Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake according to package directions. Cool the cake completely.

Line a small baking sheet or plate with wax or parchment paper. (Make sure it can fit in your fridge.)

Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Add the frosting to the crumbled cake and stir with a wooden spoon or beat on low speed with a hand mixer until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand. It should not be pasty. (If using a hand mixer, this will only take about 30 seconds.)

Scoop the cake mixture and roll into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Place the balls on the lined baking sheet (it’s okay if they touch). Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.

Once the cake balls have chilled, melt the candy melts 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). If they were frozen, move them to the fridge. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted coating and insert it about halfway into a cake ball. Dip the cake ball into the coating, 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 the decorated cake pop upright in a cake pop holder, and leave until the coating is set, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rewarm the coating as needed while you continue coating the rest of the cake pops.