How To Make Your Cake Pops Smooth

No doubt about it, cake pops are fun. But while these bite-sized cakes on a stick can be a blast to eat, making them can turn into a not-so-fun affair, especially when those super-sweet morsels fall off the stick, crack, leak or are just plain lumpy.

We’re here to tell you there’s a fix to all sorts of cake pop fails, and it starts with a nice, smooth finish. We’ll show you how.

To guarantee the cake pops are all the same size, use an ice cream scoop to shape the cakes. After you’ve scooped them all out, roll each one between your hands to bind crumbs together until the surface is smooth. Place the balls in the refrigerator for at least an hour so they don’t fall apart during the dipping process. Or you can store them in the fridge overnight.

Gender Reveal Cake Pops

Once your cake pops are sufficiently chilled, take them out of the fridge and roll them between your hands again to form each one into a tighter ball. If you’re opting for hearts or other shapes, form them now — before you insert the sticks!

After you’ve shaped your pops, gently slide in the sticks and put the cake pops back in the fridge for a few more minutes while you make the coating. Take the pops out about 10 minutes before you dip them so they don’t crack or fall apart after the chocolate coating has dried.

The most important part of getting a smooth finish to cake pops is the consistency of the coating, and one of the easiest ways to guarantee this is by melting candy melts correctly.

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

It’s suuuuuper easy to overheat candy melts. When they get too hot, they clump (so not good) and don’t fall off the spatula easily. Keep the following in mind as you melt the melts.

Dip each cake pop into the melted chocolate, lift up, turn and dip again until the entire surface is coated. Gently shake the excess coating from the top of the cake pop while it’s upside down.

Once you’ve shaken out the last drop of excess chocolate, turn the cake pop right side up and gently shake it while twirling between your fingers. This helps even out the coating.

No Bake Oreo Cake Pops

Once you’re done, stick the pop on a piece of Styrofoam to dry. For a more planet-friendly option, use an egg carton turned upside down.

Once they’re finished drying, you’re ready to decorate your cake pops, which will go much easier now because your cake pops are so smooth. Have fun!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!”

Halloween Cake Pops

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 With Cake Mix

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. 

Easy Cake Pops ~sweet & Savory

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. 

Simple Cake Pops Recipe

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).

Rose Gold Cake Pops

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.

Starbucks Cake Pops

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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