Decadent Homemade Chocolate Cake Pops – Sally's Baking Addiction

It was exactly one year ago that I launched Sally’s Baking Challenge. Can you believe a full year has passed? That means we've tackled 12 challenge recipes, including the very first one, which earned a spot on the 2017 most popular recipe list: chocolate lava cakes! (If you missed it, here are the top 10 recipes of 2017.)

For February’s Baking Challenge, I knew chocolate had to make a comeback. I settled on chocolate cake pops because so many of you have been asking for them, especially after I shared my favorite vanilla version. Your wish is my command.

What I love most is that you get to be creative. You can decorate these cake pops however you like, making the challenge ten times more fun.

I’ve included plenty of step-by-step photos and lots of tips and tricks. I want you to understand every instruction so you can follow along confidently. The process isn't complicated—you simply bake a chocolate cake, make frosting, and mix them together. Things get a bit particular when rolling, inserting lollipop sticks, and dipping. If you can make bread bowls, you can definitely handle cake pops! (And they’re more fun to eat… sprinkles!)

By the way, if you’ve ever tried store-bought cake pops, these taste completely different. They’re made from scratch. No cake mix, no canned frosting, no preservatives or other junk. You can actually taste the homemade goodness. ♥

Chocolate Cake Pops

CAKE POPPING PROCESS

1. Bake a single-layer chocolate cake
2. Prepare just enough homemade chocolate frosting
3. Crumble the cake
4. Combine crumbles with frosting
5. Shape into cake balls
6. Dip the cake balls in chocolate

Quick tip: Whenever I make cake pops from scratch, I start the night before. I bake the cake, cover it, and let it sit at room temperature overnight. I also make the frosting, cover it, and refrigerate. That way everything is ready to go.

Alright, let’s get started!

SINGLE LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE

You might think switching from vanilla cake pops to chocolate is simple—just replace some flour with cocoa powder and use chocolate frosting instead of vanilla. I wish! Chocolate is a bit more demanding. I tested several single-layer chocolate cakes before landing on this one. My first attempts started with creamed butter and sugar. My favorite chocolate cakes and cupcakes typically use oil for fat because (1) hello moisture, and (2) butter’s flavor isn’t necessary when chocolate dominates. For cake pops, I initially thought I needed a slightly drier cake for the best texture (since it gets mixed with frosting). That turned into a big mess because dry cake is gross.

So, you’ll need oil for this cake, along with other basics like cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and eggs. Hot water is also essential. Remember why? The hot liquid helps the cocoa powder bloom and dissolve. When making chocolate cake, I usually use hot coffee instead of water because coffee enhances the chocolate flavor—but that’s less crucial here since we’re crumbling the cake and mixing it with chocolate frosting!

By the way, you can absolutely enjoy this chocolate cake on its own. If you ever need a single-layer chocolate cake, this is the one. It’s that good—italicize and bold good. Deep, dark chocolate flavor, super moist, and incredibly rich. Top it with chocolate buttercream, peanut butter frosting, or red wine chocolate ganache. (!!!) I use my 9-inch springform pan, but the batter also fits into a regular 9-inch pan—round or square, doesn’t matter.

What proved trickier than perfecting the cake was figuring out the right amount of frosting. Too much makes the cake pops wet and greasy; too little and the crumbs won’t bind. I’ve nailed the exact amount you need. It’s not much because the chocolate cake is already so moist.

Crumble the cake into the bowl of frosting—yes, it feels strange. You just made this beautiful chocolate cake, and now you’re breaking it up into a bowl of frosting. That’s what cake pops are: cake crumbs and frosting. Weird.

Crumble it up and use your mixer to combine the frosting and crumbs:

Once the two are mixed, it’s time to roll the mixture into balls. This part is easy. I found chocolate cake pops much easier to roll than my vanilla version—the mixture is so smooth! Your hands will get a bit sticky, but just roll with it. Hahaha, get it?

DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE

Smaller is better. If you roll the cake pops too large, they’ll wobble off the lollipop stick because they’re too heavy. Use exactly 1 tablespoon of the mixture per ball. No more, no less. You’ll end up with 40 pops. That’s a lot—but these freeze beautifully! And you can gift them to anyone and everyone. Who doesn’t love a homemade cake pop? Seriously, who.

These cake balls need to chill in the refrigerator before we insert the lollipop sticks. Why? They’re too delicate right now and will fall apart. Which reminds me—you don’t have to make these as pops. You can make them truffle-style by simply rolling and coating in chocolate. Either way, chill the cake balls before coating. I place them on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate for a couple hours.

Speaking of chocolate, you can dip the cake balls in pure chocolate—my preference for best taste—but that’s pricey. You need a good amount for all 40 pops! You can use candy melts or candy coating instead. I give both options in the recipe below with notes for each.

3 EASY TRICKS

1. To keep the cake ball secure on the stick, dip the stick slightly into the coating first, then insert it into the center of the cake ball. See photo above.
2. A 2-cup glass liquid measuring cup is the perfect depth for dipping. If using pure chocolate (like in these photos), I melt it in a double boiler, then spoon a little at a time into the measuring cup. I don’t dip directly into the whole pot.
3. The best way to let the coating dry without ruining the round shape is to place the pops upright in a large styrofoam block or a box. I used a box for this batch—just poked tiny holes into it. Easy and cheap.

Cake pops will be dry within an hour. (Here’s my vanilla version.)

Despite my wordy post (sorry!) and a million photos, I promise chocolate cake pops are simple. As long as you follow my tips and start the night before as I suggest, it’s straightforward. And if you’re interested, I filmed a Facebook LIVE on my regular cake pops last year. ?

If you’re not into this recipe, here’s the alternate February Baking Challenge:

After you make the baking challenge recipe or alternative, share your photos throughout this month using #sallysbakingchallenge on Instagram or Twitter, or upload a photo to my Facebook page or Facebook group. Or email it to me! (You can also message me your photo on Instagram if your account is private.) By doing so, you’re automatically entered in the $250 giveaway!!

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

Directions

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.
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.

Make ahead tip: 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.

Recipe Notes

*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.

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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Here are some items I used to make today’s recipe.

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

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