I first came across Neli, of the wonderful Delish Cake Pops fame, at a craft fayre we were both trading at, in Beeston last year. Her stall truly resembled that of a child's Willy Wonka-fantasy shop - gorgeous brownies, chunky homemade marshmallows and hundreds upon hundreds of colourful cake pops. So when I set this blog up, I approached Neli to see if she would be up for doing a tutorial with me about making these little balls of heaven, and she was more than happy to teach me the basics!
Neli has been running Delish for 2 years, a successful sideline to her day job, which often means she is travelling around the world. She was originally inspired by the POP Bakery, the home of the English Cake Pop, and has brought her inspiration to Nottingham and the surrounding areas. I have lost count of the times I have ogled her Instagram with wonderful pictures of candy-pink cakes, themed cake pops and delicious marshmallow treats. So to get into the workings of Delish was really something quite special for me!
Ingredients for Cake Pops
A baked 9 inch sponge - chocolate or otherwise
A small amount of frosting
Coloured Candy Melts - available from suppliers or online
Plastic Sticks - Neli prefers plastic to wooden
Confectioner's Glaze and Paints for decorating small details.
To begin, Neli had prepared the cake pops, by baking a 9 inch sponge, allowing it to cool and crumbling the cake in frosting, rolling by hand to create ball shapes.Once this was completed, we had two coloured candy melts and microwaved for 4 minutes on a low heat, to avoid burning. You can also melt these on a hob but they will take a lot longer. We checked their consistency half way through warming, to make sure they weren't too stodgy. If this happens, it is best to add a bit of vegetable oil to soften the melts up. Once the melts have the consistency of soft, melted chocolate (which is essentially what they are), you are ready to begin decorating!
In the spirit of the blog, I wanted to try making little peach cake pops, so we popped our cake balls on to their plastic sticks and dipped, making sure the whole ball was covered, in the yellow, then placing on a polystyrene tray to dry off. Once dry enough (after about 5 -10 minutes) we dipped again in the orange - double dipping is very important to make sure there are no holes and that you have an even coverage on each pop. 
Once our second layer was dry, we were ready to decorate! Using edible paint, Neli painted on some delicate leaves on the top. But why stop at round shaped objects? I got a sneaky peek at how to shape and make a Russian Doll too? The overall effect was beautiful - tasty, moist cakes and fun decorating! Perfect for occasions, wedding favours, the list is endless! I had so much fun with Neli, I'm hoping she might set up cake pop workshops again and if she does I can thoroughly recommend them!
Want to find out more? Visit Neli's website to see some of her wonderful work, or get in touch to discuss a possible order - she loves to be challenged AND offers Mail Orders too! The website address is here --> http://wearedelish.com/Why not give her Facebook page a like too? Here --> https://www.facebook.com/WeAreDelish
And her Twitter timeline is often mouthwatering! @wearedelish
Are you a small business? Do you have a craft you would like to give me a tutorial on? I would love to hear from you! Email missemmaberry@gmail.com
