Cake Pops for Girls - Recipe for Cake Pops Shaped Like Lipstick, Purse, Nail Polish...

PREFACE: Before you begin to follow this tutorial, you need make cake pop dough. Perform steps 1-5 of my tutorial on making cake pops which are listed HERE. Once you have completed my steps or your own method to make cake ball dough and your dough has set in the fridge or freezer so it is easy to shape, proceed with instructions below to create Girly Girl Cake Pops.

INGREDIENTS/MATERIALS

• Basic Ingredients to Make Cake Pops (can be found in my tutorial on making cake ball pops HERE.) 
• For Girlie Girl Cake Pops coating, you will need White Almond Bark or Candy Melts and Red, Pink, Purple and Black Icing Dye or Red, Pink, Purple and Black Colored Candy Melts. 
• Sprinkles to give some depth to the cake pops and for the button on the flap of the purse cake pops. 
• White Fondant Surgar Sheets.
• Black Food Writer
• Aluminum Foil

A. DRAW ZEBRA DESIGN (OR WHATEVER DESIGN YOU'D LIKE TO COVER THE LIPSTICK WITH) ON WHITE SUGAR SHEET WITH EDIBLE MARKERS...SET ASIDE

B. DRAW PURSE FLAP AND HANDLE ONTO SUGAR SHEET AND CUT OUT...SET ASIDE

C. MAKE DOUGH INTO GIRLIE GIRL SHAPES

Scoop out a small handful of cold dough and squeeze the dough between your hands, rolling it from one hand to the other so the dough is tightly packed. As you knead the dough from hand to hand, start to roll it into a ball.

• To make the nail polish shape with a curved top, tap one side of the dough ball on the counter as you roll the dough. Roll, tap, roll, tap...this will create one flat surface while keeping the other side round. When the desired shape is achieved, set aside or put in freezer so shape sets. 
• To make the nail polish shape with a long flat top and short flat bottom, tap both ends of dough ball as you roll the dough. With one end on the counter, "smush" some of the dough towards the counter so that end becomes longer because more dough is compacted in that end. Keep rolling and tapping both ends and just shape the dough with your hands till desired shape is achieved. Set aside shape or put in freezer so shape sets. 
• To make the nail polish top shape, roll dough into ball and then into a "log". Tap one end on the counter to flatten it as you roll dough. When desired shape is achieved, set aside or put in freezer so shape sets.
• To make the lipstick shape, you'll have to roll some dough into three separate shapes that you'll use to build the lipstick shape on the cake pop stick. For base of lipstick, simply roll dough into a ball and then tap each end on the counter to flatten as you roll dough creating a "barrel" shape. For middle of lipstick, repeat same process for base of lipstick, except a smaller version. Use lipstick base to gauge. For top of lipstick, roll dough into ball and then into a "log" tapping one end on counter to flatten it. Place dough log on counter or cutting board and use a knife to slice one end at an angle creating the part of the lipstick you would smear on your lips. Set all parts of lipstick aside or put in freezer to set shape when desired shape is achieved.
• To make the purse shape, either use a rectangle shaped cookie cutter and cut shapes out of about 1 inch thick dough patties, or mold dough into a rectangle by rolling and tapping all four sides so they are flat (roll, tap, roll, tap...). When desired shape is achieved, set aside or put in freezer so shape sets.
• To make the heart shape, use a heart shaped cookie cutter and cut shapes out of about 1 inch thick dough patties, or use knife to hand carve a heart shape out of about 1 inch thick dough patties. When desired shape is achieved, set aside or put in freezer so shape sets.
• To make the hand mirror shape, either mold the mirror shape by hand as you knead and roll the dough or cut shape out of inch thick dough patty.

D: CUT DECORATED SUGAR SHEET (FOR LIPSTICK CAKE POPS) INTO STRIPS
1. Measure Strips - Use middle "barrel" of lipstick dough shapes to measure the width and length of strips you will need to cut from previously decorated sugar sheet.

2. Cut Strips - You can use regular scissors to cut sugar sheets.

3. Remove Backing and Set Aside - Peel away clear backing of each strip and set on dry napkin.

E: MAKE CAKE BALLS INTO CAKE POPS
1. Prepare your Work Space - 

• Foam Board in Freezer - You will need your foam board close or in your freezer. You will be dipping, decorating and setting one cake pop in the foam to dry/set all in the matter of about fifteen seconds so your space will need to be arranged for efficiency. 
• Dough Balls Near Microwave
• Aluminum Foil Covering Countertops - I have my foam board in the freezer, my dough balls on a pan next to my microwave, and aluminum foil covering my counter where I coat and sprinkle/decorate the cake balls. 

Crafty Gal Tip: Skewers Instead of Lollis...I use barbeque skewers for sticks. They are long so I break them in half or start by using scissors to cut them in the middle and then break them on the cut. Lolli sticks work just fine, but they are a bit larger in diameter which makes a larger hole in the cake ball when inserted and ultimately the risk of the cake ball sliding down the stick once they become heavier with the chocolate coating is larger too.

