candy party
My husband’s birthday was this past weekend and we decided to have a little get together at our house. My husband LOVES candy, so I put together a candy themed event!
First, when he woke up on the morning of his birthday, I surprised him with this giant candy card. He absolutely loved it – thanks Pinterest for the inspiration!
For the birthday party, I set up a big candy/dessert spread. I found a bunch of the clear bowls, candy scoops and tongs at my local dollar store. Then I found the clear plastic jars and at my local craft store. Along with a brand new cake pop machine! (I used a Michael’s 40% off coupon to purchase it. STEAL!
I had to-go boxes so our guest could take some of the treats home and the birthday boy even wore his tuxedo tshirt to the party!
I must say, I was a little nervous making cake pops for the first time. I am not much of a baker, and you can’t use the boxed mix for these things. It was way more time consuming than I thought it would be, but totally worth it. They were delicious! Here are some tips that helped me…
• The recommended amount of batter for each cooking reservoir is approximately 1
tablespoon. Use caution not to overfill the cooking reservoirs.
• After pouring batter into the cooking reservoirs, try not to check the food during the first
minute. Opening the lid may cause the uncooked batter to separate before it is cooked.
• Baked cake pops and donut holes will be darker on the bottom half when compared to
the top half. This is a result of the batter rising. The bottom halves of the cake pops and
donut holes are in closer contact to the cooking plates compared to the upper halves.
• For glazing or coating, use a deep, narrow bowl so cake pops and donut holes can be
submerged completely in the glaze or coating.
• For best decorating results, after cake pops have cooled, place them in the freezer for 15
minutes or until well chilled, then dip quickly in the warm coating or glaze.
• To help keep the cake pop on the paper lollipop stick, dip ½” to 1” of the stick in the
melted candy melts and then insert it into a chilled cake pop. Let this cool for about 5-10 minutes.
• Dip cake pops in the coating or glaze once and hold over the bowl to allow excess to
drip back into the bowl. Work gently so cakes do not break apart or shake off the stick.
Repeat dipping will cause the coating to become thick and heavy.
• To help set the coating or glaze, place the decorated cake pop in the freezer for 5 minutes.
• I purchased a foam block from my local craft store to hold the cake pops. I liked this one because it had plastic over it. I was able to easily wipe up any spilt icing.
Remember that Harlem Shake post from last week I did? Well, I was inspired to make my own at this birthday party. I pulled out the box of costumes from the attic and let everyone have a few drinks before starting the dance party. The video isn’t quite ready yet, but here are a few still shots. It was so much FUN!
That’s me in the big orange hat 🙂
