mad Hatter  top hat using some black candy melts I drew on the 10/6 with a skewer. I think the numbers refer to the size of ones head...either way it was the perfect touch needed to bring his hat to life, otherwise it would just be another top-hat!

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at. ~Mad Hatter

The Pièce de Résistance was a little white sugar flower daisy added to the top of the hat. I added this as their was a lot of pink happening and I felt it just softened it a little. I also sprinkled a little pink glitter dust to the finished product just to kick it up a notch for the Diva's attending the fundraiser.

"No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly 2 days slow." ~Mad Hatter

Be Sure to pop by soon as I will be sharing a step by step tutorial on how you can also make the Mad Hatter's top-hat! You can also see more photos by visiting my Facebook page Cake-Pop Passionista.