Cake pops

[Lyssa]

I am making cake pops for my daughter's 2nd birthday party in two weeks. I bought a mold for decorations (horn, ears, and flowers) that I plan on using fondant with. My question is how far in advance can I make these decorations and how should I store them if I can make them in advance? Since I only have 1 mold and plan on making about 30 cake pops I was hoping I could make some of the decorations a head of time so they're ready to use the day I make the cake pops.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I am making cake pops for my daughter's 2nd birthday party in two weeks. I bought a mold for decorations (horn, ears, and flowers) that I plan on using fondant with. My question is how far in advance can I make these decorations and how should I store them if I can make them in advance? Since I only have 1 mold and plan on making about 30 cake pops I was hoping I could make some of the decorations a head of time so they're ready to use the day I make the cake pops.

Welcome to the forum. You can make fondant decorations well in advance. Pure fondant doesn’t dry super hard. It you want completely dry decorations, mix 50/50 fondant to gumpaste.

Store finished piece in a clean dry container, I prefer a cake box for this, in a cool fry place out of direct light. Depending on thickness, give it 24 - 72 hrs to completely dry.

If you need the pieces soft and pliable use Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap
to keep them air tight. Place your pieces on one half of a sheet. Space the pieces about 2” apart. Fold the other half of the sheet over the pieces and press around each piece to seal around each piece. Then place in a cool dry place out of and direct light.

 

[Lyssa]

Welcome to the forum. You can make fondant decorations well in advance. Pure fondant doesn’t dry super hard. It you want completely dry decorations, mix 50/50 fondant to gumpaste.

Store finished piece in a clean dry container, I prefer a cake box for this, in a cool fry place out of direct light. Depending on thickness, give it 24 - 72 hrs to completely dry.

If you need the pieces soft and pliable use Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap
to keep them air tight. Place your pieces on one half of a sheet. Space the pieces about 2” apart. Fold the other half of the sheet over the pieces and press around each piece to seal around each piece. Then place in a cool dry place out of and direct light.

Thank you! This is would I am making. Would you recommend making them soft and pliable or letting them dry completely? I do have experience making cake pops but I have no experience working with fondant or gum paste but I figure with the silicone mold it should be simple.

 

[Becky]

Those are so cute! If it were me, I'd let the fondant dry out so that it's easier to assemble them. You might risk losing definition if you handle them when they're soft, so if you want to keep the details then hard would be better.

I'd love to see how these turn out! Keep us posted.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you! This is would I am making. Would you recommend making them soft and pliable or letting them dry completely? I do have experience making cake pops but I have no experience working with fondant or gum paste but I figure with the silicone mold it should be simple.

The unicorns adorable. However, for a two-year old these are not age appropriate cake pops. That cake pop or any baked item with small fondant decorations is a choking hazard for children 5 yrs and younger.

Food is the number cause of choking in children. Every day in the US nearly 350 children are rushed to the emergency for food choking; of those children, 1 child a week will die from choking on a food item. A child’s trachea is extremely small, just slightly bigger than a drinking straw.

That said, these types of decorations need to be thoroughly dried. I’d recommend gumpaste as fondant never completely dries out. Gumpaste can be rolled much thinner. The flowers are very tiny, so thinner is better. As a general rule, anything with fine detail, like flowers, is made with gumpaste. It dries hard, so can break. But with fondant decorations of either kind, make more than you need as breakage happens.

 

[Becky]

The unicorns adorable. However, for a two-year old these are not age appropriate cake pops. That cake pop or any baked item with small fondant decorations is a choking hazard for children 5 yrs and younger.

That's a good point, I don't have kids to that didn't occur to me!

 

[Lyssa]

The unicorns adorable. However, for a two-year old these are not age appropriate cake pops. That cake pop or any baked item with small fondant decorations is a choking hazard for children 5 yrs and younger.

Food is the number cause of choking in children. Every day in the US nearly 350 children are rushed to the emergency for food choking; of those children, 1 child a week will die from choking on a food item. A child’s trachea is extremely small, just slightly bigger than a drinking straw.

