Wilton Treat Pops Review

I love to cook and bake. One of my favorite things to make is cupcakes. It's also one of my favorite things to eat. So, when I had the opportunity to work with Wilton, I was extremely excited. Wilton is the

Crème de la crème of cake decorating and candy making supply companies. I have been buying Wilton products for years. They wanted me to share with you some of their really awesome products. I received the Treat Pops, which is really cool because I love the sherbet treats that these were inspired from.  I love that it is so much easier to eat, especially for my six year old.  We can make whatever cake we would like and any icing flavor. I love that these are reusable. It reminds me of my Grandma Rose, because she would reuse anything she could. It makes the Treat Pops more fun because you can have countless treats in them.  I also received the Mini Whoopie Pie Baking Pan. When I first heard of Treat Pops, I was kind of curious how the cake would fit.  I wasn’t sure if you were supposed to crumble the cake up. I know that would make a messy presentation and possibly a messy treat, I was excited to learn that they have a pan for that. Wilton really thinks of everything.   You could also use the pan to make mini whoopee pies.  I don’t think I have ever had whoopie pies, which will be my next baking venture.  Another product I tried out was the Treat Pops Decorating Set.  I have a love/hate relationship with icing, when it comes to decorating.  I am happy to report that the Treat Pops Decorating Kit was so easy to use. I actually had fun doing the icing and it turned out nicely. I think it is because you get bigger tips.  Bigger tips are easier for me to use. The tops of my treat pops actually looked professionally done.  

Making Treat Pops are really easy. I used boxed cake mix. Now you get a lot of extra cake batter so either have extra Treat Pops available or come up with a dessert for the leftovers. I refuse to throw away cake batter.   My original plan was to make Treat Pops for our weekly play date, but then I realized there are a lot of kids involved.  There are a least twelve kids, not including parents.  I also knew that I would be worried that someone would throw away one of the Treat Pop containers away in the park trash can.  I decided that I would just make six Treat Pops, since that is a lot of Treat Pops for just me and Noah. I ended up using the rest of the cake batter and frosting to make cupcakes for our play date. It ended up making the exact number I needed.

 I filled up the Mini Whoopie Pie Baking Pan per Wilton’s instructions with a Tablespoon of batter in each, and then baked them until they were done. I started with 9 minutes and added more time until done. I didn’t want them to burn.  When they were cool I added coloring to my icing and then filled the pastry bag with the long tip in the Treat Pops Decorating Set.  I put a cake in the bottom and then began layering with icing. The top of the Treat Pop container doubles as a stand which is really helpful when you are filling them.  You have to be careful that you don’t push it up though.  I finally topped with a big swirl of icing and used some sprinkles.   These are so good. They are also portable and really fun to eat. Noah was so excited to try Treat Pops.  They are the perfect blend of cake and icing. I know my best friend who loves icing would love these, especially because you can control how much icing you put in them. You can also use fruit. I think gelatin and cream would even be good in a Treat Pop. 

Have you tried Treat Pops? What flavors would sound good to you?

Thank you to Wilton for providing me the items in this post for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I Smell Chocolate!

I am sure most parents are guilty of this. I know I am. What is the charge? Sneaking treats and candy behind your child’s back. It is not that you don’t want to share, well maybe sometimes you don’t but usually it is you don’t want your child to have anymore treats. You might hide in your bedroom, your closet, or maybe the car to enjoy a little treat without little hands and faces begging for some. I am somewhat of a pushover when it comes to treats. I don’t go overboard though. I feed my son very healthy foods but I am a firm believer that everyone needs a treat sometimes. Most of the time, I am eating something sweet around Noah I will share a little bit. Sharing is important after all. I don’t let him eat a lot of candy or treats. I make sure he has had a meal first or if it is the middle of the afternoon it is a small amount. I am teaching him about healthy eating because it is best for his growing little body and it is my job to make sure he gets the nutrients that he needs. Thankfully, for snacks he is happy with something healthy versus having a bowl of candy or chips.

When I was little, I loved treats and candy. That has not changed much. I don’t think I eat nearly as much as I used to. My cousins used to tease me about how I would buy pounds of candy but I would always share with them. My mom would used to have a little treat when I was little, she knew that as any child would I wanted some. Occasionally she would wait until I was upstairs or in another room. Her plan would fail because I would come running yelling I smell chocolate! It wouldn’t matter where I was in the house I would always smell it. We have always lived in nice sized houses too. I just had the scent for chocolate.

Do you have me time when it comes to treats? Do you have any good hiding places?

Mardy's Munchies Review and Giveaway!

As you all know, I love cupcakes. They are my favorite dessert. Not all cupcakes are created equal. I have had some not so good cupcakes in my life. Recently I had one from the store when I was visiting my sister. It was from the grocery store bakery. I decided to put a banana nut muffin in the container that Noah wanted to finish later. Big Mistake, my chocolate cupcake became banana flavored. I am not a huge banana fan. So, it was a huge disappointment. The worst part was I wanted cupcakes for weeks before that. I was so excited when I got one and I was crushed when it tasted awful.

