How To Make The Best Cake Balls

Want to learn how to make the perfect Cake Pops? These homemade cake balls are so easy to make, and the perfect bite-sized party treat for any occasion! These sweet treats are made with vanilla cake, frosting, and rainbow sprinkles but can be with any flavor combination.

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!

Vanilla cake — I use a box cake mix for these cake balls for convenience. However, if you have some leftovercake 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.

Common Cake Pop Issues & Tutorial

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.

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.

How To Make Gluten Free Cake Pops

7. Dip the cake ball into the chocolate. Remove and gently tap on the side of the cup to let excess coating drip off.

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.

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.

Blue Cake Pops For A Baby Boy Shower

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.

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.

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.

Best Cake Pops Recipe

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!

Calories: 137 kcal | Carbohydrates: 20 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 13 mg | Sodium: 115 mg | Potassium: 15 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 14 g | Vitamin A: 19 IU | Calcium: 32 mg | Iron: 1 mgThis easy homemade cake pop recipe is covered in a sweet chocolate coating with a delicious crumb. The perfect bite-sized party treat or favor for any occasion!

This recipe reminds meof my sugar cookie truffles, but with a delicious cake base similar to my cake balls instead. Moist and crumbly cake is mixed with rich buttercream frosting, then dipped in a sweet chocolate coating. Not only do these cake pops taste incredible, but they look amazing too!

Homemade Cake Pops

There’s just something about eating a decorative, bite-sized dessert on a stick that is so fun. My kids love these! These homemade cake pops are the perfect treat for birthdays, baby showers, wedding showers, holidays or when hosting a dinner party. You can even wrap them up individually and give them to guests as party favors!

This recipe is perfect for beginners, with an easy step by step tutorial included. It’s a great way to use up any leftover cake and frosting. I love the classic white cake + buttercream combo, but there are so many other yummy variations you can make too. They are so fun to decorate and can be served at literally any occasion!

I used white cake for this recipe, but you can really use any flavor of box cake mix (or make your favorite recipe from scratch).

Easy Cake Pops

A classic buttercream is also my favorite type of frosting for cake pops, but feel free to use others like chocolate buttercream, cream cheese frosting or strawberry buttercream.

Many ways to decorate cake pops! Add sprinkles or jimmies while the chocolate is still wet. If decorating with a chocolate drizzle, let the chocolate coating harden first, then drizzle more chocolate on top.

It’s all about the frosting! When you mix the frosting in with the cake, the mixture should hold together when squeezed. If the mixture is crumbly, that means it needs more frosting. Make sure to only add in a little at a time so that the cake doesn’t get too soggy. If you have a very moist cake, you may not need much frosting at all.

Tips For Perfect Cake Pops

If the chocolate coating has cracked, it’s likely due to the difference in temperature between the cake balls and the melted coating chocolate. Don’t freeze the balls for longer than instructed, or else the super cold cake combined with the warm melted chocolate could cause cracking.

The type of chocolate you use can also contribute to whether or not the cake pops crack. Using melted chocolate chips may cause cracking, so I’d suggest using chocolate melting wafers instead. They have a thicker texture once hardened and a smooth finish, which result in a more sturdy exterior.

Sure! While I prefer homemade frosting over canned, I’ve never been one to shy away from an easier shortcut! Store-bought frosting usually comes in a 16 ounce can, so you’ll only need half (8 ounces) to make this recipe.

Cake Pops (healthy + Easy No Bake)

I’ve had the most success using chocolate melting wafers because of their super smooth finish (Ghirardelli melting wafers are my favorite). A high quality chocolate bar (such as Ghirardelli or Bakers) would be the next best option.

They can be! Use your favorite gluten-free cake mix or pick up a premade gluten-free cake from your local grocery or bakery. All other ingredients needed to make this recipe are free from gluten!

Yes you can freeze them, just make sure they’ve dried completely before freezing. They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Let thaw at room temperature when ready to serve.

Cake Pop Cake Recipe

You can also use 8 ounces of frosting from the store (half of a 16 ounce can) to make it easier, I just prefer the homemade buttercream.

Make sure that you’re only working with about five cake pops at a time. Leave the rest in the freezer so that they don’t soften too much while you work on the others. You want them to be really cold when working with them.

After dipping the stick in melted chocolate, let it dry first before sticking into the cake ball. It’s easier to work with this way and is less likely to fall off when dipping the whole cake pop into melted chocolate.

Easiest Cake Pops Ever Recipe

Calories: 110 kcal | Carbohydrates: 15 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fat: 4 g | Cholesterol: 9 mg | Sodium: 36 mg | Sugar: 15 g | Vitamin A: 101 IU | Calcium: 1 mgAll activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Have any leftover birthday cake? Or did you bake a cake and it turned out a little dry? So what do you do with

? Turn it into cake pops of course! This how to make cake pops tutorial has really easy steps to turn any cake into cake pops. Kids will love helping to make these but the best part is enjoying them as a fun treat!

Vegan Cake Pops Recipe

You cake pops don’t have to be bakery-perfection. Just have fun making them and enjoy eating their soft gooey centers. They are actually really easy to do. Kids will really enjoy making them with you – especially the dipping and decorating parts.

If you