Learn how to make homemade chocolate cake pops completely from scratch, with no box cake mix or canned frosting. Combine rich chocolate cake with the best chocolate buttercream, and coat in melted chocolate for a treat that will make your tastebuds pop! Watch the video tutorial for all my best tips.
See my vanilla cake pops recipe, too.
I originally published this recipe in 2018 and have since added new photos and a video.
Chocolate cake + chocolate frosting + colorful sprinkles = the most adorable treat! Today we’re making chocolate cake pops because, after I shared my vanilla cake pops, I received so many requests for a chocolate version! Your wish is my command.
This recipe was a Sally’s Baking Challenge back in 2018, and readers have loved them over the years:
One reader, Sophia, commented: “Such an awesome recipe—these are basically Starbucks dupes and super yummy! I made the cake pops for a friend’s birthday but my family almost ate all of them before I could give any to her, LOL. ★★★★★”
One reader, Jen, commented: “This recipe was great! Made them for my son’s birthday party and had multiple people ask for the recipe! My son even said they were better than Starbucks! ★★★★★”
By the way, if you’ve ever eaten store-bought cake pops—these taste totally different. They’re from scratch. There’s no cake mix, there’s no canned frosting. You can actually TASTE the homemade.
I have plenty of step-by-step photos, a video tutorial, and lots of success tips today because I want you to understand every instruction before it’s your turn to make them. After all, the process isn’t difficult—you’re literally just baking a chocolate cake and making frosting and then mixing them together. But things just get a little particular when it comes to rolling, lollipop-sticking, and dunking/dipping. If you can make bread bowls, you can handle cake pops. (They’re more fun to eat too… sprinkles!)
How to Make Chocolate Cake Pops
Since we’re ditching box cake mix and canned frosting, we’ll need to take a little extra time to prep both from scratch. Here’s an overview of the process:
- Make a 1-layer chocolate cake and let cool.
- Make chocolate frosting.
- Crumble cake into frosting and mix.
- Roll the mixture into balls.
- Dip in melted chocolate.
- Top with sprinkles and let dry.
- EAT!
Quick tip: Whenever I make cake pops from scratch, I always begin the night before. I make the cake, cover it, and let it sit out at room temperature overnight. I also prepare the frosting, cover, and refrigerate. This way everything’s ready to go the next day.
Make a 1-Layer Chocolate Cake
It might seem like the switch from vanilla cake pops to chocolate cake pops is easy. Replace some flour with cocoa powder, right? And vanilla frosting with chocolate frosting? I wish! Chocolate is a complicated soul and requires a little finesse; that’s why my vanilla cake and chocolate cake recipes are so different! I baked a few single-layer chocolate cakes before stopping with this one.
Behind the Scenes: Recipe Testing
The first few began with creamed butter + sugar. My favorite chocolate cakes and cupcakes typically rely on oil for the fat because (1) moisture and (2) the flavor of butter really isn’t necessary because chocolate overpowers it anyway. My initial thought with cake pops, however, was that I needed a slightly drier cake to get the best texture for cake pops (because it will be mixed with frosting). Well this was just a huge mess from the start, because dry cake is gross.
That being said, you’ll need oil for the cake. And a few other basics like cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and eggs. Hot water is also a must. The hot liquid encourages the cocoa powder to bloom and dissolve. When I make chocolate cake, I usually reach for hot coffee (instead of hot water) because coffee accentuates the chocolate favor—but that’s not as crucial here, because we’re just crumbling the cake and mixing with chocolate frosting.
By the way, you can totally enjoy this chocolate cake on its own. If you ever need a single-layer chocolate cake—use this recipe. It’s so good. Deep and dark chocolate flavor. Super moist. Super rich. Top with chocolate buttercream, whipped cream, peanut butter frosting, or red wine chocolate ganache.
What was a little more difficult than testing the perfect single-layer chocolate cake was figuring out how much frosting I needed. Too much frosting and the cake pops are wet and greasy, while too little frosting means there isn’t enough to bind the cake crumbles. After lots of trial and error, I finally found the perfect amount… and it’s not much, because the chocolate cake is already so moist.
Crumble the cake into the bowl of frosting, and yes, you’ll feel very weird doing this. You just made this beautiful chocolate cake and will now break it up into a bowl of frosting. Because that’s what cake pops are—cake crumbs and frosting.
