"Pushing" the Envelope

Here at KC Bakes, our goal is to create high-quality cake pop stands for bakers to use to decorate, display and transport their cake pops.  And while cake pops are our #1 market, we've been creating custom stands for quite a few other items lately!

One of our newest stand projects has been for Cake Push Pops... have you heard of these? They are these nifty plastic cylinders that are filled with layers of cake and frosting - check out these Patriotic Push Pops from Love from the Oven. They make great party favors and are a cool way to mix n' match brightly colored frosting with various flavors of cake. 

Given their unique shape, they can be tricky to display on counters or at parties... so check out this custom Skinny Mini Stand that we created for Go Cakes NYC!

This got me thinking... what else can our cake pop stands be used for other than cake pops?  I was so surprised by what I found, I created a new section on our website... Fun with Sticks!  Pie Pops, Pizza Pops & more?  Trust me, you don't want to miss this...

xoxo,
  Kim

Blogging Gold

Yesterday afternoon I needed a brain break. The day was just kind of dragging on, and I was stuck in haze, not feeling particularly motivated to do much of anything.  I logged into Twitter and scanned my timeline to see if I'd find anything inspiring... and then I spotted this tweet:

*PERK!* I was immediately intrigued.  I'd consider myself an amateur blogger at best, and lately I've been feeling a little lack of direction.  What do I want my blog to do, what purpose does it serve, how can I be more... wait for it... effective? 

I'd never "attended" a Twitter chat before, so i wasn't sure what I was in for.  Now having participated, I highly recommend it.  Here's how it works: everyone participates by tagging their tweets with a certain phrase, in this case "#startupchat". Then you enter that term in the Search bar at the top of the page. The results will show all tweets with that phrase in sequential order, so it reads like a chat room.  The cool part is that once that chat is over, if you want to revisit it, all you need to do is search for that term.

@startupprincess was the host/moderator, and would ask certain questions, then the other paricipants would chime in with their thoughts on the matter.  I had a few questions of my own, and since I tagged them with #startupchat, they came up in the discussion as well.  I was absolutley floored at the immediate responses I received; everyone was so friendly and willing to share.  Each tweet was so informative that I found it hard to keep up, as I sat there with my little notepad & pen, scribbling away.

The topics were focused on business and blogging.  I can honestly say I learned a lot!  The great thing is that most of the tips are pretty universal and can be applied to whatever industry you are in.  Here are some of the things I jotted down (some are paraphrased).

@LawLogix Look at current news and magazine headlines and mold them to your industry.

@prforsmallbiz Ask clients what their biggest concerns are, and that becomes your blog content.

@mmonsen7 Best tip: Don't assume you know what people are searching for. Use tools. Research high-traffic phrases.

@dotjenna Write blogs that invite responses.

@prweb Catchy headlines: rhyme, alliteration, oh, and keep it short! Infuse keywords = good for the search engines and readers.

@PhyllisNichols (for blog topics) What are customers dealing with? What are customers working on? What are they looking for?

@RtMixMktg Provide valuable resources to target customers; what will they print & post to the fridge?

@RtMixMktg Follow blogging best practices: post types, skimmable, good ehadings, pics, share buttons.

Some more great tips (unfortunately I didn't write down who said them)
- Write what you know! Everyone is an expert at something.
- Know your audience.
- Be relevant.
- Add value - blog with a purpose.
- What are your audience's "pain points"?

Twitter chats are also a great way to network and meet new people with a common interest.  @startupprincess's next chat is Wednesday, October 12th at 2pm EST, "Being More Creative in Business and Life".  Will I see you there?

xoxo,
  Kim

aka @KCbakes

Tuesday Muse-Day

It's no secret that yours truly loves owls. Baked goods, home goods, jewelry, stationary... if it has an owl on it, I'm in love.  I wasn't always so owl-obsessed, but after getting my degrees from Temple University, it was a natural progression. (Fun fact: I even have a little owl tattoo on my ankle!).

I follow several bakers, bloggers & foodies on Twitter, and I am LOVING how trendy owls are lately. And with the help of my ginger twin, Gigi of Sweetie Darlings, we keep our eyes peeled for anything owls. So its only fitting that our little feathered friend is the source of inspiration for today's Tuesday Muse-Day!  I could literally post hundreds of photos I have in the Owl Archives, but for your sanity (& mine), here are some of the highlights...


Owl Cake Pops tweeted by @CakeTheater

Owl Cookies tweeted by @SweetSugarBelle

Owl Cake tweeted by @doughmesstic

Check out this light switch that Gigi found this morning - the switch looks like its beak!

