Cake pops

1 hour
These neat little cake pops invite the whole family to unleash their imagination and creativity in the kitchen; only to enjoy the sweet and tasty result later. Fortunately, with our easy recipe, they are simple to make. By combining crumbled chocolate cake with a fresh cream cheese frosting, it is possible to make cake balls that may be beautifully decorated after being coated with dark and white chocolate. They are deliciously crunchy on the outside from the chocolate coating and irresistibly soft, chewy, and chocolaty sweet on the inside.

Ingredients

20 pieces

Cake pops:

Chocolate coating:

Decorations:

Instructions

  • Coating:

Tip

Making a cake pop that does not fall off the stick requires you to not use too much frosting. What we mean is that it is a good idea to incorporate it into the crumbled chocolate cake little by little to avoid making the dough too wet. You should aim for a clay-like consistency without any visible streaks of frosting. For the sticks, use sturdy straws (for instance, reusable metal straws or thick paper ones), lollipop sticks, or toothpicks. All will work well and what is the best option for you depends on what sort of look you are going for with your arrangements and designs and what size you are going for, too.

Questions about pop cakes

Making tasty and decorative desserts or sweet treats is quick and simple with our easy cake pop recipe. To learn more about the fun treat, continue reading our answers to the most frequently asked questions below.
What is a cake pop?

A cake pop is a type of cake fashioned to look like a lollipop. The no-bake dough, which is made by mixing any type of cake crumbs with icing, is rolled into small balls, and placed on sturdy straws. They are typically coated with melted chocolate and decorated with fun additions like nuts, freeze-dried berries, colorful sprinkles, edible glitter, and so on.

How to make a cake pop?

Making a cake pop from scratch is not too difficult and the process is quite entertaining. Start by baking the chocolate cake from which you will make them. As it cools, make the frosting by combining the icing sugar, natural cream cheese, and butter. Crumble the cake into the icing and knead it until it has a smooth, even texture. Roll the dough into 20 balls, place them onto sticks, and freeze them for about 30 minutes. When they are sufficiently hard, brush them with melted chocolate and decorate them to make fun and fancy treats.

Can you freeze cake pops?

Yes, for up to 6 weeks! To freeze your homemade cake pops, wait for the chocolate coating to set and harden completely before you wrap them first in cling film and then aluminium foil to retain their moisture. This may be easier to do if you remove them from the sticks. Place them in an airtight container to protect them from being crushed by your freezer content. To thaw them overnight, unwrap them and place them on paper towels in the fridge. Once they are defrosted, place them on the countertop and insert the cake pop sticks into them once they have reached room temperature.

How to decorate a cake pop?

There are endless decoration possibilities. The easiest way to decorate a cake pop is to brush it with or dip it in melted chocolate before sprinkling it with options like nuts, freeze-dried berries, edible glitter, sprinkles, and candied flowers

Can you make cake pops ahead of time?

It is entirely possible to prepare cake pops in advance. You can store them in the fridge for up to 7 days, so they are easy either to make in advance or to enjoy leftovers for several days. You can either wrap them individually with cling film or aluminium foil or place them in an airtight container. The latter may be easier without the cake pop sticks which can be reinserted before you serve them. Make sure to separate any layers of cake pops with paper towels.

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Festive chocolate cake pops

Made to look like oversized lollipops, cake pops make for great treats that are perfect for birthday parties or other gatherings where you are having a large group of people over. As the look of the cake pops may be varied indefinitely, you can use them for any sort of occasion. Made to suit a specific theme or vibe, the treats are sure to impress and delight.

The edible ball on a stick-concept creates a fun eating experience and the combination of a dense crumbed, intense chocolate cake and a velvety cream cheese frosting ensures it is a tasty and deliciously moist one too.

Use your imagination for decorations

Decorating cake pops may just be the most entertaining part of the process. While the chocolate coating is still unhardened, you can sprinkle it with options like finely chopped nuts, edible glitter, sugar pearls, and freeze-dried berries.

While the different options, of course, give your cake pops different looks, the decorations may also provide different flavors and textures. As such, nuts are a great way to add crunch and slightly earthy textures, while freeze-dried berries can provide both sweetness and tang. Mix and match different ones to create beautiful and tasty cake pops that are delightful to eat and look at.

Roll into the desired shape

To make your cake pops resemble big lollipops, you need to fashion the moist dough into small, round balls. Our best suggestion is to do so by hand. Though this can be a bit of a sticky job, it is also a good way to include younger family members in the process by giving them an easy task that is so much fun at the same time.

As you roll the dough into balls, it is important not to make the balls too big. We suggest aiming for a diameter between 3.5-4 cm as making them any larger than this will make them too heavy and prone to sliding off the straws.

How to coat a cake pop

The easiest way to coat cake pops is to use a brush to cover them with melted chocolate. Coating them this way ensures a chocolate layer that is not too thick. However, it may result in a somewhat uneven or streaky result. Though this may not be noticeable under your selection of fun pop cake decorations, it is also possible to dip each cake pop in chocolate, which will give them a smoother surface.

Simply submerge them in the melted chocolate without moving them around too much in it as this may cause them to fall off their sticks. Gently shake them when they are still upside down to remove any excess chocolate. Turn them and twirl the sticks between your fingers to even out the chocolate coating.

No matter which coating method you choose, make sure they have a smooth surface and that you let them acclimate for around 10 minutes at room temperature before coating them. Otherwise, the combination of the freezer-cold cake pops and the warm melted chocolate may lead to them cracking.

Make it your own with different cake types

Since they can be made with practically any flavor, the best cake for cake pops depends mostly on your taste buds. Below, we have collected a few popular options for different flavors, but we recommend experimenting with different combinations of cakes and icings to discover the flavors for you.

Use cake leftovers

Chocolate-flavoured leftovers, like brownies, with an intense cocoa flavour, are a classic choice and they can make deliciously moist brownie cake pops. Use leftover homemade brownies to make deliciously rich cake pops that will delight adults as well as children.

You could also use a carrot cake, which is one of the moistest and most beloved cakes. As it is usually served with a cream cheese frosting, it is great for pairing with our recipe containing delicious, velvety cream cheese frosting.

Cake pop icing

If you prefer a rich buttercream frosting to the fresher cream cheese one suggested in our recipe, using the more buttery option is also possible.

You can also mix things up by coloring the natural cream cheese or buttercream frosting with a bit of food coloring. This will add a pop of color when you bite into it, and it will, of course, be more noticeable in cake pops made with light-colored cakes.

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