Looking for some easy desserts for fall? We have you covered! These Pumpkin Spice Pecan Cake Pops are a fun and tasty way to celebrate pumpkin season! These are perfect for any occasion, especially festive fall gatherings, a birthday party or even tailgating!
Pumpkin Spice Sponge Cake
The base of these delicious cake pops is a Pumpkin Spice sponge cake. The combination of seasonal spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with the pumpkin give the sponge cake that carvable pumpkin spice flavor that everyone loves this time of the year!
You can make this pumpkin cake recipe into an actual cake or cupcakes, or a pumpkin bread loaf with the cream cheese frosting if you don’t want to do cake pops, so there are plenty of options with this recipe!
Cream Cheese Frosting
The cream cheese frosting in this recipe acts as a binder for the cake pop balls. It also adds another level of flavor that you would get from making this into a regular cake or cupcakes.
The recipe we provided here makes more than you will need for the cake balls, but we prefer to make the full recipe and use the frosting in other ways. The great thing about having extra is that the frosting keeps in the fridge for 2-3 weeks or you can freeze the cream cheese frosting for 2-3 months. If you do not want this much extra frosting, simply cut the recipe in half and only use what is necessary to form the cake balls.
The pumpkin Spice Pecan Cake Pops can also be frozen for up to 3 months if desired to enjoy a sweet treat throughout the season.
Making the Cake Pops
Making cake pops is quite easy, and fun for the whole family! Simply follow our step-by-step instructions below.
Once you have your cake balls, all you need to do is melt your white chocolate, then dip the tip of the stick in the white chocolate and stick it in the cake ball and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to set. This will help prevent your sticks from sliding out of the cake balls when you dip to coat them.
When dipping the cake balls, dip at a 45° angle and turn the cake ball in the melted chocolate to coat completely. Allow excess chocolate to drip off before adding sprinkles and turning your cake pops right side up to dry.
We like to use a container of dried beans or rice to stick the cake balls in for the white chocolate coating to dry completely right side up, or you can use a styrofoam block if you have one.
Alternatively, you can leave the cake pops upside down on a cookie sheet tray with parchment paper if you don’t want them to be completely round. Or if you have one of those fancy cake pop makers, go for it! If you are feeling extra fancy, you can even form them into a pumpkin shape and dip them in orange candy melts for halloween.
Recipe developed in collaboration with Chef Vanessa Wilson-Watson
Looking for more recipes like this? Check these out:
- Pumpkin Caramel Panna Cotta with Candied Pecans
- Pumpkin Spice Butter Cake aka “Crack Cake”
- Brown Butter and Pecan Rum Cake
- Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
📖 Recipe
Desserts for Fall: Pumpkin Spice Pecan Cake Pops
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Sponge Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter melted
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Additional Ingredients
- 24 Lollipop sticks
- Fall colored sprinkles of your choice
- 10 oz white melting chocolate
Instructions
For the cake**
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish or whatever cake pans you have with butter or nonstick cooking spray (we like Baker’s Joy).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric mixer, beat the melted butter and sugar on medium speed until just combined. Add the eggs one at a time until combined thoroughly. Add the pumpkin and continue to mix until combined. Slowly add the bowl of dry ingredients and mix on low speed until completely combined. Finally, add the pecans and mix to combine.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking dish or prepared cake pans and smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out dry and clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to let the cake cool completely at room temperature before forming your cake balls.
For the cream cheese frosting
- Combine the butter and cream cheese in a bowl of a stand mixer or hand mixer. Beat until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined. Set aside in the fridge until you are ready to make your cake balls (see note).
Make your cake pops
- In a large bowl, crumble up the cake mixture with your hands or a fork. Then add some cream cheese frosting (¼ cup at a time). Be careful not to add too much. You don’t want it to be too wet.
- Mix until you are able to form a dough like ball. Then take a little bit of your dough and roll it in between your palms to form 1-inch balls. There should be no cracks in your dough. If there are, add a little more frosting. We prefer small balls, but you can make your as large as you want.
- Melt ¼ cup of your white melting chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Follow the package directions to melt appropriately.
- Dip the tip of the lollipop stick into the chocolate and place ¼-½ inch of the tip into the cake pop. This will act like glue and prevent your cake pop sticks from sliding out. Place these in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Melt another ½ cup of your white melting chocolate, then dip your cake pops in the chocolate and drizzle off the excess. Dip the pops at a 45° angle and turn them in the chocolate for best results.
- Dip in fall-colored sprinkles and place right side up with the stick in a can of dry rice/beans to dry completely. Enjoy! You can keep the pumpkin spice cake pops in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze leftover cake pops for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
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