You won’t have to buy overpriced cake pops again with this easy recipe. It only requires a handful of ingredients, and with my step-by-step photos and tips, you’ll be making cafe-worthy cake balls in no time. Decorating these bite-sized desserts is effortless and makes for a great weekend project with kids. For another kid friendly dessert idea, check out my homemade funfetti cake!
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Vanilla cake — I use a box cake mix for these cake balls for convenience. However, if you have some leftover cake lying around, you can use that as well because nothing beats homemade cake. If you prefer you can use chocolate cake, red velvet cake, or strawberry cake instead.
Frosting — you can use homemade vanilla frosting (great use for leftovers) or store-bought frosting. I prefer homemade for the flavor, but sometimes convenience wins! Of course feel free to use chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting instead.
Candy melts — once melted and dipped, candy melts will set up with the same look and texture as chocolate. It’s easier to use than chocolate, as you can skip tempering it. Careful not to scorch the melts, or they’ll harden too quickly to work with.
Sprinkles — Buy your favorite from a store or follow my recipe on easy homemade sprinkles.
How to Make Cake Pops
1. Crumble cooled cake into a large bowl.
2. Add frosting and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles wet sand but is not smooth.
3. Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cake mixture.
4. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.
5. Place the rolled balls on a lined plate. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
6. Melt candy or chocolate wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted chocolate and insert about halfway into a cake ball.
7. Dip the cake ball into the chocolate. Remove and gently tap on the side of the cup to let excess coating drip off.
8. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Place upright and let stand until the coating is set.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Want to make this cake pop recipe more colorful? Add some gel food coloring to the candy melts. Keep in mind that gel food coloring is more concentrated, so you can add less, whereas liquid food coloring may thin out the frosting if you add too much to it.
- Let the cake cool completely before you begin to crumble it. If the cake is too warm, it’ll keep the frosting that binds warm, making it difficult for the cake pops to stay together. If you have the time, make the cake a day ahead of time, so it has sufficient time to cool.
- As the cake and frosting are moist when warm, it’s difficult to roll into perfectly round and even cake balls. Be sure to allow time for the mixture to chill before rolling.
- The more finely you can make the cake crumbs, the more even they will roll and hold their shape. You don’t want large chunks of cake pieces poking out!
- To hold your cake pops upright, poke tiny holes in a styrofoam block or the bottom of a 4 to 5 inch-deep cardboard box. Insert the end of the lollipop stick once the cake pop is coating and decorated. Let stand until set. You can then place them in plastic wrappers or in jars to hold them upright. If you don’t have styrofoam, you can place them in a jar filled with dried beans.
- Alternatively, you can place them cake ball-side down on wax or parchment-lined baking tray to dry. This will give them a flat side but make them easier to transport if you’re traveling with them.
- This recipe works with just about any classic cake mix flavor and complementary frosting, so have fun! Just bake your favorite flavor cake in a 13x9inch sheet and proceed with the recipe as instructed. Check out my Pumpkin Cake Pops or Halloween Cake Pops for other variations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of candy melts?
If you don’t have candy melts, try melting wafers (my favorite is Ghirardelli Vanilla) or melting good white chocolate or dark chocolate bars. If the chocolate is too thick, you can try stirring in 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the melted chocolate.
Why is the candy coating cracking?
The main culprit of a cracked cake pop coating is due to significant temperature differences in the cake balls. If the cake balls are too cold and the melted candy melt is too hot, the coating will crack as the hot mixture will cause the cake balls to expand and then contract. To prevent this from happening, make sure the coating isn’t super hot when you dip your cake into it. Allow your coating to cool for a few minutes before dipping.
Why did my cake balls fall off their stick?
Don’t skip dipping lollipop sticks in the frosting before inserting into the ball. This helps the sticks stay put in the balls as they harden. Not inserting the lollipop stick deep enough will cause them to fall off as well. Finally, make sure your lollipop sticks aren’t too thin, as you need a thick enough stick to hold the weight of the cake balls. My go-to lollipop sticks are pictured above.
How do I store these?
If you’re making cake balls ahead of time, you can keep un-dipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. After dipped and decorated, store them in an airtight sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Are these freezer-friendly?
You can freeze uncoated and coated cake balls for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before eating.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Cake Pops recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Cake Pops
Equipment
- Cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix (15.25-ounce)
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup frosting
- 12 ounces candy melts or chocolate melting wafers
- 38 lollipop sticks
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 13x9-inch cake pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, water, oil, and eggs until combined. Pour into the cake pan.
- Bake according to package directions. Cool completely.
- Line a small baking sheet or plate with wax or parchment paper.
- Crumble cooled cake into a large bowl. Add frosting and stir with a wooden spoon or beat on low speed until mixture resembles wet sand, but is not smooth, about 30 seconds if using an electric mixer. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the cake mixture and roll into 1-inch balls. Place on the lined plate. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
- Melt candy or chocolate wafers according to the package instructions and place in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or tall drinking glass. Pull a few cake balls out, leaving the others in the fridge as you work so they stay cold (keeping them cold helps the coating set quickly). Dip the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted chocolate and insert about halfway into a cake ball. Dip the cake ball into the chocolate making sure to cover the base where the stick and cake ball meet,and turn to coat. Remove and gently tap on the side of the cup to let excess coating drip off.
- Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Place upright in a styrofoam block or cardboard box. Let stand until the coating is set. Cake pops should be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
- Want to make it more colorful? Add some gel food coloring to the candy melts. Keep in mind that gel food coloring is more concentrated, so you can add less, whereas liquid food coloring may thin out the frosting if you add too much to it.
- Let the cake cool completely before you begin to crumble it. If the cake is too warm, it’ll keep the frosting that binds warm, making it difficult for the cake pops to stay together. If you have the time, make the cake a day ahead of time, so it has sufficient time to cool.
- As the cake and frosting are moist when warm, it’s difficult to roll into perfectly round and even cake balls. Be sure to allow time for the mixture to chill before rolling.
- The more finely you can make the cake crumbs, the more even they will roll and hold their shape. You don’t want large chunks of cake pieces poking out!
- To hold your cake pops upright, poke tiny holes in a styrofoam block or the bottom of a 4 to 5 inch-deep cardboard box. Insert the end of the lollipop stick once the cake pop is coating and decorated. Let stand until set. You can then place them in plastic wrappers or in jars to hold them upright. If you don’t have styrofoam, you can place them in a jar filled with dried beans.
- Alternatively, you can place them cake ball-side down on wax or parchment-lined baking tray to dry. This will give them a flat side but make them easier to transport if you’re traveling with them.
- This recipe works with just about any classic cake mix flavor and complementary frosting, so have fun! Just bake your favorite flavor cake in a 13x9inch sheet and proceed with the recipe as instructed. Check out my Pumpkin Cake Pops for another variation.
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