Saturday 28 January 2012

My Honeybunch Cake Pops

The concept of the cake has changed a fair bit over the years.  Thanks to the cupcake craze, taste and comfort isn't always enough now; it's also got to look good.  Of course there's still a place for that big old slab of carrot cake with your cuppa but there's no harm in having a bit of fun once in a while.

And fun is precisely what My Honeybunch (aka Shelly Wareing) is all about... well that and good cake.  Since making her first bunch of Hello Kitty cake pops for her friend's daughter's birthday in March last year, Shelly has not only been kept busy with requests from family and friends, but she's made a business out of these crazy little cake pops.


After falling in love with Shelly's designs on the My Honeybunch website, I recently arranged to meet with her for a coffee to learn more.  With a background in catering, sales and marketing, Shelly has the perfect skills to make a real goer of the business and she's already supplying Wentworth Garden Centre and the Marble Slab Creamery in Meadowhall.

Not being much of a baker I had no idea how to make cake pops and I was surprised to learn that Shelly bakes a cake as normal, processes it into crumbs, stirs in her magic ingredient to bind everything together and forms balls out of the mix.  These are then dipped into candy melt which gives a smooth finish to the sponge and a base for Shelly to form her design.


Sounds simple, yeah?  Unfortunately they don’t always work out so well as the pops are prone to cracks and leaks.  Shelly reckons it’s all to do with the temperature of the sponge and the candy melt, but admits that it isn’t an exact science and things can go wrong even when she’s sure that everything’s at the right temperature.

As for the designs, Shelly is happy to turn her hand to any design from farm animals and cartoon characters for the kids to pretty floral bouquets for the adults.  She adjusts her designs according to the season and there were reindeers and robins at Christmas.  With Valentine’s Day coming up Shelly is busy making up the perfect Valentine’s Day gifts.


The cake pop bouquets are a good alternative to the real thing.  They look as good, stay fresh for longer (1 week at room temperature or 2/3 weeks in the fridge) and taste a damn sight better than a few roses.  Bouquets are around £25 for a bunch of 15 cake pops and there’s free delivery to Sheffield and Barnsley (£4.95 to the rest of Yorkshire).

If you’re planning to pop the question on V-day, then Shelly can help out with the wedding too.  From beautiful little topiary trees for favours to centre pieces and bouquets for the tables, My Honeybunch cake pops would be a great option for couples with a sweet tooth.


Of course it’s all well and good that these cake pops look great but they have to taste good too, and you might be glad to hear that Shelly uses free range and organic produce where she can.  She has a few different flavours up her sleeve including rum & raison and mint chocolate amongst the many (including the popular Victoria sponge).  But, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and I took some home to try.

I was especially keen to try the black forest gateau, which is a new flavour that Shelly’s working on.  It’s a ball of deliciously rich chocolate sponge; so rich that it was more like a truffle than a cake.  In the centre was a sherry soaked cherry; it was gorgeous!  There was also Victoria sponge which was a bit too sweet for my liking (I am more pie than cake anyway) and Shelly reckons I’d be more of a coffee or ginger fan.

So, if you’re after an unusual gift I would highly recommend My Honeybunch cake pops… just get in touch with Shelly through her website, on facebook or through twitter to find out more.

2 comments:

  1. what a smart idea but how dangerous!! You can get lulled into the idea that these cake pops are small and innocuous but beware!!! they are dangerously melt-in-the-mouth. One taste and you're hooked! Eating cake may never be the same experience again! Whoopee!! Give me more!! Love 'em.

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  2. Oh my Anonymous... it's great to see such enthusiasm!!

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