How To Make Cake Pops Not Sweat

The first time I made cake pops, I was pretty convinced that I would never make them again. It seemed to take forever. There are so many steps. To make matters worse, I was making peppermint chocolate cake pops, so after I dipped each one in white chocolate, I waited 30 seconds for it to set before rolling it in crushed candy canes. That added a lot more time than I’d anticipated.

However, if you read this blog regularly, you know that I have actually made cake pops several times since my first attempt. They turned out to be so delicious and popular that I couldn’t help but try making them again. Each time, I discovered a new way to make it easier.

Tips

I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I make cake pops, especially without a cake pop maker. I’m not a huge believer in unitasker kitchen appliances, plus a cake pop maker just shapes cake into balls. In my opinion, a true cake pop is cake and frosting combined into a fudgy, moist truffle. I’m not sure that Bakerella (the creator of cake pops) would want it any other way.

No Bake Cake Batter Truffles

Odds are, you have at least one or more of these tools in your kitchen already. Put them to use and make some cake pops more easily!

(Need some recipe inspiration? I’ve also made snowmen cake pops, heart shaped cake pops, salted caramel cake pops, cheesecake pops and whoopie pie pops. Plus, I’ll be posting a St. Patrick’s Day inspired cake pop (the one pictured below) in a few days!)

The Little Dipper is a tiny Crock-Pot often used for dips and sauces. It only has 1 setting, warm, and it’s perfect for melting chocolate or candy melts to coat cake pops. I don’t own a microwave, so I usually melt chocolate in a double boiler on the stove top. This sometimes makes the chocolate or candy melts too hot, which makes the cake pops fall apart when dipped. Even if you have a microwave, the Little Dipper will melt the coating for you with no effort and to the perfect temperature.

How To Make Cake Pops

It will take around 15-20 minutes to melt. You can stir occasionally or wait until the end to stir. Don’t leave it plugged in if you’re not going to be dipping the pops right away though – it might start burning around the edges.

Usually when people make shaped cake pops, they shape them each individually by hand. It’s daunting enough to roll round cake pops by hand, and making each into a shape seems even worse. So when I made heart shaped cake pops, I found an easier way: push the cake pop dough into a wide, shallow baking dish and use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes. Easy peasy!

I thought everyone knew this one, until I saw someone at a bakery using a cheese grater to break up the cake. Seriously?! You can also use your hands to break up the cake, but it’s so much easier and faster to crumble a cake by putting in a food processor. I know that not everyone owns a food processor, so I tried out this method in my blender too. It works almost as well, you just have to use smaller pieces of cake at a time. There’s no easier way to break up a cake into even crumbs with no chunks.

How To Make Best Cake Pops Recipe For Lazy People

I use this medium cookie scoop to make evenly sized cake pops. It’s pretty easy: scoop up the cake pop batter, push off the excess with your finger, and release onto your clean, slightly moistened hands (making your hands a little wet prevents the cake from sticking). Then roll it into a ball. Done!

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I saw this idea on Pinterest. Can’t find any styrofoam? Use a colander! Only some of the holes on mine fit the lollipop sticks, but it was a great solution for letting the cake pops dry. I bought some styrofoam at Michael’s (and felt a little silly paying money for something you can get for free) and it was immediately covered in sprinkles and flecks of melted chocolate. This can be easily cleaned if that happens and you probably already have one in your kitchen cabinet.I’ve been making cake pops for baby showers and birthday parties for the past five years, and I’ve learned a few helpful tips and tricks along the way.  Before I dive into them I should clarify – these tips are for hand-rolled cake pop truffles (the original kind) on a stick, although many of these tips can also apply to the newer kind of cake pops made with cake pop machines and baking pan molds.

If you’re interested in kicking it old-school like me and prefer to roll your cake pops by hand, the first step is to bake a cake (9×13″), let it cool, and then crumble it up in a large bowl.  The next step is to mix crumbled cake with a can of frosting – this makes your truffle-like filling.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake Pops Recipe

Tip #1:  Don’t use too much frosting!  I actually start with about ¾ c. of frosting (or ½ a tub) and add more as needed. I don’t think I’ve ever needed more than 1 c. of frosting (or ¾ of a can) per 9×13″ cake. The more frosting you add the softer your batter/cake pop filling will be.  You don’t want the balls to be too soft or they will slide around on the stick.

Tip #2:  Refrigerate your bowl of batter at this point before forming it into balls.  It will firm up your batter, making the balls easier to roll, and it will help keep the sticks more secure.  You can refrigerate for a couple of hours, or overnight.

Easy

Tip #3:  I recommend either using the candy melt circles (found at specialty baking stores or the baking section of JoAnns, Michael’s, etc.) or “CandiQuik” brand chocolate coating (in grocery stores near the chocolate chips) for your cake pop coating. It’s made to serve as the “shell” for a truffle or cake pop so it sets up much nicer than almond bark, chocolate chips, or other melted chocolate options. The finished product also won’t melt in your hands if you touch it like regular chocolate will.

Donut Hole Cake Pops

Now it’s time to turn your cake ball into a pop by inserting a lollipop stick into one end, about halfway through.

Tip #4:  Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating before inserting it into the cake balls.  Return cake pops to wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Tip #5:  Wrap your cake pops on the cookie sheet up with cling wrap and place them in the freezer for at least an hour or two to firm them up.  I recommend doing it overnight if you have time, just to break the overall cake pop process up.

Make

Simple Cake Pop Recipe

Once firm or frozen, remove one cake pop from the pan at a time and carefully insert the ball end into the candy coating, holding it by the lollipop stick end.  Cover cake ball in candy coating and softly tap and rotate cake pop until the excess chocolate drips off. (Be careful not to tap the cake pop too hard or the ball may fall off the stick.)

Tip #6:  It is SUPER DUPER important not to get any water in your melted chocolate – water will turn your chocolate gross and clumpy.

Tip #7:  I work with the chocolate candy coating in small batches, melting 3-4 squares of chocolate in a coffee mug at a time. I like to use a coffee mug because it’s narrow and tall, so a few squares of melted chocolate are deep enough to dip my cake pop into. I also use a spoon to help get the chocolate all around the cake pop (including slightly up onto the stick) and to smooth some of the excess chocolate off.

Melting Candy Wafers Test

Tip #8:  You can use the above tap and rotate method for your chocolate coating until it cools if you’d like a perfectly smooth cake-pop finish, but I like to coat my cake pops with sprinkles. Not only does it look cute, but it also hides any imperfections in your coating so you don’t need to worry about getting it perfectly smooth.  If you’re opting to go the sprinkle route, you need to apply the sprinkles before the candy coating dries all the way.  I tap and rotate my cake pop initially after dipping to get the excess chocolate off, and then I apply sprinkles when it’s close to hardening up, continuing to rotate the cake pop until the coating is done moving, so the sprinkles don’t shift around or glob up in one spot.

Simple

Tip #9:  Poke cake pops into a rectangular piece of styrofoam (seen in the photo below) to dry completely.  This will prevent them from having a flat side or the candy coating pooling up on one side.

Tip #10:  Don’t wait until the last minute to make your cake pops – make them up ahead of time and freeze them! 

Red Velvet Sourdough Cake Balls