Cake pops!
They’re an American concept that embraces fun, junk food, cuteness, and factory-made components. Think: boxed cake mix, crumbed together with packaged frosting, dipped in artificially-colored, microwave-melted candy buttons!
Yet…they’re compelling, right? They’re charming. And super kid-friendly!
What about a grain-free, refined-sugar-free version good enough to serve to all your kid’s friends at a fall birthday party?
Coconut butter makes these morsels both cake-y and moist. (They are also easy to digest and nutrient dense. The cake pops do taste of coconut and have a subtle coconut nub.)
If you haven’t made homemade coconut butter before, it’s easier than pie! You do need a food processor or a high-powered blender (like Vitamix or Blendtec).
Why make your own coconut butter? The financial savings! While several cups of shredded coconut costs only a couple dollars when purchased in bulk, jars of the manna easily run between $8 and $15. Making your own means this superfood can become a family staple. Use it in baking and cooking, and even as a spread for baked goods!
Snuggling Into The Season
Welcome to fall, by the way! It is here, for those of us in the Western Hemisphere. After a long, hot, lovely summer, I am glad to have flavors like pumpkin and maple to remind me how much I love autumn. May the seasonal nature of this recipe, the frivolity of the cake pop concept, and the whole food ingredients in this recipe inspire a fun event where you can serve this kid-friendly treat!
Maple-Pumpkin Cake Pops
Cake pops!
They’re an American concept that embraces fun, junk food, cuteness, and factory-made components. Think: boxed cake mix, crumbed together with packaged frosting, dipped in artificially-colored, microwave-melted candy buttons!
But not these! These are a grain-free, refined-sugar-free version good enough to serve to all your kid's friends at a fall birthday party! Makes approximately 50 1-1/4 inch cake pops. Glaze and shell recipes easily doubled.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Maple Spice Cake
- 4 organic or pastured eggs
- 1-1/4 cups coconut butter room temperature and slightly warm
- 1/2 cup tallow lard, or ghee, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin or cooked winter squash
- 1/3 cup maple syrup honey or coconut syrup
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Pumpkin Maple Spice Glaze
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter melted and cooled slightly (source)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 2 teaspoons canned pumpkin or winter squash puree
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Chocolate Shell
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or 1 drop liquid stevia
Garnishes
- ground cinnamon
- cacao powder or cocoa powder
- chocolate shell see recipe above
Instructions
Pumpkin Maple Spice Cake
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or preheat your cake pops waffle iron).
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Place the following cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl: eggs, coconut butter, fat of choice, pumpkin, maple syrup and spices.
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Mix together until well blended.
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In a separate small bowl, sift together coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt.
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Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold in until thoroughly incorporated without over-mixing.
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Pour batter into bottom half of cake pops (silicone) pan.
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Follow manufacturer’s instructions for putting on the pan lid.
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Bake about 13 minutes and then check for doneness, inserting a toothpick into the center of 1 pop.
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They are done when there is no wet batter adhering.
Pumpkin Maple Spice Glaze
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Make the glaze while the cake pops cool.
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Combine glaze ingredients in a blender.
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Blend for 30 seconds to emulsify the fat with the other ingredients. (If they separate a bit during the dipping stage, it is fine and will not affect the outcome. Just use a fork or whisk to remix them slightly.)
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Pour glaze into a small bowl, preferably one that tapers at the bottom, not a flat bottom one.
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If needed, place this bowl in a larger bowl of hot water to keep the glaze runny.
Chocolate Shell
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To make the chocolate shell, simply whisk together the 3 ingredients in a small bowl.
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Double or triple this recipe, based on how many chocolate-dipped pops you want.
Decorating Your Cake Pops
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When the cake pops are mostly cool, insert a popsicle stick (or these wooden popsicle sticks) 3/4 of the way into each one of them.
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Place them in mugs or low cups and freeze for 15 minutes.
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Dip each pop into glaze, tapping the stick against the cup's rim to remove any excess.
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Swirl the pop around as the glaze dries, to evenly distribute.
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Place each pop, as it’s completed, into the cup again.
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You will double dip each pop; so don’t worry if the glaze looks thin.
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Working in batches, place pops back into freezer after several have been dipped the first time.
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Once they refreeze for 5 to 10 minutes, double dip them, repeating the former method.
Decorate or Garnish
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To decorate with cinnamon or cacao powder, dip the dried, iced pops into a little dish of one of the powders, rolling it around to cover and tapping off any extra.
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This final garnish gives them a more sophisticated, adult flavor. I recommend this treatment for grown-ups and the glaze or chocolate shell alone for kids.
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You can also use the chocolate shell to drizzle chocolate stripes across either icing.
Recipe Notes
- Use attractive twigs (thin but strong) to create a frugal, autumnal alternative to buying popsicle sticks!
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder to the icing recipe, for a chocolate version of the Pumpkin Maple Spice Glaze. Whisk it in completely and dip pops according to above instructions. You'll only need to dip each pop once with this method.
- See this recipe for more information on cocoa butter's nutritional profile and how to use it in cooking.
What do you think? Are Paleo Cake Pops too much of an oxymoron? Have you used coconut butter in baking yet?
Here’s a favorite recipe for grain-free, refined-sugar-free Pound Cake that uses coconut butter!
What about cocoa butter? Have you discovered how delicious and healthful this traditional fat is?
Here’s a favorite cocoa butter recipe!
Looking for more nourishing, gut-healing foods that your family will love to eat?
Be sure to check my cookbook: Eat Beautiful: Grain-Free, Sugar-Free and Loving It (softcover version as well).
It contains all the recipes I’ve perfected through my family’s years on a gut-healing diet.
My eBook and video package is currently 50% off. One of the bonus videos you’ll get explains the grain-free baking technique I use to make amazing panini sandwiches for our gut-healing cafe in Eugene, Oregon!
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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So cute! I have never made cake pops before! What a great idea…keeping it bite size:)
Thanks, Linda! …as long as you don’t feel guilty eating more than one! 🙂
Such a beautiful recipe! Those glazes! Yum, yum, yum! I love Megan’s recipes, they’re so nourishing and delicious. And her cookbook is amazing!
Thank you, Emily!!
They sure look good.
Thanks! Yes, the “crumb” you get from using coconut butter really does create an awesome texture. And the glaze, mmm! 🙂
Hey there!
Any way to make these egg-free??
Thanks!