Chocolate and banana is unquestionably one of my favourite flavour combinations… SO good. I made these cake pops – made from banana cake with chocolate coating – to bring to a friend’s house a couple of weeks ago. I love bite-sized desserts that are easy to transport! To save some time , the cake and frosting can definitely be made the day before (and then you won’t be waiting around for the cake to cool!).

INGREDIENTS
makes ~18-20 cake pops

for the (6 inch) cake;
150 g flour (use T55 in France)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
40 g milk, slightly warmed
2 teaspoons banana extract **
60 g unsalted butter, room temperature
120 g sugar
1 large egg + 1 yolk, room temperature
100 g mashed (slightly overripe) banana

for the frosting;
200 g icing sugar
200 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the chocolate coating;
250 g chocolate (~50%)
~1 tablespoon vegetable oil

**Amount specified is for a standard banana extract, such as this one from McCormick . If you have a “concentrated aroma” (like this one I purchased in France ), be sure to read the quantity suggestion on the label! I only used about 1/4 teaspoon to achieve the same effect.

DIRECTIONS

Make the cake;
Preheat the oven to 180°C (~350°F), and prepare a 6″ cake pan by greasing the sides and lining the bottom with parchment. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a separate jug, stir together the milk and banana extract, and also set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment until light. Add the egg and yolk, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the mashed banana, and mix to combine.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk mixture in two batches, mixing only on low speed and until just combined.

Add the batter to the prepared cake pan, and bake for ~35 minutes, until done. Allow the baked cake to cool completely on a wire rack before continuing.

Make the frosting;
Add the icing sugar and butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed with the whisk attachment. Once the butter and sugar are combined, mix on high speed until white and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, and mix on high for another minute or so.

Make the cake pops;
Using a serrated knife, cut away the very outside crust of the cake. (Skipping this step won’t affect the flavour of the pops, but the texture and appearance won’t be quite the same). Use your hands to completely crumble the cake into a large bowl.

Add a dollop of frosting to the crumbled cake, and mix through completely with the back of a spoon. Continue adding icing, little by little, until the mixture has the consistency of cookie dough. It should be sticky enough that you can easily shape it into cake balls, but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.

Using a cookie scoop, or just a spoon, scoop the cake pop batter into your hand and roll into a ball, about 3 cm in diameter. Place the balls onto a parchment-lined dish, and after all the batter has been shaped, place the cake balls into the freezer for 15 minutes, and then into the fridge until you’re ready to dip them.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, heating only for 30 seconds at a time, and stirring each time. Once the chocolate is melted, if it still seems a little thick, add the oil and stir well to combine.

Prepare the sprinkles you want to use, and make sure you have lollipop sticks on hand, as well as a styrofoam block to stand the pops in while the chocolate hardens.

Dip lollipop sticks about 1 cm into the melted chocolate, and then insert about half way into the chilled cake balls.

Once the chocolate around the lollipop stick has hardened, dip each pop completely into the chocolate. (Don’t stir it around or the cake ball might come off the stick.) Remove the pop from the chocolate, and tap the stick gently, while rotating the pop, to remove the excess chocolate. Then hold the pop upright, and give it a gentle shake to smooth out the chocolate coating.

Add the sprinkles, and stand the pop in the styrofoam.

YUM!!