One bite of cake is never enough, but a whole slice might be more than you care to indulge in. What’s a mindful, healthy foodie to do come party time? Cake pops might be the answer to your dessert woes. Fluffy yellow cake is coated with a chocolate shell and sprinkled with toppings of your choice in this easy, gluten-free recipe. Want a vegan version? Simply swap in a vegan egg replacement (like a flax-chia “egg”) when baking the cake for a dessert free of animal products. Whether you’re planning a party or just looking for a fun weekend treat, these pops have you covered.
Chocolate-Coated Cake Pops
Makes 18
Ingredients
Cake
1 packet Vitacost Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup Nutiva Shortening (to replace butter)
2 cups Nurtiva Coconut Sugar
2/3 cup almond or TigerNut milk
6 eggs (or egg replacement for vegan)
Frosting
1 packet Pamela’s Frosting
8 Tbsp. Nutiva Shortening
Chocolate shell coating
2 cups Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels
2 Tbsp. Nutiva Coconut Oil
Toppings
Sprinklez
Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
Sliced TigerNuts
Hemp seeds
Shredded coconut
Crushed peanuts or almonds
Directions
- Bake cake as directed on box.
- Once cake is baked and cooled, place cake in chunks in food processor and pulse until cake is finely crumbled. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine frosting with shortening. Add ¾ cup frosting to mixing bowl with cake crumbs. Mix with your hands until mixture reaches a clay-like consistency, adding more frosting as necessary. (If the mixture is too wet, it won’t hold together.)
- Scoop out 1 tablespoon at a time and roll each into 1½ -inch balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for 15 to set. They should not freeze completely.
- Meanwhile, in a small pot over low heat, melt chocolate morsels and coconut oil. Remove from heat.
- Place lollipop sticks into each cake ball, then one by one, dip each into the chocolate coating, spinning and rotating the ball so it’s entirely covered. (The coating should not be so heavy that the ball falls off the stick. If the coating is too thick for dipping, add additional coconut oil.)
- After being coated, stick each ball into a Styrofoam block. You may also just place cake balls on parchment-lined baking sheet, but keep in mind, the tops of the balls will become flattened.
- Add toppings to the balls, either by rolling balls in topping or sprinkling them on over top.
- Place pops in fridge on block to set the chocolate shell and toppings.