I'm trying to make cake pops for the first time, and am trying to figure out how on earth people get the coating so smooth. My Wilton Candy Melts seem so thick when they're melted, and even when I tap them they're still really thick. What does everyone else do? Is there a trick to these?
Yes, try heating until they're warmer, and then if still thick add just a bit of shortening.
There are some youtube videos on making cake balls....this is one of my favorites:
If my candy melts are too thick, I add a few teaspoons of paramount crystals to make it thinner.
I've never heard of paramount crystals, but I'm 99% sure we won't have them in the UK. I did add a tiny bit of vegetable oil to the melts which seemed to thin it out a bit, but then the coating cracked once it had been on my cake balls for more than a 1 min. Perhaps they were too frozen...
cakeythings1961: Thanks for the link!
You can use a tiny amount of solid Crisco in place of paramount crystals.
I add vegetable oil to it, maybe it needed some more? I think the cracking had to do with the balls being too frozen, that would be my guess anyway
Yes they will crack if frozen. I learned the hard way. Paramount Crystals are simply flakes of hardened shortening. They look like shaved candle wax. Just add a bit of shortening and you'll be fine.
Another thought...maybe you are over heating the candy melts? If you over heat them they will thicken up.
They are the worst.. i use the melts from AC Moore instead... much better.
You have to use a fat that is solid at room temperature like coconut oil or shortening.
I have been making smurf cake pops yesterday and first time I have used Wilton melts they are really thick when melted I ended up putting quite a lot of trex in mine to get them so they would coat the cake pop. Just glad I don't have to eat them with all that trex in them. The silverspoon ones that you can get in asda or tesco are really good. I have just bought some chocolate food colouring so I am going to see if thats any good as Merckens are expensive in the UK but do melt much better than Wiltons.
This is how I don't want my cake pops to look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yi30Q_SPqE&feature=related
Yikes, I bought these same Wilton Orange Candy Melts to make cake pops into little pumpkins for my granddaughter's Halloween Birthday party. So if I add a little Crisco will they come out smooth and shiny?
I used some orange Wilton candy melts for pumpkin cakepops today, they are very, very thick. I had to add a lot of Trex ( vegetable fat) to make it easier, they tasted OK. Like jillyscakes I will invest in some powdered chocolate colours from now on.
Thank You so much for asking this question! (or I'm glad I saw it before I posted the same question) I just got done watching a few youtube videos and I can't wait to try the candy melts with some crisco and get that great finished look!
Here is one of the best cake pop tutorials I have seen, really straight forward and easy to follow
http://cakecentral.com/b/video/how-to-make-cake-pops-tutorial
My advice to you is to not use wilton candy melts! I have learned over the year that I have been doing cake bites and cake pops, that wilton melts are way too thick to work with. I use candy coating from either Meijer's or Kroger. They are A MILLION times easier to work with. If you absolutely have to work with Wilton brand, then to make it as smooth as possible I mix a little vegetable oil to make it smooth. Hope this helps!
Yolanda
I use a fountain ready/fondue chocolate melt from Chocomaker. You can get it in 2 lb. bags at Hobby Lobby or The Flower Factory or online. It melts down so smooth and liquidy and is so easy for dipping. And the cake pop comes out looking so smooth when dry.
Good luck to you!
I am very experienced in cake pop making. Do not use Crisco! Do not use paramount crystals. Crisco contains palm fat which leaves a nasty feeling on the lips. Paramount crystals are palm fat! Wilton candy melts are sometimes thicker than other times - depends on the batch. You can get better results using Merckens candy melts (available to buy on cake supply shops, but be careful they have not been repacked as the last two batches I bought off Sugarshack were humidified due to bad storage, which rendered the candy melts unusable.) Also if you have leftover candy melts, you need to wrap them up in cling film and place in a ziplock bag without air, then store in cool, dry place away from radiators, sunlight, pets and strong smells. Do not use them past their best before date and throw them away if they have been sitting for months as the quality deteriorates. If successful, the candy melts will cover the cake pop nicely, drip easily and leave behind a crispy shell of chocolate covering. No crack when you bite into them = no success. Also a cake pop should not drip fat when you are resting/chilling them. If it does, it can only mean you have used ready made cake (a no- no! due to low quality ingredients) or commercial frosting (another no-no as it is so disgusting). Listen to me, make things from scratch, test your dough for flavour, use a quality candy covering or tempered chocolate (but it will take longer to set) and your cake pops/balls will be a huge success! One last thing: do not freeze them. Just chill the ready made balls for 20 minutes or so to firm them up before dipping the stick in chocolate and sticking it in. Then work in small batches (5-6 pops at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge) but let them dry in room temperature stuck on polystyrene blocks. The reason I say work in small batches is that if the dough overheats with handling and waiting around, the balls can slide down the stick. This is no longer possible once the chocolate coating has set. In any case, expect to have some damages. I calculate this to be roughly 12% so take that into consideration when making them for an order. If you end up with more good ones than expected, well done you! You can offer them free to the client or keep them for you :)
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