Ooo Baby, Baby!

Yes, it's true. Another baby post. It must be baby season at work, because another coworker of mine is with child and soon to pop. Since this is a lady coworker, she gets her cake before the baby comes. That's right, she has her cake and eats it too. Watch out for this one. I wanted to do something different than cupcakes (been there, done that), so I borrowed this really awesome baby bottle pan from my little sister (hey there Betsy!). The tricky part was not the baking of the cake, it was the decorating. I don't think anyone understands the massive task I was undertaking here, I have the worst case of shaking hands. I mean, they're shaking right now, at this very moment. So imagine trying to decorate an entire cake with those little bitty tips from Wilton. And of course the more I concentrate, the more the shake. So I ended up with a rather cute cake, with a hint of shaking on the side. I think it adds character.

This happened to be a big baking week for me (as will next week, more on that later). Another coworker and friend of mine asked me to make cake balls / cupcake bites for her niece's First Communion party. Of course I can't turn down a chance to bake cute things, so I made the red velvet cake balls and decorated them in a variety of ways. This included making some cake pops.

Cake pops are so very easy to make, especially once you've gotten a couple under your belt (I'm referring to making them, not eating them).

Supplies:

- Cake Balls

- Candy Melts or Chocolate for dipping

- Lollipop Sticks (You can find these at any Hobby Lobby or Michaels)

- Sprinkles for decorating

- Styrofoam Block

First thing you need to do is melt a few of the candy melts, I used pink. Then dip the ends of the lollipops into the candy melts and push them into the cake balls. The sticks should be standing straight up out of them. Put them in the fridge/freezer for a few minutes to let them set.

After they've dried, take the cake pop by the stick end and dip it into the candy melts. I use a spoon to make sure I cover the whole cake ball. Tap the stick on the bowl so the excess coating falls off and toss on some sprinkles or sanding sugar. Then stick the cake pop into the styrofoam block to dry and you're done! I wrap mine in little candy bags and tie them with string before serving them.

And because those pink cake pops turned out so well, I had to try some in blue for the baby.

All in all, it was a busy week of decorating and next week will be the same. On the agenda: Red Velvet Cake Hearts, Mini Chocolate Cupcakes & Champagne Truffles. Um, yum. Seriously. The massive outpouring of baking is due to a Valentine's Tea Party that my mom is hosting, I'm helping stock the dessert buffett. Plenty of pictures will be provided of both the desserts and the party next week. I know everyone is beyond excited, but you'll just have to be patient.