Halloween: Orange & Dark Chocolate Cake Balls

as a self proclaimed "baker," when halloween came around

(yes. i do realize that was months ago)

i couldn't give out store bought candies to the adorable

trick-or-treaters at my work. i knew just what i would make.

i chose dark chocolate covered orange cake pops.

follow the simple cake pops recipe here using an orange flavored cake mix

dip in melted dark chocolate and top with white sprinkles

graduation party

party number two was a highschool graduation party. 

the graduate's high school and college happened to have the same school colors

so the color choices for this project were pretty easy. 

first up was blueberry lemonade popsicles. 

they were my favorite of the three desserts and 

ended up being the most popular.

first i did a layer of lemonade and let it freeze 

before pouring the blueberry mixture on top. 

[note to self-when blueberries are blended, they turn pinkish purple...not blue]

next up was ice cream sandwich cups.

i did a layer of ice cream (vanilla or chocolate)

a layer of homemade chocolate chip cookies 

that i crumbled a food processor,

then topped with another layer of ice cream.

adding in those little wooden spoons 

(circa fourth grade cafeterias)

and you have a great summer treat!

lastly i made graduation hat cake pops. 

after seeing Bakerellas post with these adorable caps

i knew i had to make them for the party.

they were definitely a little difficult but they were

definitely worth it!

lemon-kiwi-mango-coconut cake

sounds complicated right? wrong.

i needed a quick dessert to take to a spur of the moment party,

this is what i came up with.

sorry for the lack of proper pictures to illustrate this delight, since it

was a somewhat rushed quick production, i didnt have much time for hardly

any shots, let alone fancy ones.

1. bake a lemon boxed cake (told you it was spur of the moment)

2. peel and slice almost any kind a fruit- i chose mangos and kiwis.

3. cut cake widthwise to create two layers. ice bottom layer and add fruit, place more

icing on top of the fruit and place top layer.

4. Ice entire cake and add coconut to sides.

Cake Pops

who starts a baking blog with a boxed cake mix?
i do.

this first adventure that i'm sharing with you is a pretty special one.

one of my oldest and dearest friends Cait got married this summer.

all of her bridesmaids threw her a bridal shower; these were among my contributions.

Caits older sister has a Gluten allergy and can rarely share certain foods

just incase theres any gluten involved. in order to be positive we would have a gluten free dessert for her at the shower, i made these GF treasures with her in mind!

these cake pops, inspired by none other than bakerella,

are super cute, super easy and loved by all.

Its amazing what you can do with a box of cake and some frosting.

first bake the cake, then crumble it into small pieces.

next add half of a container of frosting. mix throughly.

Betty Crocker makes Gluten Free mixes and frostings, but

be sure to read the labels just to be safe.

shape into 1 inch balls. (using a melon baller or ice cream scoop

is a great way to get uniform sizes.) place in the fridge to set.

slowly melt candy melts (Wilton melts are also GF) in a double boiler or microwave.

dip one end of a lolly pop stick into the melted chocolate before inserting

into the chilled cake balls. let these dry in a styrofom block before you continue.

re-melt your chocolate melts and dip each cake ball.

place in styrofoam block to dry.

once dry decorate as you wish.