How To Make Frosting For Cake Pops Without Powdered Sugar

I am not an expert on cake balls. Some people are really really good at making them.  I’m not even talking about the cutesy, snazzy people who can make their cake balls/pops look like freakin Hello Kitty or a unicorn head.  No, those people are sculptors. I’ve come to grips with the reality that I simply do not have the skill, time or patience for that. But they

Mine always come out looking more like mini deformed potatoes.  I basically quit trying to make cake balls because not only was I making pathetic looking ones, but they were so sweet that I would make the sour pucker face when I ate one.  What’s the point of all this work if I wasn’t willing to blow the summer slim down diet for a few?! Yes, they’re adorable, they are usually too sweet and don’t taste very good.  I am all for presentation, but taste is first and foremost.

Don’t get me wrong, I looooove me some sweets (I mean look at my recipe page, it’s a wonder I don’t give myself diabetes).  Most cake balls use a crumbled cake and frosting as the binding agent (the thing that holds the crumbs together), then dunked in white chocolate which I hate because it’s too thick and too sweet even on its own.  I make no-bake oreo “cake pops” that I love (get recipe here) because they don’t taste like a pound of sugar cubes… but they aren’t actually made with cake, so they don’t technically count as “cake” balls.

Vanilla Cake Pops From Scratch

Then I took a cake class at Momofuku’s Milk Bar in NYC (read about that adventure here and here).  The head pastry chef Christina Tosi doesn’t refer to their cake balls as cake balls.  Nope, the tiny confections appear under the alias of “cake truffles” on the Milk Bar menu.  Let’s face it, truffles sound better than balls 😛 Keep it classy, let’s  say truffles instead.

Truffles.  The bakery uses a soak made with milk and vanilla instead.  Also, instead of a thick white chocolate shell, they used a very thin coat of white chocolate, then rolled it in another ingredient.  Double win.  After the class, we took home a cake and about 5 cake

Truffles and sure enough I tweeted that I ate them for breakfast the next day.  They were the best bar none.  They weren’t the most adorable things I’ve ever seen, but as far as taste goes, Milk Bar was King.

How To Make The Best Cake Pops (step By Step)

At the class Tosi said that they ONLY use cake scraps and never make the truffles just to make the truffles.  It seemed kind of frowned upon to bake a cake just to crumble it up.  Well, being the wild woman I am, I did just that.  And brought them to a family picnic.  Not one was leftover.  I also used a *gasp* boxed cake mix because I procrastinate like it’s my job plus I’m lazy.

Start with a 1/4 sheet cake baked and cooled. (1/4 sheet cake is fancy bakery talk for 9″x 13″).  So obviously I chose funfetti because sprinkles make everything better.

Add in your soak a little at a time.  You don’t want it drippy!  Add just enough moisture so that it holds its shape when you try to make a ball.  Then roll them up!

Healthy, No Bake Carrot Cake Pops

If you are OCD and need them to be all the same size, then use a small cookie scoop or melon baller.

Truffles   2. chocolate  3. dry cake mix  4. serving dish).  Working somewhat quickly is a good idea when working with melted chocolate. I use disposable bowls because it makes clean up a breeze.

Truffle into chocolate.  You want a thin coat.  This way is messy, but whatever, it was the way they taught me in the cake class.  And it’s fun.  You can dunk them however you want, but I despise too sweet white chocolate, so I did this:

Easiest Cake Pops Ever Recipe

Roll into the dry cake mix and then place on a dish to set.  Refrigerate for about an hour and then faceplant.

Whisk together milk & vanilla then add it slowly to the cake crumbs until you can roll into a bite size ball without it falling apart.4-Ingredient Cake Pops are simple to make, requiring just 20-minutes hands on prep. Crumbled chocolate cake meets vanilla frosting, gets shaped into bite sized balls, dunked in chocolate and served up lollipop style.

A little known fact about Simply Sissom... I used to have help with ANY recipe that required ANY type of baking. I never specifically went out in search of a babysitter/fabulous baker situation, buuuuut, sometimes life works out in your favor and our family ended up with Miss Maty. She moved to North Carolina several years ago, but this weekend... she visited! Out of habit, we found ourselves whipping up yummy things in the kitchen (ok, I held the baby while she did the whipping). The result... these 4-ingredient cake pops that my family Can. Not. Get. Enough. Of.

Moist Christmas Cake Balls (my Most Requested Holiday Dessert) Aleka's Get Together

Are they sugar free and made from dates, oatmeal and maple syrup? Well, no. Things rarely are when Miss Maty comes to visit, but every single ingredient is recognizable AND with a few carefully selected store-bought purchases they became free from funky-ingredients and unwanted additives.

You could go the route of making a cake from scratch, busting out your Kitchen Aid and whipping butter + sugar into homemade frosting, but you guys.. it's really not necessary. These adorable little guys are just the right amount of sweet and jut the right amount of effort.

Step 1: Bake a cake. I used Simple Mills Chocolate Muffin and Cake Mix. It does contain sugar but I love that all the ingredients are recognizable. I feel compelled to tell you.. this is NOT sponsored. Just a brand I love and want to share with you.

Easy Vanilla Cake Pops Recipe With Cake Pops Maker

Step 6:Add sprinkles if you're feeling festive. The sprinkles pictured areNature's Colors Rainbow Mix Decorating Sugar from India Tree. They are made from all natural ingredients.

So let's review.. cake mix + frosting + melted chocolate + coconut oil. That's it. Here's a few tips to get the best results possible:

Prep: To get a jump start on this recipe, you could bake the cake ahead of time. This is especially helpful if you have tiny kitchen helpers who may get impatient while waiting for the cake to cool.

Easy Cake Pop Recipe

Make Ahead:The cake pops can definitely be made ahead. They keep well in the refrigerator for several days. You can either go ahead and add the chocolate coating and sprinkles to the outside or just let them hang out in undecorated ball-form.

Freezer:The freezer is exactly where my cake balls are hanging out as I type this. I like that they last longer AND having to allow them a few minutes to thaw before eating keeps me from having an unfortunate incident involving myself and the disappearance of All. The. Cake. Balls. I try to avoid these types of accidents.

4-Ingredient Cake Pops are simple to make, requiring just  20-minutes hands on prep. Crumbled chocolate cake meets vanilla-frosting and then  gets shaped into bite sized balls, dunked in chocolate and served up lollipop style.

No Bake Cake Pop Recipe And Instructions

Nutrition facts will vary greatly depending on the type of cake mix and frosting that you choose to use. For this reason, this information was not calculated for this post.

Bailey Sissom is a 3rd grade teacher turned stay-at-home mom and the creator of Simply Sissom, a blog for busy moms who value feeding their kids healthy meals and snacks, but struggle with finding the time to make it happen. On Simply Sissom, Bailey shares practical recipes, tips and tricks to help make preparing whole food meals happen consistently.