Ice Cream Cone - Cake Bites

My middle child is finishing up her last year of preschool before she starts homeschooling. We adore her school and will miss every one of the teachers and staff. Tomorrow there is an annual school picnic for the children and families. I volunteered to bring dessert of course, but had no idea what I was going to make. Cupcakes? Cookies? Popsicles? I searched Pinterest and found these adorable ice cream cone cake pops on Love Bake Good Cakes. I immediately knew that they would be perfect for the picnic! I made mine a bit differently, but I love them both!

For my cake bites, I baked up a rich yellow, butter cake. Once it was cool, I crumbled it up in my KitchenAid with a good scoop of mini chocolate chips and just a bit of vanilla frosting. You want to know what it taste like? Just like it looks in the picture - dangerously delicious chocolate chip cookie batter. Oh my. Scoop up with a cookie dough baller and place in fridge for an hour or two.

I melted a bunch of bright white candy melts, rolled the cake bite in and smooshed on top of a mini ice cream cake cone. Let it dry for a bit - if the "ice cream" melts down the side, I think it adds to the fun of it.

Then melt some cocoa flavored candy melts, drizzle on top and adorn with sprinkles. They will harden for a few minutes and will be perfect for a picnic! I hope you try these and maybe change up the flavors. It would be kinda fun to place a gummy bear at the bottom of the cone (my favorite ice cream parlor used to do this when I was a kid)

Summer Tea Cakepops

As many of you know, I'm not a fan of cake. I do however love cake pops - maybe it's because they are adorable small bites? Everything seems better when it is miniature, right? 

If you have never made them before, you need to spend an hour on Bakerella's website. She also has a fabulous book out, aptly titled "Cake Pops." The biggest trick will be finding the right balance of mixing your cake with the frosting.

I wanted to try making some lemon slice and tea cup cake pops. Well once I start down a road, it      usually takes new directions and I ended up with a whole slew of tea related pops. My daughter fought hard for the giant sugar cube one - I couldn't envision it at first, but it is one of my favorites!

For these pops, I baked up a lemon cake and mixed it with a bit of lemon frosting and lots of chopped maraschino cherries to create a delightful cherry lemonade flavor. So dang yum.

I have to say though, that these lemon slices are my very favorite. Don't they just sing summer?

I tried a few different ways to paint my teacups. These were done with melted coconut oil and a touch of candy colors. It dries with some texture and created perfect roses. You could also paint candy melts with candy color gel and a touch of vodka.

Mmmm.. I think it maybe time to make another batch!