Easy Halloween Cake Pops

These days, it's hard not to come across cake pops.  I love them! They're small, bite sized (maybe two-bite sized) little treats that are just too adorable to pass up.  They're also completely customizable, and can be made to fit any decorating scheme, holiday, or event.  The fact that they're also really easy to make only makes them even more convenient of a dessert to have up your sleeve.  If you show up anywhere with some really adorable cake pops...you win.

I wanted to make some sort of Halloween cake pop to go along with my Halloween cupcakes. I had originally planned on making cake pops that were a bit more intricate, but in the end, I got a bit carried away and spent a lot of my time focusing on making really epic ghost, mummy, spiderweb, halloween pumpkin, and candy corn cupcakes, that I felt it would be best to stick to something simple for the cake pops.  I think these simple cake pops were definitely the right way to go.  They're perfect for demonstrating how easy a basic cake pop can be to make, and they don't compete for the spotlight with the cupcakes I made.  When placed together on a Halloween Party table, there is a nice sense of balance.  How lovely.

These Halloween cake pops are too easy not to make!

Easy Halloween Cake Pops

Things You'll Need

cake, any flavor (I used store-bought yellow and chocolate cake mixes)
frosting (I used store-bought cans of frosting)
white chocolate
semisweet chocolate
decorations (sprinkles, colored sugar, small candies, whatever you have on hand)
lollipop sticks
styrofoam block

How to Make Easy Halloween Cake Pops

To begin, bake and cool your cake according to your recipe or box instructions.  Once the cake has cooled completely, break apart the cake into crumbs (your hands work best, although I've also used a food processor before to ensure uniform crumbs).  When all the cake has been broken up, add enough frosting so that once the crumbs and frosting are mixed together, you end up with a paste-like consistency that you can shape with your fingers (I find that just under a whole can of frosting is enough for one box of cake mix).  Begin to shape the cake-frosting mixture into even sized balls.  Line up the cake balls on a sheet pan, and chill for several hours.  Remove the cake balls from the fridge, and dip one end of a lollipop stick in melted chocolate.  Insert the chocolate covered end into the cake ball, going in about halfway.  Lay all the cake pops on a baking sheet, and once again, chill in the fridge, at least overnight (you want the cake pops to be as chilled and firm as possible, because this will make it much easier to dip them in chocolate later).

When the cake pops are completely firm, it is time to cover them in chocolate.  Melt semisweet chocolate and white chocolate in two separate containers.  I like using coffee mugs because they're deep, which makes submerging the cake pops easier than using a bowl. Gently dip each cake pop into the melted chocolate, cover completely, and carefully tap off the excess.  I like to let the chocolate harden slightly before covering them in sprinkles, because if the chocolate is too wet, the weight of the sprinkles will pull the chocolate down, and will result in a cake pop without a smooth coat of chocolate.  To cool the chocolate quickly, I simply opened my fridge and held the cake pop inside for a couple of seconds.  After that, cover the cake pops in the decorations of your choice, and place in a styrofoam block to allow them to dry.  

It is probably best to work in batches when making cake pops.  Take only a couple of pops out of the fridge at a time, to ensure that the pops are as chilled as possible when dipping them into the melted chocolate.