Get started making chocolate cake pops from scratch with this delicious, easy-to-make recipe. All you need is a chocolate cake and frosting to make these tiny lollipop cakes for all occasions.
Craving for more chocolate treats? Try Dark chocolate truffles, Peanut butter chocolate cups, and dark chocolate fudge.
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At home, our kids love my homemade chocolate cake pop recipe, and I've got a super complete post about how to make cake pops that you absolutely must read to learn all about these lollipop cakes.
This all-chocolate cake balls are made with a chocolate cake, my soft and moist chocolate buttermilk cake mixed with a chocolate frosting made with cream cheese and covered in melted dark chocolate.
Homemade cake pops are great fun to make with kids during the holidays, and they love decorating them with colorful sprinkles, also they're perfect for so many occasions, like birthday parties, a baby shower, and more.
Why you'll love this recipe
Homemade chocolate cake pops are perfect if you have leftover cake from your homemade cakes, which you can also mix with leftover frosting such as my whipped buttercream recipe or Swiss meringue buttercream.
Ingredients you need
You need these ingredients to make this chocolate cake pops:
Chocolate cake
- Flour: Preferably use cake flour, or all-purpose flour will also work.
- Cocoa powder: Only natural cocoa powder, unsweetened.
- Baking powder: Only baking powder, or replace half the quantity with baking soda.
- Vegetable oil: A neutral oil such as sunflower oil.
- Sugar: Preferably extra-fine white granulated sugar or a mixture of white and brown sugar.
- Eggs: Only at room temperature, remember to take them out of the fridge in advance, or let them rest in a bowl of hot water.
- Milk: I like to use buttermilk, but it also works with simple dairy milk.
- Espresso coffee: For a full-bodied taste, hot coffee you can replace it with water.
- Vanilla and salt: Essential for flavor, pure vanilla extract and table salt.
Chocolate frosting
- Cream cheese: Non-fat cream cheese, which you can replace with mascarpone chees.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is preferred, but if you don't have any you can also use granulated sugar.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can make a simple plain frosting without using cocoa.
- Vanilla: Optional to flavor the frosting.
Chocolate coating
- Chocolate: Use semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking chocolate or bittersweet chocolate to cover the cake pops.
- Candy melts: You can also use chocolate candy melts or colored candy melts directly to coat your cake pops.
How to make Chocolate Cake Pops Recipe
Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full recipe instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the recipe card below!
- Place the chocolate cake, cut into large pieces, in a large bowl.
- Crumble with your fingertips until you have fine crumbs without lumps.
- Add your chocolate frosting to the crumbled cake and stir with a tablespoon until the mixture is compact and a little sticky.
- Scoop out heaps of cake pop mixture with a tablespoon or small cookie scoop.
- Form chocolate cake balls between your hands until smooth and round.
- Place the cake balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes.
- Melt chocolate (or chocolate melts/chocolate wafers) in a microwave or double boiler until smooth and completely melted.
- Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the chocolate before pushing it into the heart of a chocolate cake ball and repeat for other cake balls with your cake pop sticks.
- Leave chocolate cake pops to cool in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Then dip the chocolate cake pops completely into the melted chocolate mixture, shaking off any excess chocolate.
- Decorate your chocolate-covered cake pops with sugar pearls or sprinkles, and place them in a cake pop stand (styrofoam block) to cool completely at room temperature.
Tips for this recipe
Storage and freeze
Store cake pops: Store chocolate cake pops in an airtight container or under plastic wrap in the fridge or at room temperature for around 5 days.
How do I freeze cake pops? Freeze cake pops when completely hardened in a freezer bag or box for up to 3 months. Let thaw gently at room temperature.
Variations and substitutions
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it's possible to use a cake mix directly to make this chocolate cake pops recipe, you'll just have to adjust the quantity of frosting to get a thick mixture.
To thin chocolate for cake pops, use vegetable oil, shortening or cocoa butter powder.
You could use candy melts or melting wafers, which are made for sweets and easy to work with, but they're mostly sugar and oil with little cocoa. Real chocolate gives a more authentic taste and texture, though it might need tempering for a shiny, crunchy shell. Ultimately, it's a choice between the convenience of candy melts and the quality of real chocolate.
More Cake Pop Recipes
I hope you love these chocolate cake pops from scratch. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!
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Chocolate Cake Pops
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20
Description
Make these chocolate cake pops from scratch with a moist chocolate cake and chocolate frosting (perfect if you have leftover cakes) for around 20 cake pops.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 75 g (⅔ cup) Cake flour
- 27 g (¼ cup) Cocoa powder - unsweetened
- ½ tsp baking powder (4 g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 54 g (¼ cup) Vegetable oil - sunflower oil
- 100 g (½ cup) Sugar - granulated
- 1 Egg - medium at room temperature
- ½ tsp. Vanilla extract
- 64 g (¼ cup) Milk
- 57 g (⅔ cup) Black coffee - cooled
Chocolate Frosting
- 90 g (⅓ cup) Cream cheese - or mascarpone cheese
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder - unsweetened
- 1 tbsp Powdered sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
Chocolate coating
- 200 g (7 oz) chocolate - semi-sweet or bittersweet
- Sprinkles
Instructions
Chocolate cake
- Preheat the oven to 329°F/ 165°C and prepare a 6 - 8 inch (15/20 cm) round cake pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom only.
- In a bowl, mix and sift together the dry ingredients, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, mix the milk with the cooled black coffee.
- Place the vegetable oil and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, beating again for 3 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients and milk/coffee mixture alternately and in batches, incorporating them gently with a spatula or hand whisk until the mixture is smooth and liquid.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for approx. 20-25 minutes until done. (Check for even baking by plunging a toothpick into the center or the blade of a knife, which should come out with a few crumbs and not liquid batter).
- Leave the chocolate sponge cake to cool completely.
Chocolate frosting
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients - cream cheese, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and vanilla - until you have a creamy frosting.
Making the chocolate cake pops
- Place the cooled chocolate cake in a large bowl and crumble with your fingers until you have a fine powder with no lumps.
- Add the chocolate frosting and mix with a spoon until you have a compact, slightly sticky mixture.
- Form the cake pop batter into cake balls and roll in your hands until smooth and well-rounded.
- Place the cake balls in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Chocolate coating
- Melt chocolate in a microwave or double boiler until smooth and fluid.
- Dip the end of a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate, then insert it into the center of a chocolate cake ball and repeat for all the other cake balls.
- Place the chocolate cake pops in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Reheat the dark chocolate and place in a deep bowl.
- Dip the cake pops completely into the chocolate, then shake off any excess.
- Decorate with sprinkles or sugar pearls, and place upright on a cake pop stand or upside down on a sheet of parchment paper until completely cooled.
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cake pop, cake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pop
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 11.5 g
- Sodium: 49.3 mg
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.1 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 13.9 mg
Thank you Fadela for the recipe, the kids and I enjoyed them, they're really delicious and very easy to make.
Elise