Cake Pop Dough Cracking

Learn how to make cake pops right at home! This easy and fool-proof cake pop recipe is guaranteed to come out perfect every time! These delicious candy-coated cake balls make a great party favor for just about any gathering.

Whether you’re making my Starbucks copycat vanilla birthday cake pop, red velvet cake pops, or no-bake oreo cake pops, this simple guide will make you a master at cake pop making in no time!

Why

Cake pops are very simple to make because they only require only a few ingredients like baked boxed cake mix, vanilla frosting, and of course they are dipped in melted candy melts (the kind you can pour into molds).

Easy No Bake Red Velvet Cake Balls

For cake balls– When making cake balls all you really need is a baked cake made with cake mix, frosting, and candy melts to coat the outside of the balls. You can shape the cake balls with your hands or use a meatballer to get the perfect shape and size each time.

For cake pops– you will need the same ingredients here but you need to add cake pop sticks and a styrofoam block to keep the pops upright until they harden.

Here is a quick rundown on how to make these addictive and delicious treats. You can find the full detailed recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Easy Cake Pop Recipe

Overheat– When melting candy melts, be careful and make sure you do NOT overheat the candy coating. If this happens it will harden up too much.

Thin it out– In order to get a smooth candy coating that will ensure that your cake balls have a gorgeous outer shell you need to thin it out. You can mix in Crisco shortening, coconut oil, or EZ-thin dipping aid for a runnier consistency.

The best way to prevent the cake balls from falling off the stick is by making sure you added enough frosting to the cake balls and thinning out the candy coating. If the chocolate coating is too thick it will be heavy and way down on the cake balls.

No Bake Oreo Cake Pops

TIP: If you want to avoid using the stick, just make cake balls instead! I have an easy recipe for red velvet cake balls and no-bake oreo cake balls right here in my blog.

If you’re looking into a super fast and easy version of my original vanilla cake pops, you have to try my no-bake oreo cake pops (VIDEO). All you need is Oreos, cream cheese, and candy melts. That’s it!

The only substitute for candy melts would be chocolate. If you set out to make cake balls without candy melts, you will need to mix 1 tbsp vegetable oil for every 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Easy Sugar Cookie Cake Pops

There are usually two reasons why they can crack. Before dipping the balls you want to set the stick by placing the cake pops in the freezer for 15 minutes. If you dip them and the candy melts are too hot, they will crack because of the sudden temperature change. Or the cake balls were too cold if you kept them in the freezer for over 15 minutes. Again, the drastic temperature change can cause the cracking effect here as well.

Learn how to make perfect delicious cake pops right at home! This easy and fool-proof cake pop recipe is guaranteed to impress everyone at your next party!

-

Yes, I like to make cake pops a few days ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container at room temperature.

No Bake Cookie Dough Pops Recipe

Calories: 88 kcal | Carbohydrates: 19 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 152 mg | Potassium: 13 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 10 g | Calcium: 47 mg | Iron: 1 mg

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo of it and tag me on Instagram @ or use the hashtag # so I can see it and feature it!

Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!Seriously. We’ve all burned the heck out of our chocolate, lost a cake ball off the stick, had our beautiful cake pops crack 5 minutes later,  or had them leak weird stuff everywhere! It’s sooo frustrating!

How To Make Smooth Cake Pops: An Easy Tutorial

I look back on my first cake pops (if I’m even allowed to call them that) and they are sad. See the picture at the end of this as proof. Let’s just say, practice makes perfect and now I’m obsessed with cake pops. I think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Dang Bakerella, look what she started. Just kidding, I love her.

This can happen for a couple different reasons. I think the most common is thick coating and it is dragging your cake pop down. Smooth coating is one of the most (if not

How

Additionally, huge cake balls = heavy cake balls. So try to make them moderate size (1″) and use a spoon (small cookie dough scoop, coffee scoop, melon baller) or something to measure an even amount for each ball. I bought an awesome coffee scoop at Target for $5 and it gives me perfectly sized and consistent cake balls every time.

Cake Pop Problems & Tutorial

When I first started making cake balls I would use the whole container (16 oz) of frosting. Now, I start with adding 1/3 of the can and typically use up to 1/2 cup (8 oz) of frosting. You could probably get away with even less than that, but I found this amount is good for me and rolls out smooth. Cake balls that are too gooey won’t stay put!

Also, when dipping your cake pops, dip the stick in the coating first and insert into the cake ball. Then,  when dipping the cake pop make sure that you don’t bump the bottom of the cake ball on the bowl/cup. Finally, don’t swirl the cake pop around in the coating, just dip and get out!

This is probably the easiest problem to fix and it begins with baking your cake. Do not overbake. Simple enough! Second, trim off the edges and (if you’re obsessed like I am) leave out the bottom of the cake,  too. Mix

How To Make Delicious Cake Pops Without Buttercream Frosting

With frosting. Thoroughly, as in: dig in using your clean hands to mush the cake and frosting together. Finally, roll, roll, roll. The smoother they look as uncoated cake balls, the better they will look when dipped. Voila.

They look perfectly fine, then magically they look like they experienced an earthquake. Super frustrating! Typically, this is caused by the difference in temperature of the coating and the cake ball itself – the coating is hot and the cake balls are too

Cake

The cake ball expands, and now you have cracks. While I do like to chill my cake pops in the fridge (sometimes freezer for a few minutes, but be careful – there is a fine line between keeping them firm enough to stay on the stick and too cold where they crack), make sure you pull them out before dipping and that your candy coating isn’t TOO hot (let it sit for a couple of minutes after heating).

Chocolate Cake Pops — Salt & Baker

Cracks are the biggest challenge I have found with other cake poppers, too, and sometimes – even with the perfect conditions – cracks happen.

Some call it cake pop *poop*, which I think is a good word for it. After all, this was my initial reaction for it when I began making cake pops a couple years ago. This happens when the cake is pushing it’s way out of the coating through a weak spot, a tiny hole, or a bubble that resulted in a hole. Make sure you coat the entire cake ball in coating. This issue can also be caused by the cake ball and coating temperature difference – see the “cracks” problem. But in my opinion, leakage is better than cracks, so if you have a leak – pull the excess cake off and cover the hole with a little bit of additional coating.

The cake can also be very oily, causing oil to seep out the coating and even down the lollipop stick. If this happens, remember, you can always substitute apple sauce or greek yogurt for oil in your cake recipe!

Oreo Cake Pops

Using less frosting = less oil. Again, you can seal any holes up with a little candy coating, but despite all of that, I still have some cake pops that are oily and the stick literally absorbs the oil and I’m fine with that,  as long as they don’t crack and leak! Colored lollipop sticks would help hide any oil absorbed (these can be purchased online or at specialty cake supply stores).

Air bubbles happen, but you can prevent them. These are usually caused by stirring your chocolate too vigorously. To prevent air bubbles, create a smooth “spot” with the back of your spoon before dipping your cake pop. It helps drastically! Just run your spoon (in a back and forth motion) over the coating between dipping each cake pop. If you notice the air bubble upon pulling your cake pop out of the coating, just give it a second dip immediately.

-

You may have scorched your coating. This is a very common

Lemon Drop Cake Pops Recipe