Valentine's Day Cake Pops

These Valentine's Day Cake Pops are sure to be love at first sight. Combining chocolate-y red velvet cake with a festive red frosting and decorated to your heart's content.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Valentines Cake Pops

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 32

Servings balls

Calories 134kcal

Author Katie Cooksey

Equipment

40 cake pop sticks
cake pop holder optional

Ingredients

for the cake

15.25 oz Red Velvet Cake Mix*
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 cup chocolate frosting or frosting of choice, store-bought or homemade

for the decorations

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F (or whatever your cake mix requires).
Mix and bake cake mix according to package directions. Depending on which brand of cake mix you use, you may need to change the measurements for eggs, oil, and water listed.
While the cake is baking, make the frosting (if using homemade). Allow baked cake to cool completely.
Remove cooled cake from the pans and using a large sharp knife, remove the dark outer hardened layer of the cake. Discard or save for snacking. This is an optional step but I think it makes for a better ball-rolling experience if the hard outer edges are removed.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), crumble cooled cake. Mix in frosting. At this point you can add in some sprinkles if desired. The mixture should be moist and stick together easily. If the dough is too dry, add in more frosting a tablespoon at a time.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and using a cookie scoop, scoop cake balls onto the baking sheet. Roll each ball with your hands. If the dough sticks to your hands, you’ll need to wash them occasionally.
Cover with plastic wrap and freeze cake balls for about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and give each ball a second roll with the palm of your hands. This will ensure an evenly round ball. Cover and place back into freezer for 1 hour.
Right before you're ready to pull out your cake pops, melt chocolate wafers. Microwave in a microwave-safe bowl or cup (preferably a tall one that you can easily dip the cake pop in). Start out with 30 seconds, stir, and then melt at 20-second increments until melted. Be careful not to overcook the chocolate or it’ll seize up!**
If the chocolate is too thick, you can add a tiny amount of coconut oil to thin it out, just be careful not to add too much because the chocolate won’t set! You can also use Crisco shortening.
Remove cake pops from the freezer. Dip the tip of a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and slide about two thirds the way through a cake pop ball. The chocolate will act as a glue for the stick. Do this with all 40 cake pop sticks, placing each one back on baking sheet as you go.
If this step took you a long time to do, you may consider re-freezing your cake pops for 15 minutes or so and re-melting the chocolate. This is a general rule throughout this entire process.
Now you're ready to dip! Holding the cake pop by the bottom of the stick, place upside down into the cup of melted chocolate, turning a bit to get every piece of the cake ball covered.
Let as much chocolate drip off as possible, gently tapping on the side of the cup to remove excess.
Moving quickly, decorate with sprinkles and/or jimmies before the chocolate sets.
Place into a cake pop holder - cake pop up (a styrofoam block, a dish with rice to hold cake pops in place, or a box with holes, etc.).
Allow to set completely, serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

*The eggs, water and oil ingredients listed after the cake mix are what the cake mix requires according to package directions. They are NOT in addition to those ingredients. Depending on which brand of cake mix you use, these ingredients may vary.

**Work in small batches! Pour ⅓ of the bag of chocolate in the bowl and then once it’s used up, melt another ⅓ of the bag, and so on.

Nutrition