Valentine's Day Cake Pops

After I used the larger leftover cake pieces to make mini-cakes, I crumbled up the rest of the cake bits to make cake pops.

Unfortunately for us vegans, our only dipping option is dark chocolate (no milk ingredients). The candy melts that are usually used, which come in many colors, contain milk ingredients. So, basically, that sucks for vegans because we don't get color options. I won't stand for that, so I attempted to dip the pops in a simple glaze (icing sugar + water), which I prefer taste-wise and would give me color choices. That didn't work out as planned, however, as the glaze just continued to slowly drip off the pops, not setting hard like chocolate will.

My next idea for dipping cake pops, in something colorful and vegan, is poured fondant. It's similar to glaze, but with more ingredients, so I will have to test out its dripping. Otherwise, it looks like I'll be using the candy melts for colorful cake pops, but not eating them myself. (Which is okay with me, since I don't really like cake pops- too much icing.)

I did find a compromise with these cake pops for adding color. I drizzled some of the glaze over top of the chocolate to add some fun pink swirls. I also stuck on some heart sprinkles.

This was only my second attempt at cake pops. I had a lot of fun this time experimenting with making shapes and decorating techniques. The next cake pops I make will be for a store demo (March 3rd 1-3pm, Michaels Stores). I'm planning on making Easter and Spring themed cake pops, using the Wilton Candy Melts. So, look forward to seeing those on the blog soon. If you're in the Ottawa area and interested in learning to make cake pops and cake decorating, I am a Wilton Method Instructor at a Michaels store. Check out my Facebook page to see my upcoming classes. I'll be doing some cake pops classes for kids & teens during March Break.

Valentine's Day Mini Cakes

After I made this cake last week, I had a lot of cake leftovers. Since Valentine's Day was coming up (and I was planning on making a video that could use some props) I decided to make some Valentine's Day treats from the leftover cake and icing.

From leveling out the cake layers, I was left with large, almost 1" thick pieces of cake, which was exactly what I needed for this Valentine's mini cakes idea.

Here's what I used: Cake, buttercream icing, fondant, gum paste, heart-shaped cookie cutter, fondant & gum paste tools.

To create my heart shapes, I used a cookie cutter to cut hearts out of any cake pieces that were big enough. I made two pieces into cake sandwiches with icing between and then iced the outside.

I covered them in fondant, which can be quite tricky, especially for small shapes like this. The trick is to work your way down from the top, smoothing it out. Don't let the fondant fold. I used a handy gum paste rolling cutter tool to trim the excess, but you can use a sharp knife.

The next day I decided that just the red was too plain, so I got out my gum paste and tools to make some heart shapes to add on top.

And this is what I ended up with!

I ended up putting them in cupcake liners (flattened a bit) to give them some some bottom protection for moving them around and giving them away.

I also made cake pops from the rest of the leftover cake!

Tuesdays with Tish // Single Girl's Valentine's Day

It's been a while since I made a video! It was so much fun (and work) to make this one. This started as something I was writing for just a blog post, but then I got ideas how I could make it even more fun by acting out.  This is quite possibly my most embarrassing video, but also possibly the funniest. People making fools of themselves is usually funny, right? Single or not, enjoy!

Fun Facts
- My cocktail is actually just water and food coloring. The tequila bottle is filled with water. It's from Mexico. Where I didn't go. Which I didn't drink.
- I spent the better part of two days' free time making the mini-cakes and cake-pops from the leftovers of a cake I made last week. (You'll see the cake and how I made the cake pops & mini-cakes in posts later this week.)

- I was listening to dubstep (my newest music fascination- just getting into it- any recommendations?) between shots, so I have a lot of outtakes of me dancing like an idiot who doesn't know how to dance to dubstep.
- I don't actually like cake pops because I don't like cake and icing together. I like cake, but I put a nice simple glaze (icing sugar and water) on my cupcakes. And I do like my icing (I'll lick the beaters- yum!) but not on cake. (In an outtake I might show someday, after shoving that mini-cake in my mouth, I said "Oh my god, I'm gonna throw up." But I didn't.)

- I can make myself cry really easily, so I didn't even have to actually watch sappy romance movies to make myself cry for the video.

- This was my first attempt at split-screen in a video and it was a lot easier to set up & edit than I thought. So, look forward to more videos featuring more than one of me!
- I took all those cake pops & mini cakes to work yesterday for the masses to devour. I got a lot of complements and thanks and maybe even a cake pop order!

