Chocolate Cake Pops

In January I had both Matthew’s (Andie’s son) and Max’s first birthday parties to attend so I decided to give making cake  pops a try.  This is a very simple ‘how-to’ for making them, I am in no way an expert and will gladly leave that title to Bakerella! 

Basically to make cake pops you need to make a cake.  Then you smash the cake and mix it with an icing-like substance.  Then you roll it into balls, chill them, then pop in some sticks and dip in chocolate :P 

You can use the chocolate cake recipe that I have given below or any other of your choosing – a packet mix is fine.  I got my pop sticks from Milly’s – they sell long Wilton brand sticks and they also stock their own brand of shorter sticks, which is what I used as they were half the price.

Chocolate Cake:
110g self raising flour
40g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing Mix:
80g unsalted butter
125g icing sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cream

Other:
375g Chocolate, melted, to cover the cake balls
30 (approx) lollipop sticks

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 180°C.  Grease and line a 22 cm round cake tin with baking paper.  Sift the flour and cocoa together in a large bowl.  Combine the sugar and 125ml boiling water in the top of a double boiler over a medium heat and stir until dissolved.  Add the butter and chocolate and stir until smooth.  Cool slightly.
Combine the egg and vanilla extract then add to the flour mixture and mix well.  Add the chocolate mixture and mix to combine.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Remove from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Finely crumb the chocolate cake into a large bowl.  Place the butter, icing sugar and cocoa in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes or until light and creamy.  Add the cream and mix well.  Add to the cake crumbs and mix well (the mixture should stick together when squeezed).
Line two baking trays with baking paper.  Roll the mixture into small balls, about the same size as a truffle.  Place on the trays and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Carefully insert a stick into each cake ball and dip into the melted chocolate, swirling off the excess.

For Matthew’s party I coated the cake pop with white chocolate and then drizzled dark chocolate over the top as Andie had decided on a ‘Cookies and Cream’ theme.  For Max’s party I used red and light blue candy melts by Wilton (a little tip – mixing vegetable oil with the candy melts makes the consistency a lot better to work with, add a little a time while melting them until you have a consistency you are happy with) and topped them with sprinkles.