Christmas pudding cake pops recipe

Does your household have mounds of Christmas pudding left over every year? Instead of picking at it for days, try turning your neglected pud into these fun cake pops.

This recipe, even if I do say so myself, is genius: not only does it use up leftover Christmas pudding, it’s also great fun to make, requires no fancy apparatus, and only calls for chocolate as its other ingredient. Plus they taste fantastic – I made some for team lovefood recently, and writer Simon declared that they were “simply stunning – a wonderful blend of chocolate and Christmas cheer”. Praise indeed.

How to make Christmas cake pops

Get your sticks in

First off all, you need to buy some plastic lollipop sticks – I got mine online and paid just £1.37 for 50 sticks. You don’t need a fancy cake pop mould for this recipe; just your hands, and a willingness to get a bit messy.  

Blitz and bind the pudding 

For six generously-sized cake pops, measure out 200g of leftover Christmas pudding (we used a mix of all the puds left over from our taste test) and blitz in a food processor to break it up. You’ll be left with a lump-free, sticky mess – the perfect consistency for making cake pops. Add the zest of an orange, for an extra hit of festive flavour.

Next, melt 100g of white chocolate (I used Lindt) either in the microwave or over a bain-marie and fold it into the blitzed pudding – you don’t have to bother with allowing the chocolate to cool first. Mix everything together until fully incorporated (the white chocolate will add sweetness to your cake pops, and help the mixture bind), and then prepare to get your hands dirty.

Roll it into balls

Divide the mixture into six parts (to do so by eye is fine – homemade treats aren’t supposed to be perfect!) and using your hands roll each piece into a smooth ball, about the size of a walnut/very large truffle. Place them on a baking tray or plate lined with silicone/greaseproof paper, and transfer to the fridge. Leave for 30 minutes to firm up. I rewarded myself with a cup of tea and a piece of leftover chocolate during this break.

Poke the pudding balls

When the time is nearly up, melt 300g of dark chocolate (I used Cadbury Bournville) either in the microwave or over a bain-marie. Remove your Christmas pudding balls from the fridge. Dip a lolly stick (you’ll need six in total) into the chocolate about 1 to 2cm in, then immediately plunge it half-way into a pudding ball – some of the chocolate on the stick will splurge out, but that’s fine. Repeat with the remaining balls, and then transfer to the fridge for five minutes.

Meanwhile, get a block of polystyrene ready, or an upturned cardboard box. Poke six holes into your polystyrene/box using one of your lollipop sticks; this will be your cake pop ‘holder’.

Dipping

Transfer the remaining dark chocolate into a large mug – that way it will be easier to coat your pudding balls with chocolate (I found that the pool of chocolate was too shallow, if left in its original melting bowl). Dip the cake pops one at a time into the chocolate, tapping them on the side of the mug to lose any excess chocolate. Nestle the cake pops into your makeshift cake pop holder and allow to set at room temperature for at least half an hour (or in the fridge for 15-20 minutes).

Decorating

Just before the time is up, melt 50g of white chocolate and allow it to cool for three to four minutes – if the white chocolate is too hot, it will melt the dark chocolate surrounding your cake pops. Carefully spoon about half a teaspoon of white chocolate on top of a cake pop, and gently nudge it back and forth with your spoon so that it runs down the sides a little. Pop a holly decoration on top (I paid £3.99 for 36), or draw your own on with some green and red writing icing.

Et voilà! Your very own Christmas pudding look-alike cake pops are ready to be ravaged by Boxing Day revellers. See below for the full recipe.  

Ingredients

• 200 g leftover Christmas pudding
• 100 g white chocolate, plus 50g for decoration
• 1 orange, zested
• 300 g dark chocolate
• 6 sugar holly decorations, or red and green writing icing, to decorate

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