Bakerella's Blog, page 22

Very Cute Vampires

Halloween will be here before you know it and I wanted to share one of the new projects from my Cake Pops Halloween Book in case you want to give them a go. There are 20 spooktacular treats in the book including some of my classic favorites. And these very cute vampires have now joined that group. I want to hug them – they’re so cute. I love their pale purple faces, sweet little fangs, candy bow ties and cupcake wrapper capes.

That’s right! You can use a hole punch on mini cupcake wrappers folded in half and then slide it on a lollipop stick and curve it around the bottom of a vampire head for a cute little cape.

For the bow ties, I used my new Playful Shapes Candy Mold and melted white candy wafers to shape them. Then I attached them to the pop sticks with more candy coating as glue.

 

Want to dress these dashing fellas up even more? You can use my these printable treat tags to take them over the top.

 

Here’s an example of a bunch of the tags you can download. I hope you use them for cake pops, cupcakes and other treats this Halloween! Tag them with #CakePopsHalloweenBook on instagram so I can see your spooky sweets!

…………………………………………………………………………..

>>> Download the FREE printables or order the book here. <<<

…………………………………………………………………………..

Very Cute Vampires

Many Mini Mummies

Mini mummies! And a bunch of them. I was inspired to make these little guys by the Mummies in my new Cake Pops Halloween Book.

Here’s the cover for reference.

But instead of cake and melted candy wafers, I had fun using fondant to decorate these tiny chocolate sugar cookies.

Decorating them is pretty easy and a quicker alternative to using royal icing … which worked out perfect for me this weekend.

1. Make sugar cookies using a 1.5 inch round cutter. (You can use this recipe and swap out 1/2 cup of flour for 1/2 of unsweetened cocoa powder.) It makes several dozen 1.5 inch cookies. I think I ended up with like 72. Maybe more but I can’t remember how many I ate before decorating. Oops.

2. Tint fondant purple… or green. Cut circle shapes out of the fondant using the same size cutter and attach to cookies using a thin layer of frosting in the center of the cookie. Work with a dozen or so circles at a time so the fondant doesn’t start to dry out before attaching. Then cut out more and repeat. Also, if your cookies spread some during baking, then you can gently roll the cut fondant circle a little thinner and they will increase in diameter. When rolling, make sure your work surface and roller is clean. Sprinkle a little cornstarch or powdered sugar on the surface and rolling pin to keep the fondant from sticking.

3. Roll out white fondant and cut more circle shapes. Then cut the circles into thirds, removing the center piece. Attach the top and bottom pieces to the cookie with more frosting… allowing the purple center to show in the middle. You want to leave enough room for the eyes you are using.

You can also skip the purple fondant underneath and just use the white fondant for one color mummies.

4. I used my DIY Sugar Eyes so I could customize their expressions with different size pupils looking in different directions to give them more character.

You can find the eyes at A.C. Moore craft stores and online right here from Make’n Mold.

5. Using the black edible ink writing pen, draw lines on the mummies so they look wrapped up.

And attach eyes to the cookies with a little frosting or melted white chocolate.

Eeek!

These guys look a little paranoid.

And so they should be. Get in my tummy… you yummy little mummies!

The icing on the cake…plate

Hope you’re having a great week! I have the cutest cake plate giveaway to share with you today from my friend Cupcake Julie over at Tinsel and Twirl.

It’s a showstopper. I adore the giant cherry topper handle and the cake-decorated dome. It’s just too much fun and keeps my kitchen happy. I showcased the stand I have a while ago here on the site and so many of you have inquired about it since, that I thought it would be fun to give one away so it can brighten someone else’s day, too.

Enter for a chance to win this cherry-topped, frosting-covered, super cute cake plate!

Just answer the following question on this blog post:
What is your favorite holiday?
Deadline to enter is Friday, October 10th, 2014 at 11:59 PM ET.
One winner will be chosen at random and announced sometime Saturday.

Good luck cake lovers!

Giveaway courtesy of Tinsel and Twirl. 
 
 

Chocolate Chocolate Teacake

This cake! Yes, this cake! It may look unassuming but let me tell you, it is everything.

Completely delicious and one of the best slices of chocolate cake I’ve had in a long, long while.

It’s delish dusted with powdered sugar for breakfast or served for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream. But really It doesn’t even need anything at all… it’s that good. And that’s actually how I like cake best. When it’s so good, that plain is perfect!

The recipe is from Huckleberry Cafe’s brand new cookbook.

Look at that cover!

