Mickey & Minnie Cake Pops

Noah turned 2 in January and we threw him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party! I tried to do the Oreo pops first and failed terribly. I somehow came across Bakerella's version of a Mickey Cake Pop and used her silhouette version and came up with my own design based on the failed Oreo pop design.

This is what the Mickey Pop was supposed to look like

This is what my Oreo pop looked like... FAIL!

My biggest mistake was trying to color my dark cocoa candy melts with black icing color. Here, I thought that I was such a genius thinking that using a dark candy melt would need less black coloring. Only thing is, icing color has water in it and everybody should know that chocolate + water = one hot mess. The candy just kind of coagulated and got a tough, sandy texture. I tried to add vegetable oil. No help. So I gave up. I also didn't adhere the mini Oreos to the big Oreo, so every time I tried to dip in the candy melt, they just fell off. (Talk about annoying... Not only are you searching in a pot of melted chocolate for two mini Oreos, your fingers also come out dyed! Use chopsticks, people.)

So I took a break. Decided that the Oreo pops weren't gonna be the way to go and decided to make Mickey Cake Pops instead. I thought they were going to be way too hard, but turns out they are so easy to make! It's time consuming to decorate but I think it's worth it. Everyone loved them - but at the same time found themselves in the predicament of whether or not they should eat something "so cute!"

What you need:

- 1 box of cake mix
- about 3/4 of can of frosting
- white candy melts
- red candy melts
- dark cocoa candy melts
- Crisco or shortening
- candy coloring (non-water based coloring)
- mini Oreos or mini nutter butters (split and creams removed)
- lollipop sticks (any length, I used 4")
- styrofoam block
- white decorating icing and small round tip
- jumbo heart sprinkles
- clear treat bags
- thin ribbon

Directions:

1. Bake the cake according to package directions in a 13x9 pan. Let it cool and then crumble with your hands or an electric mixer. Add about 3/4 of the canned frosting and mix until combined. If the mixture is too grainy, add more frosting until you get the mixture to a consistency where it stays together when you make a ball.

2. Using a mini cookie scoop, scoop your mixture and put on to a baking sheet (use foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup). Scoop as many as you need. Roll the scoops into balls and put them in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to keep the balls firm and cool.

3. Place candy melts (either white or dark cocoa) into a microwave safe bowl or cup. I used a whiskey cup with a wide mouth because I figured I'd have to melt the least amount of candy this way (more width, more candy). Melt at 30 second intervals until the candy is smooth and drips from a spoon. Add a little bit of Crisco or shortening and mix until well blended.

4. Remove a few cake balls from the refrigerator. Using the back of a spoon handle (or something thin and narrow), poke holes on both sides of the cake ball. Dip a mini Oreo into the melted candy and insert in the cake ball. Stick a lollipop stick at the bottom of the cake ball and return to the refrigerator, using a styrofoam block to keep the sticks upright. Do this for all your cake balls.

Decorating Mickey Pops
a. Melt red candy in a shallow bowl or cup. Remove a few cake balls (with ears attached) and take out the lollipop stick. Dip the ball about half way down in red candy. Dip the stick in the red candy and poke back in the cake ball. Put back in the refrigerator. Continue until you've made as many Mickey pop as you need.

b. Melt dark cocoa candy in a bowl or cup, wide enough where the ears can easily fit during dipping. Add black candy color until you get black candy (I didn't try this using white candy, but from Bakerella's site, it might be a better way to go because my dark cocoa tinted black still looked a little brown). Make enough to cover both Mickey and Minnie pops! Remove some pops from the refrigerator and dip down until the candy meets the red candy. Return to refrigerator. Repeat for the remaining Mickey pops.

c. Once the Mickey pops have been fully covered, add the white buttons to his pants using white decorating icing and a small round tip. I used Wilton (the easiest way for me) but you can also use melted white candy. Apply two white dots to the front of the cake pop (choose the prettier side of the pop as the front). Repeat for the remaining Mickey pops and VOILA! You've got Mickey cake pops!

Decorating Minnie Pops
a. Melt white candy with a few red candy chips in a shallow bowl or cup. Keep adding red or white until you get the right pink for Minnie. Remove a few cake balls (with ears attached) and take out the lollipop stick. Dip the ball about half way down in pink candy. Dip the stick in the pink candy and poke back in the cake ball. Put back in the refrigerator. Continue until you've made as many Minnie pop as you need.

b. Reheat the black candy you made earlier. Remove some pops from the refrigerator and dip down until the candy meets the red candy. Return to refrigerator. Repeat for the remaining Minnie pops.

c. Once the Minnie pops have been fully covered, add the white dotsto her skirt using white decorating icing and a small round tip. Apply white dots all over the pink candy. Repeat for the remaining Minnie pops.

d. Apply a dot of icing to each ear on the inside of the ear and apply two jumbo hearts. Squeeze a dot of icing between the two hearts to connect them. Repeat for the remaining Minnie pops. Here she is!

To Package
Make sure the pops are at room temperature when you bag them, otherwise they will sweat and create a sticky film on the bags (not very nice looking). Not a big deal, but if you've got OCD like me, it'll bother you.

Cover each pop with a clear treat bag. Cut thin ribbon and tie around each pop. I used a Mickey paper cutter to cut some printed cardstock. I used a mini hole-puncher (1/8") and punched a hole out to attach a label to my pops for Noah's birthday. Here's the finished product: