Pumpkin and Cat Halloween Cake Pops

Recently I heard a rumor about preparing "accidentally" vegan cake mixes using pumpkin puree in lieu of oil and eggs. Since it sounded interesting, I gave it a whirl. It worked pretty well, and I decided to make Halloween cake pops using the cake.

It was an extremely moist cake and the result is rather tasty and fun to decorate. Next time I would probably make the crazy cake recipe for cake pops and save the pumpkin recipe for cake or cupcakes. My sister came over and we came up with a couple design ideas and below is the result.

Pretty cute huh?

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Pops

1 package of vegan chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
amount of water called for in recipe
 3/4 to 1 1/4 cup chocolate frosting (see below for recipe) or use vegan Duncan Hines Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to recommended temperature on box. I used the Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix. Combine water and can of pumpkin puree to cake mix. Follow instructions on box for preparation.

Once baked, allow to cool and flip cake into a mixing bowl. Break apart cake into crumbs, and add chocolate frosting (see recipe below). Mix until it looks like the picture below. Start with less frosting first since you can't go back once it is added.

Roll it into balls, and add paper sticks. Place in freezer for 3-4 hours. Start to prepare the chocolate coating (see instructions below), add the ears onto the cake pop by dabbing a bit of melted chocolate onto a chocolate chip to make the ears stick. Put them back into the freezer until you are ready to coat them.

It is important to lay out your decorating materials before starting the coating, because the chocolate will dry pretty quickly. Once ready, roll pop in melted chocolate, decorate, and stick into a Styrofoam base to allow it to harden.

Chocolate Coating 


1 package of E. Guittard semi-sweet wafers
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1 Tbsp. Coconut oil

Melting the chocolate, margarine, and coconut oil in a double broiler. You could experiment and probably eliminate the margarine by adjusting the amount of coconut oil.

Here is the chocolate I used, which I found at Williams Sonoma:

Chocolate Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 cup coconut milk beverage
1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup powdered cocoa

First cream together the shortening and margarine, and then add in the vanilla and cocoa powder. Next add the powdered sugar and coconut milk by alternating between the two and mixing in between additions. Do this until it is all added.

Then beat the frosting for 10 minutes, it will give it the light fluffiness. Don't skimp on the time, trust me on this one. If it doesn't seem creamy enough after everything is added, you can put in a little extra coconut milk beverage.

Happy Halloween!

In the meantime, don't forget to go enter the giveaway this week for a chance to win vegan butterscotch chips or a copy of The 30 Day Vegan Challenge.