In The Kitchen – Cake Pops By Bakerella

Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats
By Bakerella (AKA Angie Dudley)
Chronicle Books
$19.95

I LOVE THIS BOOK! Yes, I’m using all caps. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon Bakerella.com but I became an instant Angie Dudley (Bakerella) fan once I set eyes on her Muppet cake pops. Angie oozes creativity and she totally inspired me to make cake pops. I’ve been dabbling in cake decorating and my initial thought was, “Cake pops can’t be that hard to make, right?” I experimented before the book arrived and I could not figure out how to keep the cake balls from falling off the lollipop sticks. Plus, the melted chocolate seemed really bumpy and not smooth and pretty like Bakerella’s. *Sigh*

Then the book arrived. I have to be honest with you all. I slept with this book next to my bed. I couldn’t get enough of the photographs and I dreamed about making cake poops (REALLY)! Apparently my toddler felt the same way. She treats my cook books as one of her own books. She didn’t want to part with it and her eyes grew with every page flip. I’m sure she dreamt about eating the delicious items on those pages.

What’s great about this book is that it has step-by-step photos on how to make cake pops, cake balls and cake cupcakes. I learned so much more from this book than I did from the various online tutorials I came across. The tips in the Cake Pops book are a great resource and I honestly appreciate the troubleshooting and do’s and don’t pages. The pictures of all the different candy coatings are colorful and delicious! As a designer I’m attracted to the colors and styles Angie comes up. Oh, and I also learned about a new product from this book. An edible-ink pen? How cool is that?

I recently made cake pops for my daughter’s party. I decided to keep things simple and used one color for the coating. I originally planned on creating the cake cupcakes in matching party colors but I decided against it. The whole process of shaping the balls, refrigerating them, melting the chocolate, dipping, etc. can be time consuming and I didn’t know if the sticks would stick! Definitely give yourself plenty of time when creating items from this book. I mistakenly started the process a few hours before the party and I was sweating getting it done in time! BUT, I did managed to make the pops AND the lollipop sticks stayed in place!! (Tip: Make sure you dip your lollipop stick into the melted chocolate before placing it into the ball. The chocolate acts like an adhesive.)  Teagan’s party was outdoors so the pops melting quickly but I’m proud of myself for following through and many of our guests complimented my cake pops.

I followed up the cake pops with a batch of cake balls for my daughter’s preschool class. I decided to skip the lollipop sticks and practice shaping the balls. Again, the coating wasn’t as smooth as Bakerella’s but this time I threw on some sprinkles and chocolate/caramel chips. I think the additions made the bumpiness look intentional.

The only con to the book is that it’s semi-spiral bound and the pages fell off the spiral. I’m sure it’s because I’ve flipped through it a million times. I was able to get them back on but I hope I don’t lose any of the pages!

At the end of the day cake pops make people smile! This book is so much fun and would make the perfect gift for someone who likes to experiment with sugary treats! The production of the book proved to me that Angie is proud of Bakerella and wants her readers to succeed. Me? I’m going to try the recipes for the Monster Pops on page 93 or maybe the Pirates on page 95 for halloween. As always, practice makes perfect. Did I tell you that I love this book? I have read this book from cover to cover. I can’t wait to see what Bakerella comes up with next.

Would you like to meet Angie Dudley? I just found out that Bakerella is hitting the road. She’ll be signing her books at various Williams-Sonoma stores. She’ll be in Santa Monica on the 12th. Check out the rest of her schedule here: www.bakerella.com/cake-pops-book-tour-schedule

~ Tee & Teagan

My version of cake pops/cake balls

* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. We received a copy of this title for review purposes. The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.