This book is FULL of yum. There are tons of recipes for muffins, biscuits, scones, cakes, breads, doughnuts, pancakes, sandwiches and a bunch of brunch items, too. I think you’ll love it. I do. It’s published by Chronicle Books (my publisher, too) and photographed by my super-talented friend, Matt Armendariz.

Now, let’s bring on the cake.

Starting with 1 3/4 cups chopped dark chocolate!

It’s titled Chocolate Chocolate for a reason. Unsweetened cocoa in the cake batter and then chopped and melted dark chocolate folded in on top of that. Whoa.

The recipe calls for pastry flour. I ordered some from King Arthur Flour (right here) and while I was on their site, I picked up some of this non-melting sugar too. It stays perfectly powdery … and now I want to sprinkle it over everything.

Huckleberry’s Chocolate Chocolate Teacake

Itty-Bitty Brownie Bites

I made some more minis this weekend. I’m talking tiny, one-bite brownies dipped and decorated with chocolate to look like little cupcakes.

They are so cute … I can’t stand it. And even better… they are a breeze to make using a brownie mix…

… and some of the products in my new line with Make’n Mold.

(candy wafers, cups mold and pastry bags)

Itty-Bitty Brownie Bites

NEW! Bakerella Collection for Make’n Mold

I have exciting news today! Like very exciting. I’ve been working on a brand new Bakerella product line for the past year with a company near and dear to my heart. And I’m super thrilled to share it with you today.

You know those little treats I made famous… yeah, the cake ones … on a lollipop stick. Well, I made my very first cake pops (these and these) with pink candy wafers that I found in a craft store made by a company called Make’n Mold. And I’ve been using their products for different treats since. (treat boxes, sticks, bags, molds and more). Last year we were introduced … and now after a lot of fun and yes, a lot of work, we’ve created an exciting new Bakerella product line together.

With products like these Bakerella Candy Wafers … in fun new colors to dip and decorate with.

There’s also Marshmallow White and Chocolate Fudge flavored wafers, too.

Wait! can I just stop and say that this is CRAZY!!!! Surreal!

P.S. I LOVE THIS PACKAGING! Sorry, to scream … but it’s so cute.

There’s also Candy Molds… that you can use to make decorations for your treats.

Like these sweet shapes that have stolen my heart. I designed the mold with the hope they’ll steal yours, too. I mean, that teddy bear!

Silicone Molds… you can get creative with candy and bake in them, too.

Love these Gem shapes!

And I can’t wait to show you the tiniest cupcakes you can bake with the Cups mold. You’ll squeal!

There’s also printed treat bags with ribbon and pink and blue striped pop sticks, too!

And these decorettes … in solid colors. Blue chocolate curls, orange pearls, green candy shred and white mini marshmallows. The green shred is going to be so cute for monster hair, Easter grass and more. I can’t wait.

I love these pastry bags … in pink of course. You can microwave candy wafers directly in the bag. Then snip the tip and pipe away.

Oh and these DIY Sugar Eyes – that come with a my favorite black edible-ink writing pen (Yes, the Americolor one!) that I use all the time. These eyes are so fun because you can make them beady or bashful, big or bold and totally create custom eyes to add just the right character to your treats.

And that’s just the beginning. I know you guys will get crazy creative once you start to use them and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

You can get the Bakerella Collection for Make’n Mold starting this week at A.C. Moore craft stores.

If there’s not an A.C. Moore store near you, don’t worry. You can also order products online directly from Make’nMold.

This really is a dream come true! But a dream I didn’t even know I had back when I was playing in my kitchen and dipped that first cake pop in January 2008. But really, none of this would have happened without you guys. I can’t tell you how much this little spot on the internet means to me. How much you mean to me. Thank you for inspiring me through the years with your enthusiasm, support and kindness. Here’s to sharing more sweets with you and especially more smiles.

And, if you see the product in A.C. Moore, I’d love for you to snap a picture and share on instagram with the hashtag #BakerellaforMakenMold. Don’t forget to share your all your creations, too. I can’t wait to see your treats!

xo Bakerella

Cinna-mini Cookie Bites

I think you guys know by now that I love making mini treats. There’s just something about being bite-size that makes eating sweets even more of a treat for me. That or I just like saying super cute more than I should. Take a look at these other examples and you can see what I mean.

Tiny tiered sugar cookies stands, super cute double-decker doughnut cookies and these itty-bitty bunny boxed chocolates. Just too much fun.

And these Cinna-mini Cookie Bites are no different.

