Christmas Tree Chocolate Cake Pops - My Fussy Eater | Easy Family Recipes (2024)
by Ciara Attwell, Updated
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Have some fun with festive baking and make these Christmas Tree Chocolate Cake Pops. They are really easy to make and the kids will absolutely love decorating them! A great way to get into the kitchen with your children this Christmas!
I’m always in awe (and a little bit jealous!) of people who can produce such beautifully decorated cakes and cupcakesbut when I saw these Christmas Tree Pops on the BBC Good Food site I thought even a baking novice like me could give them a go!
The cake recipe itself is super simple. It’s a basic chocolate cake all mixed together in one bowl.
Because it is so easy, it’s a brilliant recipe to get the kids involved in making. You could even make it the day before and then decorate the next day if you are short on time.
Decorating the Christmas Tree Chocolate Cake Pops
Once the cake is cooked and cooled you need to cut it into 8 triangles (watch the video below to see how simple this is!) and then decorate the top.
I decided to do something a bit different from the BBC Good Food recipe and instead of making my own icing, I used those small tubes of icing writing to create a criss cross effect across each of the cake pops.
We then decorated them with some smarties and some edible silver balls, used a candy cane instead of a cake pop stick and finished with a little dusting of icing sugar.
I had a lot of fun making and decorating these with my daughter and all her friends were delighted when we gave them one. They have a real Christmas novelty effect and would make such a great addition to a Christmas party!
For the full recipe check out the video or written instructions below(anddon’t forget to subscribe to myYouTube Channel to stay up to date on all my Christmas videos!).
And if youtry this recipe please do let me know what you think. Or tag me in a picture onFacebook, Instagram or Twitterusing the hashtag #myfussyeater.I love seeing all your pictures!
Have some fun with festive baking and make these Christmas Tree Chocolate Cake Pops. They are really easy to make and the kids will absolutely love decorating them!
Ingredients
For the cake:
100g unsalted butter at room temp
100g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
100g self raising flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp milk
For the decoration:
red and white writing icing
2 packets (approx 75g) smarties
handful of edible silver balls
8 candy canes
icing sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c / 160c fan. Grease and line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl cream together the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer.
Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to mix.
Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix by hand. Add the milk and mix again.
Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and flatten with a spoon or spatula.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
It’s really important to let the cake cool completely before cutting it so that it won’t crumble. We need it to hold its shape.
Once the cake is completely cooled cut it into 8 triangles – in half first, then quarters, then eights.
Turn the cake triangles upside down for a flatter surface. Use the writing icing to create a string or tinsel effect and then add a few smarties. Then decorate with a few silver balls.
Use the end of a teaspoon to make a small hole in the bottom of the christmas tree. Snap off the curved part of the candy cane and insert that into the hole.
Finally, dust with a little icing sugar.
Notes
Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-tree-pops)
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Chocolate: You can use candy coating/candy melts, almond bark, or pure semi-sweet chocolate. If using almond bark or pure chocolate, chop it up before melting. Melt it down with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to thin out so it's easier to use as a coating. Bittersweet, white chocolate, or milk chocolate work as well.
Make sure you pick a mix that calls for 3 eggs. Substitute the oil and water in the directions with 1 cup (250 ml) of milk and 1 stick (½ cup or 125 ml) of butter, melted. The use of oil in the cake will cause your cake pops to heavily ooze oil in certain instances and the sticks will yellow severely.
The trick is to make sure that both the cake and the sweet outer layer (which is usually made from icing, melted chocolate, or candy melts) are as close to the same temperature as possible before coating.
Don't make your cake balls too big or they may fall apart when you dip them. Do scoop and form only a few portions at a time. It'll help prevent your dough from drying out. Don't keep the unformed dough exposed to air (again, it will dry out).
While this gives them a glossy look without the need to temper, it results in a less rich and nuanced taste when compared to real chocolate. For a more grown-up and luxurious form of cake pop, you can use melted chocolate instead of candy melts.
You can dip the cake balls into pure white chocolate, which is what I prefer for best taste, but that stuff is pretty expensive. And you need a good amount for all 40 cake pops! You can use candy melts/candy coating instead.
Using the fridge can help avoid cracking issues when the pops are dipped. Generally, cracking is due to a temperature issue – the cake balls are too cold and the melted candy is too hot.
Melt 2-4 ounces of chocolate or candy melt in a microwave-safe bowl, according to the package. Dip the tip of the cake pop sticks into the melted chocolate or candy melt and insert into the cake balls about halfway. Freeze for about 20 minutes.
Your cake mix should be moist enough to shape into a large mound and keep its shape. Roll your cake mix into 1 inch balls using the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 35-40 cake balls from a single batch of cake mix. Pour one entire package of white chocolate candy melts into a microwave safe bowl.
If your cake pops aren't round, the trouble is in the frosting. Either a) you didn't use enough, causing the cake pop to fall apart, or b) you used too much, making it way too sticky! The idea consistency should be like play-dough: not too dry, and not too thin.
Candy Melts candy can be melted in one of three ways: in the microwave, using a double boiler or in the Candy Melts Melting Pot. For cake pops, the best methods are the melting pot or double boiler.
Use vanilla frosting to add to the crumbled cake. This can also be swapped out with any frosting flavor of your choice. White candy melts are used for the cake pop dip. Substitute it with white chocolate chips if not available.
Candy melts and white chocolate both can be used for coating and dipping. However, candy melts are used for those purposes only, while white chocolate can be used for decorating, flavoring, and other applications.
A good place to start is by adding 1 part of neutral vegetable oil to every 6 parts of chocolate. I.e., for 1 kilogram of chocolate, add 150 grams of vegetable oil such as grape seed or sunflower oil.
According to The Spruce Eats, the most common reason the chocolate coating cracks is because cold truffles, which have been firmed up in the fridge or freezer, are being dipped in warm chocolate that's been tempered or melted. As the cold truffles warm up after dipping, their size expands, and the shells often crack.
The cake balls need to be extremely cold before dipping. Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator or freezer for them. I always chill them on a large lined baking sheet. A 2-cup glass liquid measuring cup is the perfect depth for dipping the cake pops.
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