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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Troubleshooting Cake Pops


Having a hard time making cake pops?  Cake pop fail completely?  Do you wonder how everyone else ends up with gorgeous, adorable, cute cake pops, and yours look like lumps on a stick (if they don't fall off the stick first!)?  Well, you've ended up in the right place.










I have found that the most difficult thing about making cake pops is just getting started.  My first cake pop experience was a total disaster.  It took me a few weeks and a lot of research to finally figure out what I was doing wrong.  So, in hopes of saving you time, as well as helping to keep you excited about cake pops (they are really fun!), I have created a troubleshooting guide for cake pops. 

Problem

Solution

Cake balls won't hold a ball shape.



  • You're using too much frosting. Either add more cake, or start a new batch.




Cake balls won't stick together.


  • You don't have enough frosting in your cake crumb mix.  Add a little more until your cake balls stick together.


Cake ball falls off the stick.


  • You've used too much frosting in your mix, creating a very soft cake ball.  Add more cake, or just start over.  Use less frosting next time.
  • Keep your cake pops small.  They will have a better chance of staying on the stick if they're between 1.25 and 1.5 inches in diameter.
  • You didn't refrigerate your cake balls long enough.  Make sure that they are well-chilled before putting on the stick and dipping.
  • You didn't dip your stick into melted candy coating before inserting it into the cake ball.  Make sure that this step isn't overlooked.


My candy coating/ chocolate coating is thick and lumpy.

  • Your temperature that you're melting your coating with is too hot.  Keep your candy temps less than 100 degrees- use a candy thermometer.
  • You've gotten water or something that is water-based in your coatings.  It can't be salvaged for dipping, but you can use it as glue for decorations on the cake pops.
  • Add an oil-based thinning agent, such as Crisco shortening, or Paramount Crystals. 

The coating on my cake pops has cracked.



  • The cake balls were too cold before dipping.  Don't work with frozen cake balls.  Allow the cake balls to warm up before dipping.
  • The cake balls were too tightly rolled.  Allow some time after removing from the refrigerator for expansion to occur before dipping.
  • Uneven coating.  Really thin or uncoated areas in the candy coating after dipping will create weak areas on the surface.  As the cake ball expands, this weak spot will be where the crack forms.  Make sure your cake pop is completely well-dipped.
  • UPDATE- 8/31/11:  After making my Jack-o-Lantern/ Pumpkin cake pops, I've discovered that if you add too much oil-based coloring to the candy coating, your coating will crack on the cake pops after they've cooled.  Either keep your oil coloring to a minimum, use a pre-colored candy coating, or try using powdered food coloring.
  • If you add too much thinning agent to your candy, such as Crisco or paramount crystals, you will weaken your candy coating.  This can leave it susceptible to cracking.  Use less thinning agent next batch.

Oil is seeping through the coating on my cake pop.


  • Air bubble holes in the coating.  As the cake expands under the coating, oils in the cake mix will try to escape through any opening they can find!  Pop the air bubbles with a toothpick as the coating is wet (time consuming, and you've got to be eagle-eyed to catch every air bubble!). 
  • Try to dam up the hole with a little extra candy coating.  This is a messy option that leaves unprofessional results.
  • Dab-dry the oil as it seeps with a paper towel.  Eventually it will stop, and the hole won't really be all that visible.
  • My favorite solution is to completely omit the oil when baking the cake mix.  Yes, OMIT it.  It eliminates the oil seepage problem in my experience.  And you're reducing calories in the process! 


Help- My Coating Has Bloomed!
Seen this before?  Look closely.  Notice a difference between these two cake pops?  The one on the right looks fabulous.  Even coloring, nice covering.    The one on the left has streaks.  These were from the exact same batch of candy coating.  So what went wrong?

This is called bloom.  It's something that happens when candy melts get all hot and bothered, or rather, when they've gotten TOO hot.  It's a really easy thing to do to melts, especially when you're using a microwave and you don't use a candy thermometer.  Bloom is not something you need to worry too much about taste-wise.  Candy coating that has bloomed is still safe to eat.  It's just that aesthetically, it's not as pretty.

In the photo above, the bloomed cake pop (left) was dipped before the normal cake pop (right).  I noticed that my coating was beginning to bloom once the cake pop coating had dried.  Gah!  You'd think that if a batch of candy coating is blooming, that there's nothing you can do, and all your cake pops will have that bloom look to them.  Nope!  It can be fixed!  Again, I was able to fix my coating after I noticed bloom, and the result is the nicely coated cake pop on the right.

I picked up this tip from a beautiful and fabulous book called Chocolates and Confections (at Home with the Culinary Institute of America).  While this book focuses on chocolates, many of the methods can also be used with candy coating.  Okay, so how to fix bloomed candy coating.  You must have a candy thermometer for this.  They're relatively inexpensive, and can be found at most supermarkets.  Bloom happens when candy coating has gotten too hot.  If you want to restore the coating from its bloom state, simply add several tablespoons of unmelted candy coating to the overheated candy melts.  Do not reheat it.  Stir them until they all have melted.  Candy melts have a fairly low melt temperature, but this may take you a few minutes of stirring.  Be patient, and keep stirring until everything is smooth.

