Cake Pops!

Today was my second attempt on cake pops and I was only decorating today.  I've been busy creating/ testing recipes for a local cupcake contest, that I haven't had the change to try anything new that I will share... yet!

Around Christmas, I bought a mold for Christmas shaped cake pops- a Christmas tree, a stocking, a snowman, and a  present.  I follow "The Best Cake Pop Recipe."  On the Diva's Can Cook blog, she writes how she can't tell the difference between boxed cake mix and store bought frosting.  So I figured, what the heck! I took the easy approach and used store bought.  Let's just say you can DEFINITELY tell that I used store bought.  The cake pops were still tasty, but could have been even better.

Also, I had issues using the Christmas mold.  For one, the cake stuck to the mold.  Then there's the issues that a mold with 5 spots and the freezing time made for a sloooooooow process.

Today I took a cake pop decorating class at a local craft shop.  The instructor prepared the cake pops and we decorated.  The cake pops were all Easter themed and she talked about cake pop making in general.

Here are mine (and yes, I know the bunny is creep):

For my next cake pop experiment, I am going to try using the cake pop pan and baking the pops into the circles.  I'll be sure to post how that goes!

Now for my side rant- I am a cupcake snob. I have very high expectations for my cupcakes.  As I said in my last post I always go for Chocolate and Peanut Butter, they are the Perfect Pair.

Today I visited my sister in northern Virginia.  We tried cupcakes at the Reston Town Center and I was disappointed.  It was a good cupcake, but I didn't even finish it!!!  That's a sure sign it could have been better. 

My husband's comment about his carrot cake is that there was way too much nutmeg and they were not as moist as mine.

Here's my picky opinion: for a chocolate and peanut butter cupcake it was not enough peanut buttery.  The buckeye on top looked pretty, but took away from the taste of the cupcake.  The icing was too sweet.  My biggest issue- the filling was the same exact frosting that was too sweet and not peanut buttery enough on top. 

(My apologies for the blurry cell phone pick!)



On a different note, my mom is off to Philadelphia next week and will be picking up the best cupcake that I have ever eaten from Philly Cupcake.

...I am already drooling, just thinking about it!