And for all you owl lovers out there not in "the know", check out My Owl Barn... you will thank me. Or maybe not; there are so many tempting purchases like this:

C'mon... whoo doesn't need an owly calculator? :)

xoxo,
  Kim

Extra, Extra!!!

Extra, extra, read all about it... KC Bakes now has an online newspaper - The Cake Pop Daily!

Unlike my poor little blog here who is sometimes neglected (sorry blog, still love u!), the newspaper is updated automatically every 24 hours.  It is Twitter-driven, and pulls from every corner of the web to give you articles, blog posts, recipes, photos and videos about baking & cake pops!

Also, we are hosting a Halloween Cake Pop Contest!  We received 27 entries and they are so precious. I'm so glad its a fan-vote, otherwise I'd have a really tough time picking a winner.  To cast your vote, simply click here.

xoxo,
  Kim

Tuesday Muse-Day

Ok who remembers LEGO's?  Growing up with a younger brother, we spent many an afternoon making all sorts of creations with these little colorful interlocking plastic bricks.  And remember the little LEGO Men?  They were pretty basic when we were kids; two dots for eyes and a generic smile. 

But over the years, LEGO Men have developed into pretty expressive little characters.  And Kate Sullivan, founder of Cake Power, has captured them perfectly, turning every LEGO Lovers dream into reality with Lego Head Cake Pops!!! 

As if that's not cool enough, Kate shows you how she did it in a photo tutorial!  Honestly, I'm glad she posted a how-to otherwise I wouldn't believe these were cake pops... they are so spot-on! :)  Her talent doesn't stop there... Kate is quite the cake genius, and created a large 3D LEGO Man sculpted cake as well.  Yes, that is CAKE!

While we're on the topic of LEGO's, you absolutely have to check out Nathan Sawaya, of The Art of the Brick.  He creates some of the most awe-inspiring LEGO creation's I've ever seen... animals, food, a motorcycle, even an iPhone! Here he is posing with his life-size sculpture of Conan O'Brian, which stands at 77" tall!

xoxo,
  Kim

Kids & Cake Pops

Today I was babysitting some of my favorite kiddos, Daria and Talia, ages 6 and 3 respectively.  Last year, I made cake pops with them, and ever since, every time I come watch them, the first question is... "Did you bring cake pops???"  So last night I made a pink French vanilla cake that we could make pops with today.

I'm always impressed by how smart these girls are.  After quite a few baking sessions with me, they are so aware of food safety practices.  Today Daria said, "I have to scratch my nose, but don't worry I'll wash my hands after I itch it."  And she did.  I was so proud. High-five Daria!

This about the 4th time I've made pops with them, so now they like to tell me what to do; it's the cutest thing.  "First, we have to crumble the cake!"  Let me tell you... the 'crumbing' step takes mere minutes when you have two enthusiastic kids helping you.




After I mix the frosting into the cake crumbs, the girls came up with a role for each of us.  Daria is the Squisher - she takes a spoonful of the crumb/frosting mix, and squishes it into "blobs".  I'm the Roller, in charge of rolling the blobs into nice, smooth round cake balls.  Talia is the Putter - I hand her the cake balls and she "puts" them into even rows on the cookie sheet. 

Today we made cupcake pops... ta da!  They are so excited to take some to their teachers tomorrow.  Oh, and by the way, what do you think of KC Bakes' first stained cake pop stand?

Today wasn't "all work and no play" mind you :-)  After the buzz they got from making cake pops, there was a healthy amount of energy they needed to get out of their systems, so we took a stroll to the local park.  They had a blast playing on the jungle gym, running around and enjoying some time on the swings (which was way more work for me than them, lol).

How was your weeknd?

xoxo,
  Kim

Healthy Cake Pops

In today's society, there's so much pressure to be thin.  With models like Gisele Bundchen on magazine covers, its kind of hard to avoid.  I mean look at her!   Oh by the way, this picture was taken two months AFTER she gave birth... AFTER! Whatta' witch. Er, I mean great job Gisele :)  Sigh, I wonder what it feels like to not have to "suck it in" for just one day... hmm... anyways, lol!


Being a baker, its tricky to avoid sweets because, hello, we have to taste what we make, right?  The advice I like to follow is a little something my dad always says - "All's good in moderation". 

However, there's still the health conscious consumer out there that wants to enjoy cake pops, but not the calories.  Cue Hungry Girl and Health magazine to the rescue!



Hungry Girl's Fudgy Marshmallow Cake Pops - 112 calories each




Health Magazine's Angel Food Cake Pops - 145 calories each


So if you want a healthy alternative to desserts, maybe try one of these recipes next time.  And don't worry about Gisele, that is pure genetics (at least that's what I tell myself, haha).  Have a great weekend!!!

xoxo,
  Kim