Strawberry Cheesecake Cake Pop Recipe

When Valentine’s Day comes around, our sweet tooth kicks into high gear and we can’t help but indulge in boxes of chocolates, conversation hearts, and dipped strawberries. The most enticing of treats though, are the ones home made with love. We gawk at the made-from-scratch meals & goodies from Cooking with Cocktail Rings on Instagram all day long, so there’s no one better to whip up the yummiest strawberry cheesecake cake pops for V-day!

Why give a bouquet of roses or a card when you could give a bouquet of cake balls instead?! Show your main squeeze or your best friends you love them with some Valentine’s Day themed cake pops. Anyone with a sweet tooth will love the mixture of cake, cream cheese frosting and strawberry jam coated in chocolate and sprinkles.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup white sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectionary sugar

For assembly:

½ cup seedless strawberry jam
6-inch lollipop sticks*
12 ounces Candy Melts
decorative sprinkles

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9×9” pan. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. In another medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder then slowly add the flour mixture to the batter then stir in the milk until the batter is smooth. Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when you inserted in the center of the cake. Let cool.

For the frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time and continue to beat until all the sugar has been incorporated.

For assembly:

Cut the cake into squares and place in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, crumble the cake until there are no chunks left. Add ½ cup of the frosting and the strawberry jam. Stir together completely until completely combined and the icing holds together the cake crumbs.

Measure the mixture into rounded spoonfuls using a tablespoon. Roll each scoop in your hands back and forth to form a smooth ball about 1 ½-inches in diameter. Place the cake balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for 2 hours then insert the lollipop sticks. Continue to chill until ready to coat in the chocolate.

Heat a small saucepan filled with water over medium heat. Heat until the water is steaming but not boiling. Place a medium metal mixing bowl over the saucepan and add the candy melts. Stir constantly until they have melted. Dip each cake pop in the candy melts until they are completely coated. Dip in sprinkles then put it back on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet to harden.

Makes about 20 cake pops.

*Lollipop sticks can be found at most craft stores, or online here.