Ball Cracking

[Stephani Kapnick]

Itook an elementary approach to this and just used mallets, hammers, and some aluminum polish. For the time and effort, I was pleased with the results. There was no sanding involved whatsoever - only pounding, tapping, and polishing by hand.

I unrolled the aluminum foil on the floor, and gathered and rolled the tail end into a ball shape. (As I rolled up the ball, the foil roll would bounce into the wall and started leaving marks, so I added some masking tape to prevent that.)

I started pounding on the aluminum foil ball with small dead-blow mallet on top of the 20 lb weight. You just need to do this on a hard surface, like a sturdy table for hard floor (doing this directly on carpet won't work very well).

Then I rotated the shape and worked around the foil turning it into a kind of roundish pillow shape. The peaks of this pillow shape were then pounded in until it was back to ball shape, albeit smaller than before.

At some point the ball will be compacting less and less noticeably, so it becomes a more random process of continually examining status and knocking down high points. It's a slow sculpting process, and a bit of a workout.

Instead I polished the ball with a few rounds of Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. You rub it liberally on and then work it into the metal until it turns black, and then you buff it off with a series of progressively cleaner rags.

As you buff, initially the surfaces will appear dull and grey, but as you continue to buff (and switch to cleaner rags) you'll see the surface appear increasingly shinier. I repeated this process 4 or 5 times.

This can happen for a couple different reasons. I think the most common is thick coating and it is dragging your cake pop down. Smooth coating is one of the most (if not THE most) important parts of successful cake pops!

The cake can also be very oily, causing oil to seep out the coating and even down the lollipop stick. If this happens, remember, you can always substitute apple sauce or greek yogurt for oil in your cake recipe!

If you notice the coating is thicker than normal (commonly caused by humidity/climate), add a teaspoon-tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening (ex: Crisco) to the melted (16 oz) coating. Begin by adding a little and add more if needed.

*If just a tiny section has burned, scorched, or became too hot, I have been able to save the rest of the coating by carefully scooping out all of the coating that was burned! Simply spoon it out and allow the rest of the coating to cool slightly, then continue heating in short time intervals. This is usually a microwave heating the coating unevenly.

Thank you, these are great tips! I use a Wilton chocolate melter with my Candiquik, and it works great. I do have to use a teaspoon of Crisco to get the Candiquik to flow just right, but Missouri can be pretty humid.

By falling off, I mean the excess falls off but when I set the cake ball or pop down on the wax paper, the excess still tends to slide downwards. I dip the cake ball out of the chocolate with a spoon and I even pass the cake ball from spoon to spoon to knock off the excess, but again, when I sit the ball down, there is still a puddle of chocolate. Kind like my cake ball has a little shelf all on its own.

Thanks for the tips, I am using a Babycakes Cake Pop maker, but this advice is great for decorating the cake pops, I have not yet tried to make cake pops in my maker, I have been making other goodies though, like brownies and cornbread, etc. I found you via the Dwell on Joy Link Party.

Hi Clara! Yes, the coating can be reheated and reused multiple times. Just store in an airtight bag/container between uses. And yes it may be flavored using oil based flavorings! Check out the FAQ page for other tips/etc.

Thanks for stopping by

Hi Rose! I have had this happen, too. It almost looks as if the chocolate is wrinkling? I believe it is when the coating is too hot and then you dip a (somewhat) cool cake ball in it. Always let the coating sit for a minute or two before dipping. Also, if there is too much oil that has pooled up at the base of the cake pop, use a paper towel to wipe it dry. Hope this helps! -Sarah

Hi Debbie!! The ONLY brand I have found that works is Americolor Gourmet Writer ( -Writer-Decorator-Assorted-Colors/dp/B0012DMI1S)- They work great and come in plenty of colors, just make sure to wipe the tip off if any candy coating gets on it, and store them with the tip pointing down Thanks for stopping by!

I have a recipe question I saw the Turtle Cheesecake on Twin Cities Live today and the recipe did not specify if you prepared the pudding first ? or used it dry . Also how many pieces of Turtle candy , are the packages the individual 2 piece ones so you have six pieces ? Thanks

Great! Thank you! My zip is 56649. I should be going out of town soon so I can hopefully get some candiquik. That is so awesome they are peanut free. Makes this Momma happy. It gets pretty difficult to get peanut free stuff.

Hi! In the photos in this post I used the Candiquik to decorate the cake pops. I used it in a piping bag with a very tiny hole and piped on the designs. Hope this helps. Please check back as I plan on posting video tutorials on how exactly to do this! Thanks!

