How To Make Perfect Cake Pops

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.

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.

How To Make Cake Pops The Easy Way

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.

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.

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

How To Make Cake Pops (step By Step)

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.

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.)

Easy Homemade Cake Pops Recipe

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.

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.

How To Make Perfect Cake Pops: Part 2 Recipe & Instructions

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!  I’ve been freezing cake pops for years, and it’s such a lifesaver as it gets close to our party date to have one less thing to worry about.  I’ve frozen cake pops for up to 3 months and they still taste (and look) as delicious as they day I made them.  Thawing time is only a couple of minutes!

Although cake pops are time-consuming, they’re incredibly simple to make, so don’t let this deliciousness on a stick intimidate you.  With these 10 tips you’ll be a pro in no time.I have to admit, I had never made cake pops before but I was determined to make them for our gender reveal party. I’ve made Oreo truffles multiple times, which are somewhat similar to cake pops. Somewhat. They’re essentially the cookie version of cake pops. Basically dessert cousins. I figured, how hard could it be?

How To Make Perfect Cake Pops

Now, I know mine aren’t 100% true cake pops– they’re basically cake balls with sticks in them, but people can still carry them around like cake pops. I mean, who wants messy hands? Anyway, I’ll tell you at the end of the post how to make them into legit cake pops with the cake portion at the top and the stick coming out the bottom.

Prepare a boxed cake mix as directed on the box. Let the cake cool completely. Wash your hands. Next, crumble the cake into fine crumbs with your hands in a large bowl. Mix in about 1/3 cup of icing (I used store bought milk chocolate) with your hands. The mixture should be dense but not gooey. Gooey cake balls gross me out. Grab a cookie scoop (I used my 1.5 T scoop, which I LOVE). (Remember, everyone needs a cookie scoop, or 3.) Then, scoop out the mixture, packing the cake mixture into the scoop as you scoop it (I smushed the open side of the cookie scoop against the inside of the bowl). Smush the mixture in your hand to pack it tightly into a ball. Roll it into a nicely shaped ball. Roll the remaining mixture into balls (my cake mix made 18 balls).

Grab your Candy Melts (I purchased mine from JoAnn Fabric) and a small microwaveable dish (I used a small oatmeal bowl). Put about 5 morsels into the bowl and melt them in the microwave. Next, grab your cake pop sticks (I purchased mine from JoAnn Fabric). Dip your stick into the melted Candy Melt and quickly stick it into a cake pop at least half way down. Repeat with remaining cake pops. Then, set pops on a cookie tray. Freeze for about 15 minutes (they wouldn’t fit in my freezer so I put them in the fridge for 30 minutes– worked fine). Put your Candy Melts into a microwaveable mug (I filled mine to the top). Next, melt the Candy Melts as directed on the package. Dip the cake pop into the mug, evenly coating it. Let the coating drip off. Place the pop on cookie sheet. Finally, if using sprinkles, add immediately before coating sets. Repeat for remaining pops.

Homemade Cake Pops

These may seem like a lot a work, but trust me, once you have it all mapped out it’s a breeze. I spent maybe an hour on these (not including baking and cooling times).

If you want your cake pops to be true cake pops, rather than cake balls with sticks in them, instead of putting them on a cookie sheet to dry, insert the stick into Styrofoam for the coating to set. I wanted mine to sit on the platter but still be pops, so that’s why I went the route I did.

FYI, the Candy Melt coating is really good. I used chocolate cake and you barely tell there’s dark cake underneath the coating. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

Perfect Cake Pops With Diy Cake Pop Holder

Note: Candy Melts come in a wide array of colors. But if you don’t spot a color you need, you can use gel food coloring. Do not use food coloring drops.

Step by step instructions on how to make cake pops! Learn some tricks on how to accomplish delicious and eye-catching cake pops!Learn how to make cake pops right at home! This easy and fool-proof cake pop recipe is guaranteed to