Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow cake pops for Saint Patricks Day


I was in the service station waiting to pay for petrol last year and I saw little bags of bubble gum 'nuggets of gold'.

Which I thought were pretty cute, so straight away my sweet obsessed mind started thinking about what I could make with them..........and then I remembered gum + kids = disaster. Shoot that shot down that idea I popped the gum back on the counter.

So I had already thought up these cake pops and I couldn't get the idea out of my mind and I really wanted that gold nugget gum and then luckily the next day I realised that candy nerds would work just as well if not better.

Such a win win situation cause then when I went to pick up the nerds I saw green ones and I realised that they would make great witch cauldron pops (which I posted here last year).


The actual dipping technique for the pops is one I came up with while writing my kids treat decorating book.
I know lots of people, kids especially, have trouble dipping the pops and getting a smooth finish so these ones are great.

Its the upside down method which is really easy and the chocolate pooling makes its own little cauldron shape. How great is that!

If the whole rainbow fondant think is a bit daunting just leave it off and you can still have awesome little pots of gold on a stick.


Pot 'o 'gold Rainbow cake pops
I recommend using the actual candy melt/ coating type of 'chocolate' for this pop (like Wilton) as it really does set much faster than regular chocolate and makes adhering the rainbows much easier.

1 batch cake or cookie pop mixture
Candy Coating (like Wilton candy melts) and copha or paramount crystals
Fondant (in rainbow colors)
sharp knife
cornflour/ cornstarch
small rolling pin
water and brush
lollipop sticks
Yellow nerds
*remember fondant dries very fast. Work quickly and when you are not using it make sure you keep it in air tight containers.



At least one day prior to making pops make the fondant rainbows.Dust a bench lightly with cornflour/ cornstarch roll out some purple fondant and using a sharpe knife (or cutter if you have one) cut out the shape of a rainbow half arc.

Roll out the remaining rainbow colors and cut into thin strips. Attach one strip of each color to the purple arc using a very small amount of water brushed on and then using the rolling pin gently press the colored fondant strips onto the base. Use a sharp knife to trim off any excess colored pieces to make a neat rainbow arc.

Make up a batch of cake pop mixture (that is mush up any cake with some buttercream frosting until moist but still firm). Yellow cake is a great choice for this pop and you may even like to add extra colour.

Line a tray with parchment paper. Roll the mixture between the palms of your hands. I like to weigh my mixture to make sure it is the same size but you can use a small icecream of melon scooper of around 3 tsp. Place each ball onto the parchment paper lined tray and pop into the fridge to chill for at least half an hour.

Melt up a bag of dark chocolate chocolate melts/ candy coating (or black melts if you want). Mix in quite a bit of copha or paramount crystals - now is not the time to be delicate you need a stack - look at the picture about a ratio of 1:7 for the wilton brand to give an example (1 being the copha and 7 being the chocolate/candy melts)



I melt my chocolate in the microwave on medium low, medium is too hot and high is way too hot. If you heat your chocolate at too high a temperature it will burn and not be salvageable for dipping .Remember medium/low for short bursts of 60 to 90 seconds.
Grab a bunch of lollipop sticks. Holding one end of the stick dip the other end into the melted chocolate/candy coating and insert it into the cake ball so the stick is upright like the picture. Pop into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes or so until the sticks are secure.


Make sure the chocolate/candy coating is still melted. Holding the end of the stick dip the whole cake ball into the melted chocolate/candy coating lift it to allow a little to fall off so the edges are smooth and round and then push just the top back into the chocolate/candy coating and quickly put the pop with the stick still upright onto parchment paper lined tray.


Continue with the remaining pops and when you are finished carefully peel off the paper to leave the cauldron shaped pops.

Then using the back of a spoon or a knife, spread on a little bit more melted chocolate/candy coating onto the top/flat section of the cake pop and sprinkle yellow nerds onto the still wet chocolate/candy coating and place a rainbow on top (see picture for placement). You will need to hold the rainbow for 10 - 20 seconds until it is secure and can stand up on it's own.


For more great pop ideas check out my book Sweets on a Stick it has more than 150 kid friendly ideas for decorating and serving sweets on a stick and available online here:


Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go!

25 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment. Yes you must try I would recommend something like this oreo recipe for your first try which requires no baking but is delicious. http://bubbleandsweet.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/oreo-cookie-truffle-pops-recipe.html

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  2. What a wonderful St. Patrick's Day treat. They would be a great party addition. I like how you used the pooling of the chocolate to make the top of the cauldron. It prevents new cake pop makers like me from feeling like I'm messing up! Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Yes indeedy it is a great technique, thanks for your sweet comment.

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  3. These are so cool! I love how you've made the inside gold too!

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  4. They look awesome, the little rainbows are the cutest! I love nerds and I love that you've given me an excuse to buy some.

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  5. super cute! If you don't want to do fondant rainbows, you can cheat and buy the airheads rainbow belts, which would work pretty well as a replacement (...for those of us who are lazy.. :) )

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  6. I made these last St Patrick's day. So fun. Instead of using fondant rainbows I used sugar candy ones instead, but you probably saw that at...
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=206129549397220&set=a.196682190341956.50782.189450784398430&type=3&theater

    Top of the mornin'!

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    Replies
    1. Top of the mornin' right back :) Thanks for sharing your version, they are fun too. I have never seen sugar candy rainbows before - super cute candy :)

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  7. Linda you're going to laugh when you see my St Patrick's Day idea! These look fantastic! :D

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    Replies
    1. Laugh in a good way? I'm looking forward to it you always have such creative ideas.

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  8. Does the paramount crystals help with the chocolate blooming?

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  9. You always have the cutest ideas, Linda! I want to know who gets to eat all these goodies? I wish I was your neighbour!

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  10. Replies
    1. I just noticed that I already commented on these pops, Linda:) Just goes to show you how much I like them! Ha!

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  11. I love these! How did you get the couldrons to look black in color when you used chocolate (brown) melts? Should I add black food coloring to the melted chocolate before I did them?
    Thanks for your help!

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    1. I actually used the Wilton Dark Chocolate Melts. They are dark brown not black, you can see the colour in the shots where I am making them. They look darker in the shots with 3 due to the light perhaps. If you want them to look really black you can buy Black Wilton Candy Melts (or another brand) or you can buy special oil based food colour suitable for use in chocolate and mix it in at the melting stage. Thanks for your comment :)

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    2. I made these minus the rainbow and sticks, and I must say that you are truly gifted. I am just glad no one was taking pictures of my work-in-progress!

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