Chocolate Cake Pops

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.9 from 17 reviews

Prep Time: 2 hours Cook Time: 26 minutes Total Time: 6-7 hours Yield: 40 cake pops

Chocolate cake pops from scratch- made with homemade chocolate cake and chocolate frosting with sprinkles!

Ingredients
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons (31g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120mll) canola, vegetable, or melted coconut oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml) hot water

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
6 Tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
2–3 teaspoons heavy cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

COATING
32 ounces candy melts or coating (or pure chocolate)*
sprinkles

Instructions
1 Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch pan (round or square) or 9-inch springform pan.
2 Make the cake: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set
aside. Whisk the oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients,
add the hot water, and whisk everything together until combined. Make sure there are no pockets of dry ingredients
hiding.
3 Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
4 Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed
until creamy, about 2 minutes. This isn’t a lot of butter and it will get stuck on the sides of the bowl, so you may need
to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to really help get it creamed. Add confectioners’ sugar,
cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons of heavy cream/milk, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high
speed and beat for 3 minutes until it really comes together. Add another teaspoon of milk/cream if it looks a little too
thick.
 5 Crumble the cooled cake into the bowl on top of the frosting. Make sure there are no large lumps. Turn the mixer on
low and beat the frosting and cake crumbles together until combined.
6 Measure 1 scant Tablespoon of moist cake mixture and roll into a ball. Place balls on a lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.
7 Melt the coating in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (best for dunking!). Use a microwave or you can use a double boiler
and pour some at a time into the liquid measuring cup. Let the coating cool down for a few minutes before you begin
dipping. If it’s too hot when you dip, the coating will crack.
8 Coat the cake balls: Remove only 2-3 cake balls from the refrigerator at a time. (Keep the rest cold!) Dip a lollipop
stick about 1/2 inch into the coating, then insert into the center or the cake ball. Only push it about halfway – 3/4
through the cake ball. Dip the cake ball into the coating until it is completely covered. Make sure the coating covers
the base of the cake ball where it meets the lollipop stick. Very gently tap the stick against the edge of the measuring
cup to allow excess coating to drop off. Decorate the top with sprinkles and place upright into a styrofoam block or
box (as explained above). Repeat with remaining cake balls, only working with some out of the refrigerator at a time.
The cake balls must be very cold when dipping!
9 Coating will set within an hour. Store cake pops in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes
1 Make Ahead Instructions: I always make the cake 1 day ahead of time. Cover and keep at room temperature. You
can store the undipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Allow to
thaw in the refrigerator then continue with step 7. You can also freeze the finished cake pops for up to 6 weeks
once the coating has fully set. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

2 Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | KitchenAid Hand Mixer | Glass Measuring Cup | Springform Pan | Silpat
Baking Mat | Half Sheet Baking Pan | Lollipop Sticks

3 Chocolate: You can use candy coating/candy melts, almond bark, or pure semi-sweet chocolate. If using almond
bark or pure chocolate, chop it up before melting. Melt it down with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to thin out so it’s
easier to use as a coating. Bittersweet, white chocolate, or milk chocolate work as well. Coarsely chop and melt
down with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to thin out. Keep warm over a double boiler. You can also temper pure
chocolate for the coating. My full tempering tutorial is in Sally’s Candy Addiction if you have a copy.

4 Cake Balls: Want to skip the lollipop stick? Go for it. Just dip the cake balls in melted or tempered chocolate to
make delicious chocolate cake truffles. Whenever I dip truffles, I always use this spiral dipping tool. Place the
truffle in the chocolate and lift it out with the dipping tool. Quickly flip it upside down on a lined baking sheet. You
can see exactly how I do this in this video (scroll down for video): dark chocolate chocolate rum truffles. Go to the
1 minute mark. That’s how I dip and neatly release truffles. So easy!

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