Cake Pops have haunted me since they reached peak popularity around the exact same time that I decided to go vegan. Not many people make vegan cake pops you know, and they are not the most technically appealing sweet treat to try to make at home. The other daily I celebrated my birthday with Vegan Peanut Butter Birthday Cake topped with Vegan Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting. In my laziness though I just topped a slice with chocolate once and it put me in the mood for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. I when I drifted off to sleep that night, I knew what I had been called upon this earth to do the very next day. My mission, if I chose to accept it (and I always do when sugar calls), was to make Vegan Reese’s Cup inspired Peanut Butter Cake Pop.

Inspired by:
Peanut Butter Birthday Cake by Average Betty via Joy the Baker
http://www.averagebetty.com/videos/peanut-butter-birthday-cake-video/
http://joythebaker.com/cookbook/

Vegan Peanut Butter Cake Pops Recipe

Yields: 20 vegan cake pops

Ingredients:
1 – 8 inch Peanut Butter Cake Round (recipe below)
3/4 to 1 cup Peanut Butter Buttercream (recipe below)
1 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
20 Lollipop sticks
2 inch thick Styrofoam board

Directions:
Crumble cake into fine crumbs into a mixing bowl.

Stir in buttercream until it is well distributed throughout the crumbs and the crumbs hold together.

Form balls with the cake mixture with the assistance of a cookie scooper or large spoon. Firmly press the balls together and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Pre stick holes into the cake balls using a lollipop stick, but be sure to hold the balls with one hand as you do as they will fall apart.
Melt about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler over the stove.

Cover about a 1/2 inch of the tip of the lollipop stick in chocolate and firmly insert into the pre drilled hole of the cake ball.

Once you have stuck all the balls, freeze them for 45 minutes.

Once froze remove them. Melt the remainder of the chocolate and use a spoon to assist in covering the cake pops in chocolate.

Allow the access chocolate to drip, then stick the cake pops (stick end) into the Styrofoam board to set.

Return to the freezer for about 10 minutes to hasten the setting process.

And then, there you have it . . . Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake Pops to fix your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup craving.

Enjoy.

Vegan Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Yields: 2 cake rounds

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener G Egg Replacer
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons vegan butter
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

Sift flour, egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.

Blend peanut butter, vegan butter, raw sugar, and brown sugar together using an electric hand mixer in a separate bowl.

Gradually mix in applesauce, and once incorporated, slowly mix in flour.

Take a pause to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Stir vinegar into a cup with the almond milk. Warning: It will curdle and look really weird.

Add the almond milk concoction to the peanut butter dough, and continue to mix until a uniform consistency is achieved.

Divide the cake batter between two greased 8 inch round cake pans or 24 cupcake tins. Spread the batter evenly with a spatula

Bake for 15, then rotate the pans, and bake for another 15 minutes. The peanut butter birthday cakes are done baking when a toothpick is inserted into the center, and can be removed cleanly.

Allow the eats to cool before decorating or devouring straight from the pan, which ever suits your fancy.

Enjoy.

Vegan Peanut Butter Buttercream

Yields: Enough peanut butter Buttercream to frost two cake rounds

Ingredients:
8 ounces vegan cream cheese (Tofutti)
1/2 cup vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream together vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, peanut butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer.

Mix in salt and powdered sugar at a gradual pace until Buttercream becomes smooth and fluffy.

The Original Cake Pop-per: Cake Pops by Bakerella