Step 1

Preheat oven to 350° F (180°C). Prepare 4 8-inch round cake pans with butter, parchment paper rounds, and dust with cocoa powder. Tap out excess.

Step 2

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients.

Step 3

Add all wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and with the paddle attachment, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Step 4

Pour the batter into your prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy. If possible, use digital kitchen scale and weigh pans for even layers.

Step 5

Bake for 20-25 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean.

Step 6

Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely cool.

Step 7

Level the cakes with a sharp serrated knife. Don't discard of the cake scraps - keep these in a bowl.

Step 8

Chill the cakes in the fridge or freezer before frosting.

Step 9

Beat butter in an electric mixer for 10-15 minutes until very light and creamy in colour.

Step 10

Beat in the icing sugar one cup at a time until well incorporated.

Step 11

Add 2 tablespoons of cream and the vanilla, beat for a further 2 minutes.

Step 12

Add food coloring, and more cream if needed and beat until the coloring is uniform. The icing should be fluffy and smooth.

Step 13

Place very finely chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.

Step 14

Heat the cream in a separate saucepan until it starts to gentle simmer (do not boil).

Step 15

Pout the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes while the chocolate softens.

Step 16

Stir gently until the chocolate is completely melted.

Step 17

Let the ganache cool to room temperature before glazing the cake, otherwise the glaze will melt the buttercream.

Step 18

Assemble as per a 4-layer cake, leveling the cake with a sharp, serrated knife if necessary.

Step 19

Fill and frost the layers with buttercream.

Step 20

To make the cake pop dough - crumble the reserved cake scraps using your fingers. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of buttercream.

Step 21

The mixture should hold together when squeezed in the palm of your hand. Add more buttercream if needed until you reach the desired consistency.

Step 22

Make an ice-cream-sized scoop out of the cake pop dough.

Step 23

Dip your waffle cone in the ganache and wait for it to dry slightly before rolling it in sprinkles.

Step 24

Place the cake pop on your frosted cake and cover it with ganache.

Step 25

Position the waffle cone on top of the cake pop, holding it down until it sticks.

Step 26

Cover the cake with room temperature ganache, using the back of a spoon to create the drips.

Step 27

Wait for the ganache to harden slightly before adding sprinkles.