How to Make Hot Cocoa Cake Pops

How to Make Hot Cocoa Cake Pops

Cake pops or balls are a great and unique way to indulge in creating a cake treat without having to modify a recipe. Petite in size, they can be enjoyed by kids and adults for any occasion. Serve these on a cold day, along with some hot chocolate.
Makes 48 cake balls.

Ingredients

Cake Pops

• Your favorite white cake recipe
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup vanilla frosting
• 1 envelope hot cocoa instant drink mix

Coating and Decoration

• 1 envelope hot cocoa instant drink mix
• 1 bag (14 ounces) white chocolate melts

Steps

Creating the Cake Mixture

1. Bake the cake. If you are using water or milk, add the envelope of hot cocoa to it in a small bowl, stir, and add it to the batter. Follow the specific recipe you are using, including ingredient amounts, utensils and baking dishes, steps or instructions, oven temperatures, and baking times.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Slice the cake. Using a damp knife, cut the cake in sections or quarters. This allows the insides of the cake to cool down faster, rather than having the cake cool down from the outside in.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Crumble the cake. When the cake pieces have reached room temperature or have cooled enough to handle, use your hands to crumble the cake in a large mixing bowl. You will want to break down any chunks, especially any hard corners.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add the icing. Start off with 1/4 cup of icing in the bowl. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly incorporate the cake crumbs and icing together until you achieve a consistency of dough, as if you're making cookie dough. Add additional icing, if needed.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Refrigerate the mixture. Having the mixture chilled makes it easier for you to roll it into balls.
   
   
   

Making the Cake Balls

1. Scoop the mixture. Use a cookie dough scooper to help you make even ball amounts, equivalent to about 1 tablespoon (15 grams). To avoid multitasking, scoop the entire mixture and place the balls onto a flat surface (such as a baking sheet or counter top), lined with parchment paper.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Roll the cake balls. Use both palms of your hands and circle each ball in a circular motion, to allow any flat surfaces become evenly round.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Chill the cake balls. For the best results, it's recommended to refrigerate the cake balls for at least two hours. By doing this, any coating won't affect the prepared cake when dipping.
   
   
   
   
   

Dipping the Cake Balls

1. Melt the chocolate. You can either use a microwave-safe bowl or create a double boiler. Stir the chocolate to make sure everything is melted evenly.
   
   
   
   
2. Insert sticks into the cake balls. Prick them in the center, just enough to pick them up from the parchment paper and hold.
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you're wanting to present the cake balls on a stick, it's recommended to use lollipop sticks, which can be found in specialty baking aisles. Dip about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) of the stick into the melted chocolate prior to inserting them into the cake balls.
   • If you're wanting to present the cake balls in decorative individual wrappers, poke them with toothpicks.
3. Dip the cake balls. While holding the lollipop stick or toothpick, submerge the cake ball into the melted chocolate. When lifting it back up, gently lift in a swirling motion or give a gentle shake.
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you are using toothpicks, remove them from the balls. Add a very small amount of extra melted chocolate to cover the holes. You can use the back of a spoon to evenly spread out any extra coating as well.
4. Repeat with the rest. Place the chocolate covered cake ball in the same place on the waxed paper. Pick up the next one and repeat the dipping until all of the balls are covered.
   
   
   
   
   

Decorating the Cake Balls

1. Drizzle additional melted chocolate on top. You can create even zig-zag lines by moving your arm back and forth in an uniform way across the entire sheet of cake balls.
2. Use the hot cocoa mix on the cake balls. You can either sprinkle by hand or dip it in the cocoa mix while the chocolate is still in a liquid state, if you're not drizzling chocolate on top.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Chill the cake balls again. To ensure a hard coating and a more uniform appearance to the topping, place the cake balls in the freezer or refrigerator for about an hour or two.
4. Finished.
   
   
   
   
   

Tips

• When packaged in cellophane wrap, these are the perfect holiday gifts to share.
• These can also be created into small bars. Instead of rolling them into round balls, mold them into squares before any dipping.