That said, these types of decorations need to be thoroughly dried. I’d recommend gumpaste as fondant never completely dries out. Gumpaste can be rolled much thinner. The flowers are very tiny, so thinner is better. As a general rule, anything with fine detail, like flowers, is made with gumpaste. It dries hard, so can break. But with fondant decorations of either kind, make more than you need as breakage happens.

 

[Lyssa]

Hi thank you for the advice but my 2 year old will not actually be eating any of the cake pops. We try not to give her many sweets but if we were to let her try one it would definitley be taken off the stuck with the decorations removed and broken up into tiny pieces as she has trouble actually taking bites out of food so all her food is cut up into pieces. (Currently working with an occupation tberapist for this) They are more for the older kids/the adults at the party. Most of the children there will be older children from the family. No other 2 year olds at the party so we won't have to worry about that

 

[Lyssa]

Welcome to the forum. You can make fondant decorations well in advance. Pure fondant doesn’t dry super hard. It you want completely dry decorations, mix 50/50 fondant to gumpaste.

Store finished piece in a clean dry container, I prefer a cake box for this, in a cool fry place out of direct light. Depending on thickness, give it 24 - 72 hrs to completely dry.

If you need the pieces soft and pliable use Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap
to keep them air tight. Place your pieces on one half of a sheet. Space the pieces about 2” apart. Fold the other half of the sheet over the pieces and press around each piece to seal around each piece. Then place in a cool dry place out of and direct light.

Thank you! So to make the 50 50 mixture would I basically just knead the fondant and gum paste together?

 

[Lyssa]

Does anyone have any recommendations on white chocolate vs candy melts for these cake pops?

 

[Lyssa]

Those are so cute! If it were me, I'd let the fondant dry out so that it's easier to assemble them. You might risk losing definition if you handle them when they're soft, so if you want to keep the details then hard would be better.

I'd love to see how these turn out! Keep us posted.

Thank you! I will

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you! So to make the 50 50 mixture would I basically just knead the fondant and gum paste together?

Yes just knead equal parts by weight of fondant and gumpaste. Keep any portion you are not working with wrapped in cling wrap as the surface will dry out if left sitting out.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Does anyone have any recommendations on white chocolate vs candy melts for these cake pops?

I recommend candy melts. White chocolate will need to be tempered to dry properly. Out of temper and it could end up tacky, making it difficult to decorate and handle. And of all the chocolates, white is the most temperamental as it had a lower tempering temperature.

Wilton candy melts are pretty gooey. The better brands are Guittard A’Peels and Mercken. But you have to buy online.

No matter what brand, use a narrow microwaveable plastic cup. Just deep enough to completely submerge the cake pop. It’s best to melt fresh candy melts as so go since most will not reheat well, especially Wilton. To avoid waste and frustration, work with small batches.

Dip straight in, pause then lift straight out. Do not swirl the cake pop in the melted chocolate as it will most likely fall of the stick. If the cake pop is not completely submerged, tilt the cup, not the stick, to move the candy melts around the cake pop.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi thank you for the advice but my 2 year old will not actually be eating any of the cake pops. We try not to give her many sweets but if we were to let her try one it would definitley be taken off the stuck with the decorations removed and broken up into tiny pieces as she has trouble actually taking bites out of food so all her food is cut up into pieces. (Currently working with an occupation tberapist for this) They are more for the older kids/the adults at the party. Most of the children there will be older children from the family. No other 2 year olds at the party so we won't have to worry about that

Just wanted to mention it as the baking industry has introduced an extraordinary number of decorative elements in the past 5 yrs. Food safety training hadn’t be able to keep up with the expansion.

For this weekend, I’m baking for a child’s birthday party with 54 guests; 25 are children, 5 yrs and under. So the challenge is to make the cake and cupcakes little girl adorable and approved with lots of My Little Pony elements, but no tiny decorative parts.