Panda Cupcakes with Oreo Cookie Ears

I made these chocolate cupcakes for a neighbor who shared them with her church group. It's so much fun to make creative edible things. I already spent the money that I made on a new cupcake container/carrier : ) The tutorial is coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wilton Tall Cakes class at Michael's is great but it's probably the most difficult one out of all the dessert decorating classes that they offer. This is especially true because there's a lot of preparation needed before the class. I completed it on Tuesday and, with the guidance of our great instructor Gloria, was able to bring this one home with me. I had made the Briar Roses previously in the gumpaste flowers course. I'd still like to add some thorns to the stem and maybe a few more leaves.

I'm planning on making a short video tutorial again soon. The next one will probably be about making an cupcake with an animal design.

4th of July Cupcakes!

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

I

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