4th of July Cupcakes!

Here's an idea for 4th of July cupcakes!

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I recently learned how to make a gift box cake and thought I'd share it here.

Cake Pop Swirl Design

Today I posted a short tutorial video on my "SparkedIdeas" YouTube that shows how to make a swirly design on a cake pop. Clicking on the next image will take you there:

In my video I demonstrate how to make this design using chocolate mint candy melts, a pastry bag and an icing tip. Thank you to my friend and piano instructor Melissa for helping me create a jingle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIcG3oMqntw

Tools and ingredients:
No. 2 icing tip and a pastry bag
Wilton Chocolate Mint candy melts for the swirl pattern
Wilton Vibrant Green Candy melts for the coating
For about 32 (corrected from 15) cake pops use - 1 box Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix (not the super moist mix) plus about 2 1/2 large spoons of Betty Crocker Whipped chocolate frosting.

STEP 1:

The outer candy melt coating should be dry before making the design. This coating is made of Wilton Vibrant Green candy melts:

STEP 2:
Fill a pastry bag with melted Chocolate Mint flavored candy melts by Wilton. Use a number 2 tip to create the design. Hold the bag perpendicular to the surface and about 1/4 of an inch away. Start on the outside of the swirl and go in. Release pressure at the end. The pattern will help cover up flaws like cracks or bumps in the coating.

Turn the cake pop stick clockwise while applying the design.

STEP 3:
Fill in empty spaces with small swirls. Put into a foam stand to dry.

 

STEP 4:
Eat one of your cake pops, for testing purposes only of course : )

The chocolate flavor and color of the cake ties together nicely with the outer candy melt swirls.

The inside of the cake pop is made of: 1 box Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix (not the super moist mix) plus about 2 1/2 large spoons of Betty Crocker Whipped chocolate frosting.

STEP 5: I just bought some napkins that had the same green and rich brown colors as the cake pop and (Voila!) I ended up with a nice display:

On the above cake pop I combined large and small swirls. 
Here's an example of a large swirl made with a no. 1 icing tip but a no. 2 tip works too:

These smaller swirls were made with a no. 1 tip:

Again, the video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIcG3oMqntw

This blog - http://sparkedideas100.blogspot.com/

Facebook - Sparked Ideas
Twitter - sparkedideas
Email - sparkedideas@gmail.com
Instructables.com - Sparked Ideas

Please let me know what you think about this tutorial by commenting below!

Cake Pops with Rainbow Stripes

This morning I uploaded my YouTube tutorial on how to make rainbow striped cake pops! The video also shows how to make a small cake that has rainbow stripes on the inside. The pops and the cake are covered with chocolate so they look really yummy. But the real surprise is when you cut a piece of cake or take a bite out of a rainbow pop. 

    Related links:
    Direct link to the video:http://youtu.be/LsNgcgxPm9M
    My YouTube channel: SparkedIdeas
    Twitter: SparkedIdeas
    Facebook: Sparked Ideas
    Email: sparkedideas@gmail.com

These are some of the ingredients and tools that you'll need (see entire list below). 

Here are the colors I used:

The cake plus frosting mixture looks like this after the colors are added:

The rainbow pop looks like this after assembling it. 

Next, a stick is attached and a few hours later it's dipped into chocolate:

 After dipping:

Here's a list of ingredients and tools that I used. This is also in my YouTube video's description box.
(Makes 14 cake pops):
- 1 box of Baker's Semi-Sweet baking chocolate squares
- 1 box of Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix
- 1 container of Betty Crocker fluffy white frosting
- A rolling pin
- A flat, wide paint brush
- Food coloring -
     1) McCormick Assorted Food Colors (you'll need yellow, red, and green)
     2) Wilton Gel Food Colors (you'll need Orange, Purple, and Teal)
- Frosting for attaching sticks - 1 cup powdered sugar plus 1 TBS water
- Wilton "Cake" Sticks - 6 inches
- A round cookie cutter - from 1.25" to 1.5" in diameter
- Disposable latex gloves
- Colorful paper cupcake holders (optional). A striped design looks good.

Valentine Marshmallow Mini Bear

Today I added another video to my YouTube channel "SparkedIdeas". This one is on how to make a
marshmallow mini bear for Valentine's Day! The bear is really cute and easy to make.

Here is the link to the tutorial:  Mini Bear Tutorial

 

 

Ingredients and Tools:
Marshmallows - regular size and small ones
Red Wilton Candy Melts
Tooth pick
Powdered sugar
Wilton Rainbow Crunch sprinkles
Cooking oil

Time to make one - about one hour of which about 90% is drying time.

Other links:
YouTube channel - SparkedIdeas
This blog: http://sparkedideas100.blogspot.com/
Twitter: SparkedIdeas
Facebook: Sparked Ideas

I'll be adding more tutorials in the future so please visit my blog and YouTube channel "SparkedIdeas"!

SparkedIdeas100.blogspot.com 

Marshmallow Penguin Decorations

I recently made a video on how to make this marshmallow penguin decoration. The penguin can be placed on a pop stick or used to decorate cupcakes or a Birthday cake! These aren't quite as easy to make as the Valentine bear pops in my other video, but they are also a fun and creative craft project to do with kids. 

For more video tutorials please visit my YouTube channel "SparkedIdeas".  Here's the link to this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOM7EeoQcNM

List of things you'll need:
1 bag of regular size marshmallows 
1 bag of black Wilton Candy Melts
Wilton "Rainbow Crunch Sprinkles" (you'll need the dark brown pieces for the eyes) 
Popsticks (6 inches is fine)
Starburst candies (the orange and yellow pieces)
Gum paste (which can be used as glue) or
make your own frosting "glue" with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 1/4 tsp water

a toothpick
a couple of small plastic bags that are water tight at the bottom

Thanks for stopping by!
SparkedIdeas100.blogspot.com

Valentine Marshmallow Bear

Yesterday I uploaded my first tutorial to YouTube! It's about how to make a Valentine Marshmallow Bear pop (see link below). I was trying to finish the video before Valentine's Day because I wanted to offer people a gift idea for a friend, family member, or their significant other.

This photo shows how the bear pops turned out:

These bears are very easy to make and you'll probably only need about an hour to make say 5 of them.

List of things you'll need:
1 bag of regular size marshmallows
Pop sticks (6")
White Wilton Candy Melts (craft stores carry these)
Powdered sugar
Oil
For the eyes and mouth - Either a tube of Betty Crocker black gel or, if you want to make your own frosting "paint", then you'll need a bottle of black food coloring
A small paint brush (#3 in craft stores)

Red food coloring for the inside of the ears
Coffee beans for the nose
Corn Candy for the ears

or a toothpick
Paper towels and a tissue (convenient for wiping off hands or the frosting "paint" if you want to start over)
A a couple of ribbons

Recipe for frosting "glue"
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 tsp water

Recipe for the black frosting "paint" (tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyc4S5XvlxE)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp oil

10 drops of black food coloring (I use McCormick in my video)

In a couple of days I'm going to upload a second video on how to make a different Valentine marshmallow bear.


For more video tutorials please visiti my YouTube channel "SparkedIdeas".
The link to this tutorial is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spm-RpF_sZQ 

Thanks for stopping by!
SparkedIdeas100.blogspot.com