Halloween cake pops recipe

These Halloween cake pops are a brilliant bake to prepare for spooky parties and are only 310 calories per cake. 

We've made the sponge from scratch for our cake pops but you can use shop bought cake to save time. This recipe also a great way to use up leftover cake, even if it's turning a little dry or stale. In fact, whenever you have a lonely slice of cake left languishing in the tin, it's worth sticking it in a tub in the freezer until you have enough to make cake pops.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 175g (6oz) self-raising flour, sifted
• 175g (6oz) caster sugar
• 175g (6oz) softened butter
• 1½ level tsp baking powder
• 40g (1½oz) cocoa powder

For the cake pops filling:

• 3tbsp cocoa powder
• 6tbsp boiling water
• 200g icing sugar

To decorate:

• Black,  yellow and green fondant icing 
• Black writing icing
• 1 x 400g white or orange Wilton candy melts or 400g white chocolate and some orange food colouring if you'd like to make pumpkins
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 20 lollipop sticks

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). Line a cake tin of your choice with baking paper.
2. For the cake pops: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, flour, caster sugar, butter and baking powder until smooth.
3. Put the cocoa powder in a separate smaller mixing bowl, and add up to 4 tbsp boiling water, a little at a time, to make a stiff paste. Stir the cocoa paste into the cake mixture.
4. Turn the cake mixture into the prepared tins, level the top and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until shrinking away from the sides of the tin and springy to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
5. Once the cake is cooled, break it up into fine crumbs in a large mixing bowl.
6. For the cake pops filling: In a separate, clean mixing bowl mix together 3tbsp of cocoa powder with about 6 tbsp boiling water and mix into a paste, it should be quite watery, then mix in 200g of icing sugar, it should still be quite watery. If it’s too stiff just add a bit more water.
7. Add the icing mixture gradually into the cake crumb mixture, mixing after each addition, until the consistency changes to something you could make balls from without them falling apart. You may not need to add all of the icing.
8. Roll all of the cake pop mixture into balls of equal size making sure they don't fall apart or crack (this ensures they will keep their shape once on the sticks and won’t fall off).
9. Put all the balls on to a tray and transfer them to the freezer for at least two hours to firm. Ideally, freeze overnight.
10. Take the balls out of the freezer to defrost fully.
11. Meanwhile, if you’re using fondant to create the eyes for your skeleton and mummies and pumpkin faces, roll it out and cut into small triangles or little balls. Shape the green fondant into stems for the top of your pumpkins.
12. For the mummies you might like to cut small rectangles of black fondant and still on small balls of yellow icing as the eye balls.
13. For the Halloween cake pops coating: Melt the candy melts or white chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl over a pan of hot water and dip the end of the lollipop stick into the melts before inserting them into the cake ball. This will secure the sticks in place.
14. Put them in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
15. By this time the candy melts might be too firm for dipping the cake pops into, so to get a good consistency and a smooth coating you'll need to add a fair amount of vegetable oil to loosen them up. If the mixture is too firm it will be too heavy for the cake pop and it will fall off its stick. Add in 3 tbsp of vegetable oil to the candy melts mixture gradually, stirring well after each addition.
16. Holding a cake pop with its lollipop stick, dip the cake pop all the way into the candy melts mixture and then hold the cake ball over the bowl and gently tap its sticks on the side of the bowl whilst twisting to remove any excess. Repeat with the rest of the cake pops.
17. For the mummies, once you have a base coat of chocolate, carefully drizzle lines of melted candy melt over to replicate bandages for your mummies.
18. Add on any decorations before they dry. Use icing pens to draw the mouths and noses for your skeletons and to add details to your pumpkins and mummies.
19. Stand the Halloween cake pops in some styrofoam to dry. They will set at room temperature.

Top tips for making Halloween cake pops

If you're making these for trick or treaters, allow them to set fully then cover the cake end of the stick with a small polythene bag and tie around the stick using a black or orange ribbon.

Using an electric mixer makes baking cakes a much quicker task and get better, more consistent results. 

Ninja Foodi 2-in-1 Hand Blender & Hand Mixer - View at Amazon 

If you’re not sure you need another appliance in your kitchen, we think this Nina 2-in-1 should be an exception because it’s both a stick blender and an electric mixer. Two very versatile and useful tools whether you are making soup, whipping cream,  baking cakes and so much more. 

You might also like our Halloween cookies as part of your party buffet. Explore our Halloween food ideas if you’d like some savoury options too. We also have plenty of ideas on what to do with leftover pumpkin. 

Halloween cookies / Halloween food ideas  / What to do with leftover pumpkin