Now check the temperature.  Lately, I've found that your goal temperature to prevent bloom is below 90 degrees.  If the temperature is still above that, add a few more candy melts, and stir until smooth. You want your candy melts to be completely melted and smooth below 90 degrees.  Once it is, try dipping another cake pop, and examine at the coating as it dries.  You should notice that the bloom is gone!  If you need to reheat your candy melts, be sure to do it very slowly.  When I use a microwave to reheat, I keep the power level at 40%, and for no more than 30 seconds at a time.  And I verify the temperature (not too hot!) to make sure I haven't 'bloomed' my melts.

One more tip, but this is about decorating the cake pops. I love using edible ink pens to draw faces or designs on my cake pops. Some people have trouble making edible ink go on nicely on the cake pop. First, make sure you're using a good quality edible ink pen. I use Aetco or Americolor edible ink pens, and I found them on Amazon.

They work best if your candy coating is dry and fairly oil-free. If you use a lot of Crisco shortening to thin your candy coating, then your pens won't draw on your cake pops well at all- they make the coating fairly oily. Using Paramount Crystals to thin your coating makes for nice, smooth coating and won't add greasiness, which makes drawing on the pops a breeze.

Now, even with the best edible ink pens, you'll run into problems from time to time.  Most of the time, you'll find that your pen simply begins to dry out.  How annoying!  Especially when you've got more than 50 faces to draw!

Here's an easy way to deal with an edible ink pen that isn't cooperating.  You'll need a small plate and some food color gel.  Here I'm using a black pen with black food color gel.

 Squirt out a small amount of the gel onto the plate.  Dip the edible ink pen nib into the gel, using it as if you were dipping a paint brush into paint.
 Get your cake pop ready!  Here you can see the gel at the tip of my pen.
 Now gently 'paint' the food color gel onto your pop.
You'll end up with nice, dark, colors that look professionally created.  As long as you've got gel food colors on hand, you'll never have to worry about dried-out or poor performance of your edible ink pens again!

This method worked fabulously for me this year.  I made almost 100 jack-o-lantern cake pops for my kids' class parties, and every little face on them looked perfect!

Happy popping!

56 comments:

  1. Great tips on trouble shooting for cake pops......wish I'd seen this before I made up 100 cake balls.....apparently they are too soft.....I'm thinking I need to make them into cake truffles now. LOL

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  2. I'm so glad that you like my troubleshooting tips. Making cake pops can be so frustrating, don't you think?! But when they turn out great, it's heaven. :)

    And even when they don't turn out, they still taste incredible. I like your idea of turning them all into cake truffles. Or just throw them (or just some of them) all into a big bowl and add more cake to dry out the mix.

    Don't forget that cake balls can be frozen and saved for later 'poppin' (i.e., adding more dry cake later to some of the batch to try again). Hope your next foray into cake pops is better.

    Cheers!

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  3. Thank you so much for posting this. I literally just finished making some this evening for the first time and needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), they were a decorating disaster. I say this, because the taste was great, but the decoration---not so great!!! Almost every problem you listed occured with my cake pops, so I had to see how I could resolve them and I came across this post. You're a lifesaver!!! Thanks so much again and I'll be sure to come back and let you know I how fair on the 2nd time around, which will be on February 13th when I make some for my daughter's Valentine's Day party in school.

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  4. Well, thank YOU for your kind comments! :)

    I don't know anyone who has made perfect cake pops on their first try. Maybe Bakerella, but she created the whole cake pop craze!

    You will get the cake pop thing down as long as you keep at it, I assure you. Be persistent, and they will turn out great! I can't wait to hear about how your Valentine's day pops turn out!

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  5. Thank you for posting this wonderful tool for trouble shooting cake pops. I am in the process of making close to 600 cake pops for a mission trip fundraiser and the longest part of the process for me, is the dipping and looking for the nasty little air bubbles! I dip, tap off excess, look for airbubbles, dip again, tap and look for any additional airbubbles. It is aggravating to get 30 pops finished and I have 4 or more that have leaked oil! You said something about ommitting the oil when baking the cake. Do you substitute apple sauce? Is your cake dry because of the omission? Would love to hear what your thoughts are. :) Thank you, Melissa

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  6. Hi Melissa!

    Whoa! 600 cake pops?! Holy moly, you're brave! :)

    I am wondering why you're double dipping your pops, though. Most pops just require a single dip. Any reasons?

