Muniz - Amazing Cake Pops: 85 Advanced Designs to Delight Friends and Family

Copyright 2014 by Noel Muniz

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

eISBN: 978-1-62873-933-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62636-567-4

Printed in China

For my grandmother, Luz Pantoja.

Further dedicated to all the wonderful people who have supported

The Cake Poppery over the years. This book is especially for you.

Contents

Introduction

I was first introduced to cake pops in the fall of 2009 by my brothers fiance. It had been several months since I left culinary school, and with student loan debt hanging over my head, I turned to catering for friends and family to help pay off my loans. My brothers fiance was throwing a jewelry party and approached me with the idea of making ladybug cake pops for her event along with a few other items. I had never heard of the concept of cake pops at the timethey were a new twist on cake that was barely beginning to take off. Even though I had no idea what they were and had never made them, I gladly agreed to help.

This was well before any books on cake pops were out, and very little was written on how to make them. I remember searching for cake pops on the Internet and only seeing a handful of pictures and a couple of blog posts. I didnt find anything that really explained in detail how to make them, but I was still confident I could. I figured it wouldnt be that hard to dip cake into melted chocolate. Boy, was I wrong.

The day of the event came and nothing went right. My cake and frosting mixture was far too creamy, even though I followed the directions and used the three-quarters of a jar of canned frosting the recipe called for. The dough mixture turned out too sweet and was also too creamyit had the consistency of raw cookie dough. My chocolate ended up melting thick, like peanut butter. I couldnt keep the pops on the sticks and was about to give up.

After what felt like an eternity, I figured out how to thin down the chocolate and improvised by making truffles instead. They turned out to be some sorry-looking ladybugs by the time I was done, but I had finished, and that is all that mattered. They were not the prettiest, neatest, or best-tasting pops, but everyone at the party seemed to love them and asked where they could purchase them.

As the months passed, requests for baked goods slowly started to pour in. I was cooking less and baking more. Although I had attended culinary school, I had very little experience with bakingI left well before the topic of baking was ever covered. The only experience I had with baking at the time was from boxed cake mixes and premade cookie dough. So I had no choice but to start learning how to bake properly. With each order, my baking skills improved, and I learned more techniques. Slowly but surely people kept coming to me for cake pops and cake balls. I started off selling mainly cake balls for friends and family. I would only make a few every now and then as I continued to work on improving my skills. Eventually, I noticed a huge demand for the sweet treats.

At the time, there were only a handful of bakeries across the United States selling cake pops and cake balls. Most of them focused only on cake balls, and no one focused on making completely customizable cake pops. My experience with cake pops was still highly limited, and I was far from mastering the art, but I decided I would start the first custom cake pop shop and call it The Cake Poppery. I was going to become a cake pop artistnot just any cake pop artist, one of the top artists in the field.

From then on, I focused on growing my business and achieving my goal. I concentrated on one order at a time, and each one brought new and exciting challenges. Everything I know about cake pops was learned through trial and error. I quickly figured out what worked and what didnt, and what the best ways were to market and sell them, especially since many people had not heard of them at the time. It wasnt easy at first mistakes were made and lessons were learned.

Running a cake pop business might seem like a wonderful and relaxing business to be in, but its not. It is very draining and stressful, especially when you first start out and have never run a business or had experience working in one. You spend hours sitting in front of a computer answering emails; your hands, back, and neck start to hurt from all the rolling and decorating; things always find a way to go badly and you become emotionally drained; you lose money well before you start to pull a profit; you get scammed and taken advantage of by people. You need thick skin to deal with difficult customers who try to belittle you, but in the end, its all worth it. You are not just making pops, you are making memories. You get to meet some of the most amazing people, and they allow you to be a part of some of the most important events and occasions in their life. They come to you for their wedding order, which leads to a baby shower and a first birthday. You get to see kids grow up before your eyes, and you are able to put a smile on their faces..

Had you asked me what I was envisioning for my future while I was still in culinary school, baking would have been the very last thing to come to mind. I would have never imagined that years later I would be baking professionally; that I would have made thousands of cake pops and shipped them all over the United States. I would be stunned to know that I would end up writing a book on cake pops a topic I knew absolutely nothing about and have come to love. I would never trade this experience for anything else in the world.

This book is my way of saying thank you to all the wonderful customers and fans that supported me all these years. It is my gift to youthis is the only way I can show my appreciation as I pass on everything I have learned over the years about the art of cake pops to a new set of cake pop artist all over the globe. I hope this book inspires you.

Getting Started

Fundamental Cake Pop Supplies

A cake pop artist is only as good as the tools he or she owns. Making cake pops does not require many tools, but there are certain items that are necessary. Plenty of fantastic designs can be made with the bare minimum, but with the help of a few specialty baking items, ordinary pops can be turned into extraordinary works of art. There are so many useful items sold in stores that can help you become a better artist. Never limit yourself to just the baking supply aisles in craft storesyou can find many molds and cutters in the jewelry and clay sections, too. Here are some of the most important and versatile tools to help take your pops to the next level.