Chocolate Cake Pops

Cake pops have been on my want-to-try list for some time, and I finally made some for Alex's recent 1-year birthday party.

They were a big hit with everyone except the birthday girl. It was her first taste of anything chocolate/cake/dessert, and after one bite she refused to eat any more. A little kid who doesn't want dessert? I will not fight that battle.

Cake pops are basically smushed balls of cake and frosting, dipped in chocolate. Fun, sweet, and great for a kids party! Also small enough that you can eat one for a late night snack, and not experience too much remorse.

These are made totally from scratch because I think boxed cake and packaged are generally nasty. If you're going through the trouble of making cake pops, you may as well make them from scratch. There are several steps, which I did over a few days. On Thursday I baked the cake. Then on Friday I mixed in the frosting, rolled the cake balls, and decorated them with chocolate. I didn't have a styrofoam block, so I used my colander to dry the decorated cake pops.

Chocolate Cake Pops (adapted from The Kitchn)

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Ingredients:

1 batch Dark Chocolate Cake
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk (or more, as necessary)

Lollipop sticks (found at Michael's or other craft stores)
12 ounces chocolate chips
12 ounces white chocolate chips 

Colored sugars, candies, and other decorative sprinkles

Instructions:

Bake the cake and let it cool completely on a rack. This is a very moist cake, which is ideal for this recipe. It's best to let it cool overnight at least. When it is completely cool, break the cake into a large bowl. Crumble it with forks or your fingers until it is in fine crumbs.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and milk together until smooth. Pour into the cake crumbs and mix with a spoon. Then continue mixing with your fingers, kneading and mixing until fully incorporated into the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. You can leave the mix refrigerated for several days at this point.

Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with wax paper or parchment. Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll it into a smooth 1 1/2-inch ball. Repeat until you've used up all the mixture. As each sheet fills up, put it in the freezer so that the balls harden, for at least 30 minutes (or up to several days).

Melt chocolate or white chocolate in a double boiler on the stove. Remove cake balls from freezer. Dip tips of lollipop sticks into melted chocolate, and insert sticks no more than halfway into the center of cake balls. Let them set for 1-2 minutes, resting on the cake ball, sticks in the air. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered.

Dip in sugar, coconut, sprinkles, or anything else you'd like to decorate with. Put it back on the sheet to harden, or stand upright in a styrofoam block. Dry completely, about 5-10 minutes. 

Store in an airtight container, or in the freezer.