Homemade Cake Pops

Cake pops have taken special events, celebrations, and bakeries by storm. You might be surprised to find that cake pops are not only fun to create, they use a boxed cake mix, a simple homemade frosting, and colorful candy melts, so they're actually quite easy to make, too.

Learn how to make cake pops, and then customize the flavors and colors to suit your party or celebration.

What You Need To Make Cake Pops

You won't need any fancy ingredients or equipments to make cake pops. You can find all of this at your supermarket or craft store.

• Boxed cake mix: Save time and hassle by using a quick and reliable boxed cake mix for the cake portion of these cake pops. For testing purposes, we used a Betty Crocker Super Moist Vanilla mix, but using a different brand of cake mix won’t affect this recipe in any way. You'll also want to gather the ingredients called for on the cake mix, usually water, oil, and eggs.
• Buttercream icing: This is a simple icing made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a little milk. The amounts in this recipe are the perfect yield of icing to give your cake pop the ideal texture and flavor.
• Candy melts: Candy melts are available at most grocery stores and come in various fun colors. Candy melts make coating the cake pops a breeze with their ease in melting without needing to worry about tempering like regular chocolate. Alternately, chocolate melting wafers or almond bark can also be used in place of candy melts, depending on your preference.
• Lollipop sticks: Different lengths of lollipop sticks are available (usually 4-, 6-, or 8-inch sizes), though all will produce similar results. These are also available at most grocery stores and craft stores.

How To Make Cake Pops

The process to make cake homemade cake pops is easy—with one time-consuming aspect: letting the baked cake cool, and letting the rolled cake pops chill and harden.

• Step 1. Bake the cake: Begins by baking the cake mix cake; basic baking instructions and ingredients are included in this recipe, but be sure to follow the instructions on the box of cake mix. Once it's baked, allow the cake to cool completely. Hot or even warm cake will make forming the cake pops difficult.

• Step 2. Cool the cake: Once cooled, crumble the cake into a large mixing bowl. Break up any large pieces, and try to make the crumbles equal size. A stand mixer makes this fast and easy.

• Step 3. Make frosting: Next, create a simple buttercream icing by mixing butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until well combined.

• Step 4. Combine frosting and cake: Add the icing to the cake crumbles, and mix thoroughly until the mixture comes together and holds its shape when squeezed.
  

• Step 5. Scoop cake balls: Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, portion out the mix, and roll each into a small round ball. Chill these cake pop rounds in the freezer for about 30 minutes; or chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This step is essential because if the cake pops aren’t chilled, they might be too soft to dip. They'll fall off the stick and create quite the mess.
  
• Step 6. Dip cake balls: Next, melt the candy melts in a large bowl in the microwave. Dip one end of a lollipop stick into the melted candy, and poke the sticks into the center of a cake ball. Once cooled, this will reinforce the stick and help prevent the cake pop from sliding off as you are dipping the cake pops into the melted coating. Finally, dip the cake pops into the melted candy, and top with your favorite decorations.

Variations and Substitutions

There are plenty of ways to adjust this cake pop recipe to make it unique and truly your own.

• Change cake flavors: For the cake, you can use any flavor of box cake mix interchangeably without any issue. You could also use a homemade cake recipe, but you would need to be aware that the cake and icing ratio would be different, which could require a little testing.
• Add some extracts: You can add different extracts or flavorings to the icing in place of vanilla extract. This is a great way to include some favorite flavors, like almond or lemon, without affecting the texture of the cake pop.
• Swap the coating: As mentioned above, for the cake pop outer coating, you can use almond bark or chocolate melting wafers instead of candy melts with similar results.

Do I Need a Cake Pop Mold to Make Cake Pops?

Traditional cake pops only require a round measuring tool, like a tablespoon or a small scoop. The shape of the cake pop is all thanks to rolling each cake pop round by hand. That said, different cake pop molds are available in specialty stores and online, and they create different shapes, animals, and objects, all of which would work with this cake pop filling.

The Best Way To Store Cake Pops

Once the cake pops have been dipped and decorated, they can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Once the candy coating has set, the cake pops can be stored on their sides without issue; make sure to consider any open space since they tend to roll around.

Cake pops can also be frozen; just make sure they are stored in an airtight container or wrapped well, and they will stay good for up to one month. Once you have frozen the cake pops, give them at least 30 minutes to return to room temperature before serving.

Helpful Tips and Pointers for Great Cake Pops

A few insider tricks can make your batch of cake pops even better, so we have these tips to share:

• Cool off: Be sure to consider the cooling time for the cake and the chilling time for the cake pop rounds. If the mix is too warm, the cake pops could have difficulty staying together, resulting in a messy situation.
• Brace the pops: After dipping your cake pops, you will need something to hold the cake pops upright while the coating hardens. This is essential. This can be done by poking holes large enough for the lollipop stick in a shallow cardboard box; poking the sticks into a piece of Styrofoam; or by filling a cup with uncooked rice.
• Do a flip: Another option after dipping the cake pop is to place them on parchment or wax paper and let them dry with the stick facing upright. This will create a sturdy base for the cake pop, making it easier to transport and display.
• Use food gels: If you are aiming for a specific color, feel free to add some food color to the candy melts. For best results, use food color gels, which are more concentrated, and not liquid coloring, which could thin out the consistency of the coating.
• Consider the temps: If you find that your cake pops are cracking after you’ve dipped them, this is like due to the temperature differences between the cake pop filling and the coating. If the coating is too hot and the filling is too cold, this could cause the cake pop coating to crack. To remedy this while dipping, ensure your coating isn’t hot when you dip the cake pop.