Skeleton cake pops are one of those popular treats that are not only fun to eat but even more fun to make! These spooky Halloween-inspired cake pops are great because they don’t require using dyes or advanced decorating skills. In fact, the more imperfect the coating and the more wonky the decoration, the more creepy and cute the final product will be!
What’s the Best Chocolate to Use?
For a less sweet cake pop, use a darker bittersweet chocolate for the chocolate ganache frosting. Keep in mind the white chocolate is pretty sweet, so the darker bittersweet center is a nice balance. For a sweeter, more kid-approved cake pop, try using semi-sweet chocolate or even milk chocolate! If you want, you can also substitute chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate.
Make Ahead Steps
Because it’s a multi-step process, you can pause at any point or break up the cake pop project into several days. Here’s what works for me: Or make it all in one go, in one day. It’s not as hard as it seems.
Tips for Decorating the Cake Pops
It may seem daunting to decorate your own cake pops but don’t worry! Here are a few tips to help you out:
Practice drawing faces on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper first. That will give you a sense of how much pressure to use when squeezing your frosting bag as well as how you want to “draw” the faces.Place each cake pop on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Drawing on the cake pop while they’re flat on the table is easier than trying to draw on them while they are standing vertical.Don’t be afraid to make asymmetrical faces! One small eye and one big eye and lopsided smiles are always goofy fun and creepy cute.Finally, if you make a lot of cake pops, it might be worth making a custom cake pop holder to help with decorating. To do this, just take a couple of small pieces of 2 x 4 wood (about 16 inches long) and just drill holes into it, in a grid pattern, about 2 inches apart from each other. Then you can place the cake pops in the holes as you dip and decorate, so the cake pops can dry. If you aren’t invested in making cake pops too often, just find a cardboard box, and punch a bunch of holes in it with a nail and use that to hold the cake pops as you decorate!
Storing Your Cake Pops
Cake pops can be stored in the fridge, covered in an airtight container, for up to five days. You can also freeze the cake pops! Just place them on a large sheet pan, decorated face up, and let them freeze for 1 hour. Then place them in an airtight container or resealable gallon bag for up to 6 weeks in the freezer.
A Shortcut for Easier Cake Pops
If you don’t want to make the cake from scratch, you can use a box mix designed to yield one layer of a 9-inch cake. Replace the water in the cake mix batter with the same amount of chocolate milk to give the cake a richer chocolate flavor. Place the chocolate milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla in a small bowl and beat together. Add the chocolate milk, then stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir with the spatula until most of the crumbs are sticking to each other, then use your clean hands to get in there and massage the mixture until all the crumbs are incorporated and are sticking together. Once the white chocolate is melted, pour the melted coconut oil into the bowl, and stir it in. This will thin the chocolate down and make it easier to coat the cake pops. Once the lollipop stick is in the ball, dip the ball into the white chocolate coating, and then tap it gently on the side of the bowl to let any extra coating run off. Place the coated cake ball in a wooden 2 x 4 that has hole drilled in it or in a cardboard box with holes punched in it. Repeat with the remaining cake balls. Let the white chocolate coating dry and harden while you make the decorations. Add the black food coloring until the frosting is black. Scrape the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip.
