I made mini and many cake pops for you this past weekend. I had this idea I wanted to try just using basic round pops and color to make a sweet little display. So I set out to dip enough cake pops to get the job done. That turned out to be 350 plus. Yikes. Not quite sure what I was thinking … Around number 70, I was really starting to reconsider. I thought … oh my gosh I have to make five times that many. But when I start something I can’t let it go until I get to the end and see how it works out. I know this project doesn’t help you much for this year, but I thought the heart display could totally work for a lot of other things besides Valentine’s Day.
So keep reading below for the how to… or check out my big “mini” giveaway at the end of this post. It’s a mini way for me to say Happy Valentine’s Day!
Okay, here we go.
You can’t tell in the picture, but these cake pops are tiny. Like Cake Dots instead of pops. So tiny that you use a toothpick to dip them with instead of a lollipop stick. Yes a toothpick. The cake balls are actually about the size of a penny. But they are small for a reason.
- Regular size cake pops would take up a lot of table real estate.
- The lollipop sticks would be much taller and people would have a harder time viewing the design from above.
- I figured the proportions out so they would work on a pretty standard size piece of styrofoam to make it easier to recreate and transport.
- I only had to make one cake. Score.
- Mini is major cute.
I based the display design off of a template (see below) I made so that it works with a 12X18 inch or 12X20 inch sheet of styrofoam you can find in craft stores. Then I worked backwards to figure out how many cake pops you’d need to make the the shape look right. Once I had that, I knew how big to make the cake pops. Or how little.
- Crumble cake and mix with frosting
- Roll into tiny cake balls. (basic cake pop instructions here) You can use the circles on the downloadable template as a guide for the right size. They should be slightly smaller than the circle so that when you add the coating they will still fit together nicely.
- Keep rolling and rolling until you have enough
- Dip a toothpick into melted coating and then insert into a chilled cake ball.
- Dip entire cake pop into the coating and then sprinkle with non-pareils. They are tiny and will be the best size for these tiny treats.
- Place in styrofoam to dry.
A couple of things to note.
- Use a small plastic bowl to melt the coating. You can work with a smaller amount of coating when dipping. Just melt the coating in batches as you go. Then you can take breaks and watch the Walking Dead marathon on AMC in between.
- Buy more than one sheet of styrofoam. You’ll need more room than the display size so they aren’t touching each other as they dry.
- Invite a friend over to help you. It will go faster and maybe your neck won’t hurt like mine does right now from looking down and dipping for so long.
- I’d try Mercken’s candy coating for this project. It melts nice and fluid – you don’t want thick coating on these. It will add too much volume.
- I’ve probably discouraged you already. Kind of like I felt as I was starting making these. But I had a feeling they’d be cute when I finished so I went on… like I’m going to do now. And by the way, these completely make me giddy when I see them finished on the table (looking at them now), so I guess it was worth it. And it will definitely be worth it if one of you decides to try it out some day. Hope you do… with a friend.
Use multi-color non-pareils for the second candy coating color. Minus the static.
Super cute.
When all the pops are done, prepare your display.
- Wrap a 12X18 inch or 12X20 inch sheet of styrofoam with paper. I used the 19X25 inch single sheets you purchase at the craft store. You could also use wrapping paper though.
- Packing tape worked best on the styrofoam to tape the paper down.
- Print out the template provided centered on an 11X17 sheet of paper at somewhere like Kinko’s. The design is created for a 12X18 surface area but it is set up on 11X17 paper since that is a standard size to print. You’ll notice that some of the circles on the template are getting cropped off when they print, but that’s okay, you’ll have enough information to figure out where the pops on the perimeter should go. I hope that makes sense.
- Tape the template down temporarily and use a safety pin to poke holes into the paper.
- Remove the template and start arranging the cake pops using the template as a guide. Start in the middle and work your way out from the center. More than likely some of your pops will be bigger than you think and if you start at one end, left to right, they will start to tilt too much to make room as you place them in position. But if you start in the center, they will angle out equally all the way around. Again I hope that makes sense.
Full of heart.
But you can also rearrange them for a different look …
And spread a little love…
… Or some sweet hugs and kisses.
Here are the 11X17 inch templates for each.
And because I love you guys and all things mini, here’s a little giveaway for you.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
- To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me who your Valentine is, what your plans are (or were) for the fourteenth or just say hi.
- Deadline to enter is
Sunday, February 17th at 7:00 p.m. ET.Sorry, Time’s Up. Winner Announced below. - One winner will be chosen at random and announced sometime Sunday evening on this post.
- Winner will receive a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini.
Good Luck.
We have a winner! YAY!
Congratulations to Brenda! Hope you and your Peanut Butter Man enjoy the mini iPad!
I love your sight and ALL of your recipes! I am a home baker and am interested in creating a blog of my own. Do you have any suggestions for an easy to use, free site, to start my own blog? Also I want to buy a quality but cheap camera- do you have any suggestions?
My Valentines are my kids, my chocolatey brownies angels , I will make a brownie sundae bites and creamy cookies and cream truffles for my most precious gift from God! Happy hearts day ^_^
i love baking and i made the strawberry cake pops and the were a hit at my party
Where did you get your cake pop sticks
This is amazing! Lovely idea :)
http://cafecraftea.blogspot.com
Hi there,
I still don’t have any idea how this year Valentine’s Day will be… I just know it’ll be somewhere with my boyfriend. ^_^
I totally love thees! I will be making them in a couple of years when my little daughters (and maby the littlest son as well) will help me with all 400 of this little wonders. Than we’ll surprise daddy with it – I’m sure he’ll help eating them:). Right now I can only admire them through screen as this is not a baby-kind of project:D.
