How To Make Black Cake Pops

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Inspired by Hocus Pocus, these cake pops are filled with black chocolate cake mixed with chocolate buttercream and dipped in black candy melts. A delicious, extra chocolatey treat that’s perfect for any Halloween party!

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How To Make Cake Pops

In theaters as a child, I was a bit disappointed. The energy just wasn’t there, and I don’t think the characters were written in an authentic way. It felt like they were trying too hard. At times, they missed the mark.

Party with my fall-loving friends. So of course I had to make a themed dessert! It was harder than I expected. To make something really on-point, I’d need to be much, much better at dessert decorating than I am. I don’t have time for that. And I probably don’t have the skill for that.

Plus, my goal is to share doable desserts you can make at home, not impossibly beautiful works of art that only an artist could replicate.

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I can totally roll a ball of cake into a shape then dip that in candy coating. Easy peasy. Plus, for these pops you don’t have to shape it perfectly, because you’re drying it upside down to create the cauldron top.

The black chocolate cake and the chocolate buttercream are just perfect in this recipe. Black chocolate is somehow rich, dark and bitter, yet naturally sweet. I can’t quite describe it. It has this taste that I’m just obsessed with, and it tastes like the chocolate part of an Oreo or similar cookie. Because those use black chocolate. This recipe is actually adjusted from my favorite chocolate cake recipe, using black cocoa. It uses a little less sugar, less oil, and an extra egg. Which may mean nothing to you, but the result is tons of flavor and a very fluffy cake. The sponge is one of my favorites.

I also love chocolate on chocolate. You can make regular chocolate buttercream or use black cocoa to make a black chocolate buttercream. I had run out of black cocoa and also had some regular chocolate buttercream leftover, so I just used up what I had.

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As for decoration, I used plain black candy melts then dried the cake pops upside down to create a flat top, which looked like a cauldron. I then used lime green candy melts and spread that in the center of the flat top to create the look of the witch’s brew used in the original

. I honestly could have left it there, but I decided to add some large, green sugar pearl sprinkles to give that “bubbling brew” look to them. It all really came together well!

A couple of notes: If you don’t have black cocoa or prefer to use regular, you can make the center of these cake pops black by adding a bit of black gel food coloring when you mix it all together. Also, you could use a vanilla cake recipe instead and dye it any color you want, such as lime green to match the top. I just thought chocolate would taste better, so I went with that.

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Flour. Always spoon then level flour, and never skip sifting! Trust me. The cake is just not as good without sifting with a fine mesh sieve.

Sugar. This cake actually uses less sugar than most of my other cakes, but the black chocolate provides more than enough flavor to make it delicious.

Oil. I prefer avocado or grape seed, as they are the “healthy” oils with not taste and little color. Vegetable and canola work, too.

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Buttermilk. I usually make my own by putting 1 tablespoon white vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup then filling it with room temperature whole milk, stirring, and letting it sit for 5 minutes while I sift and whisk the dry ingredients.

Hot coffee. I prefer blonde coffee in this cake, so that it helps bring out the chocolate flavor without adding any bitterness or coffee flavor.

Chocolate buttercream. You can honestly use any buttercream you want. My absolute favorite frosting with this cake recipe is marshmallow! You only need about a cup, so if you have any leftover, this is a great use for it! I always freeze my leftovers (rolled up in plastic wrap like a log so I can slice off as much as I need). You’d be surprised how often leftover frosting comes in handy!

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Black and green candy melts. If possible, get lime green. Otherwise, you’ll need to dilute it using mostly white with a little bit of dark green.

Optional, but you really do need either parchment or a silicone mat to line your cookie sheet for drying the black candy coating.

Green sugar pearls. These are optional, and create a “bubbling” cauldron look. I don’t actually like their taste, so I eat around them and would probably omit them from a few cake pops in the future, just so I have some I can eat.

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1. Sift and whisk dry ingredients. I usually don’t sift the sugar because we use organic, which is larger grain. However, everything else

2. Combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until well combined. You’ll know this is the case when the oil and eggs are emulsified, meaning everything is one homogenous color and texture.

3. Slowly whisk in hot coffee. Pour slowly with one hand and whisk vigorously with the other. It can help to have a bowl that stays put for this, as I’ve nearly whisked mine off the counter before.

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4. Slowly stir wet ingredients into dry. Use the paddle attachment on low and pour slowly—taking about 30 seconds or so to combine. Scrape the bowl before continuing (or use a paddle attachment with a rubber scraper built in—they’re life-changing!).

5. Beat on medium for exactly 2 minutes. No more, no less. Beat on just under medium if your paddle has the built-in scraper.

6. Bake. Pour into your prepared pan(s) and bake 25-30 minutes for two 8” rounds or 40-45 minutes for a 9x13 cake, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just some moist crumbs—not fully clean (that means it’s slightly over baked). Check early, as baking times can vary by climate, elevation, and even ovens.

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7. While the cake cools, make the buttercream. You can also make the buttercream ahead of time or use leftovers of your favorite flavor.

8. Crumble completely cooled cake. Be sure it’s not chunky—you want it all as evenly small as possible so you get a round cake ball.

10. Shape and chill cake balls. If they aren’t getting very round, you can chill them for an hour then re-shape them to get them perfectly round. Also, you can make more of a cylindrical shape if you want tall cauldrons.

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11. Dip into black candy melts. I dip my cake sticks into the melted candy, insert that into the chilled cake ball, then continue on until I’ve got all pops on sticks. Freeze those for a few minutes then take a couple out at a time to dip in the black candy. This ensures they stay on the stick when dipping. Set them top side down to create a flat topped cauldron. Let set until hardened.

12. Spread green candy melts on top. I found that using a small spatula to spread a bit of green on top was easiest to get the right look without it melting the flat top or dripping too far down the sides.

13. Top with green sugar pearls and cool. You’ll need either a cake pop stand, an upturned colander, or several short cups to set them upright to cool.

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Yes! You can keep them at room temperature for a day or two (longer does work, but the chocolate can begin to discolor). They’ll last in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container) for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer (again, covered) 1-2 months.

I order mine online here. I bake with it quite frequently and this this bag lasts me several months at least. I’ve seen it in some specialty stores, but not ones I go to regularly, so ordering it is my preferred method.

This may sound like an intense recipe, but it’s really just a handful of steps with a good deal of cooling and chilling involved. To make things easier, I suggest making your cake and buttercream the day before. You could also roll the cake balls and chill them overnight, as long as you cover them well (with plastic wrap or in an airtight container). That way, there’s less to do in one single day.

How To Make Cake Pops (with Pictures)

Yes! Most recipes call for boxed cake, but I just can’t bring myself to make that when I have such an easy homemade cake that I love so much. You could use plain chocolate