Black & White Cake Pops – Chocolate and vanilla cake are mashed together and dipped in white chocolate to make for a delicious cake bite on a stick.
It’s been too long since we had a baked good on the blog. I’ve been focusing mostly on drinks and easy meals you can make at home in the last couple of months. But now it’s time to bring back the sugar!
My first treat in a long time had to be something incredible and fun. And these Black & White Cake Pops are all that and more.
These pops are made with equal parts white cake and chocolate cake and then dipped in a white chocolate shell. I drizzled on some dark chocolate to further emphasize the black & white theme in these pops.
Let’s take a look at these babies, shall we??
Cake Pops: An Introduction
If you’ve never attempted making your own cake pops before, it’s quite simple but it does require some patience. I don’t have a lot of that to spare so I make them rather infrequently. But when I do, I make sure they look and taste stellar.
To make a cake pop, there a few main steps:
- Make cake
- Crumble cake and mix with frosting
- Roll into balls
- Insert stick and dip into chocolate
This cake pop includes all those steps. But there is just one additional step you’ll have to consider – making 1 additional cake. Since this cake has two cake flavors, you’ll need to make two cakes. I know, I know. It sounds intense. But it really isn’t! The chocolate cake batter is made entirely by hand so you won’t have to mix with the stand mixer like you do with the white cake.
Aside from that additional step, you’ve pretty much got a traditional cake pop recipe here, folks.
Tips & Tricks
- Before forming the cake balls, make sure the cake has cooled completely. If it’s still warm, it will melt the frosting and you will have a gloopy mess.
- Make sure to firmly pack the cake into a ball so that it stays together when you go to dip into the white chocolate.
- After forming the cake balls, make sure you chill them for 1 hour before inserting the stick and dipping into chocolate. When the cake ball gets cold, the center gets firm and perfect for gripping the stick. Don’t worry – they won’t need to be chilled after assembly so the center will be nice and moist once it gets back to room temp.
- Make sure to use melting chocolate for the coating. If you simply use chocolate chips, the coating will never fully harden again and will be too soft at room temp. This does not look good for presentation purposes. Here is the chocolate I used. I found it at my grocery store but it’s also available on Amazon.
- Make sure you think through how you want to let the coating dry on the cake pops. I wanted a completely smooth outer shell so I wanted them to dry standing up. To do this, I inserted the coated cake pops into an empty egg carton. But you can use a cardboard box, too. Or you can let them dry upside-down on a plate. This will obviously cause them to be flat on the bottom but that also makes for a cute way to serve them at parties and such.
Black & White Cake Pops
Chocolate and vanilla cake are mashed together and dipped in white chocolate to make for a delicious cake bite on a stick.
Servings: 3 dozen pops
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake:
- ¼ cup butter unsalted, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅙ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons water
For the chocolate cake:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot water
For the frosting:
- ½ cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the cake pop assembly:
- 20 ounces white chocolate melting chips
- 36 candy sticks
- 5 ounces dark chocolate melting chips
Instructions
For the cakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare round 9-inch cake pan by spraying with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Add sugar and butter to a mixing bowl fit for a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream and mix until combined. Add 1 egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix water and milk together. Add half of dry ingredients to batter and mix until combined. Add milk mixture and mix until combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add batter to prepared dish and spread into one even layer. Set aside while we make the chocolate cake batter. Both will bake at the same time.
- For the chocolate cake, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk together until combined. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk eggs, oil, and vanilla together until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold a few times but not mixing completely. Add the hot water and mix together until all combined. Prepare square 9×9 square pan by spraying with nonstick spray. Add in chocolate cake batter and spread into one even layer.
- Bake cakes side by side in preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Vanilla cake may be ready before the chocolate cake. Let cakes cool completely before moving on.
For the frosting:
- Once the cake is cool, prepare the frosting. Add butter to the bowl of stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, beat on medium high until ultra creamy, about 5 minutes. Add in powdered sugar and beat another 2 minutes. Add vanilla, salt, and milk and mix until combined. Remove half of the frosting and set aside in a separate bowl.
For the cake pop assembly:
- Crumble the baked and cooled vanilla cake while still in the baking dish. Add crumbs to the prepared frosting left in the mixing bowl and mix together with the paddle attachment. It should only take 5-10 seconds to combine the two. Remove and place in a separate bowl. Set aside. Add crumbled chocolate cake to the mixing bowl, along with the remaining frosting. Mix with the paddle attachment until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out about 1/2 tablespoons of the vanilla cake mixture and 1/2 tablespoon of the chocolate cake mixture. Press firmly together and roll into a ball. Place on parchment paper. Repeat with rest of dough. Chill for about 1 hour in the fridge to let the balls firm up. This will make sure they stay on the stick.
- When balls have chilled, place white chocolate melting discs into a 2-cup measuring cup or similar vessel that will be used for dipping. You'll only be able to fit about 10 ounces of chocolate into cup at a time. Microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir discs and then microwave another 30 seconds.
- Before you get started, figure out how you want the cake pops to dry. I wanted mine completely round so I used an egg carton to keep them standing up while they dried. If you don’t care, you can place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to let them dry with a flat bottom.
- Grab 1 ball from the fridge. Take a candy stick and dip it into melted white chocolate, about 1 inch deep. Place stick into cake ball and then dip into melted white chocolate. Gently tap on the end of the cup to shake off excess chocolate. Place into egg carton to dry or place flat onto lined baking sheet to dry. Repeat with remaining cake balls. I recommend leaving cake balls in fridge and simply removing them one by one for dipping. Once the white chocolate has dried, melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over the white chocolate in various patterns. I use a sandwich storage bag and snip off a corner to make my decorations more precise.
- Once cake pops have dried, you can store them in a storage container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Chocolate cake recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Pin for later:
More treats you’ll love:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Pops
Black & White Cookies
Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
WOW! This cake looks so yummy and tasty. I will try this onec. Thanks for the recipe. take care…
These look so delicious, I love the combination of the two different cakes!
I like how you used two flavors in this! Best combination in my opinion! 🙂 These cake pops are also soooo pretty, which makes them perfect for any gathering!
This was a bit of a project. But my kids were having fun making and eating them. 🙂
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try it.
Sweets are my weakness! I will have to make this soon!!
I love how cake pops are still so popular. I like how you did yours – very creative!
Black and white cookies were my favorite growing up! I am going to have to make these.
I’ve never made cake pops and I was actually looking for a recipe the other day, I guess I finally found a good one
This is exactly the special, beautiful treat that I need! The colors will be beautiful for a special event, New Year’s Eve, and so many more!