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Sweet Treats with a Healthy Twist: How to Make Your Cake Pops Less Sweet

Sweet Treats with a Healthy Twist: How to Make Your Cake Pops Less Sweet

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If you ask me, cake pops are among the tastiest of finger foods. They’re a guilty pleasure, though, because they’re full of sugar!

If you want to eat cake pops with a clearer conscience, there are ways to make cake pops less sweet.

Since the frosting is responsible for almost half the sugar in cake pops, you can considerably lower your cake pops’ sugar level by making them without frosting. Another option is using a cake pop recipe with sugar-free ingredients.

Read on to learn more about making cake pops with less sugar. I’ve also included an amazing recipe for healthy cake pops you should give a go.

Are Cake Pops Healthy?

I think we both know the answer to this question.

Cake pops aren’t exactly the healthiest treat in the world. They’re packed with calories and loads of sugar.

Although their size doesn’t suggest it, every cake pop you indulge in means you’re taking on between 150 and 180 calories. This isn’t to mention the 19 to 23 grams of carbs that cake pops contain.

Eating a couple of cake pops every now and then is perfectly fine, though. It only becomes a problem if you have them too often. If you do so, you’ll find yourself putting on the pounds pretty fast.

For those with diabetes and other pre-existing health conditions, you should avoid sugary treats like cake pops altogether.

How Many Grams of Sugar Are in a Typical Cake Pop?

You may wonder exactly how much sugar a typical cake pop contains.

The answer is around 12 to 18 grams, and if you account for the frosting, that adds around 20 more grams.

Each cake pop also has around 8 grams of fat in it.

Hacks for Making Cake Pops Less Sweet

You and I know cake pops are super sugary, which isn’t always a good thing.

Luckily, I know a few tricks to make cake pops that are a bit less sweet.

Here are my favorite ones:

Forgo the Frosting

The frosting in cake pops is the main source of sugar content.

If you want to cut the sweetness of your cake pops in half, you can omit the frosting altogether. Instead of using frosting as a binding agent, you can take advantage of the cake’s moisture while it’s still warm. It’s a great way to stick the crumbs together and form those tasty spheres.

When you mount them on a stick, dip them in molten chocolate, and decorate them with sprinkles, you still have balls of sugary goodness. They’re not as sickeningly sweet as they are with frosting, though.

Use Sugar-Free Alternatives

Another way to make your cake pops less sweet is to switch out the sugary ingredients with sugar-free substitutes. For starters. You can use Splenda as a sweetener instead of regular sugar. This option is ideal for those on a diet or with sugar-related medical conditions.

Other substitutions you can make include sugar-free frosting, chocolate, and cake mix.

Make Frosting With Less Sugary Ingredients

Don’t want to make your cake pops without frosting?

Not to worry, there’s another way to make your cake pops less sweet.

For example, you can make your frosting with cream cheese instead of the more sugary buttercream.

Another thing you can do is switch the regular cake mix with muffin mix.

What I’m saying is; that there are so many ideas you can explore to tone down your cake pops’ sweetness.

How to Make Healthy Cake Pops

I know I said that the regular recipe for cake pops isn’t that healthy.

There’s a way to change that, though.

Here’s a recipe you can use to make cake pops you can eat with a clear conscience.

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2½ tablespoons of cashew butter
  • 8 pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 cup of blanched almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons of decorative rainbow sprinkles
  • 6 to 8 ounces of white chocolate. You can also use the vegan variety

Instructions

Here are the steps you’ll need to go through to make these cake pops:

  1. Mix the almond flour, medjool dates, cashew butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a food processor. Continue mixing until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  2. Make sure the mixture is evenly crumbled and sticks together when you form it in your hands.
  3. Place the mixture in a bowl and stir it with a fork to combine the ingredients better.
  4. Next, start forming balls from the batter. You should make 10 balls around the size of a golf ball.
  5. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. As you wait, mount the balls on sticks and get the sprinkles ready.
  6. Dip each cake pop about half an inch into the melted chocolate and then all the way in.
  7. Now it’s time to add the sprinkles to your cake pops while the chocolate is still wet.
  8. Give the chocolate coating time to solidify, then put your cake pops in the fridge or freezer.
  9. Finally, enjoy your delicious healthy cake pops!

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a couple of questions people often have about cake pops:

How long do cake pops last?

Are you wondering about cake pop storage?

These delicious treats can last for around a week at room temperature. They last considerably longer in the fridge, where you can store them in an airtight container for at least two weeks and up to a month.

For long-term cake pop storage, your freezer is your best bet. Place them there in a plastic bag and they’ll stay good for three months.

How to tell if your cake pops have gone bad?

If you don’t store your cake pops the right way, they’ll go bad.

How do you tell, though?

The first giveaway is the smell. When cake pops go bad, they give off an unpleasant odor.

Cake pops that have gone bad also develop mold. If you notice any discolorations on your cake pops, it’s time to throw them out.

Don’t risk eating them, no matter how tempted you are. Eating moldy food can make you really sick!

Final Thoughts

Are you craving cake pops but can’t help but feel guilty when you indulge in them?

Well, those days are in the past!

After reading this article, you know how to make cake pops less sweet.

Whether it’s switching out the usual sugary ingredients with sugar-free substitutes or abandoning the frosting, doing so will make your cake pops a guilt-free treat.

Don’t forget to try out the recipe I described above for some white chocolate-coated balls of fluffy cake, minus the weight gain!

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