Lion Pops!

When my sister-in-law, Shayla, was about to have my nephew, Caleb, we threw a baby shower for her.  Since her nursery was going to have a jungle theme, we naturally decided to make the shower jungle themed as well.  I was brand new to making cake pops, having only made some once before.  So what did we pick for her party favors?

Lion cake pops, probably the most time-consuming pops I will ever make.  Pretty ambitious for a beginner, but boy, did they turn out darn cute.

Since Shayla loves Reese's, she picked chocolate cake for the core of her pops which were then coated in peanut butter candy coating.  For the mane, peanut butter chips were laid in a line around the pop.   Candy eyes started the face.  Originally, the nose was half an m&m and the mouth was drawn on with a food coloring marker.  I wasn't happy with how the marker worked; it didn't write on very thick, and the tip ended up gouging the candy coating.  In the end, I ended up using bits of tootsie roll and was much happier with the result.  It took a while to glue on all those individual chips, and shaping all the little noses and mouths.  But they were so worth it.  Two dozen pops later and I think the Lions made a memorable impression at my sister-in-law's baby shower.

Captain RJ's Cure For Scurvy

Yeah, it's a mouthful of a name, but when I decided to create a cake pop for my charming boyfriend, it not only had to be tasty, but also a bit witty.

The tasty part was a bit of a challenge.  I mean, this is a person who is not a fan of desserts.  You offer him a ten layer chocolate torte oozing with layers of rich cream and smothered with chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries and he'll say, "Eh".  Give him chunks of creamy Swiss chocolate and he'll say, "Nah."  I know, crazy, right?

So what does peak his interest?  The minute I said Grand Marnier, his eyes lit up.  So orange cake laced with Grand Marnier became the core of the cake pops.  And the candy coating?  Dark chocolate has always been a favorite pairing with orange flavor (I absolutely loved the dark chocolate covered orange peels I used to get when the department stores had their own candy counters where they sold luxury truffles and the sort by the pound).  Fortunately, RJ perfers dark chocolate over milk chocolate, so the choice as immediately approved.  Simple and clean flavors... nothing else was needed.  Just a name for this new concoction.

Dessert may not be RJ's favorite subject, but there is one thing that is.  And that's PIRATES!  We threw him a pirate-themed birthday celebration where the guests came in pirate costumes and the beverages came with plenty of rum.  I even designed a pirate flag for him.  And anyone who knows anything about pirates knows that they fought off the effects of the scurvy by making sure they carried plenty of citrus on board.  I bet even hardened blood-thirsty pirates wouldn't say no to these cake pops.

So the journey to make these pops turned out to be quite an adventure.  Little did I know that it would turn out to be a "pirate" adventure, but creating these pops was still a lot of fun.  Tied off with a little kitchen twine that looks like rope, all I need to complete the dressing on these pops are some skull and crossbones stickers to put on the wrappers.  When I find some I will post pictures of the finished pops.