Chocolate Fudge Cake Pops

This is the recipe from my first dessert post.

This recipe is a HUGE hit. Everyone always asks for the recipe!
Here it is finally!

Chocolate Fudge Cake Pops

Ingredients

24 oz (3 cups) packed brown sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

3 eggs

11.5 oz (2 2/3 cups) flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup + 2 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly cold

¼ cup shortening

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

8 oz (2 cups) powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

3/4 cup hot fudge topping

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Guittard Chocolate wafers for dipping (or another type of chocolate/vanilla wafer)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray Pam on three 9 inch cake pans (or whatever other size you have). Size of pan does not matter but will change cooking time.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar and oil. Turn the mixer to a low speed and mix in the eggs. Let the sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Set this mixture aside.

In another small bowl, mix the vanilla into the milk and set this aside as well. Bring the water to a boil in the microwave and pour over the cocoa and whisk it until it is smooth. To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. With the mixture at a low speed add the cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour this mixture into the prepared cake pans filling about half way up the pan. Bake the cake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to the touch and dump into a very large bowl and break apart a bit to cool the rest of the way while you make your frosting. When completely cool, crumble cake into small crumbs.

To make the Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting, beat together the butter and shortening until smooth. Sift the cocoa with the powdered sugar and add to the creamed mixture. Mix together and add the milk. Add the hot fudge topping and the vanilla extract. Blend until smoothy and deliciously creamy!

Add a few spoonfuls of frosting to the crumbs and mix with your hands (easiest) or a large spoon. Mix until completely uniform but try not to smash it into a paste. We are going for a heterogeneous cake/frosting ‘suspension’ not a homogenous cake paste. Add just enough frosting so the mixture holds together in a small ball. Adding too much frosting will destroy the integrity of the cake and will cause it to go mushy.

Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out 1 inch balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Once done, roll all the balls until they are smooth and round. Insert a 4 inch stick into the center of the ball straight down until you just meet resistance. Complete for all the balls. You can do cake balls without the sticks but sticks make it so much easier to dip when it comes time.

Cover these with plastic wrap and stick in the freezer or fridge until they are firm and cold.

Dump a bunch of chocolate wafers into a tall microwave-safe glass or bowl. I used blue vanilla wafers for the picture above. Melt according to package directions or by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time until the chocolate is uniformly melted. Stir as needed to prevent scorching.

Prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper to set the dipped cake pops on.

Take a few cake pops out of the fridge at a time when you are dipping. If you take them all out at once the last ones you dip may be warm and fall off the stick. If you put your cake pops in the freezer, allow them to warm up a little bit before dipping or your chocolate coating may crack. If you are fast enough (the two-handed/ double-dip approach) you can take all or most of the pops out at once and go to town.

Dip the cake pops straight into the chocolate until it covers it completely plus a little of the stick to seal it. Let the excess chocolate drip off the cake pop until it stops dripping then place it on the prepared parchment paper. Alternate option: You can also stick it upright in a Styrofoam block. If you want to decorate them with sprinkles or something that needs to stick to the chocolate, do that now.

Let them dry completely. If you want to decorate them with chocolate drizzle then choose a color (contrasting or the same color) and put a handful of the wafers in a Ziploc baggie. I used almond bark for the picture above. Melt in the microwave or according to the package instructions.

Warning: Be careful not to get the chocolate too hot or it will melt through the plastic and burn you!

When melted, close the top and squeeze all the chocolate into a corner and twist the top above like you are making a piping bag. Without holding any pressure to the bag, snip off a tiny piece of the corner to the size you want your drizzle to be. Be conservative and try it out on a plate if needed. You can clip more but you can’t clip less (you can start over with another baggie if needed).

Take a cake pop and squeeze the bag moving your hand back and forth down the cake pop. You can leave it just on a single side or you can repeat for all sides. Wallah! Cake Pop Extraordinaire!