Description
These Starbucks Copycat Chocolate Cake Pops are rich, moist, and coated in smooth dark cocoa candy melts for a bakery-style treat at home. They’re fun to make, perfect for celebrations, and great for building baking confidence.
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 1 box (13.25 oz) chocolate cake mix
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- For the chocolate buttercream:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon milk, plus more if needed
- For coating and decorating:
- 12 oz dark cocoa candy melts
- ¼ cup white nonpareils or sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven according to cake mix instructions. Grease or line a baking pan.
- In a bowl, combine cake mix, oil, milk, and eggs. Mix until smooth and pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool slightly.
- While still warm, crumble cake into a large bowl with no large chunks remaining.
- In a separate bowl, mix butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and milk until smooth to make buttercream.
- Combine buttercream with crumbled cake. Mix until fully blended.
- Roll mixture into 1¼-inch balls. Place on a tray and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Melt a small amount of candy melts. Dip lollipop stick tips into melted chocolate and insert into cake balls halfway.
- Freeze again for 15 minutes, then let rest at room temp for 10 minutes before coating.
- Melt remaining candy melts. Dip each cake pop, tap off excess, and immediately decorate with sprinkles.
- Place upright in a stand to dry completely before serving.
Notes
- Don’t overbake the cake to prevent dryness.
- Let cake pops warm slightly before dipping to prevent cracking.
- Use candy melts for easier coating; regular chocolate may require tempering.
- For variety, use different sprinkles, candy melt colors, or add espresso powder to the batter.
- Use a cardboard box with holes as a stand if you don’t have a cake pop holder.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake pop
- Calories: 170
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