I need a phone too
And u are my valentine :)
Baked by Melissa does mini cupcakes in different patterns and you can order them online and create your own too!
Didn’t realise you could do the same idea with cake pops!
how much homemade frosting is equivelant to 1 can? thanks!
My valentine is my sweet husband of 11 years. We put our 4 kids to bed and fell asleep watching Alias. I know. We’re a couple of romantics.
I only have my family as a valentine…
I love cake pops! I want to make them sooooooo badly, but I never have the time. Plus, I’m terrible at time management. Sigh….
What a cute project! My valentine is my sweet boyfriend. Our plans consisted of a Skype date as he’s traveling for work.
My husband (John .. we just celebrated 20 years) and my 3 darling kiddos (Maggie, Colin & Skye) are my Valentines! I surprised them with tickets to The Lion King on Thursday! Wonderful show…
Hi Bakerella,
Love the pops! <3 I baked the yummiest chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's day.
My boyfriend was my valentine :) Sadly though he was deployed. I sent him a v-day care package though filled with treats and love!
Spent Valentine’s Day w/ my family. :)
Still waiting for mine <3 I made valentines cupcakes and pink and red layered Jello :) Thanks for all your fantastic baked creations!
Those cake pops are adorable! My Valentine is my husband and my 3 kiddos. We had a fun V-day spent mostly together, and then couple bowling with some friends. :)
My Valentine was my boyfriend Vahe and for Valentine’s day we didn’t do much but we did go to my favorite frozen yogurt place, Menchies.
My Valentine is my husband. Because he was on his biz trip on Valentine’s Day, we couldn’t spend together however, he came home on next day and we had a good time with our wonderful kids.
My valentine was my boyfriend. We didn’t get to do anything because I was at school all day but the day after we went out on a date to eat ramen :)
Love the display! Would have been perfect for our valentines day dinner!
My mom was my valentine :)
My Valentine was and always will be my boyfriend, Chris, who made a special dinner for me on Valentine’s Day. We just stayed home and relaxed together.
I don’t have a valentine because I’m single
I spent valentines day with my family. I made chocolate cupcakes with my daughter
My valentine is my sweet son.
My Valentine is my fiance, and we went to a hole in the wall Mexican place where no one speaks English. (Good thing he speaks Spanish fluently!) It’s our favorite restaurant :)
I spent valentines day with my family. I made cupcakes with my daughter ;)
My husband and daughter! We had a lovely dinner at home together…not always a given. I got my husband mustard.
I spent valentines day with my family. I made cupcakes with my daughter ;)
My Valentine is my hubby. He and I are expecting a baby in April and she will be our new Valentine too!
Awww, darn it – I missed the deadline!!! Well, my Valentine is my wonderful hubby and we spent the evening with a romantic dessert and a movie (after the kids went to bed).
I spent valentinesday with my best friend! And she was also my valentine :)
My Valentines were my 2 year old and 2 month old Daughters.
My Valentine is Lachelle
My Valentine is my sweet husband, David. We, my children, spouse, and I stayed home Valentines evening and had heart shaped pizza!
My hubby was my Valentine. We stayed in, had homemade pizza and then brownies for dessert. I had had enough “celebrating” with my 23 third graders at school. Man, that was crazy, and sugar-fueled! :)
I have 3 valentines. Hubby, daughter and my three year old homeboy son.
These mini cake pops are the cutest. You are quite a trooper to take on such a huge project!
I’m probably late, but wow !! this display is so cute !! so much hard work (where was your little helper? xD)
My valentine was my bf :) he had to work all day though so we didn’t get to celebrate til friday! we did take out and did a stay home movie cause we’re homebodies lol. actually he is, but I’m happy just to be able to spend time with him. He loved the surprises I got him:)
I love the mini-ness!! you never let me down, Bakerella! My valentine was my best friend! we went to disneyland the day after valentine’s day :)
Hey! Being the lonely person I am, my valentine was my best friend. Im a loner. Oh well!
My valentines would be my husband, if we actually celebrated… (He’s from Iceland and uses that as an excuse to not celebrate. Lol!)
Hey Bakerella!! Love the post! My Valentine is my LOML (aka Love Of My Life!) James! We’ve been going out for two years and he treats me like a princess, and is my best friend- no exaggeration! So to thank him for being so amazepops ;) I made him heart shaped chocolate lava cakes with ice cream, strawberries and decorated the plate with conversation hearts and hershey’s kisses! I made a platter to share for my mom and dad too- since they’ve been my Valentines for much longer! :) The results are on my blog, and the cakes were super easy (nutella inside chocolate cupcakes!)
Would love an ipad mini to scroll through blogs all day long! Especially Bakerella- the blog that inspired me to start my own :)
Happy Valentine’s Day- and weekend! xxx
i dont really have a valentine but ill say my valentine is u bakerella bc i loove all the things u make i didnt do much for valentines day besides BAKE! :)
Hi! I lovvvvve the display. My plan was to create a new “love spell” cake recipe, and it worked! It was irresistible, with pomegranate seeds on top. Yum!
Hi! My valentine was my computer and netflix. Haha. These are adorable! They would take me forever to make though since I already spend an entire day making normal cake pops. :D
My Valentines are my husband and baby daughter Whitney. It was one year ago Valentines Day I found out I was pregnant. Now here she is a perfect child. We are going to dinner as a family.
My hubbie is my valentine. We did dinner at home. Hubbie bbq’d steaks and I made caesar salad and garlic bread. It was yummy.
These cake pops are fabulous! Beyond amazing!!!
My husband and my puppy :)