Learn to make home made chocolate cake pops utterly from scratch, with no field cake combine or canned frosting. Mix wealthy chocolate cake with the very best chocolate buttercream, and coat in melted chocolate for a deal with that can make your tastebuds pop! Watch the video tutorial for all my finest ideas.
See my vanilla cake pops recipe, too.
I initially revealed this recipe in 2018 and have since added new images and a video.
Chocolate cake + chocolate frosting + colourful sprinkles = probably the most cute deal with! At this time we’re making chocolate cake pops as a result of, after I shared my vanilla cake pops, I acquired so many requests for a chocolate model! Your want is my command.
This recipe was a Sally’s Baking Problem again in 2018, and readers have cherished them over time:
One reader, Sophia, commented: “Such an superior recipe—these are mainly Starbucks dupes and tremendous yummy! I made the cake pops for a pal’s birthday however my household nearly ate all of them earlier than I might give any to her, LOL. ★★★★★”
One reader, Jen, commented: “This recipe was nice! Made them for my son’s party and had a number of individuals ask for the recipe! My son even mentioned they had been higher than Starbucks! ★★★★★”
By the way in which, in the event you’ve ever eaten store-bought cake pops—these style completely totally different. They’re from scratch. There’s no cake combine, there’s no canned frosting. You’ll be able to truly TASTE the home made.
I’ve loads of step-by-step images, a video tutorial, and plenty of success ideas at this time as a result of I would like you to know each instruction earlier than it’s your flip to make them. In any case, the method isn’t troublesome—you’re actually simply baking a chocolate cake and making frosting after which mixing them collectively. However issues simply get a bit of specific in the case of rolling, lollipop-sticking, and dunking/dipping. If you may make bread bowls, you possibly can deal with cake pops. (They’re extra enjoyable to eat too… sprinkles!)
Easy methods to Make Chocolate Cake Pops
Since we’re ditching field cake combine and canned frosting, we’ll must take a bit of further time to prep each from scratch. Right here’s an summary of the method:
- Make a 1-layer chocolate cake and let cool.
- Make chocolate frosting.
- Crumble cake into frosting and blend.
- Roll the combination into balls.
- Dip in melted chocolate.
- High with sprinkles and let dry.
- EAT!
Fast tip: At any time when I make cake pops from scratch, I all the time start the evening earlier than. I make the cake, cowl it, and let it sit out at room temperature in a single day. I additionally put together the frosting, cowl, and refrigerate. This fashion all the things’s able to go the subsequent day.
Make a 1-Layer Chocolate Cake
It would look like the swap from vanilla cake pops to chocolate cake pops is straightforward. Substitute some flour with cocoa powder, proper? And vanilla frosting with chocolate frosting? I want! Chocolate is a sophisticated soul and requires a bit of finesse; that’s why my vanilla cake and chocolate cake recipes are so totally different! I baked a number of single-layer chocolate muffins earlier than stopping with this one.
Behind the Scenes: Recipe Testing
The primary few started with creamed butter + sugar. My favourite chocolate muffins and cupcakes usually depend on oil for the fats as a result of (1) moisture and (2) the flavour of butter actually isn’t obligatory as a result of chocolate overpowers it anyway. My preliminary thought with cake pops, nevertheless, was that I wanted a barely drier cake to get the very best texture for cake pops (as a result of will probably be combined with frosting). Effectively this was simply an enormous mess from the beginning, as a result of dry cake is gross.
That being mentioned, you’ll want oil for the cake. And some different fundamentals like cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and eggs. Scorching water can also be a should. The recent liquid encourages the cocoa powder to bloom and dissolve. After I make chocolate cake, I often attain for decent espresso (as a substitute of scorching water) as a result of espresso accentuates the chocolate favor—however that’s not as essential right here, as a result of we’re simply crumbling the cake and mixing with chocolate frosting.