- I'm not actually doing any of those things today. I think I'm all Valentined out. I'll be spending the day cleaning up the chaos left over from the video shoot. :)

Links + Likes // 02.12.12

More Handmade Valentines: Playful, Psychic and Sweet by Mr. Kate on Hello Giggles

Nine Questionable Fashion Choices from Parenthood's Amber on Vulture

I actually like her hair and most of her outfits, but they do make their point that she has worn some questionable outfits on the show.

Buy a Ticket: Sleepless in Seattle on I Love Wildfox

I love this idea and the resulting photos. It's basically a photo story of two girls visiting a city, checking out the vintage shops and happenin' spots, and making you jealous of their fabulous lives.

My blog friend, Mandy, is having a really neat giveaway on her blog, Chocolate & Cream Cake! Some Amazon gift cards, yes, but what I'm really excited about is winning a custom bookplate design! Mandy made this geeky cute one for her & her husband's personal library (for the inside cover of books, so borrowers know where to return it) and I love the idea! I hope I win, so we can design one for me together, but I may just design something for myself. ;)

Literally the Best Thing Ever: Degrassi on Rookie

Degrassi (the original series, guys) really is one of the best TV shows ever. I remember going to my best friend's house everyday after school to watch Degrassi Junior High on TV. She even once cut her hair like Liz. Man, we were so cool. Degrassi taught me so much about being a teenager, even though I was only in the third grade. I think it prepared me for high school much better than Clueless, which was also a big influence on third grade me, did. I watched the entire series this past year and loved every bit of it, even though 80's fashion hurts my eyeballs.

Scott Pilgrim vs. Reality on Torontoist

As a Scott Pilgrim fan and a Canadian, I was extremely jealous when my friends, who have lived in Toronto, said they recognized a lot of places from the Scott Pilgrim movie (which, like the comic, is set in Toronto). Someone got photos of the real-life places depicted in the Scott Pilgrim comics to compare. Nerdfest!

Let's all Watch Dawson's Creek! Episode 8: "The Ex-Boyfriend" on Hello Giggles

I have no interest in ever watching Dawson's Creek (I think I was bit young to be enticed by it when it originally aired, so I've never seen it.) but I am so enjoying these hilarious recaps.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love,
Tish

xoxoxo

10 Things I Love Sunday

1. Mia Wasikowska on the cover of Teen Vogue

Love her new hair cut!
[P.S. Her last name is pronounced Va-si-kov-ska.]

2. Valentine's Day (Today!)
Today I'm going for Chinese food with my friends Jessica & Monica because it's also the Chinese New Year today. Then we are coming back to my place to watch Nicholas Sparks movies. Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.

3. Glaze
I made heart-shaped cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I love glaze rather than icing.

4. Audrey Hepburn Poster
My BFF Kim gave this to me a few weeks ago. It goes perfectly under my shelf of cute, pink, girly things. I'm going to get it framed because I don't want it to get ruined.

5. Dexter
I just started watching it. I really like it. Dexter is strange and I like it. Also, he's cute. The show is interesting, mysterious and just a little bit creepy.

6. Get Him to the Greek Trailer
I love Russell Brand. He's reprising his role as Aldous Snow (previously seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) for this movie. It looks really funny. Possibly pretty stupid, but funny none the less.



7. Michael's Jewelry
I used to get weak in the knees in the baking aisles at Michael's, but now I am lusting after all the beautiful jewelry. These are some of my favorite pendants I saw last time I was there.
I must have this one for our Alice in Wonderland Tea Party in March.Have I mentioned my love for birdcages? I'm definitely getting this one.

8. My Clean & Organized Apartment
I spent all day and night yesterday cleaning and organizing everything in my apartment, top to bottom, because it really needed it and I have friends coming over today. Because I'm a very visual thinker, I can't think clearly if what I see around me is a mess. If my apartment is a mess, my mind is a mess. Cleaning my apartment cleans my brain, as well. Feels good.

9. Saturday Night Live
I haven't watched SNL in a long time because I don't stay up that late, but I've started downloading recent episodes. I'm totally in love with it. Here are some of my favorite sketches.






10. Coeur de Pirate
This adorable girl from Montreal makes beautiful French music. I just wish I could understand it better...