3 Delicious Liquors To Give Your Cake Pops A Boozy Upgrade

Cakes are a delight, but putting a sphere of cake on a stick and dipping it in chocolate gives you a dessert that's both clever and portable without risking a mess — bonus points if you make your entire cake pop edible by using a pretzel stick! For an adults-only version, choose your favorite booze to infuse into the cake pops. Making a liquor-laden cake pop is fairly simple, and there are certainly plenty of popular liqueurs to choose from that will pair well with different cake pop recipes. Between Baileys Irish cream, Kahlúa coffee liqueur, and your favorite style of bourbon, the possibilities are potent and plentiful. 

Using an Irish cream, coffee liqueur, or a basic bourbon are all great choices because they each have such a distinct flavor that lends itself to pairing with a variety of complementary cakes. There are a few different ways to infuse alcohol into cakes, the easiest of which is to bake a little bit of booze into the cake batter. For a lengthier infusion process, soak your cake prior to crumbling and mixing it with frosting to shape into cake pops. You can also infuse some liquor into your frosting mix or even use a food injector such as a Norpro Cupcake Injector if you want to get fancy.

Boasting an Irish cream flavor rife with milky tastes of chocolate and vanilla and a punch of robust whiskey, Baileys Irish cream liqueur makes an excellent alcohol with which to infuse a batch of cake pops. Playing off of the notes of chocolate in the liqueur, you can choose a few different varieties of cake flavors to pair with it for your cake pops. If you want to bake a cake from scratch, try Ina Garten's devil's food cake recipe or a classic red velvet cake. Another great scratch-made option is a death by chocolate cake recipe, which includes a decadent frosting that you can easily infuse with Baileys for mixing up with your cake crumbles before dipping into a chocolate coating.

If you want a quicker option, start with a boxed mix. You can grab a devil's food cake mix or a classic chocolate cake to take some of the guesswork out of your cake pop baking. For even more convenience, you can also find Great Spirits Baking Baileys Irish Cream Loaf Cake, which already has the classic Baileys flavor in it. Easily crumble this up and mix it with a Baileys-infused buttercream frosting to prepare your cake pops.

According to the Ace of Cakes himself, Duff Goldman, Kahlúa is the liqueur that makes every dessert better. This definitely means the popular coffee-flavored spirit is an ideal match for a cake pop of a coordinating flavor. While coffee cakes are typically made to be consumed alongside coffee, mocha cakes have a strong coffee flavor, which perfectly complement Kahlúa liqueur. Try adding it to a chocolate mocha cake recipe by infusing both the cake and the frosting before crumbling everything up to be shaped and dipped into your favorite chocolate coating. For something lighter, start with a southern caramel cake recipe and infuse it with Kahlúa for a latte-inspired flavor.

If you'd prefer to go the store-bought route, there is a wide variety of box mixes that will pair well with Kahlúa. Add a twist of delicious coconut and chocolate flavor with Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist German Chocolate Cake Mix and mix it with a Kahlúa-infused buttercream frosting. This would be especially great if you roll your cake pops in coconut flakes after dipping it in a rich chocolate.

Take inspiration from a Kentucky bourbon balls recipe and make your next batch of cake pops with a punch of the southern spirit. You'll want to choose a bourbon with a strong flavor, remembering that a little bit goes a long way. You can start by preparing a Kentucky bourbon butter cake, which is soaked in a vanilla bourbon glaze. This will go well when crumbled up and mixed with a bourbon-infused buttercream frosting.

If you prefer to use a boxed mix for your cake, try a basic vanilla cake, a white cake or get creative with a spiced cake such as Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist spice Cake Mix. Given how well bourbon pairs with citrus flavors, you can even try infusing a boxed mix of orange cake with your favorite bourbon, mixing it with a vanilla frosting, and making it into an unforgettable cake pop. However you decide to make your boozy cake pops, remember to share with friends and nosh with caution.