By the way in which, you possibly can completely take pleasure in this chocolate cake by itself. For those who ever want a single-layer chocolate cake—use this recipe. It’s so good. Deep and darkish chocolate taste. Tremendous moist. Tremendous wealthy. High with chocolate buttercream, whipped cream, peanut butter frosting, or crimson wine chocolate ganache.
What was a bit of tougher than testing the proper single-layer chocolate cake was determining how a lot frosting I wanted. An excessive amount of frosting and the cake pops are moist and greasy, whereas too little frosting means there isn’t sufficient to bind the cake crumbles. After a number of trial and error, I lastly discovered the proper quantity… and it’s not a lot, as a result of the chocolate cake is already so moist.
Crumble the cake into the bowl of frosting, and sure, you’ll really feel very bizarre doing this. You simply made this stunning chocolate cake and can now break it up right into a bowl of frosting. As a result of that’s what cake pops are—cake crumbs and frosting.
As soon as the 2 are combined collectively, it’s time to roll the combination into balls. This half is EASY. I discovered the chocolate cake pops a lot simpler to roll into balls than my vanilla model. This combination is simply sooo easy! Your fingers will get a bit of sticky, however simply roll with it. 😉
Ideas for Home made Chocolate Cake Pops
Success Tip #1: Make Smaller Cake Pops: For those who roll the cake pops too giant, they’ll wobble off the lollipop stick as a result of they’re too heavy. You want 1 Tablespoon of the cake pop combination per ball (about 20g). No extra, no much less. You’ll find yourself with 40 of them. Quite a bit—however these freeze fantastically! And you’ll reward them to anybody and everybody. Who doesn’t love a home made cake pop?
These cake balls want to relax within the fridge earlier than we pop ’em on a lollipop stick. Why? They’re a lot too delicate proper now; they’ll utterly crumble. Which jogs my memory… you do NOT need to make these as pops. You may make them truffle-style by merely rolling them and coating in chocolate (identical to how we make Oreo balls). Both means you take pleasure in them, chill the cake balls earlier than coating. I simply place them on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate them for a pair hours.
- Talking of chocolate, you possibly can dunk the cake balls into melted chocolate (white or semi-sweet), which is what I choose for finest style, however that’s fairly costly. And also you want quantity for all 40 cake pops. As a substitute, you need to use sweet melts/sweet coating, and I give each choices within the recipe beneath, together with notes for every alternative.
Success Tip #2: To make sure the cake ball stays safe on the lollipop stick, dip one finish of the stick into the melted chocolate coating first (nearly 1/2 inch down), after which insert the coated finish into the middle of the cake ball. This helps the cake ball adhere to the lollipop stick.
Success Tip #3: A 2-cup glass liquid measuring cup is the proper depth for dipping the cake pops. If I’m utilizing melted chocolate, like I did in these images, I soften it in a double boiler then spoon a bit of at a time into the measuring cup. I don’t like dipping proper into the entire pot of melted chocolate. Let the melted chocolate quiet down for about 5 minutes earlier than you dip the chilly cake balls into it. (In any other case the coating would possibly crack because it dries.)
Success Tip #4: One of the best ways to permit the coating to dry and set—with out ruining the superbly spherical cake pops—is to put them right-side-up in a big styrofoam block or perhaps a field. I used a field, as pictured beneath, for this batch. I simply poked little holes into it. Straightforward and low cost.
For those who’re topping with sprinkles (all the time really helpful!), add them now earlier than the chocolate units. Cake pops dry/set inside an hour or so. Take pleasure in!
Chocolate Cake Pops
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook dinner Time: 26 minutes
Whole Time: 7 hours
Yield: 40 cake pops
Class: Cake
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
Chocolate cake pops from scratch—made with home made chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, dunked in melted chocolate and topped with sprinkles! Observe my thorough directions, ideas, and video tutorial for finest outcomes.
