The making of cupcake pops

I made some of these pops to go with a baby shower cake. I saw these on Bakerella and fell in love. I hope you do too!

Here are some of the things you may need to do the cupcake pops:
1 13X9 baked cake (from a box cake mix or from scratch … any flavor)
1 can cream cheese frosting (or about 2 cups equivalent from scratch)
1 flower shaped cookie cutter (1.25" wide X .75" tall)
1 package chocolate bark
1 package white chocolate bark
food coloring for the white bark, if needed
bowls for dipping
wax paper
aluminum foil
lollipop sticks
sprinkles, m&ms or something similar for top of cupcake
small plastic treat bags and ribbon to package the Cupcake Pops
candy cups and truffle boxes to individually package the Cupcake Bites
Styrofoam block (to help stand the pops up)

Directions:
1. Bake cake in 13X9 pan as to directions. Cool completely.
2. Crumble cake into big bowl, making sure that the cake is very crumbly.
3. Mix the cream cheese frosting and the cake bits until smooth.
4. Form this mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls (on wax paper). This should make about 50 balls.
5. Cover with wrap or foil and freeze for 30-45 minutes until pretty firm.
6. Take the frozen balls out of freezer and work them into ovals and them into a rough cupcake (mushroom) shape with your hands. You can even use a flower shape or circle shape cookie cutter to help shape the balls faster. About half of the oval should form the bottom of the cupcake and the other half should form the top of the cupcake.
7. Put these back on the wax paper, cover them with foil and put back into the freezer for another 30-45 minutes.
8. Once they look firm again, warm up the chocolate bark in the micro according to package directions.
9. Dip the bottoms of the cupcakes into the chocolate bark (only cover the bottom of the cupcake - up to the rim).
10. Place a lollipop stick into the bottom of the cupcake (into the warm chocolate bark) and place onto the wax paper (cupcake top side up) to dry/cool. The sticks will be in the air. Let them cool completely on the wax paper, about 20-30 minutes.
11. When ready, warm up the white bark (or any color- just add a little color to warm white bark if you would like) for the tops in the micro.
12. Let this bark cool just a little so it's not too runny when you put it on the pop tops. You don't want this bark to run onto the brown bottoms.
13. Hold onto the sticks and dip the pop tops into the bark to cover the remaining pop tops. You can use a toothpick to help cover any bare area.
14. While the pop tops are warm still, sprinkle the tops. You can put M&Ms on the the middle of the tops too for decoration.
15. Let cool completely again- this time in the Styrofoam blocks. I needed three green blocks (founds at Joann Fabrics). I let them cool this time for an hour.
16. Put the wrappers and ties on when cooled and ready to eat.
17. You can cool in fridge if you like to eat them that way. Also good at room temperature.

These would be fun for any occasion and can be decorated however you would like. You can even make them without the sticks and package them in little decorative boxes for holiday gifts. These little pops/cupcakes are very cute and fun since they are bite sized.

**UPDATE ON THESE POPS: I can't eat them myself, but my taste testers all agree that these are the BOMB and my 2 guys have talked me into making them for the holidays. I guess these are pretty addictive.

Here's another cake for my portfolio

One of my co-workers is having a baby (due on Dec. 28th). I went with a pink/brown/white theme since Amanda is having a little girl (Sydney). I hope you love it too!

For the cake itself, you will need:
1 cake mix that makes 2 9-inch cakes to layer, and all the ingredients for the cakes
pudding to layer between the cakes, I went with vanilla this time
stiff Walton buttercream frosting to rim the layers together (white or whatever color your main frosting will be)
thin Walton buttercream frosting to frost the layered cakes (prior to, or in place of, fondant)
cookie cutters work well for cutting the fondant circles (I used a variety of sizes)Fondant, I used white fondant and colored some to make the brown parts
2 cake pans (9 inch)

**I went with buttercream pink frosting and white/brown fondant flowers. Not too many people from work like the fondant taste, so toning it down on this cake was essential. I made the flowers different thickness and shapes for contrast purposes. But, that's the great thing about decorating with buttercream and fondant, there's lots of options.

Directions:
1. Bake 2 9-inch cakes.
2. Cool completely.
3. Cut off the top of the rounded cakes to make them flat on top.
4. Rim the bottom cake with stiff frosting to make a dam for your filling. This will help your filling to stay inside and not run into your main frosting. Filling can run and ruin frosting.
4. Place filling inside the stiff rim.
5. Place top layer cake on top.
6. Frost with thin frosting (main frosting color).
7. Place outside fondant on cake or decoration fondant pieces.
8. Fondant will stick to frosting without help. Fondant will stick to other fondant when it has been lightly moistened with vanilla flavoring (I use a small brush and my vanilla flavoring- a very small amount is needed to do this). Too much moisture on your fondant can be dangerous.
9. Take lots of photos of your masterpiece and email them to me @ jess_n_1@hotmail.com. I would love to see all the artisan's work out there. And most important, have fun and be creative! Most 'mistakes' can be fixed and or covered up with frosting or fondant.

Congratulations!!

Congrats to our new President Elect Barack Obama. We saw history play out last night and I'm so excited to see that our country wants to move in a new direction.

Recipe for the Week

This one comes from my current book, "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano

Blueberry Baby Smoothie
Serves 4

This very versatile, very healthy drink, especially rich in antioxidants, can be the better part of your lunch, snack, or even breakfast (though I prefer a more robust and balanced start to the day), as well as a dessert partner accompanying a cookie or warm dessert muffin. Blueberries freeze extremely well. The following drink, an old-fashioned version of the modern smoothie (rien de nouveau sous le soleil -- nothing new under the sun!), includes a little kicker.

12 oz. frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2¼ cups 2 percent milk
Pinch of ground cardamom

1. Take blueberries out of freezer 30 minutes before using.

2. Mix the blueberries in a blender with the lemon juice, honey and milk. Add a sprinkle cardamom before serving.

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