I will be trying out cake balls soon. I purchased some products by Sweet Creations to help. I think this will be exciting project. What type of icing do you suggest to use to decorate the balls with. Or would you use the CANDIQUIK to do that?

OK, so I can not get the dipping part down pat. I have research and found this sight VERY helpful. My main problem is when I dip the cake balls in the chocolate the chocolate layers on to thick and heavy. I have tried to dip fast, dip slow, dip in deep dish but there is to much chocolate every time! UGH. Any suggestions?

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I always wanted to make cake pops but they seemed so difficult to make. Just had a couple of questions: So after you mix the cake with frosting, you leave it in the fridge for TWO HOURS? and after this, do you take out the whole batch from the fridge when you are ready to put the stick on and coat it? or do you remove them small batches? Also, what size is the coffee scoop? How many cake pops will 1 whole box of cake mix make? Thanks again for your help!

Thank you so much for your tutorial! Ive always wanted to try and make cake pops, but it seemed so difficult. Just had a few questions: So after youve mixed the cake and frosting, you leave it in the fridge for TWO HOURS? when you put the lollipop sticks on, do you remove the whole batch of pops from the fridge or do you only work with small batches at a time? What size is the coffee scoop? Are you measuring it flat on the scoop or rounded? And one box of cake makes about 40 pops? Thanks again for all your help!

[...] Common Cake Pop Issues & Tutorial Recent CommentsSarah @ Candiquik on Common Cake Pop Issues & Tutorialclara on Love Bitesclara on Common Cake Pop Issues & Tutorialpatti on Slam Dunk CookiesJocelyn on Shamrock PretzelsArchives [...]

[...] Ooey Gooey Snickers Bars Recent CommentsSarah @ Candiquik on Common Cake Pop Issues & TutorialSarah @ Candiquik on (Easy) White Chocolate Raspberry Petit FoursDiana on (Easy) White Chocolate [...]

Before the Spirit Ice Vice makes perfectly round whiskey ice balls, you must freeze water overnight in our special silicone ice molds. We recommend filling each mold with Nestle Pure Life water until the water level reaches inch below the top of the mold. Put each mold in a small cooler before putting the cooler in a freezer. This allows for directional freezing and perfectly clear ice.

The right kind of bottled water reduces or eliminates any impurities normally found in tap water. Impurities can form bubbles when the water freezes. Bubbles are the enemy of whiskey ice balls. Bubbles may lead to cracks in the ice and cracks may increase to the point that the ice ball splits into small pieces. Smaller pieces of ice increase melt and dilute your signature cocktails. Diluted drinks have less flavor, and your customers notice this and may decide to go to another bar or restaurant next time.

Create perfect whiskey ice balls for your traditional cocktails thanks to the Spirit Ice Vice ice ball machine from Spirits On Ice. In just 60 seconds, your bartenders turn a hexagonal ice block into a 2- inch ball that fits neatly in a whiskey glass. Call (513) 932-1250 or contact Spirits On Ice to find out more about our product.

Spirits On Ice, LLC, is the American manufacturer of distiller-branded and consumer ice ball machines for restaurants, pubs and personal bars maintained by bourbon, scotch and whisky lovers around the world.

My cake balls keep cracking and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm refrigerating for 1-2 hours to firm them up (per Bakerella's instructions), then dipping in white "chocolate" coating (you know, the wafers or bark--not real chocolate) that's been thinned with paramount crystals. I'm dipping with a spoon and tapping the spoon on the side of the bowl to remove excess, then placing the ball on a sheet of waxed paper. And about 50% of them have cracked. So far. By the time they've all set, I'm thinking 75-80% might be ruined. I realize that suddenly cooling the chocolate could cause cracking so I'm trying to let the balls sit out of the fridge for a bit before dipping but even that doesn't seem to help. Plus then they start to crumble into the bowl of melted chocolate. Then I thought that the areas that were cracking were the thinner areas where the ball had been sitting on the spoon. (The chocolate in the area of the ball seems to stick to the spoon a little so it ends up uneven--another issue that I'd love help with if anyone has any pointers!) So then I tried tapping the spoon a little less to allow a thicker shell of chocolate. Still cracking. I was thinking that maybe a perfect cake ball is just impossible but then saw flawless-appearing ones on this website. Any ideas? Mom's Christmas party is tomorrow--shoot, it's after midnight--I mean TODAY, and I told her I'd bring something! Thanks in advance!

3a8082e126