The Popular Japanese Snack You Need For Upgraded Cake Pops

Cake pops are a fun alternative to eating a regular ol' slice for dessert. Plus, they're a great way to use up leftover cake and transform slices that you may not feel great about serving to anyone else besides yourself. The recipe for making cake pops is rather simple: Stir together your leftover sponge with a little bit of icing before shaping it into balls, sticking it with your lollipop stick, and covering it in chocolate, candy melts, and your topping of choice. But rather than reaching for an inedible pack of plastic-coated lollipop straws, try a stick alternative that you can eat afterward.

Pocky is a cheap and tasty alternative to the classic white lollipop sticks. You can purchase a box of these Japanese snacks from the international aisle of most grocery stores. Or, to get more options, take a trip to your local Asian market. You'll likely find more than just the classic chocolate-covered cookie flavor; Pocky flavors range from strawberry to banana, matcha, and cookies and cream. When you're ready to assemble, gently poke your cake balls with the candy-covered end of the Pocky stick, dip into your candy melts and garnishes, and let the batch harden before enjoying. 

The number of Pocky flavors out there, as well as the litany of different cake pop recipes, opens up tons of opportunities for experimenting with different combinations. Try a protein-packed cake pop recipe, which gets its decadent flavor from peanut butter and dark chocolate. Stick these balls with an Almond Crunch Pocky, which is coated in hunks of almonds and chocolate. It may be more difficult to get the ball to stick to the Pocky because of its bumpy texture, but the heavenly combination of nuts and chocolate will make it worthwhile. 

If you're making a batch of cake pops for younger eaters, try using a strawberry-flavored Pocky and a classic Funfetti or vanilla cake mix (dyed pink, of course). Coat it in a layer of pink candy melts or white chocolate, add some colorful sprinkles, and you'll have a dessert fit for a birthday party. You don't even have to whip up your own icing or cake batter for this recipe; you can just grab a container of store-bought frosting and a box of cake mix and get to work.