Once the two are mixed together, it’s time to roll the mixture into balls. This part is EASY. I found the chocolate cake pops much easier to roll into balls than my vanilla version. This mixture is just sooo smooth! Your hands will get a little sticky, but just roll with it. 😉
Tips for Homemade Chocolate Cake Pops
Success Tip #1: Make Smaller Cake Pops: If you roll the cake pops too large, they’ll wobble off the lollipop stick because they’re too heavy. You need 1 Tablespoon of the cake pop mixture per ball (about 20g). No more, no less. You’ll end up with 40 of them. Quite a lot—but these freeze beautifully! And you can gift them to anyone and everyone. Who doesn’t love a homemade cake pop?
These cake balls need to chill in the refrigerator before we pop ’em on a lollipop stick. Why? They’re much too delicate right now; they’ll completely fall apart. Which reminds me… you do NOT have to make these as pops. You can make them truffle-style by simply rolling them and coating in chocolate (just like how we make Oreo balls). Either way you enjoy them, chill the cake balls before coating. I just place them on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate them for a couple hours.
- Speaking of chocolate, you can dunk the cake balls into melted chocolate (white or semi-sweet), which is what I prefer for best taste, but that’s pretty expensive. And you need a good amount for all 40 cake pops. Instead, you can use candy melts/candy coating, and I give both options in the recipe below, along with notes for each choice.
Success Tip #2: To ensure the cake ball stays secure on the lollipop stick, dip one end of the stick into the melted chocolate coating first (just about 1/2 inch down), and then insert the coated end into the center of the cake ball. This helps the cake ball adhere to the lollipop stick.
Success Tip #3: A 2-cup glass liquid measuring cup is the perfect depth for dipping the cake pops. If I’m using melted chocolate, like I did in these photos, I melt it in a double boiler then spoon a little at a time into the measuring cup. I don’t like dipping right into the whole pot of melted chocolate. Let the melted chocolate cool down for about 5 minutes before you dip the cold cake balls into it. (Otherwise the coating might crack as it dries.)
Success Tip #4: The best way to allow the coating to dry and set—without ruining the perfectly round cake pops—is to place them right-side-up in a large styrofoam block or even a box. I used a box, as pictured below, for this batch. I just poked little holes into it. Easy and cheap.
If you’re topping with sprinkles (always recommended!), add them now before the chocolate sets. Cake pops dry/set within an hour or so. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cake Pops
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours
- Yield: 40 cake pops
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chocolate cake pops from scratch—made with homemade chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, dunked in melted chocolate and topped with sprinkles! Follow my thorough instructions, tips, and video tutorial for best results.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (32g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) canola, vegetable, or melted coconut oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
Chocolate Frosting
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2–3 teaspoons heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Coating
- 24 ounces (680g) candy melts (or semi-sweet chocolate bars)*
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch pan (round or square) or 9-inch springform pan.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot water, and whisk everything together until combined. Make sure there are no pockets of dry ingredients hiding.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25–27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. This isn’t a lot of butter and it will get stuck on the sides of the bowl, so you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to really help get it creamed. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons of heavy cream/milk, and vanilla extract, and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until it really comes together. Add another teaspoon of milk/cream if it looks a little too thick.
- Crumble the cooled cake into the bowl on top of the frosting. Make sure there are no large lumps. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat the frosting and cake crumbles together until combined.
- Measure 1 scant Tablespoon (20g) of moist cake mixture and roll into a ball. Place cake balls on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.
- Melt the coating in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (best for dunking!). Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after every 20 seconds until completely melted and smooth. (Or you can use a double boiler and pour a little at a time into the liquid measuring cup.) Let the coating cool down for a few minutes before you begin dipping. If it’s too hot when you dip, the coating will crack.
- Coat the cake balls: Remove only 2–3 cake balls from the refrigerator at a time. (Keep the rest cold!) Dip one end of a lollipop stick about 1/2 inch into the coating, then insert into the center of the cake ball. Push it about halfway to 3/4 of the way through the cake ball. Dip the cake ball into the coating until it is completely covered. Make sure the coating covers the base of the cake ball where it meets the lollipop stick. Very gently tap the stick against the edge of the measuring cup to allow excess coating to drip off. Decorate the top with sprinkles and place upright into a styrofoam block or box (as explained in the blog post above). Repeat with remaining cake balls, only working with a few out of the refrigerator at a time. The cake balls must be very cold when dipping!
