It all started when I was surfing through
Hero Cake Pop's blog and stumbled upon a post that had to do with a
Wilton Cake Pop Contest... *GASP* Having Wilton judges LOOK at MY blog, would be an honor in itself?!? !! [deep breaths] ...then family graced us with their presence for the holidays and I didn't have TIME to think, plan, or prepare for my pops!! p.s. we had a FAB time with the FAM!!
So I finally sat down and sketched out my thoughts with my inspiration being an ocean theme.
Wondering if my idea and odd shapes would even work, I thought I'd give it my all and see what comes of it!
It all starts with smooshed cake and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. See the step-by-step instructions
here.
Squeeze as hard as you can to make sure the smooshed cake is one whole piece, this way, it won't crack or break. I've seen various instructions and I insert the stick in the cake ball, then freeze it, and works for me every time!
Prepping takes the longest, so patience is a must!! Try to guess what these will transform into!!
So here goes!! Dip and cover the entire cake ball.. Tap, tap, tap off all the excess candy melt. Immediately after that it's sprinkled with Wilton red colored sugar sprinkles. (Sorry no photo because I don't have 3 hands, DARN...)
Twizzlers (pull and peel), cut about 1 1/2 inches in length and dipped in candy melt. (Octopus legs)
And immediately dipped in red colored sugar sprinkles. Leave to harden for about 5 minutes.
Use a dab of candy melt on the end of the twizzler and attached it to the body. Hold for a few seconds or until secure/stuck. I also discovered that if the chocolate coating is cold (from being in the freezer) the chocolate hardens a LOT faster- just a helpful hint!!!
And here is Mr. Octopus!! Accented with Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch eyes and candy necklace pieces as a mouth.
Okay, so I completed the first of my Ocean Crew, and I'm SUPER DUPER excited to see how the rest will turn out!! Mr. Octopus turned out WAY better than the one I pictured!!
Here is Mr. Octopus and Family
Up next is Jelly, using Twizzler pieces covered in white chocolate and dipped in dried coconut.
...Now I'm super HYPED, how cute are these guys?!? The dried coconut idea was purely coincidental- it was left overs from another project!!
Crabby has some Twizzler legs too!! Their eyes are accented with Wilton sprinkles and their claws are made out of candy melt (freehand with a toothpick)
S-Lo was made with two different sized cake balls (body + head).
And freehand fins made from candy melt.
They looked a little plain, so I added some Wilton green sugar sprinkles to their shell.
Big has a tail that was made freehand.
The Clowns were dipped in orange candy melt and immediately sprinkled with orange nonpareils and left to dry. Their tails were made out of Wilton's Jumbo Heart Sprinkles, that was covered in chocolate and also dipped in the nonpareils. White candy melt stripes turned them into their clown character!
...just keep swimming... just keep swimming... Anyone a "Finding Nemo" fan? Because I AM!
Ms. Flounder was made using Peanut Butter Flavored Candy Melts and immediately sprinkled with crushed graham crackers. Her tail was made -freehand and sprinkled with graham crackers.
And last, Urchin -that was originally named Spikes. Individual chocolate sprinkles made his spikes.
I think they have the most character... Or maybe they are just my favorite!
And here's my Ocean Frenzy, each with their own shape, character, and spunk!
It was a super fun project, possibly a little over ambitious for one day's work, but worth EVERY second. Every little friend turned out 100 times better than I had imagined it to be, each special in their own way. I've reached a new level of confidence in myself, my work is improving, my patience is growing and I'm having a TON of fun! I can't wait for my next adventure to begin!
Thank you Cali, for letting me borrow your nice, expensive camera, I appreciate it!! And thank you Wilton Judges for checking out Cody Cakes!!
Make it a GREAT day! xoxoxxo