Thankfully my cupcake guardian angels emailed me. My cupcake guardian angels were none other than Steve and Jana of Mardy’s Munchies. They wanted to send me cupcakes and other goodies. I was so excited and waited for my special delivery of goodies to arrive all the way from their bakery in Los Angeles. Mardy’s Munchies is a mom and pop bakery, they make everything themselves and they use no preservatives. Mardy’s Munchies is named after Steven’s late mother Mardy, who instilled a love of baking and inspired him to create delicious treats for over 20 years. They are a fixture at local farmers markets and often attend local festivals. Steven and Jana are both really nice and they even subscribe to my blog! I follow them on Twitter at @Mardysmunchies and I am so jealous of those of you that can constantly get goodies from Mardy’s Munchies. They are someone you must follow if you live in the LA area.

When I received my treats, I couldn’t wait to dig right in. They were packed perfectly; they weren’t crumbled or smashed at all. I was a little concerned about receiving baked goods like that. I was confident that Mardy’s Munchies would make it work. The first thing I tried was the Double Trouble Cupcake. It was hands down the best cupcake that I can ever remember eating. It was chocolate with chocolate cream cheese frosting. It would only be fitting that my cupcake guardian angels would send me such a heavenly cupcake. I savored every single bite. They were perfectly moist and the frosting was amazing. I love cream cheese frosting but I had never had chocolate cream cheese frosting. Oh man, I am drooling thinking about it.

I also received a Punk Mama’s Red Velvet cupcake that I shared with my mom. She thought it was amazing and so moist and delicious. It had normal cream cheese frosting on it. My mom loved it. She is not a cupcake fan but she really enjoyed eating the Punk Mama’s Red Velvet cupcake. I had a lot of goodies to try and the only right thing to do was to share with my family. I mean it would be rude of me to stuff my face with delicious treats and not offer them to others right?



I decided Noah would like the Coomer cookie they sent us. Noah is a cookie monster. The Coomer cookie is a Vegan cookie that is a Delicious Oatmeal mixed with bananas and vegan-approved chocolate chips. It also comes with pecans. Noah is not a vegan but he sure did love his Coomer Cookie. He kept asking for more cookies. I thought this is a healthier version of some of the cookies that I could get for him because it also contains no preservatives.

Another goodie I received was the Georgia White Brownie. They are rich, chocolate brownies with white chocolate chips dancing throughout. Covered with our chocolate frosting and then we drizzle white chocolate all over these and then for fun throw on some chunky chopped pecans- from the website. It was a nice big brownie and it was so moist and fudgy. I prefer fudgy brownies to cake like brownies. My favorite part was the chunks of pecans and the white chocolate on the top. I thoroughly enjoyed the brownie and Noah did too. So am I making you hungry yet? I know I am definitely craving some Mardy’s Munchies.

The next item I tried was the Triple Shazam Baby Bundt Cake. mini chocolate bundt cake is smothered with a dark chocolate glaze and then showered with white and dark chocolate chips. It was so cute. It was also very delicious. There is just something festive about a bundt cake. I think it is because my grandma used to make them all the time. Most bundt cakes are kind of tough on the outside, not the baby bundt cake I received. It was so moist and there is even a surprise when you eat it. I won’t ruin it for you though. You will just have to wait and see!

The last but not least goodie was the Raspberry Crumble Tart. Delicious Organic Raspberry fruit surrounded by buttery shortbread crust and streusel topping all nestled inside a gorgeous tart. I decided I should also share this one with my mom. She really enjoyed it too. She doesn’t really like tart shells but she said that the shell was perfect and the raspberry filling was not too sweet and not to tart just right. She said the best part was the crumb topping. I really enjoyed all the treats I received from Mardy’s Munchies. The only thing I didn’t like about the goodies I received was that when they were all gone, I didn’t have any more. I will have to visit them the next time I am in LA and bring home treats with me.

If you live in Los Angeles or traveling there, you can visit Steve and Jana every Tuesday at the Old L.A. Farmer’s Market located in historic Highland Park. Or if you want to end the week on a sweet note, then come on over to the El Sereno Farmer’s Market, an exciting, supportive community gathering with music, food and art that happens every Friday afternoon. If that doesn’t suit your fancy, then stop on by the famous Antigua Coffee Shop on Figueroa in Cypress Park or Casa Princessa on York Blvd for a varietal look at Mardy’s Munchies goodies. I know there are a lot of bakeries in LA but they are a dime a dozen compared to Mardy’s Munchies. Please keep them in mind if you want delicious homemade desserts that contain no preservatives.

For more information please check out Mardy’s Munchies

Thanks to Steve and Jana at Mardy’s Munchies for sending me some yummy desserts to try out and review and providing the giveaway prize.

I have a giveaway for you. One lucky winner will win a dozen gourmet cupcakes your choice of flavor!

Mandatory Entry: Go to the Mardy’s Munchies website and tell me what looks good. Please tell me the exact name of the item and what it is. They have such cute names for everything.

You must do the main entry for the bonus entries to count.

Bonus Entries:

Subscribe to my blog via email

Follow my blog

Follow @Sheilacakes7 and @Mardysmunchies and tweet about this giveaway including the link. This can be done once a day

Like Mardy’s Munchies on Facebook

This giveaway is open to US Residents ONLY

This giveaway will end on June 21, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST.