Oreo Pops > Cake Pops

I have come to the conclusion I like Oreo pops much better than cake pops. Maybe it's because they're easier to make (less prep to do)? And maybe because I'm just not really down with the soggy texture of a cake pop when I bite into it. Not trying to knock the cake pops or anything - I still do love Bakerella! ;-)


Here are some Oreo pops I make for one of my best friend's wedding shower this weekend. The Oreo pops were just one of many sweets I made for the occasion.


When making them I switched it up with Golden Oreos and Peanut Butter Chocolate Oreos. Double stuff is the way to go with these! So much easier inserting the stick with out breaking it. But.... if you have to have a regular size Oreo, I found that if you insert the stick carefully, put a little of the chocolate around the base of the cookie and stick and chill it for a few minutes. It kinda glues it in place. Now your ready to dip the whole thing :)


Here's a few more of the sweet's I made for my friend's shower:

~Homemade marshmallows dipped in chocolate w/ graham crackers or toasted coconut
~Semi-homemade lemon tarts with fresh berries (I may put the recipe up later)
~ Coconut macaroons
~Key lime pie cupcakes
~Banana, nutella and coconut cupcakes

Nom Nom Nom....

Vineyard Wedding

This past weekend I had the honor of making the wedding cake for one of my best friend's brother's wedding. When it came to the cake, the bride was very laid back and open to all ideas when we were discussing decor. The colors of the wedding were purple and green and It was going to be held at a local winery. So, when I think of a vineyard, I think rustic.

One of the farms near the winery

Entrance to the winery

With all that in mind, this is the cake I came up with. It's quite simple but elegant at the same time. Thank you to Tim, the bride's friend who supplied all the flowers for the wedding and had extra for the cake. I put hydrangea and roses.

I love this pic of the cake on the wine barrel

...and a close up shot of the cake

I love the rustic look. I also love how much less stress it is to put together this kind of cake. The stress came in when I got the weather report for the weekend: 90 degrees with humidity. Did I mention it was an outdoor wedding? We had to keep the cake inside until the cake cutting. Since I was attending the wedding as well it was no problem to help set up everything right before hand. I forgot to mention, the cake was a lemon cake with lemon curd filling and white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. Yummy! For the guests we set up a cupcake table with assorted cupcakes.

To go with the rustic look, I decided to display the cupcakes on different stands and cake plates. This gave it depth and added to the rustic feel of the wedding.

The flavors were lemon raspberry, chocolate salted caramel, and carrot cake.

It was a beautiful wedding! Congrats Jon & Angela! Thanks for letting me be apart of your special day :)

Salted Caramel

Preparing ingredients for a wedding cake and cupcakes this weekend. One of the flavors the bride and groom chose was chocolate and salted caramel. I'm a bit obsessed with salted caramel, even though some may say "it was so last year" but I don't care! Something about that sweet and salty combo.... It's great for fillings (which I will be doing for the cupcakes this weekend); a topping on chocolate ice cream; or just eating by the spoonful ;-) Here is the recipe which is pretty easy to follow. The site I got the recipe from has good pics for those first time caramel sauce makers (I will admit, I burnt my caramel sauce the first time I tried to make it).


Salted Caramel Sauce
Modified from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Kosher Salt
  

Method

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.

5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Add kosher salt to taste. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Sauce will thicken as it cools). Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes a little over one cup of sauce.