Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Makers

I have never made any secret for my love of my Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker.  Every time I share a party or event where I've served Cake Pops I get inundated with questions about how to make them.  I literally could have sold this nifty little machine hundreds of times over.  I purchased mine about two years ago and it has become a staple piece of equipment in my party planning.

I have tried so many different recipes and techniques to make Cake Pops over the years.  My first and second attempts were made using the Bakerella method.  Bakerella is the original creator of the Cake Pop and she makes them by baking a cake, crumbling it all up, mixing in a Betty Crocker style store bought frosting to bind it all back together, then rolling the mixture in to balls for icing.

Here was my first attempt at Madeline's Sweet Shoppe 1st Birthday Party.

And here is my second attempt at Madeline's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2nd Birthday Party.

No special little machines needed so this is a pretty handy method.  I found the cake pops were too dense and fudgey for my liking but I didn't know any different and the kids seemed to like them.  It wasn't until I came across the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker that I realised how labour intensive this method was and it used way more ingredients than necessary.  Plus because they were so dense I found they kept falling off the sticks when I was icing them.  So frustrating!  Oh how much I have learnt since those early party planning days!

Dissatisfied with my earlier attempts (and being time poor after just having Maisie), I decided not to fuss around making Cake Pops for Madeline's Cinderella 3rd Birthday Party but make a polka dot cake instead.  It's super easy - you just insert precooked Cake Pops (made using the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker) into the raw cake batter before cooking.  Something a little different and it looks pretty cute effect huh :)  But I digress...

9 months later (and back on track time wise), I made some Cake Pops for Maisie's 1st Birthday Party using the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker and they turned out great.  The Cake Pops were light, fluffy and delicious.

I've checked out some other brand cake pop makers but the features and functionality of the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker make it really stand out.
- It cooks 12 cake pops at a time - a lot of other brands only cook 6 or 8.
- It cooks said 12 cake pops in just 7 minutes.  Yep, that's quick!
- It comes with a special cake pop recipe book (which you do need to use).  The recipes use basic ingredients in very small quantities making them super cheap to make.
- It comes with 12 reusable cake pop sticks and a cake pop stand for cooling the cake pops and then standing the iced cake pops in.

So I had the cake part sorted but now I was having trouble icing them.  A local Cake Decorator have me some white chocolate compound to try from his commercial kitchen (similar to what you get at the supermarket) but it was really thin (you can see a seam around the middle from the cake pop maker) and took forever to set.  I had to refrigerate them to dry which wasn't ideal.  These cake pops were from Maisie's 1st Birthday Afternoon Tea.

A local professional Cake Pop Maker swore by Truffle Mixture so I tried this for Madeline's Vintage Strawberry Shortcake 4th Birthday Party but again it was so thin I had to coat each cake pop three times (and even then you can still see that damn seam!).  It took AAAGGGEEESSS!!!  And it wouldn't set so I ended up having to pop them upside down in cupcake papers which wasn't ideal.

In May I baked some Frozen cake pops for Maddie's Kindergarten Disco Fundraiser.  I wanted them to be pale blue so I decided to try some coloured Wilton Candy Melts from Indulge Fine Foods.  Success!  The candy melts completely covered each cake pop the first time and beautifully smoothly.  No more seam around the middle!  They do have some down sides (you may need to thin the melts out, you need to keep them very hot once melted and they dry very quickly) but once you get in to the rhythm of it they work a real treat!

So you don't have to go through all the trial and error that I have, I'll be posting a Cake Pop Tutorial in the next few days showing how I make and decorate my cake pops using the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker and Wilton Candy Melts.  In the meantime, Little Housewife has teamed with Kambook and Indulge Fine Foods to bring you this amazing giveaway...

Four lucky readers will be chosen at random to receive a Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker (which comes with 12 plastic reusable cake pop sticks and a reusable decorating stand) and two Kambrook Little Chefs Childrens Aprons valued at over $100!

And one very lucky reader will receive this amazing prize pack.

Valued at over $160, the main prize pack includes:

A Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker and two Kambrook Little Chefs Childrens Apron from Kambrook New Zealand.  Plus a Wilton Cake Pop Display Stand, a packet of four Wilton Candy Colours, Glitter Sprinkles and Lollipop Moulds from Indulge Fine Foods.  Plus a packet of white Wilton Candy Melts and a packet of green chevron paper straws from Little Housewife.

Traditionally Cake Pops are made on thin white paper sticks however I just love making them using bright coloured paper straws.  The kids look SO cute holding them.  Check out this cute Super Girl from the Kindy Disco holding her Little Housewife Cake Pop :)

To enter all you need to do is like, share and comment (you must do all three for a valid entry) on the Kambrook post on the Little Housewife Facebook page with who you would make your first batch of Cake Pops for.  Remember to like the Little Housewife Facebook page too so you can see in your newsfeed if you are a winner.

Leave a comment on this blog post for an extra entry with who you would make your first batch of Cake Pops for.

Due to international voltage and plug differences, the Kambrook Little Chefs Cake Pop Maker Giveaway is open to New Zealand residents only (sorry international readers!).  Entries close on Thursday 24 July at 8.00pm.  Five winners will be drawn using random.org - one main prize winner and four runner up prize winners.

Thank you to Kambrook and Indulge Fine Foods for this amazing giveaway.

Indulge Fine Foods is my local cake decorating supply store and they stock everything you can imagine.  You can find them by visiting their Facebook page or visiting them in store at Shop 7/94 Clyde Court, Clyde Road, Browns Bay, Auckland (which also happens to be next to my favourite emporium, Ikes) :)

Best of luck x