    Yes, I omit the oil completely from the cake mix. I don't substitute anything for it. Adding the frosting to the cake crumbles adds just enough moisture, so they never seem dry. And if your cake/frosting mix won't hold a shape (too dry), then just add a tiny bit more frosting until they do. The only type of cake mix that has still given me 'oil trouble' (leaking) is spice cake, even when I don't add oil to the mix. Not sure why.

    I actually forgot to add oil to a regular white cake I baked for my daughter's birthday last weekend (habit!). And you know what? No one noticed! The cake was still nice and moist throughout.

    Good luck with your (gasp) 600 pops! Send pics if you can. I'd love to see that many at once!!! :)

    Cheers,
    Christine

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    1. Hi Christine,
      Thanks for responding so quickly. The 600 cake pops are actually going into Valentine's Day arrangements (7 cake pops each). The arrangements are being delivered Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Need less to say, I have a LOT of work to do between now and then! How would I send you a picture, can it be posted directly to this site?
      To answer your question about double dipping...I thought it would actually cut down on the air bubbles or cracking. I believe it did, because my first batch had many "bad" pops, but after tapping, popping the air bubbles, and then double dipping, my "bad" pops dropped considerably. It's the two or three bad pops that I still seem to get, that puts me into a sour mood (I think because of all of the time that goes into making just one pop).

      Are you just using box mix or do you bake the cakes from scratch? Does that make any difference? Again, thanks for replying so quickly. I truly appreciate all that you've posted on this site. It's a quick fix guide to all things cake pop! :)

      Melissa

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    2. If you'd like to share a photo or two (or several based on the size of your popping!), send them to crickpop@gmail.com. I can then post them along with your story if you like.

      Regarding the double dipping, hey, whatever works, right? There are so many ways to make cake pops! :) I'm not a stickler when it comes to air bubbles- I tend to see them in my batches when I'm near the end when my coating has cooled off quite a bit. But by that time, I just don't care about a few bubbles in the coating. Too tired of dipping, I guess. Kudos to you for being so detail-oriented!

      I just use box mix for my cake pops, especially since I tend to be really short on time. I save making 'scratch' cakes for more special occasions. I have heard from Bakerella that it doesn't really make a difference what method you use to make your cake. She's probably right!

      Delete
  7. Thanks. Was helping my daughter with valentines day cake pops for her class party. 19 of 60 survived the process. Reading your troubleshooting tips show where we made a calamity of errors. Thanks for the fixes. We are going to try again today and tomorrow just to perfect the process. My daughter does most of the work, I just supervise with the oven and use of other appliances.

    How much shortening do you use to thin the candy coating? Lets say per bag of candy coating you buy from Michaels craft store?

    One tip a friend gave me was to fold the cream cheese frosting in rather than use food processor. What are your thoughts on this?

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    1. Hi Steve! What a great Dad you are for helping your daughter with making cake pops. :) The only help my hubby gives me with my cake pops is eating them.

      So regarding how much shortening to add... well, I haven't used shortening to thin my candy coating in a really long time, so I'm not exactly certain on the amount to add. I think I used about a tablespoon per 14oz bag of melts (Wilton's Candy Melts). If it's not thin enough, just add a little more at a time until you get the consistency you need.

      I am a huge fan of using paramount crystals rather than shortening to thin the candy coating. I use just a small pinch of them per bag of melts. When you use paramount crystals in your coating, it's not very oily when it dries, so drawing on them with edible ink markers is much easier (shortening-thinned coating tends to dry on the oily side and can make drawing on the pops a pain in the booty!).

      You can paramount crystals online on Amazon or specialty cake websites. This tends to be an expensive option. If you check out your local cake decorating/supply shop, they usually have it or can get it for you for much less than online. They're cheap, too. I paid $3 for 8oz at my local cake supply shop. Don't count on finding paramount crystals at Joann or Michaels, though. I have never seen them carry paramount crystals- they should, though!

      About folding the frosting in versus using a food processor: your friend is 100% correct! I have tried both, and I think the food processor really overdoes it, making the frosting/cake mixture too mealy and mushy. I don't like the consistency of the food processor mixtures at all. It's so much easier to gently fold in the frosting in the bowl you've crumbled the cake in. And using the same bowl rather than a food processor makes for one less appliance to clean up- which is a huge bonus in my book! Have I mentioned that I'm really lazy when it comes to cooking/baking?

      I know how frustrating it can be when your pops don't turn out how you want them to. I still have bad pop days every now and then. Hang in there, and don't give up. It really does get easier. I know you'll have perfect pops in no time!

      Cheers!

      Delete
  8. I have researched and read so many tip before making my first cake pop. However, because of my own mistake of forgetting that my mesuring cup fills up to 2 cup (i thought it's 1 cup), I added too much frosting. I can't believe I did that, after all the time I have spent looking thru websites for tips and notes. The "dough" held up to a cake ball, but i think it might be too moist to hold up on a stick, because when I tried to shape it to like a cupcake pop last night, the top fell over. :( It's in the refrigerator now. I can't wait to find out. So now I am disputing whether to add more cake or just to make a new batch.......Will it still work if I refrigerate hard enough and it holds up with the candy melt? Any advise..

