Can Almond Bark Be Used For Cake Pops

Learn how to roll and dip cake pops with this easy-to-master cake pop recipe! These eye-catching portable treats are perfect for birthday parties, showers, and more.

I can’t think of a more fun or whimsical dessert than a cake pop! These handheld treats are decadent, sweet, & easy to personalize.

Learn how to make cake pops with my simple no-fail tutorial! I have plenty of tips to prevent a messy, dismal disaster.

Carrot Cake Truffles

It’s important to chill the cake pops before you dip them. If the cake balls are warm during the dipping process they won’t hold together. Most cake pop recipes call for frosting as a binder, but too much of it can make the balls soft and greasy which makes them fall apart! The correct ratio of cake crumbs to cream cheese will result in a sturdy and dippable pop!

You can freeze uncoated cake pops, but let them sit at room temperature before you dip them. If you dip frozen cake pops into warm chocolate or candy coating, they will crack because of the temperature difference! They should be firm and cold, not frozen.

Cream cheese! It’s thicker than frosting and easier to work with. It doesn’t make the cake pops too soft or overly sweet. The flavor is on point and so is the texture!

Halloween Cake Pops Recipe

Temperature! If the cake pops are too cold and the coating is too hot, the cake pops will crack as they set up. The cake pops should be cold enough to stay together, but not frozen. The candy coating should be melted but not hot.

Note 1: You can make the cake however you like. You can follow the box directions, or substitute butter for oil, milk for water, etc.

Note 2: I find cake mix cake a bit on sweeter side and that’s why I prefer to use plain cream cheese to make the cake pops. We’ve tested this recipe with store-bought frosting, regular buttercream and plain cream cheese. And in blind taste testing, cream cheese won! Store-bought frosting made the cake balls way too sweet.

Peppermint Bark Cake Pops Recipe Embed

Note 3: Almond bark is the best for coating cake balls, as it has the perfect consistency compared to candy melts. If using candy melts, you may add ½ teaspoon vegetable oil to thin it out. You could use white/semi-sweet/milk chocolate, but you’ll need to properly temper the chocolate for it to set properly.

Storing Tips: – Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. – Freeze for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. 

Calories: 242 kcal , Carbohydrates: 30 g , Protein: 2 g , Fat: 12 g , Saturated Fat: 7 g , Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g , Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g , Trans Fat: 0.1 g , Cholesterol: 24 mg , Sodium: 178 mg , Potassium: 23 mg , Fiber: 0.2 g , Sugar: 22 g , Vitamin A: 89 IU , Calcium: 51 mg , Iron: 1 mg

Easy Cake Ball Recipe

Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here! I believe anyone can cook restaurant-quality food at home! And my goal is to help you to become a confident cook with my easy-to-follow recipes with lots of tips and step-by-step photos.I posted a cake pops tutorial last January and have gotten so many questions in the comments section, usually the same few repeatedly, that I’m having trouble locating them to reply when a new one is posted anywhere other than at the very end.  An FAQ is long overdue, and I hope to address all the concerns and questions I have received over the last year and a half so that my readers have somewhere to go to resolve their problems and get their questions answered.

I have made many batches of cake pops, balls/truffles, and cupcake bites, but I have NEVER done anything creative like Bakerella so if you’re looking for inspiration, check out her site.  This post is solely meant to help you with the basics.  If you have a question that isn’t answered here, leave it in a comment or email me at vraklis@yahoo.com and I’ll add it to this post.  Thanks!

A: I have found mine cracks if I overheat the chocolate before dipping, or if I freeze the cake balls/pops very long before dipping.  Make sure you very gently heat your chocolate–you never want it to get hot but just barely warm enough to melt.

Cauldron Cake Pops

The surest way to keep your chocolate from cracking is to place your styrofoam block in the refrigerator, or even better, the freezer, and place each pop on it after dipping.  This is a pain, but if you have a lot of issues with cracking, this will prevent it.  However, don’t leave your pops in the freezer too long.  Just let them sit long enough to get hard, then remove.  If they get too cold, they will sweat when you remove them from the freezer.

The fix: if your chocolate does crack, just spoon some melted chocolate over the crack, making sure to cover it well.  It won’t be pretty, but it will keep the cake ball contained and will still be delicious.  If you are using sprinkles, that will help disguise it.

A: You most likely overheated your chocolate.  Chocolate is temperamental and needs to be heated very gently.  I’m extremely careful when microwaving chocolate, stirring it very well every 15 seconds (after the initial 30 seconds-1 minute, or whatever your package says) so that the residual heat does the melting instead of doing it all with the heat of the microwave, which will overheat it.

Peppermint Bark Cake Pops Recipe

The fix: stir in some vegetable or canola oil until thinned to the desired consistency.  Your chocolate will dry softer than it would have, but it will still be firm enough to hold the cake ball inside.

A: It’s a Wilton Chocolate Melter Deluxe, which is no longer for sale.  Wilton has upgraded the pot to a “Chocolate Pro, ” available for purchase here.  I don’t actually use mine for melting the chocolate as it takes a long time and I’m impatient, but after melting it in the microwave, I like to pour it into the melter and set it on “warm” to keep the chocolate from solidifying during dipping.  I do find I need to shut it off every so often to keep the chocolate from getting too hot.

I have not tried using a crockpot to melt chocolate, but a reader, Sherry, says that she always melts her chocolate in the microwave and then puts it in the crockpot on the lowest setting to keep it warm while she dips.

Homemade Cake Pops Recipe

A: This could be due to many things.  Most likely, you added too much frosting.  Start with less and add more as needed.  Depending on the moistness of the cake you are using, you may not need any at all to get the crumbs to hold together.  I usually use 1/3 to 1/2 cup, even with moist cakes, because I prefer the sweeter flavor to those without any frosting, and that isn’t so much that they are mushy.  Second, make sure the cake balls are cold before you start dipping.  I’ve noticed if I leave my tray of balls out while I’m dipping, by the time I get to to the last ten or so they are starting to slide off the sticks because they aren’t as cold.  Third, make sure you dip the sticks in chocolate before inserting them into the balls (is it just me, or does that sound kinky?).  This will ensure that the balls adhere to the stick.

A: That is just what we call candy coating around here.  It’s also called “chocolate flavored bark” and “vanilla flavored bark.”  It’s basically chocolate, white or regular, that has palm kernel oil added so that it dries to a nice, hard finish without having to temper it.  You can use any type of chocolate you wish, whether it’s the real stuff, the white stuff, chocolate melting wafers, or candy melts like Wilton has.  If you use real chocolate, add a tablespoon of vegetable shortening or oil per pound or bag of chips (12 oz) and melt them together.

A: I have used powdered icing color with success, but regular icing gel color makes it seize up.  You can do it this way, and just add oil to thin the chocolate back out (I have done this), but the best thing to use is oil-based colors made specifically for candy, such as these.  Check out your craft stores, like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, or if you have a local cake supply store, they might have them as well.  These same stores usually offer colored candy melts  as well, so that you don’t have to color them yourself.

Red Velvet Cake Pops

A: Certainly!  All you needs is a binder to keep the cake crumbs stuck together when you roll them into balls.  I have a co-worker that uses peanut butter in her chocolate cake balls and lemon pie filling in her lemon cake balls.  Other ideas would be pudding, cream cheese, softened butter, bittersweet or semisweet ganache, sour cream, mayonnaise, jams & jellies.  Just be careful