- Coating will set within an hour. Store cake pops in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: I always make the cake 1 day ahead of time. Cover and keep at room temperature. You can store the undipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator then continue with step 7. You can also freeze the finished cake pops for up to 6 weeks once the coating has fully set. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Pan, 9-inch Square Pan, or 9-inch Springform Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Measuring Cup | Double Boiler | Lollipop Sticks
- Chocolate: You can use candy coating/candy melts, almond bark, or semi-sweet chocolate (or white chocolate). If using almond bark or chocolate, chop it up before melting. Melt it with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to thin out so it’s easier to use as a coating. Keep warm over a double boiler. You can also temper pure chocolate for the coating. My full tempering tutorial is in Sally’s Candy Addiction if you have a copy.
- Cake Balls: Want to skip the lollipop stick? Go for it. Just dip the cake balls in melted or tempered chocolate to make delicious chocolate cake truffles. Whenever I dip truffles, I always use this spiral dipping tool. Drop the truffle in the chocolate and lift it out with the dipping tool. Quickly flip it upside down onto a lined baking sheet.
See Your Chocolate Cake Pops!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
Reader Comments and Reviews
I am making these for a graduation party followed your directions to the letter. My issue is it seems like the mixture is crumbling. I used a tablespoon to measure and firm together. They are in the fridge now to get chilled but not sure if this is going to work. What do you think happened? I want so badly to make for my granddaughter. Maybe once chilled it will be better.
They seem from all I read they would be delicious.
Hi Geri! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. First, you’ll want to make sure the cake isn’t too dry to start — over baking or using too much flour (we recommend the spoon and level method or weight to measure) can dry out a cake. The warmth from your hands should help to bring the mixture together and then chilling in the refrigerator will help them to firm up even more. Let us know how the final cake pops turn out for you!
Hi Sally and the others (sorry I don’t know all ur names), I wanted to make these for mothers day in a heart silicone mold and I was wondering do I chill them in the mold ore do i pop them out on a baking sheet first
Thank you so much for all the amazing recipes!
Hi Tamara, either way should work just fine! Let us know how they turn out for you.
Thank you! I’m a kid and I usually ask my mum for help with things like this but this is a surprise, so I’m glad to have your help
Do the cake pops need to be refrigerated after they’ve been dipped? I’m wanting to make them a couple of days in advance before a baby shower and just wanted to know how to store them once fully finished. Thank you!
Hi Sam, We usually like to put our cake pops right in the fridge to help the chocolate coating set. They’ll be fine at room temperature for a few hours at a party or for serving purposes (or even up to one day as long as it’s not too hot), but it’s best to store them in the fridge for longer. They’ll be good there for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to six weeks.
Any suggestions for making these with a cream cheese based frosting?
Hi Alexis! You should be able to use 1 cup of cream cheese frosting, though we haven’t tested it. Would love to hear how they go!
If I make the cake pops the day before the party can I put the wrapped cake pops in the fridge or wrap them the day of the party? Thank you.
Hi Peggy, either way works! Enjoy!
If I want to make them pastel colours, would it be better to dip in white chocolate then dip again in pastel?
Thanks
Hi Ang, The melted chocolate coating should be opaque enough that it coats the chocolate cake pops without having to make two layers. You can see how we colored white chocolate with gel food coloring in this cake pop post. Or you can also use colored candy melts. However, if you do find that you can still see the chocolate underneath the coating then yours would be a great solution!
Ok thank you!
Hello! I have yet to make the cake pops yet but I was wondering if I could use my leftover buttercream. Also, can I use chocolate chips or are candy melts/pure chocolate better for the coating?
Hi Zoe! We don’t recommend chocolate chips as they contain stabilizers that help them to maintain their shape. Perfect for cookies but it prevents them from melting evenly.
What’s the reason for the spring form pan, instead of a regular 9-inch cake pan?
Hi Erin, you can use a springform or a regular 9 inch round or square pan. Any of them will work! Enjoy.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! These turned out super tasty! Was wondering if I could use the cake recipe to make cupcakes? Thanks!
Absolutely! Or you may love our super moist chocolate cupcakes as well. Happy baking!
Thanks! If I use this recipe, should I fill each cupcake liner halfway with the batter?
would i be able to add red coloring to this recipe to make red velvet cake pops?
Hi Annie, you could try my crumbling our red velvet cupcakes. Hope you love them!
I only have a 6 in pan and I was wondering if all the cake batter would fit or if I should split it and bake it in two batches. Also how long I should bake it for?