Chocolate Frosting
Coating
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch pan (spherical or sq.) or 9-inch springform pan.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt collectively in a big bowl. Put aside. Whisk the oil, eggs, and vanilla collectively in a medium bowl. Pour the moist components into the dry components, add the recent water, and whisk all the things collectively till mixed. Make sure that there are not any pockets of dry components hiding.
- Pour the batter evenly into the ready pan. Bake for 25–27 minutes or till a toothpick inserted within the heart comes out clear. Permit the cake to chill utterly within the pan set on a wire rack.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium pace till creamy, about 2 minutes. This isn’t lots of butter and it’ll get caught on the perimeters of the bowl, so it’s possible you’ll must scrape down the perimeters of the bowl with a rubber spatula to essentially assist get it creamed. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons of heavy cream/milk, and vanilla extract, and beat on low pace till included. Enhance to excessive pace and beat for 3 minutes till it actually comes collectively. Add one other teaspoon of milk/cream if it appears to be like a bit of too thick.
- Crumble the cooled cake into the bowl on high of the frosting. Make sure that there are not any giant lumps. Flip the mixer on low pace and beat the frosting and cake crumbles collectively till mixed.
- Measure 1 scant Tablespoon (20g) of moist cake combination and roll right into a ball. Place cake balls on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for two hours or freeze for 1 hour.
- Soften the coating in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (finest for dunking!). Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each 20 seconds till utterly melted and easy. (Or you need to use a double boiler and pour a bit of at a time into the liquid measuring cup.) Let the coating quiet down for a couple of minutes earlier than you start dipping. If it’s too scorching if you dip, the coating will crack.
- Coat the cake balls: Take away solely 2–3 cake balls from the fridge at a time. (Hold the remainder chilly!) Dip one finish of a lollipop stick about 1/2 inch into the coating, then insert into the middle of the cake ball. Push it about midway to three/4 of the way in which by the cake ball. Dip the cake ball into the coating till it’s utterly coated. Make sure that the coating covers the bottom of the cake ball the place it meets the lollipop stick. Very gently faucet the stick towards the sting of the measuring cup to permit extra coating to drip off. Adorn the highest with sprinkles and place upright right into a styrofoam block or field (as defined within the weblog submit above). Repeat with remaining cake balls, solely working with a number of out of the fridge at a time. The cake balls have to be very chilly when dipping!
- Coating will set inside an hour. Retailer cake pops within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward Directions: I all the time make the cake 1 day forward of time. Cowl and preserve at room temperature. You’ll be able to retailer the undipped cake balls within the fridge for as much as 2 days or freeze them for as much as 6 weeks. Permit to thaw within the fridge then proceed with step 7. You may also freeze the completed cake pops for as much as 6 weeks as soon as the coating has absolutely set. Thaw in a single day within the fridge.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 9-inch Spherical Pan, 9-inch Sq. Pan, or 9-inch Springform Pan | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Measuring Cup | Double Boiler | Lollipop Sticks
- Chocolate: You need to use sweet coating/sweet melts, almond bark, or semi-sweet chocolate (or white chocolate). If utilizing almond bark or chocolate, chop it up earlier than melting. Soften it with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to skinny out so it’s simpler to make use of as a coating. Hold heat over a double boiler. You may also mood pure chocolate for the coating. My full tempering tutorial is in Sally’s Sweet Habit when you’ve got a duplicate.
- Cake Balls: Need to skip the lollipop stick? Go for it. Simply dip the cake balls in melted or tempered chocolate to make scrumptious chocolate cake truffles. At any time when I dip truffles, I all the time use this spiral dipping instrument. Drop the truffle within the chocolate and raise it out with the dipping instrument. Rapidly flip it the wrong way up onto a lined baking sheet. You’ll be able to see precisely how I do that on this submit (scroll down for video): darkish chocolate coconut rum truffles. Go to the 1-minute mark. That’s how I dip and neatly launch truffles. Really easy!
See Your Chocolate Cake Pops!
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