Creepy Crawly Cake Pops

These Halloween cake pops use a simple chocolate cake base mixed with frosting, then dipped in melted chocolate and finished with candy eyes and pretzel spider legs. The texture is soft and fudgy inside with a snappy shell outside.

By Julienne

Cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 180 g all-purpose flour sifted
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 45 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 g baking powder
• 3 g baking soda
• 2 g fine salt
• 2 count large egg room temperature
• 120 ml whole milk room temperature
• 60 ml neutral oil
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 120 ml boiling water
• 60 g unsalted butter softened
• 120 g powdered sugar sifted
• 15 ml milk
• 300 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 15 g coconut oil
• 24 count mini candy eyes
• 36 count pretzel sticks broken into short pieces

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 175°C. Grease two 20 cm cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment. The oven is fully preheated and the pans are prepared.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. The dry mixture is uniform with no visible cocoa streaks.
3. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix until combined, then whisk in the boiling water. The batter will look thin. The batter is smooth and glossy, with no dry pockets.
4. Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the centers spring back and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The cakes are set, risen, and a tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
5. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes. The cakes are fully cool to the touch.
6. Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and milk to make a thick frosting. Crumble the cooled cake into a bowl, add all of the frosting, and mix until the crumbs hold together when squeezed. The mixture forms compact balls without cracking.
7. Roll the mixture into 12 even balls, each about the size of a golf ball. Insert a lollipop stick or paper straw into each one, then chill on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes. The cake balls feel firm and hold their shape.
8. Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring between bursts until smooth. Dip each chilled cake pop, letting excess coating drip off. Before the coating sets, press on 2 candy eyes and 3 pretzel stick pieces for spider legs. If the coating thickens, rewarm briefly. Each cake pop is fully coated and decorated before the shell hardens.
9. Let the coating set at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, or chill briefly until firm, then serve. The chocolate shell is firm to the touch and no longer tacky.