The Grinch Cake Pop

The Grinch has been my absolute favorite movie for years. When we went to Universal Studio Orlando last month I made sure we stocked up on all things Grinch. So when we got home, I started thinking about all The Grinch treats I could make. And this Grinch Cake Pop came to mind.

I knew I wanted to use red velvet cake for the filling and peppermint frosting for flavor. It just feels like the perfect Grinch anti-Christmas flavor.  But I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep the chocolate at the perfect temperature for dipping the cake pops until I came across this chocolate warmer by Playful Chef on the Mindware site earlier this month.

I know it is being pegged as the best baking gift for kids but it also does a great job at making cake pops. I’ve also used it to make chocolate-dipped strawberries.

To make a batch of Grinch Cake Pops you will need the following –

1 Red Velvet Cake Mix and everything needed to bake the cake
1/2 tub Peppermint Frosting
1 pkg Vibrant Green Melting Wafers
Red Heart Sprinkles
Lollipop Sticks
Crisco

I will warn you, these cake pops are not a make in one setting type deal. There are times you’ll have to wait a few hours or a half-hour for items to cool down or chill.

First, you are going to bake the red velvet cake according to the boxes directions. Once the cake is baked, let it cool on the counter. The cake needs to be completely cool before you move on to the next step.

Once the cake is completely cool it’s time to crumble it up. You can either crumble the cake by hand or you can toss it in the food processor. You need the cake to be fine little crumbs for the next step.

Take about half the tub of frosting and mix it with the crumbled cake. You want it to have a very moist texture. You should be able to roll a ball of the mixture and when you squish it, the ball shouldn’t break and fall apart but it should spread out.

Now that you have the perfect consistency, it’s time to roll the cake pops out. Take a small cookie scoop and roll-out small balls of cake pop batter. Set them on a plate or tray and place them in the fridge for at least a half-hour. You want these to firm up so they don’t melt when you dip them in the chocolate.

While the cake pops are setting up it’s time to start melting the chocolate. I used the Playful Chef Chocolate Studio to melt the whole package of chocolate wafers. I also added a teaspoon of Crisco to the chocolate while it melted. This helps to make the chocolate thin out so it’s easier to dip the cake pops in. Adding the Crisco will also make it cover more evenly.

When the chocolate has melted some, take the cake pops out of the fridge. Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate and then place it in the cake pop. Put the cake pops back in the fridge for about 10 minutes for the chocolate to set up.

When all the chocolate has melted and it’s been thinned out with the Crisco it’s time to dip the cake pops. Take a few out of the fridge and dip them in the chocolate. Immediately place the candy heart on the cake pop and set in a cake pop stand to set up.

If you find it hard to dip or the chocolate won’t cover you need to add a little more Crisco and blend it in with the chocolate. Also, the cake pops dip best when they are cold so be sure to only take a few out of the fridge at a time.

You can store these Grinch Cake Pops at room temperature for about a week. An air-tight container is best too.

Be sure to check out our other holiday recipes.