Looking for the perfect Christmas Cake Pops? These Candy Cane cake pops are easy to make and so good. Perfect for a make ahead Christmas treat, send these cake pops in for a school party, use at a get together or just as a sweet treat.
Equipment
pastry bag or large ziplock bag
48-50 lollipop sticks
Nordicware Cake Pops Baking Pan
Nordicware Pop Stand OR styrofoam block
Ingredients
116.5 ozwhite cake mixdry mix only
16 ozChoboni plain Greek yogurt
1cupwater
3egg whites
1Tbspbaking powder
1tspvanilla
red food coloring
cooking spray
36 ozGhirardelli White Melting Wafers OR 42 oz. of Wilton Candy Melts
red sprinklesoptional
12miniature candy canes or peppermint stickscrushed
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray the top and bottom of the cake pop pan with baking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, yogurt, water, egg whites, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl.
Beat until well mixed and no lumps.
Optional: Pour half of the batter into a separate bowl and stir in red food coloring. This creates a little surprise when biting into the white chocolate covered pops!
Place the batter into a pastry bag or just use a large ziplock bag with a corner cut off.
Pipe the batter into the prepared cake pop pan, filling each to the rim.
Cover with top cake pop pan and lock them into place.
Bake for 18 minutes rotating it after 10 minutes.
Let it rest for 5 minutes in the pan before opening.
Gently remove the cake pops from the pan to the cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Keep the raw batter in the refrigerator when not in use.
Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut the middle seam off each ball.
Freeze the cake balls for about 45 minutes or overnight (if you plan to decorate the next day), this helps the chocolate stick better to the cake.
For this next step be sure to have your lollipop sticks and cake balls handy. In small microwave-safe mug or bowl, microwave about 12 chocolate wafers according to package directions, don’t burn the chocolate!
Insert one end of the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, then halfway into the cake ball. This anchors the stick for when it is dipping time. Do this to all of your cake balls.
Allow chocolate to harden, about 5 minutes.
If you haven’t already, crush your candy canes. I keep each one in their individual wrapper and use the back of a spoon to crush them. This way, they are easier to sprinkle.
In batches, melt remaining chocolate wafers.
For the white cake pops: Dip the cake pops into the chocolate, gently spin it around in the mug until the excess drips off. Place on pop stand or styrofoam block. Then sprinkle on crushed candy canes before the chocolate dries.
For the red cake pops: Set aside 40 white chocolate wafers or 3.8 oz for “snow”. When your halfway or have as many white pops as you want, add red food coloring to each batch of melted chocolate.
Dip the cake pops into the chocolate, gently spin it around in the mug until the excess drips off.
If your chocolate has thickened slightly due to the food coloring, use a knife to spread on a thin layer like icing. Cover with red sprinkles and allow chocolate to set about 15 minutes.
To make the “snow,” simply melt the white chocolate wafers (that were set aside) and spoon a small dollop on top. Use a knife and spread down gently to form drips. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Notes
If you are only baking with one cake pop pan, this recipe can take about 2-3 hours to complete. The good news is, it can be made ahead of time. You can even split up the recipe by baking the cake balls in the evening, freezing them overnight and decorating in the morning!* I weighed the chocolate on each ball to calculate the nutritional info. Although the recipe calls for 36 oz of chocolate, not all of it will be used, but you will still need to buy extra so you have enough to coat the cake balls. I calculated 0.3 oz of chocolate on the white cake balls and 0.6 oz on the red cake balls.