Chocolate Truffle Cake Pops - with a Surprising Secret Ingredient!

Truffle cake pops with a decadent, creamy, chocolate filling - you'll never guess the secret healthy ingredient inside! (Skip to recipe.)

I challenge you.

I challenge you, at your next fancy gathering or casual get-together, to serve these cake pops, and see if your guests can guess what's inside that makes the filling so deliciously creamy and fudgy.

     Is it cream?

     Nope.

     Is it butter?

     Nope.

     Is it cream cheese? Nutella? Fudge?

     Nope. Nope. Nope.

     Come on, it's gotta be something rich like that!

     Nope.

     What is it then?

     Are you ready for it . . . . . lentils . . . .

     Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? ? ?

Yah. Me too. I can hardly believe it either, except that I made them, and I know I'm telling the truth. I can't fool myself (at least most of the time).

With all the fiber and goodness that comes from lentils, I feel good about feeding these decadent chocolate treats to my family. (I pretend not to notice when they cheekily sneak into the fridge to snitch them from the container - I've learned to make a double batch; half for serving and half for snitching!)

Kitchen Frau Notes: This recipe doubles easily, to make 16 pops, which I highly recommend if you are feeding chocolate lovers or have chocolate-fridge-snitchers in your house. I don't even feel too guilty about letting family members munch these as breakfast!

The bit of coconut oil helps the chocolate chips melt more smoothly and makes a better dipping consistency.

What to do with leftover chocolate?

1. Dip pretzels halfway into the leftover chocolate and lay on wax paper to harden.
2. Dip dried apricot halves into chocolate for a luscious treat.
3. Make chocolate bark: Pour leftover chocolate into a shallow puddle on parchment or wax paper and sprinkle with chopped nuts, dried fruits, crushed candies, crumbled cookie chunks, a pinch of sea salt flakes, etc. When hardened, break into rough chunks.
4. Save leftover chocolate by scraping it into a zip-top sandwich bag to re-melt and reuse again for drizzling or dipping other desserts.

Chocolate Truffle Cake Pops

{high-fiber, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free}

• 1 cup (240ml) drained canned lentils (half of a 19 oz. can)
• 6 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

For the coating:

• 1 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free, if necessary)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 8 lollipop sticks or wooden popsicle sticks
• ¼ cup finely chopped toasted nuts (I use pecans) or toasted coconut for nut-free

Place the canned lentils in a sieve and rinse them under cold running water, then drain them well - let them sit in the sieve until they stop dripping, then shake the sieve  up and down over the sink to remove any remaining water.

Place the lentils and all the remaining ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and whiz them until creamy and smooth.

Scrape the dough into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or longer (up to overnight), until it is stiff but pliable.

Remove the chilled dough from the bowl. Press and shape it into a flat disk - it's kind of like playing with playdough. Cut the disk into eight wedges, then roll each wedge into a ball.

Melt the chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, or in a 1-cup glass measuring cup in the microwave on high for 1 minute, then remove and stir until the remaining chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Dip one end of a lollipop stick about ½ inch (1 cm) into the melted chocolate, then push it into a truffle ball so it goes about to the center of the ball. Repeat with the rest of the sticks.

Place the truffle pops on a plate and refrigerate until the little ring of chocolate around the base of the stick is solidified, about 15 minutes.

Reheat the chocolate for a few seconds if necessary, to get a good dipping consistency. You want it thin enough to swirl, but thick enough to coat the balls, kind of like a runny pudding. Pour the chocolate into a cup just narrow enough and deep enough to dip the truffles balls. The one-cup measuring cup works well.

Place the chopped nuts into a small bowl, if using.

Prepare something to hold the sticks upright as the chocolate coating hardens: a chunk of styrofoam, a block of florist foam, an upturned egg carton, half a melon, or even a block of cheese. If using an egg carton, trim off the peaks that run along the center of the egg wells so the carton sits level when you turn it over. If using a melon or cheese block, make small starter holes with a skewer first.

Dip each truffle pop into the chocolate, making sure the melted chocolate reaches up to the ring of solid chocolate at the base of the stick to seal the ball completely with coating. Hold the coated pop over the cup until the chocolate stops dripping. If a thick layer of chocolate collects at the tip of the pop, gently scrape it off on the rim of the cup. You will need to judge if the chocolate coating is the right consistency. If your chocolate is too thin, you may need to wait a few more minutes to let it harden a bit more, and if it is too thick to coat the truffle pop evenly, you may need to warm it for a few seconds more.

Dip the end of the truffle pop into the chopped nuts, if using, and poke the stick end of the pop into whatever base you are using as a holding rack. Make sure the pops are not touching each other as they harden.

Once the chocolate coating has hardened, remove the truffle pops and store them in the refrigerator until serving time. You can store them in a single layer in a shallow covered container lined with wax or parchment paper, or wrap each one individually in small cellophane bags.

Will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator. The truffle pops can also be frozen for several months - let thaw for several hours in the fridge or half hour at room temperature before serving.

Makes 8 pops.

Guten Appetit!

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You might also like these other lentil recipes I created for the contest:

Lentil Taco Tartlets

Creamy, Cheesy Lentil Mashed Potatoes

Lentil Polenta with Mushroom Ragu

Broccoli Lentil Salad