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  9. Hey, don't sweat it about making cake pop mistakes. We all do! Even I still make mistakes on batches from time to time, so don't beat yourself up. :)

    Yes, absolutely, two cups of frosting in one box of cake mix is too much. Even a whole cup of frosting seems like too much frosting to me. I just add about one heaping tablespoon per box of (baked) cake mix. Less seems to be more when it comes to good frosting to cake ratio. Especially when you're creating shapes like a cupcake. If your mix still won't hold a shape after a big tablespoon, add a little more at a time. For me, I know I've got it right when the cake/frosting mix has the consistency of Play-Dough.

    I'm curious, how tall are you making your cupcake shapes that the top falls over? Mine tend to be between 1" and 1.25" high, and the tops have never fallen over.

    So to add more cake or start over... it's a tough call since I can't see your cake/frosting mixture. Of course, adding more cake would help, but I don't know how much you should add. And waiting for your cake shapes to firm up in the fridge is a very good idea. Give them overnight if you can wait. Sometimes that's all you need!

    If they're still too soft after refrigeration, I think the easiest way to go is to just make a new cake/frosting batch, and be very conservative on adding your frosting.

    Good luck with your pops, and keep me posted. Cheers!

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  10. THank you so much for this! Ive been doing this as a business and couldn't figure out exactly what I was doing wrong with them cracking after they cool. I was taking them out of the fridge, rolling them again to warm them up and reshape them, which probably made them roll too tightly. Makes perfect sense now!

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  11. Hi Britney,

    I'm so glad that my guide can offer help to you with making cake pops. Please let me know how things work out for you!

    Cheers!

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  12. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!! Today was my first attempt at making cake pops. I ended up using too much frosting. My pops would slip of the stick. By the way, I love your website and creations!!

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  13. Hi Cindy! Oh, I'm thrilled that you like my little bites of creativity. :) Thanks for your kind words!

    Cheers!

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  14. Thank you so much for the tips. I made cake pops for the first time and the only problem is the candy coating. I used the 'Candy Melt' candy but it takes over them. It's very hard and sweet. I also used Crisco shortening but didn't work . What should i do? What kind of candy coating is better? Thank you!

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    1. Hi Sabee,

      I assume that the "Candy Melt" candy you're using is the Wilton brand of Candy Melts? I haven't had any troubles using the Wilton brand. I have even gone 'cheap', and used the generic chocolate coating sold in bars at the supermarket, and that's worked fine for me as well. Some people swear by using Merken's candy melts, but Merken's is a lot more expensive. If you have the extra funds to splurge on Merken's candy melts, though, go for it!

      And you write that "it takes over them", and "it's very hard and sweet". Hmmm... could you elaborate a little on this? Do you mean after you've dipped them or before? Is your coating lumpy or fluid? What temperature is your coating when you melt it? How are you melting your coating?

      You mention that you used Crisco shortening, but it didn't work. I have used Crisco before, and it worked fine for the coating on my pops, but I didn't like drawing on them (too oily). In fact, when I've added too much Crisco, my coating ended up TOO SOFT. I prefer to use paramount crystals. If you can find them locally, they're quite inexpensive. You only need a tablespoon or so per 14 oz bag of melts.

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    2. Hi, my cake pops has all kind of problems lol. When I don't thin enough I cannot have a smooth finish but too thin they cracked. So I was wondering the 1 tablespoon per 10oz bag of melt would that be 1tablesppon of crisco? Thanks a lot for your help.

      Delete
  15. Christine, is there any way in the world you'd be willing to make some cake pops for my kids' birthday party? It's next weekend and my own creations are not working out. I am now too crunched on time to be able to do it!

    You? Anyone? Bueller!? Thanks all! :)

    Robin

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    1. Hi Robin,

      Thanks for asking if I can make cake pops for you! Unfortunately, my schedule is over-packed for the next few weeks, so I can't help. Sorry!

      You may want to check out etsy.com, though. Many people sell cake pops there, and you might find something that works for you.

      And I hope your child's birthday is a huge hit!

      Cheers!

      Delete
  16. I wish I had seen this site before making a batch of cake pops yesterday! I definitely put wayy to much frosting. At first I put in only half a can but my cake was a bit warm so it didn't hold together.. My mom insisted that I put the rest of the can in and it was definitely too soft .. My other problem was the candy melt. I bought a generic brand at Big Lot's. Direction said to heat it in the microwave for 1 minute. I did that but the candy melt was still very thick and not easy to dip the balls in. So I only dipped half of the balls and decorated them with coconut flakes/sprinkles. As it dried the cake pops came out okay. Also where can I purchase the sticks for the cake pops? I used toothpicks yesterday and the cake pops were just too heavy! It was my first time. My second time around I hope I get it right. Your website helped soo much thank you!

