Step By Step How To Make Cake Pops

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.

How To Make Cake Pops Recipe

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.

Cake Balls Recipe

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.

Starbucks Cake Pops Copycat (easy Birthday Vanilla Cake Pop Recipe)

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.

How To Make Cake Pops For An Irresistible Party Ready Treat

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 mgCake pops are a party on a stick! Here’s how to make the best, most fun-tastic cake pops, with all the tips you need for success.

Claudia is the Community Manager for Simply Recipes and has contributed numerous articles focused on cooking on a budget, quick and easy meals, and kid-friendly foods.

How To Make Cake Pops, Step By Step, Tutorial Stock Photo

There’s just something about cake that brings out your inner child and makes you grin from ear to ear. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about! But the common question seems to be: do you prefer chocolate or vanilla? And I say, “NEITHER. I’m a CAKE POP kind of gal!”

If you’ve had cake pops before, then you know why they’re a tried-and-true favorite. Once you’ve tried them, you’ll see why these little gems of joy need to be at every celebratory occasion under the sun! I’m going to walk you through making them step-by-step.

Cake pops are a soft and sweet mixture of crumbled cake and frosting. You roll that mixture into a ball, then dip it in chocolate and add sprinkles! 

Vanilla Cake Pops From Scratch

You’re probably wondering why you’d go to so much effort to make them when you could just bake a cake and still have the same ingredients, but I’m here to tell you that something magical happens in the process of actually incorporating the frosting INTO the cake. 

It changes the texture and becomes ultra-fudgy and dense. Once the pops are dipped in chocolate, it truly is a treat to sink your teeth into! The crack of the chocolate followed by the chewiness of the cake pop is an experience you won’t forget.

I have been making cake pops for over 12 years and have found that using a boxed cake mix and homemade frosting is the best combination. When I first started out, I used canned frosting, and didn’t like the way it incorporated with the cake. It was too mushy, and that’s not what we want! 

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If I’m feeling extremely ambitious, I’ll make both the cake and the frosting from scratch. If I’m short on time, I’ll turn to the boxed cake mix. I promise your cake pops will turn out beautiful either way, but I will ALWAYS take the extra few minutes to make frosting from scratch. It truly can’t be beat. 

Make accidents into cake pops! There have been times when I’ve made cupcakes that have come out extremely misshapen or baked a cake that cracked, but instead of feeling discouraged, I simply use them to make cake pops.

When adding frosting to the cake pop filling, less is more. There have been times when I’ve added too much frosting and they stick to my hands when rolling the pops out, and then they’re too soft to dip in chocolate. 

How To Make Cake Pops (step By Step)

Start with 1/4 cup of frosting, and then mix it into the crumbled cake in 1/4-cup increments. I’ve never had to use more than 1 cup, which means you’ll have leftover frosting! Put it in the fridge for your next cake pop adventure or use it on cookies or cupcakes. Or simply grab a spoon and dig in after you’ve had a really stressful day. I promise I won’t tell anyone. 

If you’d like to color the frosting or the cake, I recommend using gel food coloring. Wilton is my go-to brand because I can find it almost anywhere! Insert a clean toothpick into the coloring and then drag it through the cake batter or frosting. If you need more coloring, repeat the process, but use a clean toothpick each time!

Cake pops aren’t something you can whip up last minute, but you can break down the process and make them ahead of time. I usually make the cake and frosting, mix it all together, and the next day (or a few days down the road) I’ll do the assembly part. If the cake pop batter is in the fridge, you can leave it there (covered, of course) for about 1 week. 

Easiest Cake Pops Ever Recipe

I don’t recommend making the pops completely and then freezing. The chocolate wouldn’t thaw very well, and you’d have a mess on your hands. If you’d like to make the cake pops without the chocolate, you can freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. To thaw, pull them out of the freezer and let them sit at room temperature, then begin the chocolate dipping process (in method Step 8).

You'll need 1 box of cake mix, along with ingredients listed on the package. Ingredients and amounts may vary depending on the brand of cake mix.

Use candy melt circles for your chocolate coating. I used Ghirardelli in this recipe, but have used Wilton, and even bulk candy melts. Using regular chocolate will cause the cake pops to melt in your hands.

No Bake Oreo Cake Pops

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

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