Halloween Cake Pops are a fun and delicious Halloween party treat, and they are so easy to make! This cake balls recipe is easy enough for kids to help with.
Cake balls and cake pops are a quick go-to dessert, because you only need a few simple ingredients to make them. For the chocolate cake base, you can opt to make it from scratch, buy one, or use a boxed cake mix.
For this recipe, I used a homemade chocolate fudge cake. Another option is to use white cake, like I did for my vanilla cake pops recipe!
The vanilla buttercream frosting and melted chocolate add flavor to this fun mini dessert on a stick.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the decoration of the cake pops as well - eyeballs, ghouls, and ghosts - the spookier the better! These are the perfect Halloween dessert!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fun Treat: Completly customizable, everyone loves a dessert on a stick!
- Cheap: With grocery store costs on the rise, this is a delicious, budget-friendly dessert!
- Total Party Food: Perfect for your kiddo's Halloween party at school. Or serve them at your own themed party.
If you need other easy Halloween treat ideas, consider making Oreo Cupcakes or Chocolate Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies. Both are simple and fun party ideas!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
To make these adorable treats, you'll start by making the chocolate cake balls.
Cake Balls
- chocolate sheet cake: I made my chocolate fudge cake recipe.
- vanilla frosting: The frosting will act like a glue, holding the cake balls together.
For Decorating the Cake Pops
You should be able to find all of these supplies at any party store, or craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michael's.
- Chocolate melting wafers
- White chocolate melting wafers
- Orange food gel coloring: Gel coloring is much easier to work with than liquid food coloring. And, because it's concentrated, you won't use as much of it.
- Edible candy eyes: These spooky Halloween sprinkles are a fun decorating idea, too.
- Cake pop sticks: Other options for cake pop sticks include decorative paper sticks, short small dowels, and popsicle sticks.
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- chocolate cake: Either homemade or store-bought cake will work, or you can make a boxed chocolate cake mix. You could also use a different cake flavor if you'd prefer.
- frosting: I used homemade vanilla buttercream, but obviously, store-bought frosting will also work. If you want a different flavor, there are plenty of other options. You could use chocolate frosting, cream cheese frosting, or even chocolate chip!
- melting wafers: Colored melting wafers are a special type of compound chocolate, made with vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter, for better meltability. If you'd like to use chocolate bark or tempered chocolate, those will work just fine.
How to Make Halloween Cake Pops
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Break up the cake into crumbly pieces.
- Incorporate the frosting.
- Form the cake balls.
- Melt the decorating chocolates.
- Dip and decorate the Halloween cake pops!
Liz's Tips for the Best Cake Pops
- Be sure to use an 9x11-inch sheet cake, or an equivalent sized cake.
- Refrigerate the cake ball mixture before shaping. Let it chill for 15 minutes, to help it set up. You can melt the chocolates while you're waiting for the mixture to chill.
- Avoid using too much frosting. Follow the recipe exactly, because using too much frosting can make the cake balls mushy.
- Feel free to make the cake pops up to 6 weeks ahead of time. You can decorate them ahead, or wait- it doesn't matter. Just store them in a freezer-safe container and keep them frozen. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before serving so the chocolate doesn't "sweat" as it thaws.
Storage
Storing: Store finished cake pops in a paper towel-lined airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Halloween Cake Pop Decorating Ideas
- Spiderwebs: Use melted marshmallows to create a spider web effect around your cake pop.
- Ghosts!: Alter the shape of the cake into a ghost before dipping.
- Turn them into spiders: Create spider legs with black licorice.
Zombie Cake Pops
- Green food coloring
- Edible candy eyes
- Edible colored markers for details. (blood, mouth, teeth, dirt, etc.
Cake Pop Recipe FAQ
One 12-oz bag of candy melts will yield at least 24 cake pops. Of course, the exact amount will depend on the size you've made the cake balls.
- styrofoam block: You can insert the cake pops into a piece of styrofoam covered with Halloween wrapping paper.
- cake pop stand: Cake pop stands are available that make it easy to display cake pops.
- decorative containers: Use decorative containers, like Halloween bowls or jars, to hold the cake pops. You can fill the container with decorative materials like candy corn, chocolate chips, or colored sand to help stabilize the cake pops.
The most common reasons for dipping chocolate that cracks are that the melted chocolate was a bit too warm when you started dipping, or you put the cake pops into the fridge before the chocolate had cooled down .
Other Fall Desserts You'll Love
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Rice Krispies
- Easy Caramel Popcorn
Halloween Cake Pops
Ingredients
- 1 chocolate cake 9x11-inch homemade or store-bought
- ½ cup vanilla frosting homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup chocolate melting wafers
- 1 cup white chocolate melting wafers
- orange food gel coloring
- ½ cup edible candy eyes
- 24 cake pop sticks
Instructions
- Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- If you have not already baked your sheet cake, do so now. Allow at least 15 minutes for the cake to cool before continuing.
- In a large mixing bowl, break up the cake into large pieces. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, blend the cake into small crumbs.
- Add the vanilla frosting and mix again until fully incorporated. Place the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the mixture to set up.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands, portion and roll the cake balls onto prepared sheet pan. Place in the fridge while you prepare the dipping chocolates.
- Place the chocolate wafers in one bowl. Separate the white chocolate wafers equally among two bowls. Melt the wafers as directed on the packaging.
- Add 4 drops of orange gel coloring to one of the white chocolate bowls and stir to combine.
- Dip the cake balls into the melted chocolates to coat, using whatever color(s) or design you want. While the chocolate is still warm, gently press two candy eyes onto each ball.
- Place a wooden skewer into each cake ball, set them back on the cookie sheet, and place in the fridge until chocolate is set (about 15 minutes). Serve and enjoy!
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