For this Thanksgiving, I bring you a cake pop special. I feel that I had to brag, I mean post, about these cake pops because it is a personal victory. To understand this, we have to go back to October, when my friend Jaime and decided to make cake pops for Halloween. They should be pretty simple, right? Make a cake and mix it with frosting. Then roll it up into a ball and coat with candy. But, we were riding the struggle bus all that night. Our plan was to make pumpkin spice cake, but we almost forgot to add the pumpkin and the spice. Oops. The worst, however, was melting the candy melt in the microwave and grabbing the bowl that had been in the microwave for 5+ minutes. Three second-degree burned fingers resulted in a run to the store at 10:30pm to get burn relief medicine, and a difficult next few days trying to type anything. In all seriousness, use caution in the kitchen!

This time around, I decided to make triple chocolate cake pops. This is a chocolate cake mixed with chocolate frosting, coated with a chocolate candy melt. It’s basically paradise for a chocolaholic. Using the lessons learned from the past, the cake pops came out to be a (super) success, if I do say so myself. Key lessons for cake pops:

• The cake doesn’t have to perfect. You are going to mash it up and mix it with frosting.
• To avoid the burned fingers, I got a Wilton Candy and Chocolate Melt Melting Pot. This melting pot is great because one setting melts the candy, and the other setting keeps it warm. With the plastic handle and silicone material, it is safe to use and easy to clean. Plus, you can use this for fondue!
• Candy melts can be too thick if you purely melt them, so you can use the Wilton EZ Thinner or add shortening to your melt. With the Wilton EZ Thinner, they recommend 2 tablespoons of the Thinner for every 12 ounces of candy melt, but I found that 1.5 tablespoons was perfect. The candy was thin enough to dip, but didn’t slide off the cake.
• It is key to refrigerate the cake balls for at least one hour before dipping them into the candy melt because they will fall off the sticks (but cake balls are good too!).

So now, I bring you the recipe and steps for construction of the cake pops.

Happy baking!

Xoxo,
JJC

Recipe, yield 16 cake pops.

Cake
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2  cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1 /2 stick)
1 egg
(Optional: you can add some coffee extract to your liquids to make it a little bitter/dark tasting 🙂 )

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg to the butter and mix.
5. Add the flour mixture and the liquids alternately, beating well after each addition. Consistency should be similar to a pudding.
6. Pour the batter into a cake pan (doesn’t matter the size).
7. Bake at 325F for until a toothpick comes out clean. For a 9-inch cake pan, bake approximately 15-17 minutes. For a 6-inch cake pan, bake approximately 20-22 minutes.

Frosting
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cream (or Half & Half)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Whip the butter until it is light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the liquids and confectioner’s sugar until it is at a desired consistency.

Construction
1. Bake cake and let it completely cool. Using a pastry blender, mash the cake.
2. Mix in the frosting and blend using the pasty blender. The cake should begin to gel together.
3. Roll the cake mixture into balls, with about a 1 inch diameter. I used a tablespoon to measure and made 16 cake pops. You don’t want to make them TOO big or heavy, since they have to sit on the lollipop stick.
4. Refrigerate the balls for at least one hour, until they harden.
5. Melt the candy melt. If it is too thick, you can add the EZ Thinner or shortening.
6. Stick the lollipop sticks in the cake balls and dip in the melted candy. Decorate them before the candy hardens!
7. Place your completed cake pops on a styrofoam board and show them off to the world! Enjoy!