To make the monkeys, I used a couple tutorials and pictures as guidance. This video by Dessert Decorating is pretty clear though.
So this is what I did: I started with a regular cake ball.
**For the ears: I used chocolate chips (flat side facing front). I didn't dip them in the melts before sticking them into the cake ball, as the tutorial suggested -- for me, it didn't seem necessary.
**For the ears: I used chocolate chips (flat side facing front). I didn't dip them in the melts before sticking them into the cake ball, as the tutorial suggested -- for me, it didn't seem necessary.
**For the face and ear color: I had some peach candy melts and mixed in a few chocolate melts until I felt I had the right color. Other tutorials used a mixture of white and chocolate melts or just peanut butter melts.
**Applying the face and ear color : In the video, she used toothpicks to apply the melts for the face and ears. Really warm or not, I found the candy melts rather difficult to 'paint' with. After a couple of super-lumpy-faced monkeys, I promptly poured the melts into a plastic icing bottle. This worked like a charm.
If the melts got a little lumpy (started to dry more quickly than I was finishing the face shape) I just popped the bottle back in the microwave for 10 seconds or so. Be careful not to heat the melts too much. If it's too hot, it can crack your chocolate coating.
I did like the video tip of making the top part of the face shaped like a heart, and then the bottom of the face into an oval.
Normally, when I make cake pops, I stick them in my Styrofoam stands to dry. For these, I laid them flat on a cookie rack to dry after I applied the face and ears, just to make sure none of the melts shifted or dripped off during the drying process.
I did like the video tip of making the top part of the face shaped like a heart, and then the bottom of the face into an oval.
Normally, when I make cake pops, I stick them in my Styrofoam stands to dry. For these, I laid them flat on a cookie rack to dry after I applied the face and ears, just to make sure none of the melts shifted or dripped off during the drying process.
**For drawing on the face: I only had the Wilton food markers on hand. I had used them once before, and I thought I was using them wrong. This time around, I learned that they're really not that great. At least on the candy melts they aren't. It took me a longer time to draw on the monkey faces than to outline them with the light brown melts. It was a tad bit frustrating.
Ordering new markers is on my list of things to do. I've heard good things about AmeriColor, and I love their gel coloring, so I can't imagine they'd steer me wrong. Any suggestions are welcome.
Overall, these pops were fairly easy to make. I love the cartoonish look to them, which match a lot of the baby monkey decor that is out there. And even if you want to match the decor more precisely, this is a good starting point.
Hope you have some fun monkeyin' around with these cake pops! (LOL...I had to...)
Hope you have some fun monkeyin' around with these cake pops! (LOL...I had to...)
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