Chocolate chip fudge cake pops

I loved making the leopard print cake pops, fruit cake pops and ice cream cake pops for recent events so when I needed to make a sweet treat for a friend's upcoming wedding anniversary party I knew they would fit the bill and I could make them in black and white with little pink cases to match his colour theme.

Additionally, I also decorated three of them in Hotel Chocolat white chocolate with aqua sugar crystals and put trimmed down, striped straws over the sticks as an idea for some cake pops for my Winter Wonderland dessert table.

Chocolate chip fudge flavoured gluten-free cake pops (makes 24 cake pops)

Ingredients

• 560g Chocolate chip cake (see below for recipe)
• 160g Chocolate fudge frosting (see below for recipe)
• 283g (1 packet) black candy melts
• White non-pareils

What you will need

• Baking parchment
• Lollipop sticks
• Cupcake cases
• Polystyrene block

Cooking instructions

1. Crumble chocolate chip cake into small pieces with your fingers
2. In a food mixer, mix the chocolate fudge frosting with the chocolate cake crumbles
3. Whisk until it resembles a dough-like mixture
4. Place mixture into fridge to firm up, making it easier to work with
5. Line a baking tray with baking paper
6. Using electric scales, measure out 30g of mixture, roll into a ball, and place on the baking sheet
7. Repeat until all mixture has gone
8. Leave cake balls in the fridge for a few hours or overnight
9. Place candy melts into a microwavable bowl
10. Heat for 1 minute on medium, stir and continue heating in 30 second intervals until candy is fully melted
11. Dip lollipop stick about 1/2 inch into melted candy then push into a cake ball, just over halfway through
12. Carefully hold lollipop stick and dip the cake ball into melted candy, swirling gently until cake ball is covered. Gently tap to remove any excess candy
13. Immediately cover coated cake ball in sprinkles before the candy sets
14. Place in polystyrene block and leave to set
15. Eat and enjoy, or they can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days, or freeze them

Chocolate chip cake (makes one 20cm size cake)

Ingredients

• 125g (4.5 ounces) butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon (1/6 ounces) vanilla extract
• 150g (5.2 ounces) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225g (8 ounces) gluten-free self-raising flour
• 60ml semi-skimmed milk
• 2 tablespoons organic cocoa powder
• 100g (3.5 ounces) 70% dark chocolate drops

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F)
2. Line and grease tin
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour
4. Beat in eggs, flour, milk and vanilla extract
5. Stir in the dark choc chips
6. Pour batter into tin
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes
8. Place cake on a wire rack to cool

Chocolate fudge frosting

Ingredients

• 60g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 30g (1 oz) 70% dark chocolate drops
• 225g (1 cup) sifted icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk

Cooking instructions

1. Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave or using a Bain marie
2. Place icing sugar, vanilla essence and milk in a bowl and gradually whisk in chocolate mixture
3. Leave to set

Have a sweet day!