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    1. Hi Nary,

      So glad that my guide has been able to help get you going in the right direction!

      Yep, your cake must be completely cool before mixing in the frosting. As you experienced, you'll get uncooperative mushiness if it isn't!

      While some people swear by using expensive candy melts, I've been able to make some nice cake pops by using the cheap stuff. Thick coating could have been due to the fact that it wasn't heated enough (the rule is 50% power for a minute, then stir, then 30 sec at 50% power, stir, until you get everything melted), or it was overheated. A full minute at 100% power will be sure to melt AND thicken your coating. Be sure to keep a candy thermometer on hand- you can pick one up at most big supermarkets, and they're not expensive. Make sure your candy coating is always UNDER 100 degrees, and you should be okay.

      The secret to getting non-lumpy coating is to add an oil-based thinning agent. Some use Crisco (a tablespoon or two per 14 oz bag), some use paramount crystals (my personal favorite- about a tablespoon or two per 14 oz melts), and still others use vegetable oil (haven't tried that, but I've heard it can work).

      Yes, toothpicks are absolutely too small to hold cake pops! You need to look for lollipop sticks. I get mine locally at Joann Fabric and Crafts, but you can also get them at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or any other well-stocked craft store or cake supply shop. Online you can find them on Amazon or Kitchenkrafts.com (to name a few). I use 6" sticks, but some prefer 8" sticks, and some really like the short 4" ones.

      Making cake pops is really easy once you get the hang of it. My first batch was a complete disaster, and I ended up throwing all of them in the trash. I almost didn't even bother making another batch, I was so discouraged. Remember, mistakes are there for you to learn from. You will be sure to have beautiful cake pops in no time- just don't give up!

      Cheers!

      Delete
  17. How do you feel about the cake pop machines? The ones that bake the cake in a ball shape "ready for decorating?" I got one for xmas, but haven't had time or an occassion to break it out yet.

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    1. Hi!

      First, let me say that I've never used the cake pop machines before. I considered getting one several months ago, but I decided not to.

      I've heard that they are fairly messy to use. Knowing me, I make a huge mess when I make waffles with my waffle maker, so it's not a stretch for me to think I might do the same with a cake pop maker. I don't have time for more messiness in my life!

      What these cake pop 'makers' actually make are cake balls. Just cake. There is no frosting to mix. I think that this would make for a pretty dry cake ball.

      And I wonder how dense the cake would be. I think you need a pretty dense cake ball in order for the stick to stay put when dipping. I would worry that the cake ball would be so dry that it would cause the stick to slip out of the ball. I like my cake mixture to have the consistency of dry play dough.

      Then there's the problem of shapes. If you want to make a cake pop shape other than a simple ball, you're still going to have to make the cake ball by hand and add frosting.

      I would love to hear from someone who loves their cake pop maker. So far, I haven't. I suggest that since you have one, try it out and compare it to making a batch of cake pops by hand. Let me know what happens!

      Cheers!

      Delete
  18. Hi! I was wondering how do you keep the candy coating soft?? My coating (I use Wiltons) always gets hard so when you bite into it, it cracks and breaks away from the pop... How do you keep the coating soft like the Starbucks pops? Thanks in advance for any tips!!

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    1. So you want soft cake pop coating? That's an easy one!

      Add some Crisco or oil to your melted candy coating. It will soften up your coating when it dries.

      Be careful about adding too much oil or Crisco, though. It will weaken your coating, so you may end up with cracking if too much is added. In addition, adding oil substances to your coating will make it more difficult to draw on the finished cake pops with edible ink pens. The pens just don't like to work on oily surfaces.

      You can get around this if you have food coloring, a fine paint brush, and a steady hand.

      Cheers!

      Delete
  19. Hi! I'm from the UK so our ingredients etc will differ slightly, but have you ever used a cake pop tin? I got one for Christmas, and put four batches of 12 in and they all seemed to fail, and i ended up having to 'glue' them together! I'd be interested if you had any advice as I'm feeling a bit downhearted now as I've wanted to try cake pops for ages!!
    I love your blog by the way! Thanks, Mollie-Anne

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    1. Hi Mollie-Anne,

      A cake pop tin? I'm guessing that in the US vernacular, that would be a cake pop pan. I wouldn't recommend using one to make cake pops for the reason you mentioned: they will fall apart. Yes, they will be perfect little round cake balls, but they lack the 'glue' of the frosting that keeps cake pops together.

      Don't get discouraged, though. If you haven't seen my very first cake pop try, check it out here:

      http://tinyurl.com/cuouadc.

      They were UGLY and tasted AWFUL. I actually shed tears over the whole thing. If you keep trying though (and refer to this troubleshooting guide!), you will end up with gorgeous cake pops. It just takes a little practice and persistence.

