I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be sharing a cake pop recipe with you.
Mainly because I thought they were trendy and I try to stay away from trends. I like marching to my own drummer. A little bit of a rebel, perhaps, but definitely not a trend follower. But sometimes trends are not trends, but ideas that turn out to be game changers, like cake pops.
With my second attempt on Swiss Cake Rolls failing...again, there I was, with another cake recipe I could not share with y'all. I had to find a way to make use of it or it would somehow disappear.
My hips and waistline were begging me No, not again!
And since I had already shared a trifle recipe with you from the first Swiss Cake Roll fail, I had to think of another recipe, so Cake Pops it was. And not just plain cake pops, but Peppermint Chocolate Cake Pops decorated with candy cane bits for the Christmas holiday.
I am so happy I finally made cake pops because:
- they are just so darn cute
- they're easy and fun to make
- they're portion controlled (Hello, diet) and
- they are so yummy!
You can make cake pops for any occasion since you can decorate them any way you want which is half the fun of making them!
I would suggest watching Bakerela's video on YouTube before making these if this is your first time because she is the person behind cake pops and she has some great tips on making them. There's also other food bloggers out there who have picked up a few good tips for making cake pops too.
A great time to do this is while your cake is cooling off or while your chilling the cake balls before dipping.
Now I used red and white candy melts separately for dipping and I also combined them for a pink peppermint color. You can experiment with what you like as your imagination is the limits.
If you’re lucky, I just might mess up another Swiss Cake Roll on purpose because I'm really
If you make these Peppermint Chocolate Cake Pops, tag me on your social media channels so I can see how yours turned out.
Happy Cake Pop Making!
Peppermint Chocolate Cake Pops
Peppermint Cake Pops are prefect for the Christmas Holidays!
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: Makes about 3 dozen cake pops
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil's food cake mix, any brand + ingredients needed to make
- 1/2 cup peppermint crunch baking chips
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1-8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1 cup peppermint candy bits
- 1- 12 ounce package white candy melts
- 1- 12 ounce package red candy melts
- 1 package Lollipop sticks
- 1 Styrofoam lid or block, or cake pop stand
Cooking Directions
- Prepare cake mix as directed on box. Fold in 1/2 cup peppermint crunch baking chips. Bake as directed on box. Remove from oven when done and let cool to room temperature.
- To make peppermint cream cheese frosting: Cream together butter, cream cheese, and peppermint extract.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, starting with a low speed and gradually increasing speed so sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl. You can always add in more powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, if you prefer your frosting sweeter.
- Once cake has cooled, crumble into a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1/3 cup of peppermint frosting. You can use a wooden spoon, a fork, or your hands to mix the frosting with the cake crumbs.
- Add in more frosting, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until you get an even mixture of cake and frosting. You want just enough frosting so the cake crumbs will stick together when rolled into a ball without looking clumpy or falling apart. On the other side, you don't want the cake mixture too wet or mushy.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop cake mix and roll together between your palms into a ball shape. Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat process until all mixture is shaped into balls.
- Cover with plastic wrap, place in refrigerator and let balls chill for 1 hour or overnight.
- *Do not place cake balls in freezer before dipping or it may cause the chocolate to crack after dipping.*
- After balls have chilled, its now time to prepare them for dipping. Melt candy melts as directed on package. Dip the tip of lollipop stick into the melted candy melts and insert into the flat side of the cake balls (the side they have been resting on), inserting a little less than halfway.
- Place cake balls with sticks back in refrigerator and let chill for 15 minutes.
- After lollipop sticks have had a chance to set, its now time to dip. You may need to heat up candy melts again in microwave to soften them before dipping. Let sit for 15 seconds before dipping cake balls.
- Grab cake ball by the lollipop stick and dip into the candy melts until entire cake ball is covered and remove. Do not twirl, turn, or swirl cake ball in candy melts because this may cause the cake ball to fall apart and leave crumbs in dipping candy. Just dunk straight into melted candy and out. If you need to cover a bare spot, use a spoon to pour melted candy over the spot. You can use a clean toothpick to lightly wipe any excess melted candy off of the lollipop stick.
- After cake ball has been dipped, slowly rotate until excess chocolate has dripped off.
- Decorate right away by holding cake pop over a small bowl and sprinkling with peppermint candy bits.
- Place decorated cake pop into a Styrofoam lid or block, or a cake pop stand and let cool.
- Serve immediately or store in freezer in a zip lock bag.
- If freezing, let cake pops sit out for about 10 minutes before eating.
Inspired by ~ Angie from Bakerella.
All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.
