Once again, I let myself get lured into making cake-pops.  They are so cute!  I was looking (yes, on pinterest) just browsing, really, when I came upon some cake pops that looked like roses.  Roses!  I can make some fairly good roses out of gumpaste, and it seemed like a no-brainer. I had conveniently forgotten the joy of trying to swirl the cake pop into melted chocolate without having the cake ball fall off the stick. Or how difficult it is to have the correct consistency of melted chocolate so they aren’t too stiff.  Too late.  I was committed, and planned on taking 30 rose shaped cake-pops to church on Sunday. (Why? to “show off” how sweet I was?) By the time I was done, I really needed to get to church ‘cuz I’d said several bad words that day. I had some repentin’ to do.

First of all, I apparently made the mistake of using too much frosting.  Then, since I had never made “chocolate clay” before, while the cake pops were in the ‘fridge, I proceeded to work the chocolate.  Boy, that stuff is greasy!  After I finally managed to get it to a somewhat thinned consistency, I find that you can’t really make it as thin as you normally would for gumpaste, and that it easily cracks.  And doesn’t hold its shape too well until it cools again. So you have to hold each petal for about 3-5 minutes. Each. Petal. Things were coming along swimmingly, and I was on the second petal of the second row when. . .well, see for yourself:

The pretty little thing fell off its stick. Of course it did.  I’ve done some more research.  I went to Wilton, and went to Craftsy and Pinterest, and now I know that I made my cake balls too big. And I used too much frosting. And I probably left them in the ‘fridge too long.  And I’m starting to wonder if the people in the videos I saw, who were making the cake-pop roses were actually using real cake, because, seriously, I don’t think there is any way this could work.  The cake is just too heavy.  But you all can try for yourselves.  I’ve already done the research for you, perhaps you’ll have better luck.