How to Make Cake Pops: Your Ultimate Guide to Delicious Treats

Cake pops are undeniably delightful and incredibly delicious treats that bring joy to any occasion. Imagine biting into a sphere of moist cake mixed with creamy frosting, enrobed in a crisp chocolate shell – pure bliss! While they might seem like a complex confectionery creation, I’m here to show you that making cake pops is surprisingly easy and fun, even for beginner bakers.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through all the steps on how to make perfect cake pops, sharing my tried-and-true tips and tricks to ensure your homemade cake pops are a smashing success every time. Get ready to impress your friends and family with these adorable and tasty treats!

Essential Tips for Cake Pop Perfection

Mastering cake pops is all about understanding a few key techniques. Follow these essential tips to streamline the process and guarantee your cake pops are not only beautiful but also incredibly delicious:

Choosing the Right Cake: For classic vanilla cake pops, a good quality vanilla or white cake recipe is ideal. To simplify things, a boxed cake mix works wonderfully (and that’s what I often use!). The homemade frosting in this recipe beautifully balances any potential artificial flavor from the mix.

Frosting Fundamentals: If you opt for a boxed cake mix, I highly recommend skipping the included frosting packet. Homemade frosting makes a significant difference in taste and texture.

The Frosting Ratio is Key: Start by adding about ¾ of your frosting to the crumbled cake. Mix well and assess the consistency. The mixture should be moist enough to roll into balls without being sticky or mushy. Add the remaining frosting gradually only if needed. Over-frosting can lead to cake pops that are too soft and difficult to handle.

Perfectly Round Cake Balls: Achieve flawlessly round cake balls with this simple double-rolling technique. First, roll the cake mixture into balls and place them on a tray. Freeze for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for 30 minutes) to firm them up. Then, roll them a second time to smooth out any imperfections. Return the cake balls to the freezer for another 30 minutes (or fridge for 1.5 hours). This chilling step is crucial for helping them hold their shape when you insert the sticks and prevents them from falling apart during dipping. It also helps the chocolate coating set faster.

Chocolate Coating Choices: The type of chocolate you use for coating significantly impacts the final result. Chocolate or candy melts are highly recommended. They melt to a thinner consistency than regular chocolate, making dipping easier and smoother. Candy melts also set quickly and firmly, giving you that satisfying crack when you bite into a cake pop. If you prefer using regular chocolate, thin it with a teaspoon of vegetable oil per cup of melted chocolate and consider tempering it for a professional finish and that desirable snap.

Temperature Control is Crucial: Throughout the assembly process, monitor the chocolate’s consistency. If it starts to thicken, gently reheat it to maintain a smooth dipping consistency. Similarly, keep an eye on the cake ball temperature. If they become too soft, return them to the freezer for a short period to firm up again. Soft cake balls are prone to sliding off the sticks when dipped in chocolate.

Setting Upright for Shape: To maintain the perfectly round shape of your cake pops while the chocolate sets, ensure they are positioned upright. A cake pop stand is ideal, but you can easily improvise. Fill a glass or jar with rice, sugar, or any grains and insert the sticks into it. Styrofoam blocks or a sturdy cardboard box with small holes poked in it also work well.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Cake Pops

Let’s get started on making these delightful cake pops! Follow these simple steps for a fun and rewarding baking experience.

First, prepare your cake. You can use your favorite vanilla or white cake recipe, ensuring it yields one 8-inch/20cm cake, or use a boxed cake mix as directed on the packaging. For boxed mixes, enhance the moisture by adding a bit of extra vegetable oil.

Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then, carefully loosen the edges with a thin knife and invert the cake onto a large bowl to cool completely.

After the cake is cool enough to handle, break it apart with your hands. Crumble it into fine crumbs, ensuring there are no large chunks remaining. Allow the crumbs to cool completely before moving to the next step.

While the cake cools, prepare the frosting. In a medium-sized bowl, combine softened butter, icing sugar (powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar), vanilla extract, and milk. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.

Once the cake crumbs are fully cooled, add approximately ¾ of the prepared frosting to the bowl. Use your hands or a mixer to combine the frosting and cake crumbs until just incorporated.

