Monsters Inc. Cake Pops

Our school's Lower Grade Halloween party was themed Monsters Inc.  Cake Pops work so well as a quick sweet easy grab at a big event like this, with so many kids running around in costume.  We always love to get the kids involved in making them too.  

At least once a year I forget how tricky I find cake pops to make and I think , "Oh this will be really cute!" and then a week later I can't see straight and swear we all have a touch of carpal tunnel and promise everyone never to do this again...(at least until next year : )

Two pals before their trip to School.  Mike seems doubtful, but they all (120 of them!) made it safely to the party.

The finished Mike cake with the mini Mike and Sulley cake pops.  The cake's giant eyeball and lid are sculpted from white modeling chocolate and we added an extra layer of white gel color mixed with vodka on the eye and teeth of the Mike cake.

Close up of mini Mike and Sulley.  Check out those great expressions and eye movement.

After a screening of the movie (and a fine film it is!), and researching all things Monsters Inc, including some of the amazing cakes and cake pops already out there, we had a plan.  Mike would be chocolate with vanilla buttercream, and Sulley would be vanilla with chocolate buttercream.  
I find the moist chocolate cake a little harder to work with, but slightly yummier.  Both pops were dipped in Wilton candy melts.  
Their eyeballs and horns were formed from white modeling chocolate.  Sulley has some facial structure, like his eyebrows, nose, cheeks and chin, sculpted out of blue modeling chocolate. The final detailing, like eyelids and fur were painted on with candy melts using a skewer.  Their monstrous teeth were piped last with royal icing.

Clockwise from top left:  

1. The eyes have it! Mike was looking all over the place. We used a large decorating tip for the outer eye and a smaller one for the outline of the inner one.  And later added a little white in the eye to give the signature cartoon character look.

2. The stages of Mike & Sulley.  Sulley: clean canvas, added eyes and nose, built up the chin with some modeling chocolate and gave him blue eyes, and added some hair and those signature bushy eyebrows.  We added some stripes to the horns later. Mike gets dunked, and painted.

3. A little help from our friends.  Nevia Giles is busy dipping dozens of Mike-pops. Nine year-old Paz got in the action and helped paint the cake, while

 Katherine Sprules and Julia formed some of the balls to make the right Mike shape, and attached them to the cake balls with some candy melts. 

I can't believe we hadn't thought of this before, but this Wilton Candy Melting Pot (we got ours at Michael's for 40% off! ) was a huge time saver!  You just have to pay attention to the amount of heat and take the silicone heating pot out of the heating element from time to time to keep the consistency right.