This delightfully spooky vanilla cake pop recipe is perfect for Halloween! To make these delicious Halloween cake pops, you will need 11 ingredients plus decorations. Watch out, these seem to disappear as fast as you can make them! If you are looking for more Halloween dessert ideas check out my Halloween Cake.
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Photo instructions
Then combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl then set aside for later.
Beat the butter, oil, and sugar. It should be creamy and will take around 2-3 minutes, for best results use a stand or handheld mixer.
Add vanilla and egg whites and mix until completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Alternate between dry ingredients and milk. Always begin and end with the dry ingredients. Stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 38-42 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if it is done. Try not to overbake the cake, or it will end up begin dried out. Allow it to come to room temperature.
After the cake has chilled, prepare the frosting. Therefore, beat the butter and cream cheese until it's smooth and creamy. Use a stand mixer or handheld mixer. It's ready when there are no lumps, and it usually takes 2-3 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until the frosting is creamy, smooth, and the sugar has dissolved. It takes around 2-3 minutes.
After you are done with the frosting and the cake has cooled, you can start assembling. Therefore, crumble the cake with your fingers into a large bowl.
Add the frosting to the crumbled cake and combine either with your hands, a spoon, or an electric mixer.
Decide if you want the cake pop dough to be colored or not. To make them colored, you need to divide the cake into different bowls. Then carefully add food coloring until you get the color you want. In my experience, this works best with gel food coloring.
Then roll 1 heaping tablespoon or 2 leveled tablespoons into a ball.
Place the balls onto parchment paper until all the cake has been used. Ideally, you will end up with around 40 cake pops. Then refrigerate for 2 hours.
Using a heatproof bowl, melt the coating in the microwave. You can also use a double boiler as well. You will need around 2 cups of the melted coating. Take 3 cake pops out of the refrigerator at a time. Then roll them carefully, so they are extra smooth.
Take a lollipop stick and dip it into the melted coating.
Carefully insert the stick into the center of the cake pop until it reaches halfway through.
Dip it into the candy melts until it is completely covered. Add sprinkles if you wish.
Place them upright by either sticking the sticks into a block of styrofoam or placing them in glasses (be careful that they don't touch each other), then store in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Draw faces on the dried coating with melted candy melt if you want to. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Expert Tips for Success
- Don't skip out on putting the pops into the fridge once rolled. It's an important step, and they won't stick together if you skip this step.
- Use just egg whites for the best coloring results.
- Never add more food coloring than recommended to the batter or coating.
- Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to the icing if you want it to be super smooth (if possible - read package directions).
FAQs
Odds are if they fall apart, it's because the balls are either too small or too big for the stick. Measure the cake balls, so they are uniform. You want them to be either 1 heaping tablespoon or 2 level tablespoons of the dough mixture. Otherwise, if they are too big, they will be heavy and are likely to fall apart. And if they are too small then the stick with cause them to crack.Â
They end up mushy when they have too much frosting mixed with the baked cake mixture. Always make sure to follow the directions and ingredient recommendations precisely.
No, if you use chocolate chips, they won't set up correctly, and you will end up with a disaster. Always use candy melts or chocolate coating.Â
Storage
Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They should last around 4 days in the fridge. To serve, just take them out and eat them.
Freezing
You can freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Use either a freezer bag or storage container that's freezer safe.
More Holiday recipes to try
Recipe
Halloween Vanilla Cake Pops
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup canola or mild vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups milk
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)
Decoration
- gel food coloring (optional)
- sprinkles (optional)
- 2 cups candy melts, color(s) of your choice
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line the bottom and the sides of a 9x13 inch / 23x33cm baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a stand or a handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat butter, oil, and sugar until creamy for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and egg whites and mix until fully incorporated about 2 minutes.
- Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.Â
- Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan and bake for 38-42 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the cake will be dry. Let cool to room temperature.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl with a stand or a handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, creamy, combined, and no lumps remain about 2-3 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the sugar is dissolved and the frosting is creamy about 2-3 minutes.
Assembling
- Crumble the cooled cake with your fingers into fine crumbs into a large bowl. Add cream cheese frosting and combine. I use my hands to combine but you can do this with a spoon or with an electric mixer as well.
- Uncolored: Spoon about 1 heaping or 2 leveled tablespoon of the cake mixture and roll into a ball. Place on a parchment paper layered sheet. Repeat until you run out of cake mixture (you should end up with about 40 cake pops).
- Colored: If you want to them then divide the cake mixture into different bowls and dye to your preference and according to the package. I find gel food coloring works best. Then spoon about 1 heaping or 2 leveled tablespoon of the cake mixture and roll into a ball. Place on a parchment paper layered sheet. Repeat until you run out of cake mixture.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Decoration
- Melt the coating in a deep heatproof bowl or cup in the microwave or double boiler. A 2-cup pyrex cup works best for dunking.
- Remove 3 cake pops at the time from the fridge and gently re-roll to smooth them if necessary.
- Dip one end of a lollipop stick into the coating (about 1 inch / 2.5 cm). Then insert the dipped stick into the center of one cake pop about halfway through and dip it into the melted coating until fully covered. Let excess coating drop off and decorate with sprinkles if desired. Place upright into glasses or a styrofoam block and let dry. Repeat with remaining cake pops and work in batches. Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Draw faces or patterns with a brush and melted candy melts on top of the dried coating if desired.
- Store in the fridge up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 weeks.
Video
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