Description
Delightfully festive Halloween Cake Pops made from rich homemade chocolate cake and creamy buttercream frosting, beautifully decorated with vibrant candy melts and food coloring to capture the spooky spirit. Perfect for parties and trick-or-treat treats!
Ingredients
Scale
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 5-6 tablespoons heavy cream
Decorating Ingredients
- 2 cups orange candy melts
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- Green food coloring gel
- Black food coloring gel or black food writer
Instructions
- Prepare the Chocolate Cake Batter: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake pan thoroughly. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder with boiling water until smooth and let it cool to room temperature.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together using a mixer until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on medium speed.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time into the butter and sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract to combine.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the cooled cocoa mixture into the batter, mixing well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternately add this dry mixture and the milk with sour cream into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated but not overmixed.
- Bake the Cake: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool completely.
- Make the Buttercream Frosting: Using a paddle attachment, whip the salted butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar, mixing on low speed at first to avoid a sugar cloud, then increase speed to combine thoroughly.
- Add Cream and Vanilla: Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream one tablespoon at a time, mixing continuously, until the frosting reaches a firm but spreadable consistency suitable for coating cake pops. Continue whipping until light and smooth.
- Decorating Preparation: Melt the orange candy melts according to package instructions. Prepare green and black food coloring gels or food writer for decorating details on the cake pops.
- Assemble and Decorate Cake Pops: Crumble the cooled cake and mix thoroughly with buttercream frosting to form a dough-like mixture. Shape into small balls, insert sticks, chill to firm up, then dip into melted orange candy melts. Use colored gels and confectioners’ sugar to add festive Halloween designs as desired. (Exact decorating steps are detailed in the original post.)
Notes
- For best results, chill the cake crumb mixture before shaping to make handling easier.
- Use a refrigerated stage to help candy melts adhere smoothly on the cake pops.
- Ensure cake is completely cooled before crumbling to avoid a messy mixture.
- Decorating designs can be customized with different colors or details depending on the Halloween theme preferred.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake pop
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 65mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
