Chocolate Cake Pops
This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
These chocolate cake pops are made with a really moist chocolate cake and rich chocolate frosting. Taper them to any occasion by sprinkling festive sprinkles overtop!
While writing this blog post it occurred to me that I had no idea who invented cake pops. I mean, it’s definitely more of a recent “invention.” Well, apparently Angie Dudley invented cake pops. She obviously had a lot of time on her hands! 😂
I’m kidding.
I really enjoy eating a rich and moist chocolate cake with a fork, but having it on a stick is waaaay more fun! Plus it makes it 100X easier for guests to eat (less dishes… why is that always the first thing that comes to my mind??)
And hello… cake on a stick? Super cute.
Cake Pop Ingredients
- You’ll need the ingredients to make chocolate cake: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and hot water.
- Frosting ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Candy melts, or chocolate for coating.
- Lollipop sticks
- Sprinkles, if you wanna be fancy.
How to make Cake Pops
- Make the chocolate cake. Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack completely.
- Make the frosting. While the cake is cooling make the chocolate frosting. I like to use my kitchen aid for this because it just makes life so much easier (in my opinion).
- Crumble the cake into the frosting. You can be aggressive when crumbling the cake, ha! Crumble the cake thoroughly, making sure there are no large cake chunks.
- Mix the cake and frosting together. I use the paddle attachment on my stand mixer and just mix it for a minute or two. Mix until the frosting and the crumbled cake come together. It will look similar to the photo below.
- Roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls. I use a 1 tablespoon sized cookie dough scoop to portion out the cake pops. This makes the process so much faster/easier.
- Place the rolled balls on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Chill the cake balls in the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight) or in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
- Dip the cake pops. Melt chocolate (more on this towards the bottom of this post) in a liquid measuring cup. Dip the ends of the lollipop sticks in the melted chocolate, you want the top 1/2″ inch of the stick coated in chocolate. Insert the chocolate dipped stick into the center of the chilled cake ball, pushing the cake ball about 1/2 to 3/4 the way through the ball. Place back on the baking sheet, and repeat until each cake pop has a lollipop stick.
- Chill the cake pops. Place the cake balls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to chill, the cake pops should be cold before fully dipping them in the melted chocolate.
- Dip the cake pops into the chocolate coating until it is completely covered. Gently tap the lollipop stick against the side of the measuring cup to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
- Add sprinkles. Immediately after dipping in the chocolate, roll the cake pop in the sprinkles OR sprinkle the sprinkles overtop of the wet chocolate. Use blue or pink sprinkles for baby shower cake pops, Christmas colored sprinkles for Christmas themed cake pops… you catch my drift. Make this fit your needs.
- Place the cake pops in a Styrofoam block to set. This is the best way to get them to set without ruining the beautiful appearance! It’s not necessary to use a styrofoam block. You can place the chocolate dipped cake pops on the baking sheet (lollipop stick pointing towards the ceiling) and they can set that way.
Storing Cake Pops
Store cake pops at room temperature for 5 days.
Store cake pops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freeze un-dipped cake balls in a freezer-safe ziplock bag for 6 months.
If you’re wanting to freeze dipped cake pops, the best way to avoid the chocolate from cracking is to prevent drastic temperature changes. So let the chocolate set, then place in the fridge and then the freezer. You might experience slight condensation when you remove them from the freezer. They will last for 3 months in the freezer.
More Delicious Recipes
Chocolate Cake Pops
Chocolate cake pops are a danty and delicious treat, perfect for any kind of party.
Servings: 42 cake pops
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg - at room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot water
Frosting
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder - Dutch process or unsweetened natural
- 3 teaspoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12-24 oz candy melts or chocolate for coating - see notes
Equipment
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray 1- 9 inch round cake pan (or square). Make sure you use a cooking spray that contains flour. (VERY important you use a cooking spray that contains flour).
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment mix the eggs, buttermilk, and veg oil until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix until combined. Pour in the vanilla and hot water, mix on medium speed until combined.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 29-33 minutes (mine baked for 30 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Remove cake from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the cake pan and allow cake to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Assemble the Cake Pops
- Once the cake is cool, crumble it into the frosting bowl. You want to be quite thorough. Make sure there are no large cake chunks. With the paddle attachment, mix the frosting and cake on low speed until it comes together.
- Roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls. Place the balls on a wax paper or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Chill the cake balls in the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight), or chill in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
- Melt the chocolate in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. (Note: if using pure chocolate make sure you chop the chocolate before melting AND add ½ tsp vegetable oil to thin it out. This will make the coating smoother and all around better for coating the cake pops).
- Dip the ends of the lollipop sticks in the melted chocolate, you want the top 1/2 “ inch of the stick coated in chocolate, then insert the stick into the center of the chilled cake ball, pushing the cake ball about ½ way to ¾ the way through the ball. Repeat until all cake balls have a lollipop stick inserted in it.
- Place the cake pops back on the baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes or until cold and firm.
- Dip the cake ball into the chocolate coating until it is completely covered. Gently tap the lollipop stick against the side of the measuring cup to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
- Immediately after dipping in the chocolate, roll the cake pop in the sprinkles OR sprinkle the sprinkles overtop of the wet chocolate.
- Place the cake pops in a Styrofoam block to set. (This is the best way to get them to set without ruining the beautiful appearance!) Cake pops will set in 1 hour at room temperature.
- Continue until all cake pops are done. Let set at room temperature. Store the coated cake pops at room temperature for up to 5 days, store in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 week.
Notes
I dipped some of my cake pops in chocolate candy melts, and some in dark chocolate. Be careful when melting the chocolate, you don't want to scorch it! If using pure chocolate, make sure you add 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil or vegetable oil to thin it out before melting it.
You can store un-dipped cake pops in the freezer in a ziplock bag fo Ruperts to 6 months.
Did you make this recipe?snap a photo and tag @saltandbaker in your posts and stories so I can see what you're making!
Welcome to this delicious corner of the internet! Here I share the recipes my family loves.
