Um.
So, actually, cake pops are WAY harder than they look and I want to send out some mad props to the people who do them for a living. You guys are awesome.
I will now share with you the awesomeness that is the zebra cake I made tonight for Princess P's jungle party, and the major league disappointment that is my cake pops attempt. I think I know where I went wrong, and I think I'd tackle them again - after all, like anything else, it's a learning curve.
First off, the good news. I found a way to make marshmallow fondant without using butter or shortening, and reducing the amount of icing sugar that goes in. I used about 1lb of icing sugar (instead of the usual 2lbs the recipes call for) and just topped up with corn starch as I let the Big Mama (a.k.a. my kitchenaid stand mixer - Boy Wonder named it) beat it into submission. I liked the corn starch variety WAY better - significantly less sweet, but honestly, haven't we all been grossed out at some point by icing that was too sweet? And given that I can't use fondant without a crumb coat (in this case, chocolate) I think pouring all that sugar on top of melted marshmallows is just overkill and more money in your dentist's pocket.
So given all my soapboxing about icing, here are the steps I followed to do the cake.
- 1 bag of good quality marshmallows - I have been cheap on this before and paid for it. Spend the extra buck for the Jet Puft.
- 2 tbsp water
- 1lb of icing sugar
- a full box of cornstarch - honestly I have no idea how much I threw in. A cup? Maybe?
Nuke the marshmallows & water in a microwave safe dish for 1 min. Stir. If they aren't all melted, give it another 30 seconds. Stir. Keep going till they're melted.
Pour melted marshmallows into your greased Kitchenaid mixer bowl (I used Pam spray.)
Add 1lb icing sugar and turn on low. Use the paddle attachment at this point.
Once it's mixed, switch the attachment to the dough hook and throw in some cornstarch. Let it combine and look at the consistency - if it's still runny, throw in some more and give it another shot of mixing. Carry on until it looks like dry peanut butter.
Wrap in saran wrap and throw in the fridge for an hour. This is the part where you get to bake your cake and let it cool to room temp. I have no good cake recipes and I just used boxed mix.
Once the cake is out and cool throw on a crumb coat - this is your regular icing, buttercream, the premade kind from the store, whatevs. It's what your fondant will stick to. After the crumb coat is on, coat your rolling pin with cornstarch and your countertop with cornstarch. Get ready to get a workout and roll the hunk of fondant from the fridge to 1/4" thick. Keep rolling.
When you have a big sheet of fondant, lay it over your cake and press into the sides to stick it to the crumb coat. Use a pizza cutter to trim the fondant off. If you get any cracks, get the tip of your finger (or a pastry brush) a little wet and just rub along the crack to seal it. If you get any color on the fondant you don't want, a wet paper towel should take it right off (but you should get to it quickly.)
And here's the cake! I used the Dala cake pan from Ikea, Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix, Betty Crocker milk chocolate icing as a crumb coat, and my homemade MMF on top. I iced it by hand using glitter icing gel I found at Michael's.
Aww! It's a little stumpy, and thick set, but hey, it's clearly a zebra, and it has a cute tail. It's going to look super cute when we stick a '1' candle in it and give it to Princess P.
On the downside, since we have nearly 20 people at her birthday (and it's JUST family! Crazy!) this stumpy little zebra isn't going to be enough to feed everybody. So in a moment of inspiration I said "hey! Zebra print cake pops! Perfect way to make sure everybody gets a bit of a treat at the party!"
Fool.
I even made a pretty cake pop box (cake pop cake?) to showcase my pops. I had worked on them all afternoon. They look... well, the cake pop box looks cute, and if you squint, the whole effect is pleasing.
Right? Cute pink flowers? Pink stripes on white, black stripes on white, white stripes on black. Sounds SO promising.
Until they give up the will to live, like this one:
(These photos were taken in my beer fridge freezer - I was so desperate for at least SOME of these things to survive till next weekend that I practically threw them in there.)
Stupid cake pops. Whatever. I'm still going to serve them at the party. I'll just make sure there's a huge pitcher of sangria next to them. Food on a stick + booze = party!
Looks Fabulous!
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