      If you end up with a lot of cake, crumble it up and mix in a tablespoon or so of frosting (less is more). Make each of your cake balls by hand, and you should have beautiful cake pops. I have yet to see any reliable shortcuts when it comes to making nice-looking cake pops. Save your cake pop tin for making 'doughnut holes', but not for cake pops. Hope this helps.

      Cheers!

      Delete
  20. Hi, I made cake pops last night, and some fell off during dipping...too moust, I got through them, but am wondering a couple of things...

    Candy is hardened and the pops are all bagged and tied..

    Could they still fall off, or am i safe?
    will the moisture bleed through the coating?

    They are for a gymnastics tournament tomorrow, and I'm wondering if I should remake today to be safe? Would love your opinion

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    1. Hello there!

      I think once the candy coating dries hard around the cake ball, you're safe. They shouldn't fall off at that point, unless you bang 'em around pretty good! :)

      That being said, I'd be concerned about the taste of the cake pops if they were on the too-moist side. Every time I've made my pops too moist, they just don't taste good. The texture ends up mealy and mushy (not cake-like at all). It's not pleasant (unless you enjoy that kind of texture!), and the cake ends up too sweet for my taste. That's not saying that your cake pops didn't turn out fab! Just going off what's happened to me.

      Next time, if you end up with too-soft cake balls, make sure you taste them before dipping. Just to be sure that they taste as great as they look. If they don't taste good, add more dry cake crumbles to your mix. Out of cake? Try a store-bought pre-made cake, or even a few slices of dry white bread. That should fix it!

      Cheers!

      Delete
  21. Hi there....came upon your post because i had a huge cake pop disaster and trying to figure out where i went wrong. The pops came out great looking however during delivery...most of them slid down the sticks! Needless to say the client was not happy (he had nothing to give his girlfriend for valentines). How are cakepops to be delivered? Also i tried using shortening i ran out of paramount crystals.....my melts just got thicker and thinker...y do you think this happened? Its not overheating cause i only heated it for two 30 second intervals. I am in the tropics and the melts are really hard to keep thin, when the crystals were done and the shortening wasnt working i resorted to oil...it worked but is it a problem or is my structure compromised if i use oil continuously to keep the consistency?

    Help! I love pops and i would love to keep this on my menu but its soooo discouraging especially if i have to deliver!

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    1. Hi KK-

      I'll do my best to help you find a remedy for your popping problems. So sorry to hear you're having troubles!

      1. Cake pops melting/sliding off the sticks. You mentioned that you're in the tropics. Candy melts are made to melt at relatively low temperatures. With tropical heat, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if you're finding that your candy coating softens and melts after solidifying on the cake pop and stick. I've had the coating on cake pops melt in 65 degree temps when left in the sun (I moved them to shade, and they firmed up again).

      2. Transporting cake pops. I'd try keeping your cake pops as cool as possible before delivering to your client. I wouldn't refrigerate them because I wouldn't want them 'sweating' after bringing them into the ambient air. If you're in the tropics, the humidity would cause a gooey mess! Keep them in the coolest room in the house, or if you don't have air conditioning, place them in a box filled with dry ice.

      For delivery I would transport them in a large portable cooler with dry ice in it. It wouldn't freeze the pops, but rather it would keep them well chilled so you can get them there in once piece.

      3. Your candy melts thickening up. Are you using a candy thermometer? It's the only way you can be 100% certain about how hot you are making your melts. It's really easy to underestimate this! Take your time melting your coating and keep your melts under 95 degrees. No matter how much thinning agent you add, if you've overheated your melts, you won't have much luck thinning them out. You can stir in unmelted candy melts to your overheated mixture to help restore the structure. This takes some time, but be patient, don't add more heat, stir until everything is melted and smooth, and make sure your temperature stays below 95 degrees. You should be able to salvage it.

      Adding some paramount crystals will help to thin out the candy coating. So can adding shortening or oil. But you need to be careful about adding too much (this goes for adding oil-based colors and/or oil-based flavorings). If you add too much, the coating on your cake pops will be weak, and they will crack- believe me, I found out about this the hard way. Adding too much oil will also make the melt temperature lower. This helped to contribute to your Valentine's Day fiasco! :(

      I hope I've been able to offer you some useful tips. Keep me posted on how your next batch of pops comes out! Cheers!

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  22. Wow, like others, I really wish I had read your tips before making my pops! I read several other tips and thought I made great pops, but they all cracked! Some were already dipped in non pareils so I can't save those, but my subsequent ones (after I discovered cracking) are just dipped. Can I save those? Would redipping work or would they get too heavy? How do you get smooth cake balls? I think I rolled too tightly, but they were not lumpy! Thanks so much for your tips and responses!

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    1. Hello Sue!

      Redipping might work for cracked cake pops, but I wouldn't do it personally. A crack is a crack- a weak spot in the coating. I'd be worried that it could crack again in the same spot. In a pinch it might work though. It's not something I'd do if I was selling the cake pops, but I might if it was just for my family. It would depend on how many pops were cracking in the batch.

