Banana Chocolate-Covered Cake Pops With Avocado Buttercream Frosting Recipe

What’s not to love about cake pops? Perfectly portioned and fun to eat, they’re just right for those times when you want a sweet bite without overindulging. Plus, our dairy-free frosting relies on the healthy unsaturated fats from an avocado to whip up a silky buttercream. But the true icing on the cake (pun intended!) is a crunchy coating of dark chocolate from Endangered Species. The company donates a portion of its profits to wildlife conservation efforts. I don’t know about you, but we go bananas for chocolate with a cause!

Banana Chocolate-Covered Cake Pops With Avocado Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake
2 ripe bananas, well mashed
1 box vanilla cake mix
3 eggs, beaten*
⅓ cup water*
1 tablespoon vanilla extract*
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil*

*ingredients will vary based on cake mix instructions

For the frosting
1 large ripe avocado, seed removed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

For the chocolate dip
2 to 3 (3-ounce) Endangered Species 72 Percent Dark Chocolate bars, chopped
6 to 8 (3-inch) lollipop sticks

Instructions

For the cake
In a medium bowl, add mashed bananas and cake mix. Follow directions on box for cake, but reduce butter or oil at least by half. Stir until combined. Pour into baking dish. Bake according to package instructions or until toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

For the frosting
Remove avocado from skin and discard seed. Add to medium bowl with lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk with hand-held mixer until smooth. Add 1 cup of sugar at a time, mixing until incorporated.

In a large bowl, crumble cake into small pieces. Add avocado frosting and fully mix. Scoop 1 tablespoon of mixture onto a sheet tray lined with wax paper. Freeze tray for at least 30 minutes. Re-roll each scoop into a ball between your hands and place back on sheet tray. Return to freezer for 1 hour.

For the chocolate dip
Use a double-boiler or fill a medium-sized sauce pot with an inch of water and warm on medium heat, place a heatproof bowl over the sauce pot, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add chopped chocolate into bowl and stir until completely melted. To form each cake pop, place one lollipop stick into each ball. Dip each one into melted chocolate, turning to coat the entire cake ball. Place back on wax-lined sheet tray. Chill in refrigerator to harden chocolate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours. Serve.

Recipe by: Angela Gaines
Photo credit: Paul Delmont