Assess the mixture’s consistency. It should be moist enough to roll into balls. If it seems too dry, add the remaining frosting gradually until you reach the desired consistency. Be cautious not to over-mix or add too much frosting, which can make the cake pops mushy.

Take tablespoon-sized portions of the cake mixture and roll them into smooth, round balls. Place the rolled cake balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes for the first firming. After chilling, roll the balls a second time to perfect their round shape.

Return the cake balls to the freezer for another 30 minutes, or refrigerate for 1 hour and 30 minutes to become firm.

As the cake balls are chilling for the final time, melt your chocolate or candy melts. Place about half of the chocolate in a microwave-safe mug or bowl. Melt in 20-second intervals in the microwave, stirring well between each interval, until completely smooth. Alternatively, melt the chocolate over a double boiler and then transfer it to a cup or narrow container for easier dipping.

Dip the tip of a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and then insert it into a chilled cake ball, pushing it about halfway through. Repeat this for all cake balls. The chocolate acts as a “glue” to secure the stick.

Now, take a cake ball by the stick and fully submerge it in the melted chocolate. Swirl gently to ensure it’s completely coated. Lift the cake pop out and gently tap off any excess chocolate by tapping it lightly against the rim of the container. Rotate the cake pop to allow the excess chocolate to swirl around and coat the ball evenly. Immediately decorate with sprinkles or your desired toppings before the chocolate sets.

Place the decorated cake pop upright to set completely. Use a cake pop stand, a jar filled with rice, or a styrofoam block.

Repeat the dipping and decorating process with the remaining cake pops, reheating the chocolate as needed to maintain a smooth consistency and ensuring the cake balls remain chilled throughout.

Let the cake pops set completely before serving. Once set, they are ready to be enjoyed!

Perfect Cake Pops Recipe

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These perfect cake pops are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser! Easy to make and endlessly customizable, they are ideal for parties, celebrations, or just a fun baking project.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooling Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours

Servings: 40 cake pops
Author: Cakes by MK

Important Note: For best results, use gram measurements for accuracy. Cup measurements are estimates based on US standards.

Ingredients

Cake

1 box vanilla or white cake mix (for an 8 inch/20cm cake) OR your favorite vanilla/white cake recipe (+ ingredients as required by mix/recipe)
¼ cup (52g) vegetable oil (canola recommended, only if using boxed cake mix)

Frosting

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (120g) icing sugar (confectioners’/powdered sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp milk

Additional Ingredients & Supplies

3 ½ cups chocolate or candy melts (dark, milk, white, or combination)
40 cake pop sticks
Sprinkles or decorations of your choice

Instructions

Get Started: Cake

Prepare the boxed cake mix according to package directions, adding the extra vegetable oil before mixing.
Bake as directed and let cool for 15 minutes. Loosen edges, invert onto a bowl, and cool completely.
Once cooled, crumble the cake into fine crumbs in the bowl.

Make the Frosting

In a medium bowl, combine butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract, and milk.
Using a mixer, beat on medium speed for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assemble the Cake Pops

Add ¾ of the frosting to the cooled cake crumbs. Mix until just combined. Add more frosting if needed for moist, rollable consistency.
Roll tablespoon-sized portions into round balls. Place on a lined tray and freeze for 10 minutes (or refrigerate for 30).
Roll cake balls a second time to smooth. Freeze again for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for 1.5 hours) until firm.
Melt half the chocolate/candy melts in a microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
Dip stick tips into melted chocolate, then insert into cake balls.
Dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate, swirl to coat, and tap off excess.
Decorate with sprinkles immediately.
Place cake pops upright to set completely.
Repeat with remaining cake pops, reheating chocolate and chilling cake balls as needed.
Let cake pops set fully before serving.

Recipe Video

Watch Cake Pops Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Homemade frosting is highly recommended, especially with boxed cake mix, for superior taste.
Note 2: Candy melts are ideal for coating due to their thin consistency and quick setting. If using regular chocolate, thin with vegetable oil and consider tempering.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional information is an estimate from a third-party calculator and may vary based on specific ingredients used.

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