[Guest_**Leprechaun**_*]

Is candy melt the same as cooking chocolate (eg Nestle Melts)?

The lady in the cake shop wouldn't give me a specific answer. She was quite rude TBH.

Does the candy melt give you a crisp finish (like say an m&m)?

I am making cake pops for my dd's birthday party. My sister seems to think that cooking choc from the supermarket will do the same job.

Any thoughts?

[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

Doesn't look like it is chocolate.

I think it's the crisp out shell like M&Ms have.

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.c...u=pg_candymelts

[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

Found this also
http://www.cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk...andy-Melts.html

Candy Melts
Candy Melts by Wilton are a simple to use ready made coloured candy.
They have the texture and consistency of Chocolate but none of the fuss as no tempering is required; simply melt, pour and set!
The coloured Candy melts have a sweet vanilla taste and the Cocoa melts taste of Chocolate.

Add colour and design to chocolates, sweeties, candies and cake decorations.
Perfect for use in all of our Chocolate and Candy moulds giving you greater control over your finished designs and excellent versatility!

[Alacritous~Andy]

It isn't crisp like an M&M shell, candy melts are made from hydrogenated palm kernel oil (essentially copha) rather than chocolate which has cocoa butter.

The palm oil is solid at room temperature, so will give you a firmer finish. They also melt a bit smoother/thinner, so are easier to work with when dipping things.

You CAN use something like Nestle melts, but be careful if you want to colour the chocolate, as a water based colour will seize the chocolate. You could also try adding a bit of copha to the melted chocolate to give you a better dipping consistency.

You can get candy melts and chocolate colouring (oil-based food dye) at Spotlight, and it is usually cheaper from there than from a cake store.

I personally like the taste of chocolate a lot better, so wouldn't pay a fortune just to have candy melts.

[Semantics]

I personally think Candy Melts are blergh! I don't like the taste at all and found them very temperamental to work with. I use chocolate melts coloured with either powder or gel colour and some copha added (to thin it out - also helps to give it a nice 'crack').

[liveworkplay]

Can I ask where you get your recipe for Cake Pops?

[GoneWithTheWhing...]

Bakerella for cake pops.

If you need to use liquid colours to colour chocolate it works if you mix the colour in with a small amount of cream before adding to the chocolate. I believe the fat in the the cream stabilises the water in the colour and allows it to mix with the chocolate rather than cause it to seize.

I agree the candy melts can be pretty yuk, the chocolate is much nicer. I've had good results with the Coles own brand cooking chocolate.

[YellowKittyGlenn]

Nope Candy melts are different to chocolate.
I make cake pops all the time and never found candy melts to be bad tasting and never had anyone sugest they are. Chocolate makes the pops quite heavy and often not stay on the sticks. Chocolate is best for the balls not the pops.

[BeYOUtiful]

I use chocolate melts coloured with either powder or gel colour and some copha added (to thin it out - also helps to give it a nice 'crack').

I never thought to colour white choc with gel, great tip.

I agree with PP, i have always had success with the Wilton candy melts. Not sure how the choc melts would go.

PP, i have made cake pops with White wings choc packet mix "our most popular mix', 4 dessertspoons or so of Betty crocker choc frosting.
Bake cake, cool, crumble, add frosting, roll into balls, refrigerate overnight to firm. Melt some candy, take 10 balls out of fridge at a time and dip end of stick in candy then in to ball. Refrigerate again, whilst do 10 more and so on. (makes approx 50)
Then once all sticks done, melt more candy, dip balls in candy, place in to foam block to set. I cover the blocks in colours of the party.

I don't put them back in the fridge, they are fine in a cool room until party a day or two later. They stay moist for days and have a mudcake kind of taste.

I have also made red velvet cake pops, with vanilla frosting, coated with white candy, and red and green choc chips on top, for Christmas.

This post has been edited by ~Jane05~: 28/02/2012, 10:00 AM

[Guest_**Leprechaun**_*]

Thanks for the tips girls. I am making the owl ones, so only need the brown chocolate. I will be using the Greens classic mixes (only $1 at the moment at Coles) mixed with the betty crocker frosting)

I don't think my novice brain could cope with dying chocolate with gels! lol

I think I might go with the candy melts for the firmness as I have used the chocolate melts before and they have 'sweated' after about 10 mins out of the fridge.

liveworkplay - search for cake pops on You Tube or the Bakerella website.

If worst comes to worst - i'll just have to eat them myself!