They are tee-niny at about 3/4 inch tall and 1 1/4 inch wide. The perfect size to pop in your mouth. Okay … it might take two bites if you’re polite.

You can assemble them like regular cinnamon rolls… just on a much smaller scale.

Roll the cookie dough flat. Layer on butter, cinnamon and brown sugar and spread evenly. Then just cut the cylinder into 3/4 inch sections.

The dough can get all pressed together when you slice, but no worries, just separate the spirals with your fingers to define the swirls.

See… super cute. There, I said it again.

When the cookies cool you can drizzle or dunk the tops with a vanilla icing.

Dying over here. Adorable!

And yummy, too.

Here’s the recipe:

Cinna-Mini Cookie Bites

Trick out Your Treats with Cake Pops Halloween – New Book and a Giveaway!

Surprise! Surprise! I have a new cake pops book out tomorrow… September 2! YAY! YAY! YAY! And, I’m super excited to share it with you today. Inside you’ll find sweet and spooky cake pops including brand new designs and a few of my classic favorites, too! I think you’ll scream for some of the new ones. I’m talking adorable black cat candy buckets, very cute vampires, bubbling cauldrons, scary sweet monsters and more.

There are also printable templates to help make your treats, gift tags for your cake pops, and garland for your get-togethers. Download the tags and templates from here right now.

Happy Halloween early! Hope you enjoy the new book and use it to help get ready for the most deliciously spooky night of the year.

You can get the book two ways.

e-Book

Make the most of the Halloween season with the eBook – no wait for shipping or trip to the store, with all the info, ingredients, recipes, and the like right at your fingertips, wherever you are on the device of your choosing. Find the digital format from your favorite e-tailer below:

Apple iBooks
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook
Google Play
Kobo  

Print Book

Get your copy of the print edition exclusively from my publisher, Chronicle Books. Cake Pops Halloween started out as an eBook only, and I’m thrilled that Chronicle has made it available in a printed book format as well during the fleeting Halloween Season. Grab your book before the candy is all gone.

ChronicleBooks.com/cakepopshalloween

 

Now let’s celebrate with a giveaway…

First prize: I’m giving away Cake Pops Halloween in the book format and also the eBook format – along with a big fat iPad mini with retina display (wifi 16 gb) to view it on … all courtesy of Chronicle Books. The first prize winner will also receive a kitchen stand for the iPad PLUS the eBook versions the original Cake Pops and Cake Pops Holidays, too!

Second prize: Three (3) runners-up will receive the print version of Cake Pops Halloween.

Enter for a chance to win the Cake Pops Halloween Book Spooktacular Giveaway:

Leave a comment on this blog post and tell me your favorite costume to dress up as OR candy to enjoy on Halloween. Eeek! That’s easy!
Deadline to enter is Friday, September 5, 2014 at midnight ET.
One (1) first prize winner and three (3) second prize winners will be chosen at random and announced sometime on Saturday September 6, 2014.
Good Luck!

#CakePopsHalloweenBook

Caramel Apple Oreo Cookie Pops

Check out these tiny treats. They are the cutest little pops made using Oreo’s newest cookie – a limited edition Caramel Apple Flavor – that’s available exclusively at Target in September. I made them for my friends over at Target’s A Bullseye View.

Check out the link below if you want to see how easy they are to make. Plus, read where the inspiration for these caramel apple cookie pops came from. I’ll be posting more about it on the blog next week… Can’t wait to share!

How to make: Caramel Apple Oreo Cookie Pops

PLUS, here are two other treats I’ve created for A Bullseye View in the past:

Bullseye Cake Pops

Beach Ball Cake Pops

Almond Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I gave a batch of basic chocolate chip cookies a cheerful twist with cherry chips and almond bits. And these have turned out to be my new favorite cookies. At least for this week anyway. ; )

I used blanched slivered almonds and chopped them up pretty fine … because I don’t like a lot of crunch in my cookies.

And the cherry flavor came from these NEW dark chocolate cherry flavored morsels. I first enjoyed them at an event hosted by Nestle a couple of weeks ago to showcase some of their new products launching in September. You may have already seen them in stores though.

They also come filled with caramel, peanut butter and mint flavor. Too fun! Oh and keep your eyes open in the freezer section too because they now have frozen cookie dough to answer all our late night cookie cravings. YAY!

Scooping is very satisfying to me for some reason. You can roll them in a few extra almond pieces of you like.

I love seeing these little domes of dough right before they go in the oven.

But I love them even more warm right out of the oven.

Almond Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies