Puppy love. It’s a term often used to describe young, innocent affection. But what if we could capture that sweetness in a delectable treat? These Shih Tzu cake pops are the perfect embodiment of puppy love, a delightful project that’s surprisingly simple to create. This tutorial will guide you through each step, transforming ordinary cake pops into adorable furry friends.
From Sketch to Cake Pop: Designing the Perfect Puppy
The journey begins with inspiration. A quick pencil sketch captures the essence of a Shih Tzu’s charming face. This sketch serves as a blueprint for the cake pops.
Pencil sketch of a Shih Tzu puppy face used as reference for cake pops
To ensure accuracy, different sized circles are used to determine the proportions of the puppy’s features. This process, aided by a graphics program, ensures the final product closely resembles the adorable inspiration. Black sugar pearls for eyes, brown rainbow chip sprinkles for noses, and pink confetti sprinkles for tongues add the perfect finishing touches.
Shaping the Sweet Treat: Bringing the Puppy to Life
The magic happens when crumbled cake and frosting are combined and rolled into balls. These balls are then shaped into puppy heads, guided by the initial sketch placed under a sheet of wax paper.
Shaping cake balls into Shih Tzu heads using a toothpick
Small indentations are made for the eyes using a lollipop stick, providing a guide for placing the sugar pearl eyes after the cake pops are dipped in candy coating. The nose and tongue sprinkles are then strategically positioned. While these can be added later with melted coating, placing them while the coating is wet creates a more seamless look.
Decorating the Puppy: Adding the Finishing Touches
The transformation from plain cake ball to adorable puppy is remarkably simple. Toothpicks dipped in candy coating become artistic tools, drawing on the mustache, eyebrows, and other defining features.
Undecorated cake pop next to a decorated Shih Tzu cake pop
Building up the facial features layer by layer, allowing each to dry before adding more, creates dimension and realism. Floppy ears are crafted by applying coating to the sides with a toothpick. For a Maltese, this is where the decorating would end. But for a Shih Tzu, the distinctive black markings are essential.
Shih Tzu cake pops with facial features drawn on with candy coating
The Final Touch: Perfecting the Puppy’s Markings
A black edible ink pen adds the characteristic Shih Tzu mask. Drawing lightly with the pen creates the illusion of different shades of fur.
Shih Tzu cake pop with black markings added with an edible ink pen
Any excess ink can be gently removed with a toothpick. A final dot of white candy coating in the indented eyes completes the adorable look.
Finished Shih Tzu cake pops
These Shih Tzu cake pops are a testament to the power of creativity and the joy of puppy love. They are a sweet treat that’s sure to delight anyone lucky enough to receive them.
