It seems counterintuitive to bake a cake for the purpose of destroying it, but that’s what cake pops are all about! So, don’t get too attached to your chocolate cake, you will be reducing it to nothing but a pile of crumbs.
Place half your cake in a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix the cake until the cake is broken up into fine crumbs. Add 1/2 cup of Irish Cream Buttercream to the crumbs and mix until well combined. Scoop the mixture in your hands and knead it together to create a cake pop “dough” that is the consistency of clay. Repeat this process for the other half of your cake. (A big thank you to Karyn of Pint Sized Baker for introducing me to this method for making cake pop dough! It’s easier than mixing by hand and there’s less clean up than using a food processor.) If you do not have a stand mixer, you can use your hands to break apart your cake and incorporate the frosting.
Once you have created your “dough”, you can begin rolling your cake balls. I used a My Little Cake Ball mold to make sure my cake pops were all the same size and perfectly round. You can also use a stainless steel coffee scoop to portion out your cake mixture and then roll the mixture in the palm of your hands to create round cake balls.
Set your cake balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate and put them in the freezer or refrigerator. If you have time, keep the cake balls in the fridge for a few hours until chilled. If this just doesn’t fit into your busy schedule, about 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer will do the trick. Do keep in mind that making cake pops is a temperature sensitive process. Putting cake balls in the freezer may make them too cold for dipping, so you will need to let them sit for a few minutes after removing from the freezer.
