Witches’ cauldron cake pops

Halloween is the perfect occasion to get creative and a little playful with your sweet treats, and these chocolate 'cauldron' cake pops are as much fun to make as they are adorable.

Credit: Bake With Anna Olson

• makes

  12

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 18 mini chocolate cupcakes (unfrosted) (see Mummy cupcake recipe)
• 1 recipe Swiss buttercream (see Mummy cupcake recipe)
• 450 g (16 oz) dark chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet), chopped
• 12 lollipop sticks
• Orange food colouring paste
• Green food colouring paste
• Jelly beans, or other confectionary, to decorate

Allow an extra 25 minutes of cooking time for the cupcakes used in making the cake pops. 

Freezing time: at least 4 hours.

Instructions

1. Line a small baking tray or plate with baking (parchment) paper. Take the cupcakes out of the paper liners and place them in a bowl with ¾ cup (175 mL) of the buttercream – you can stir with a spoon to mash the cake into the frosting, but it’s actually quicker to do so with clean hands. Use a small ice cream scoop to portion balls of the cake mixture and roll between the palms of your hands to make round. Place these onto a small parchment-lined baking tray or plate and freeze for at least 4 hours.
2. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl placed over a pot with barely simmering water, stirring gently until smooth.  Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer it to a deeper bowl (this makes it easier to submerge the cake pops.  Insert a lollipop stick into each cake ball and dip it fully into the chocolate, shaking off any excess. Place the pops onto a clean, parchment-lined baking tray. The cold of the frozen cake centres should set the chocolate within a few minutes, or you can chill the cake pops for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.
3. Tint some of the remaining buttercream orange and spoon this into a piping bag fitted with a small flat leaf tip. Tint the other remaining buttercream green and spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Hold a cake pop upright in one hand (and you will be able to see how the flat top becomes the top of the cauldron) and use the orange frosting to pipe flames at the base of the cake pop, coming up the cauldron from where the lollipop stick meets the cake pop. Use the green frosting to pipe bubbling “goo” on the flat top of the cauldron. Place a few jelly beans on top. Stick the decorated cake pops into an apple, pumpkin or a vase of sugar, to hold them upright. They can be served within 6 hours or refrigerated until ready to serve later on.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.