2. Secure Dough Shapes to Sticks - In order to help your dough shapes stay on the sticks, you need to first dunk the sticks into melted almond bark or candy melts (melting instructions in next step) about 1/2 an inch and then put the melted chocolate end of the stick straight into your dough shapes. Push the stick, coated-end into the bottom of the dough shape and remember, for the shapes that have more than one piece, to push it through the shape enough so a good inch and a half is exposed for the lipstick and nail polish shapes so you can add additional dough shapes on top. At this point, the multi-piece cake pops should only have their base piece on the stick. The last or top piece is added after you coat the base with chocolate. The lipstick should have both barrels on the stick but not the actually lipstick shape.

Crafty Gal Tip: Why I Prefer the Microwave to Heat Cake Pop Coating and How to Avoid Burning When Melting and Bubbles or Bleeding from your Final Design...Because I work with different colors and flavors of almond bark/candy coating for one batch of cake balls, I prefer using the microwave over a double boiler/melting pot so I can use multiple microwave safe containers instead of all the scraping, cleaning and reheating that goes along with the one-pot-process. If you have tried and failed with the microwave before, please read on (and view the YouTube tutorial by TastyCakePops). I feel your frustration. I've lived it. I think I've come out on the other side though. 

F: MELT/DYE COATING
1. Melt Coating for Nail Polish Base - So you have your dough pops ready for dipping... Grab a few squares of your white almond bark or if you are using candy melts, a couple handfuls and put into a microwave safe container. I've trial/error'd every type of container, mug, bowl, etc. you can think of and it's the small ZipLock containers that are perfect in size as well as conducting and distributing the heat from the microwave evenly so your coating doesn't burn when melting. Fill the container about halfway with candy melts or a couple squares of almond bark and microwave on half power for 30 seconds. Stir contents though not much melting has begun. Microwave in 30 second intervals while stirring in between until melting has taken over about half of the bark/melts. 

2. Thin Coating with Vegetable Shortening - DON'T BE CRAZY AND SKIP THIS STEP. If you forgot to get shortening, go to the grocery now and save yourself a couple hairs that you would be pulling out of your head should you proceed without it. Add shortening by the tablespoon, stirring then microwaving in 30 second intervals. You may need to add bark/melts to attain a consistency adequate for flawless coating and have enough in your container to be able to dip and engulf the cake ball. 

(Tasty Cake Pops on YouTube has the best video tutorial on heating candy melts for coating cake balls or cake pops. Her 7 part video series is below.)

3. Dye Coating - In between heating and thinning your cake pop coating you may need to add food color or icing dye if you are not using colored candy melts. To color white almond bark or candy melts, you want to add food dye the same way you add the shortening, in intervals and in between heatings, stirring until the desired result is achieved. 

G: COAT NAIL POLISH SHAPED CAKE POPS
1. Dip Nail Polish Base into Warm Colored Coating - Once your coating is warm and smooth, you can start dipping the cake pops. Cover the dough shape entirely with the coating, then let excess drip by holding the pop sideways or ball down. Tapping the stick on the side of the melting container while spinning it slowly helps remove excess coating so your coating finish is flawless in texture. 

2. Add Nail Polish Top Dough Shape - Push stick into bottom of nail polish top dough shape until it is positioned on top of the nail polish base just barely touching it or almost touching it. 

3. Freeze to Set - Put cake pop with coated base and uncoated top in freezer to set for a few minutes. I keep foam boards in the freezer so I can put the pops in the board and they can set upright (or more at a slant).

4. Dip Nail Polish Cake Pop into Warm Colored Coating (Black) To Coat Nail Polish Top - Dip cake pop into black coating just covering the nail polish top. Let excess drip off of the side and make sure not to hold upright while it's dripping so it doesn't get onto nail polish base.


5. Freeze to Set

H: COAT LIPSTICK SHAPED CAKE POPS AND ADD SUGAR SHEET STRIPS

1. Dip Cake Pops into Warm Coating - Once your coating is warm and smooth, you can start dipping the cake pops. Cover both of the dough shapes entirely with the coating, then let excess drip by holding the pop sideways or ball down. Tapping the stick on the side of the melting container while spinning it slowly helps remove excess coating so your coating finish is flawless in texture. 


2. Immediately Add Sugar Sheet Strip - Wrap sugar sheet strip around bottom "barrel" of lipstick cake pop.

3. Add Lipstick Top - Push stick into bottom of lipstick top dough shape until it is positioned on top of the lipstick base just barely touching it or almost touching it. 



5. Coat Lipstick Top With Colored Coating - Dip cake pop into colored coating just covering the lipstick top. Let excess drip off of the side and make sure not to hold upright while it's dripping so it doesn't get onto lipstick base.

6. Freeze To Set

I. PREPARE DECORATIONS FOR OTHER SHAPES

• For purse cake pops, remove clear backing from flaps previously drawn and cut from sugar sheet. Set on dry napkin. Have candy or sprinkles for flap button accessible.
• For heart cake pops, have sprinkles accessible.
• For mirror cake pops, cut out circles from aluminum foil and set aside. (Obviously the aluminum is not edible, but it adheres to the cake pop coating ever so slightly so it can be pealed off easily before consumption.

J: COAT AND DECORATE OTHER SHAPES
Follow directions to melt and dye the coating for your other cake pops then dip the shapes into the coating and sprinkle if you'd like or add sugar sheet flap and handle for purse (immediately after coating so it sticks). Freeze pops to set. Lastly, add button to the flap of the purse cake pops by putting a dab of cake pop coating to flap and placing sprinkle or candy over dab so it sticks. Freeze again to set.

K: ENJOY



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