      You can get smooth cake balls by just rolling them gently until you get a ball shape. Even if you think you rolled them too tightly, just give them time to warm up a bit and expand a little before dipping.

      The biggest culprit to cake pop coating cracking has to do with either weak coating (too much thinning agent will weaken your coating significantly!) or with incomplete coverage (weak spot in the coating). Don't over-thin your coating and make sure your cake ball is well-coated when you dip, and you should be good to go!

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  23. I'm so frustrated - I bought the black Americolor pens (at £6 each here in the UK) as the best option to write onto Chocoalate. I've finished, refrigerated and now wrapped the cake pop in cellophane and placed in the fridge. The black detail on the eyes and hair have now run all over the cake pop in the wrapper. Why?? I made them with white chocolate and some pink candy coating buttons to make the flesh baby colour and now I just want to cry :-(

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    1. Oh no! I'm so sorry that this happened to you! :(

      Your mistake was refrigerating the cake pops. Cake pops should not be refrigerated, especially if you're drawing on them. You'll end up with serious condensation after removing the cake pops from the 'fridge. Moisture will cause the ink on the cake pops to run, just like you're experiencing. If you must refrigerate them, then wait to decorate and wrap them until after the condensation has dried and they've come back up to room temperature.

      The cake and frosting mixture (if you've used a shelf-stable frosting) should be fine at room temperature for several days, if not longer.

      Depending on how much the ink has run, you may be able to still salvage your pops. If water makes the ink run, then you can also use a damp soft paper towel to gently erase the areas that don't look right. Wait for the areas cleaned to dry, and then re-draw your details. It's not a perfect option, but it might help.

      In baking, there are no mistakes, just more opportunities to decorate! Good luck, and let me know how your pops turn out. Cheers!

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  24. So grateful that I stumbled upon your post! I tend to use a lot of crisco to thin my choc then would try to draw on them with my americolors & it was horrible! The ink would be faint, fade, or bead. Because of your helpful post, I now know why.. The crisco!! Thank you! And the tip with the food color gel, brilliant! Does it dry well & not smear if wrapped? I also heard about powdered food coloring mixed with extract & "painting" it on cake pops. Ever tried that method? More decorating tips please! Looove!

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    1. Hi Marie!

      I'm so glad that my tips have helped you. The gel food coloring dries nicely. I've never noticed smearing of what I've drawn when I wrap the pops. If you're really worried about applying the gel too thick, you could always dilute it down somewhat before application.

      The only time I've used powdered food coloring to paint cake pops was with the Academy Awards cake pops. I needed a metallic gold for those. I took some of the powder and mixed it with a small amount of vodka to make an edible paint. The alcohol quickly evaporates and the dry time is minimal. You could also use extract, but I think that a cheap flask of vodka would be more cost-effective in the long run.

      And if you want to see a large cake pop that I've painted entirely with food color gel, take a look at my Jupiter cake. http://www.crickpop.com/2013/09/planet-jupiter-cake-spherical.html

      Thanks for your comments! Cheers!

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    2. Thank you so much for responding back!

      I will definitely try the gel food coloring to draw, esp for Halloween! I'm going (try) to make your pumpkins! I've made jack-o-lanterns before, but not with indentations-- such a fun detail to try out this year! I'm having a hard time finding gel food coloring.. is it the same thing as the icing coloring?

      I've heard about mixing vodka with the powder, but I wasn't sure about feeding that to little ones! Good to know that the alcohol evaporates-- again, thanks!

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    3. Hey Marie,

      Gel food coloring is thicker and more saturated than the standard 'icing' food coloring you may find at your local supermarket. For me, it's easier to work with when drawing on cake pops due to its consistency.

      I've found mine on Amazon at really good prices. Also check out http://www.thebakerskitchen.net/ for good deals on gel food coloring.

      Get creative, though, and try using the food color you find at the market. In decorating, where there's a will, there's a way. You may end up with something really cool using them!

      Delete
  25. I wish I had read this column before I started. I also experienced cracks in the chocolate after I dipped them right out of the freezer. Thankfully I only dipped 12. Appreciate your tips, I hope when I dip the rest they will look better. I'm making them for my grandson's birthday.

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  26. I individually wrap my cake pops and if they have edible ink on them they start to run and smear. How can I prevent that bc the plastic isn't touching where the edible pen ink is drawn on.

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    1. Hi! Are you refrigerating your pops after decorating? If so, that could be a reason why the edible ink is distorting on the pops. The condensation from coming out of the fridge will always mess up good designs, even if the plastic bags aren't touching the pops.

      If you're using shelf-stable frosting in your cake pops, then your cake pops should be good at room temperature for about 2 weeks (so I've heard). I've never had my cake pops last more than a few days in my home- they're always consumed quite quickly! Bottom line, don't refrigerate your cake pops, and your designs should stay in great shape.