Hi Avery! You should be able to bake the batter in two batches in your 6 inch pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time so use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Is there something I can substitute for the canola/veg/coconut oil? Excited to try these!
Hi Kaitlin! Any neutral tasting oil will work, you can also use butter.
These were so delicious, however I did have an issue with some of my chocolate cake pops weeping. It was weird 10 out of the 40 did it. thanks for the recipe.
These are soooooo good. My forever chocolate cake pop recipe.
I love these cake pops but I made too many and I’m wondering what the best way to freeze them is?
I want to make a marble cake pop. Cake I just combine the vanilla and chocolate together r slightly ?
Hi Janice, we haven’t tested a marble cake pop but let us know if you give it a try!
I had an issue with my cake coming out with a layer on top that was oilier than the majority below it which had cooked fairly well. I dont know if it was just this part or the rest of the cake as a whole that I had difficulty getting to crumb well, but the end result of that phase was the cake amooshibg together into larger lumps that I ended up pulling apart. Any idea where I went astray?
Despite this failing on my part, everything else came together beautifully. Thanks for another great recipe
If making this as a single layer cake, will the amount of frosting used for the cake pop mixture be enough to frost the whole cake? Thanks!
Hi Jess, this makes about a cup of frosting, which should be just right for frosting one layer. Enjoy!
Hello there! I would love to try this recipe. I already have frozen cake that I haven’t used. I wad wondering how many grams or cups of crumbled cake are we supposed to use with this recipe?
I love every recipe of yours that I have tried and I would love to try that one too!
Thank you so much,
Georgia
Hello!
What did you use to make the holes in the box that held the cake pops? I made the vanilla ones, but they ended up being cake balls instead of pops because I couldn’t find the right tool to make them stand up in the box. Thanks!
Hi! I already tried this recipe once and it is totally delicious, but the coating for my cake pops didn’t turn out very smooth. There are all these swirls and a few lumps in the coating and I don’t know how to fix this.
Hi Eden, What type of chocolate are you using? We always use Bakers or Ghirardelli and add a little oil to thin it out. When it’s thin, it usually dries and sets pretty smooth.
Hi Sally! Could I sub the 1/2 C hot water for hot coffee still? Or will it affect the way the cake turns out?
Hi Destiny, yes, you can use hot coffee in place of the hot water. Enjoy!
This recipe was so easy to follow and yielded great results in texture and taste – thank you so much for it.
Quick question – due to user error on my part, my cake pops turned out a little soggy, kind of like chewed up cake texture. I’m wondering if either my butter in the frosting was too warm when I added it, or if I added too much heavy cream to the frosting (~3 tsp), or if it’s something else?
Hi Nikkei, it could certainly be either of those things you mention. For next time, make sure the frosting is a thicker consistency before adding to the crumbled cake — be sure that the butter is not too warm, and feel free to add more confectioners’ sugar / less heavy cream to achieve the desired texture. We’re glad you still enjoyed these cake pops!
I have a question. Your recipe says to keep the cake balls very cold when dipping. I have seen other bakers that say to have them at room temperature or at least not so much colder than the chocolate you are dipping them in. If the temperatures between the two vary too much, it causes the coating to crack. So what is your reasoning for having them so cold when dipping? Just trying to understand. I am in the process of making my first two batches of your chocolate and vanilla cake pops. I appreciate your detailed post.
Hi Ann, We recommend keeping them cold so that they stay intact and stay on the stick when you coat them in chocolate. If you notice the chocolate begin to crack as you work, let them sit at room temperature for a bit before coating.
I loved these, so delicious. I will say I found real melted chocolate a little hard to work with vs. candy melts, as they pops became very heavy and sometimes fell off the stick, both while dipping and eating. They certainly tasted great. I have not tried chocolate melts but expect the quality is pretty inferior.
I’ve made them twice now, they are so delicious! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. Just love your website!
This recipe is amazing. They were absolutely delicious!!! Thank you very much.
I’m going to make these for a graduation party. What size lolli stick do you use. The 6″ almost seems too long but then the 4″ seems too short.
Hi Joy! We used 4 inch lollipop sticks, but you can really use whichever you prefer.
The cake pops worked out amazingly! They were easy to roll into balls and put onto the sticks. It was way easier to coat them in the chocolate once they were really cold. After the cake pops were completed, I put them in the fridge overnight. They were absolutely delicious the next day! Definitely a 10/10.
(I recommend this recipe very much!)
I love this recipe so much! Is it ok if we use dark chocolate for coating them though?