Save yourself a trip to the pumpkin patch! These adorable pumpkin cake pops look like they were just plucked from the vine. Crumbled cake, mixed with frosting, dipped, and served on a stick make the cutest and festive fall treats.
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1½ tsps ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 1 pound confectioners sugar (1 box)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 24 oz orange melting wafers (2 pkgs)
- 1 cup green melting wafers
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate melting wafers
- 48 lollipop sticks
- small ice cream scoop
- small paint brush
- piping bag
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
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Sift together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
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Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
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Add the buttermilk and pumpkin puree, blending well and scraping down the sides as needed.
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Stir in the flour mixture, then the vanilla, mixing until just incorporated.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
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Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes on med/high speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add in confectioners sugar, mixing well to combine.
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Stir in vanilla extract until incorporated.
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Crumble cooled cake by hand or in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.
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In a mixing bowl, pour in crumbs and add 1 - 1½ cups frosting (the rest can be refrigerated and stored for another use). Start with a small amount and add more to reach desired consistency. (Pumpkin cake is very moist, so you may not need as much icing as used with other types of cake.)
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Mix with the paddle attachment of a mixer on low speed until mixture holds together and has the consistency of play-doh or wet sand. Alternatively, mix by hand with a spatula.
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Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment and using the small ice cream scoop, measure out level scoops.
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Roll each scoop into a ball (alternatively you can use a cake pop baller or the easy roller to roll out the balls) and place on lined baking sheet.
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Chill the balls for 2 hours in the refrigerator or freeze 20 minutes.
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Using a bamboo skewer or toothpick, make six indentations on the sides of each ball to create a pumpkin shape. Place back in the refrigerator if the balls become too soft and chill until firm.
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Remove about 10 balls at a time and allow to to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before dipping. The balls should be firm, but not too hard.
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While the balls are sitting at room temperature, melt the orange coating according to package instructions. If necessary, thin with a few drops of canola oil and stir well.
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Dip the end of each lollipop stick into the coating, then stick in each ball and allow to harden before dipping. This ensures the stick will stay in the cake pop.
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Dip each ball and tap off extra coating, tapping on your hand holding the stick, not the stick directly (to prevent the cake ball from falling off the stick). Place the cake pops back on the lined baking sheet (sticks up!) to harden and dry.
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Melt the dark chocolate wafers and using your paintbrush, paint about 1/4 inch of the stick just above the pumpkin to resemble a stem.
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Heat the green wafers according to package directions and fill a pastry bag. Make a very tiny snip at the tip of the bag and pipe four curled lines for vines and four little leaves at the stem.
Special equipment needed:
- 48 lollipop sticks
- small ice cream scoop
- small paint brush
- piping bag
- easy roller or cake pop baller (optional)
Tips for Success
- Start off with less frosting than you think you need to add to the crumbled cake, as you can add more as you mix it. The crumbled cake and frosting should mix together to form a play-doh-like consistency, not too wet or too dry, but enough that it holds together in a ball.
- After forming the balls and chilling, let them warm up just a bit before dipping. The coating has a tendency to crack if the balls are too cold or the coating too warm. This takes a little trial and error to get it right if you're new to cake pops.
- Don’t overheat the candy coating. My rule of thumb is to heat it in 30 second increments in the microwave and stir well each time. I also heat mine at 50-60% power….trust me…low and slow prevents a gloppy mess!
- If your melted coating is too thick, add a few drops of canola oil and mix well. You want it to be the consistency where it drips off easily when you tap off the excess coating after dipping.
- Allow the candy coating to sit at room temperature for a minute or two before dipping. You don't want too great a temperature swing between the cake balls and coating which can lead to cracking.
- The biggest tip…don’t sweat it if they’re not perfect the first time you make them! It takes a little practice but soon you’ll find a rhythm.