      Delete
  27. Thanks for the tips. How did you get the pumpkin shape?

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    1. Hi Kimberly! You can find a full tutorial about how I made the pumpkin shapes here:

      http://www.crickpop.com/2011/08/jack-o-lantern-pumpkin-cake-pops.html

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  28. Hello! These tips are great! Through a lot of trial and error of my own, I was finally able to perfect my cake pops. However, I still learned a few new tips reading your post.

    My only question is regarding the marker and gel color. I had recently used it alone for some Hello Kitty cake pops, and of course they did not dry. Using it alone never dried. Will using it with a marker, and so being a very thing layer dry?

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    1. Hello Meeti!

      I'm glad that my tips have helped you! And apologies for the late response! Life has had me quite busy over the past few months...

      Yes, gel food coloring can take longer to dry on your cake pops if you're using a lot of it. A thin layer of gel food coloring should dry more quickly. If the application of the color is not coming out evenly on the first try, let it dry, and apply a second thin coat.

      Using gel food coloring is not my first choice to draw on cake pops. It's more of a standby thing I use for when my food color pens are giving me grief. :) A thin application of ink with a food color pen is always the best option for good results.

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  29. I'm super careful with not dipping dough when the pop is too cold or when chocolate is too hot, but some of them still cracked :( is there any other reason why it'll crack? it almost looked like the chocolate was too soft .. but i din even thin out my chocolate with anything. it's just pure 70% valrhona chocolate

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    1. Hi Vivian!

      Oooooh... Valrhona chocolate... excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard...

      Cake pop cracking happens to everyone. I still end up with cracks, I even with all my experience with thousands of cake pops, I sometimes have no clue exactly why!

      I am assuming that your cake balls were room temperature and not too soft. If your cake balls were fine, then cracking usually happens at a weak spot in the candy (or in your case, chocolate, yuuum!) coating. Weak spots can happen due to a number of reasons:

      1. Air bubbles.
      2. Incomplete dipping (missed a spot!).
      3. Weak coating (thinned too much).
      4. Decorations.

      Now you're thinking, "How can decorations cause cracking?" If you apply decorations, anything from nonpareils to a candy stem, on the cake pop while the coating is still REALLY warm, it will sink into the coating. In my experience, this ends up as a weak spot in the coating and 9 times out of 10, I will end up with a crack. I was really surprised to discover this when I sprinkled tiny nonpareils on a batch of cake pops. I was in a rush, and was moving quickly, shaking candy on the pops right after dipping. Almost every one of them ended up cracking on me. Each crack originated at a nonpareil sprinkle. And on my Jack-o-Lantern cake pops... I ended up with cracks where I put the sour straw stem in the cake pop. Those were placed when the cake pop coating was still soft and fluid. Once it cooled- CRACK. Gah!

      Lesson learned for me to wait just a few more moments to apply my decorations after dipping if I want to reduce the amount of cracked cake pops.

      You mentioned that some of your batch cracked, but not all. So you're doing something right! :) I would guess that there may have been a small area on the pops that cracked that was thin. Make sure you are dipping the pop completely, and not tapping too much off or too aggressively when you take it out.

      Hope this helps, and good luck on your future cake pops!

      Delete
  30. Hi i have a question . My cake ball cracks everytime i put the stick i do use candy melt . Is it because its still too cold? Also when i put the chocolate it never dries up it always seems to be too moist :...

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  31. Hello i have a question why is it that my cake ball cracks when i put the stick with melted chocolated? Can it be that I didn't let it cool down long enough?
    Also why is it that my chocolate never dried up? Can it be because my cake ball is too moist ? It only happens to some of them

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  32. Hello. I'm not sure if you have already answered this question from the others, but I want to ask if its possible to add gel base color in white candy melts? I have white candy melts and I want to use for coating of cake pops but I want to add some color in it. Thank you.

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  33. Hi, is it 1 table spoon of crisco for 14oz of candy melts? Your troubleshoot cake pop sheet helps a lot. Thank you so much. But I am still having a hard time lol. When I dont put enough frosting I find my ball not round enough but too much frosting make my ball soft and when I dipping it it tend to detach from the stick. And when I dont thin enough my candy the coating is not nice and smooth but too much crisco or oil make it cracked. Will baking the cake pop directly in a silicone mold better than making ball? Please help. Thank you.

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  34. Hi, also I use wilton and another brand of edible pen but it does not work out well. Some people say it has to be Americolor brand name. And some says that using gel color will never dry. Please help.

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  35. You should add in your tips that when you use a thinnin agent such as Wilton Ez thin or crisco the coating will dry out really fast so if you want to ad some sprinkles or sugar you have to do it super fast because in a matter of seconds they will not stick. I don’t know if it is the same with paramount crystals because I’ve never used them.

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