How To Make Frosting Thinner For Cake Pops

Cake 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.

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!”

Starbucks Cake Pops (easy Copycat Recipe)

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! 

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. 

How To Make Cake Pops Bouquet

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! 

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. 

Homemade Cake Pops

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. 

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. 

How To Make Cake Pops The Easy Way

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. 

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).

Chocolate Cake Pops Recipe (starbucks Inspired)

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.

*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.

Cake Pop Frosting & Coating

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.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.This easy to follow cake pops recipe includes helpful tips on how to prepare your cake, as well as instructions on how to properly melt our famous Candy Melts candy, to make decorating super easy!

Easy to make and fun to decorate, cake pops make great edible gifts or party favors. They’re a cinch to customize with your favorite flavors and colors and are perfect for those moments when you just need a little taste of something sweet!

The Best Buttercream Frosting

You can make cake pops with your favorite homemade cake recipe; however, there’s no shame in using a boxed cake mix here. Boxed cake mixtures produce a moist cake crumb that’s perfect for cake pops. You can also add in your favorite mix-ins to make it feel a little more “homemade” (we suggest mini chocolate chips or sprinkles for a confetti look).

The easiest way to make consistent, uniform cake balls is to use a measuring spoon. Depending on the size, you can get anywhere from 16 to 48 pops with one batch!

For dipping, we suggest melting wafers in a Candy Melting Pot with a little bit of EZ Thin Dipping Aid. The melting pot will help keep your candy at the right temperature and the EZ Thin will make your candy the perfect consistency for dipping.

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Candy Melts make it easy and fun to decorate and customize your cake pops. They’re easy to melt and can be found in a variety of colors and flavors.

For more information on how to melt, use and decorate cake pops with Candy Melts, check out our step-by-step How to Use Candy Melts for Baking and Decorating guide.

Dipped cake pops decorated with Candy Melts candy can be stored at room temperature for a week. If you used melted chocolate or white chocolate to dip or decorate your cake pops, store them in the fridge so the chocolate doesn’t melt.

Starbucks Cake Pops: How To Make Them (copycat Recipe)

Simply place your cake pops in a large reusable freezer bag. Cake pops will last in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

If you’re busy as a bee and don’t have time to make cake pops for your party – use store-bought donut holes instead! These adorable Busy Bee Donut Pops are great for baby showers or birthdays and all you need to do is dip and decorate.

Show off your pride with these Team Spirit Cake Pops. Made using two colors of cake and candy, these treats are great for any sport or school event!

How To Make Perfect Cake Pops: Part 1 Questions & Answers

Your mixture can be prepared a couple days in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to use. You can even form the cake balls a day ahead and let them chill in the fridge for easier dipping.

If you want to prep your cake balls and freeze them, store them in a large freezer bag and keep in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Let your cake balls come to room temperature before dipping.

If your candy shell is cracking, it’s mostly due to an extreme change in temperature (cold cake balls being dipped into hot candy). This can also happen with hot candy or chocolate being put into a cold refrigerator or freezer.

Cake Ball Recipe (step By Step Tutorial)

To avoid cracking, let your cake balls warm up to room temperature a bit before dipping in warm candy or chocolate. Once dipped, let your cake pops sit at room temperature for 5 to 7 minutes before placing