How to Make Cake Pops tastes like a bite-size slice of moist cake wrapped in a snappy chocolate shell. It suits bake-sale planners, birthday hosts, and sweet snackers, and the whole project takes about 90 minutes with chilling. I started making them after a school fundraiser left me with a mountain of leftover sheet cake.
Why You Should Try This How to Make Cake Pops
How to Make Cake Pops turns extra cake into fun, handheld treats that look bakery-level without fancy tools. You get a tender, truffle-like center and a shiny chocolate or candy coating that holds sprinkles like a champ. Kids love to dip and decorate, and adults call dibs on seconds.
“These cake pops vanish at parties, hold up on dessert tables, and the coating sets smooth every time ★★★★★”
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cake: One 9 by 13 inch baked cake, any flavor (use boxed mix for speed, or use leftover cake scraps)
- Frosting: 1/3 to 1/2 cup buttercream or canned frosting (use chocolate, vanilla, or cream cheese style; canned works great)
- Candy melts or chocolate: 24 to 32 ounces for dipping (Wilton and Ghirardelli melts coat evenly; use white, milk, or dark; thin with 1 to 2 teaspoons refined coconut oil or shortening if needed)
- Sprinkles, crushed cookies, or drizzle: optional but fun
- Lollipop sticks: 40 to 50 sticks, 4 to 6 inches long
Substitutions and notes:
- Use gluten-free cake and frosting for a gluten-free batch.
- Use cream cheese frosting with red velvet or carrot cake, chocolate frosting with chocolate cake, or lemon frosting with vanilla cake.
- Use high-quality baking bars for chocolate and temper them if you skip candy melts.
Equipment:
- Mixing bowl, fork, and spatula
- Sheet pan lined with parchment
- Cookie scoop, 1 tablespoon size, or a small scoop
- Microwave-safe bowl or double boiler
- Foam block or an upside-down colander to hold pops while they set
- Instant-read thermometer, optional but helpful for chocolate
How to Make How to Make Cake Pops
Step 1: Bake and Cool the Cake, 60 minutes
- Bake a 9 by 13 inch cake and cool it completely. Use a boxed mix for speed or use leftover cake.
- Chill the cake 15 minutes so it crumbles cleanly.
Step 2: Crumble and Bind, 5 minutes
- Crumble the cake into fine crumbs in a large bowl. Aim for uniform crumbs so the pops hold shape.
- Add 1/3 cup frosting and mix with a spatula or clean hands. Add up to 1/2 cup if the mixture looks dry, and stop when it feels like soft cookie dough.
Step 3: Roll and Chill, 25 to 30 minutes
- Scoop 1 tablespoon portions and roll tight balls. You should get about 40 to 50.
- Place them on a parchment-lined pan and chill 15 minutes. You want firm, not icy cold centers.
Step 4: Melt Coating and Prep Sticks, 5 to 10 minutes
- Melt candy melts in 30 second bursts, stirring between bursts, until smooth. Thin with a teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening if it looks thick.
- Dip 1/4 inch of a lollipop stick into the coating, then insert it halfway into each cake ball. Chill 10 minutes so the seal sets.
Step 5: Dip and Decorate, 15 to 20 minutes
- Rewarm the coating so it flows like warm honey. Keep it around 95 to 100 F for the smoothest finish.
- Hold a pop upside down and dip straight in, then lift and gently tap your wrist to shake off excess. Spin slowly to finish the drip, then add sprinkles right away.
- Set pops in a foam block or a colander so they stand upright. If you work with real chocolate, temper it to about 88 to 90 F before dipping.
Step 6: Set and Serve, 10 minutes
- Let the coating set at room temp for 10 to 15 minutes. It should look shiny and firm.
- Serve fresh or pack them in treat bags for gifting. Keep a few for yourself, baker’s tax applies.
Tips & Tricks
- Use less frosting than you think and add more only if the crumbs feel dry.
- Keep cake balls cool but not cold to prevent coating cracks.
- Thin thick melts with 1 teaspoon refined coconut oil or shortening at a time.
- Dip the stick in coating before inserting to glue the stick in place.
- Tap your wrist, not the stick, to avoid loosening the bond.
- Work in small batches so the balls do not warm up too much.
- Fix cracks by brushing a little warm coating over the line.
- Add oil-based candy coloring to white melts, not water-based food dye.
- Drizzle contrasting colors after the base sets for neat stripes.
- Use a 1 tablespoon scoop for uniform pops that cook and set evenly.
What to Serve with How to Make Cake Pops
Pair cake pops with coffee, hot chocolate, or cold milk for a classic combo. Add a fruit tray so guests get a fresh bite between sweets. Set out a few flavors like vanilla with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate with crushed Oreos, and lemon with white chocolate drizzle. They also shine on a dessert board with brownies, mini cookies, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead: Roll balls and chill up to 2 days, or freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before dipping.
- Room temp: Store dipped pops in a cool room for up to 3 days if you used candy melts. Keep them out of direct sun.
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container up to 1 week. Bring to room temp 15 to 20 minutes before serving for the best texture.
- Freezer: Freeze dipped pops in a single layer until firm, then bag for up to 6 weeks. Thaw in the fridge, then bring to room temp.
- Refresh: If condensation forms, let pops air dry. If the coating scuffs, dip again or add a quick drizzle to cover marks.
How to Make Cake Pops
How to Make Cake Pops tastes like a bite-size slice of moist cake wrapped in a snappy chocolate shell. It’s perfect for bake sales, birthdays, and sweet snacking, and uses extra cake or a simple 9x13 sheet cake.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Bake a 9x13-inch cake according to package or recipe directions and let it cool completely. Chill the cooled cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes so it crumbles cleanly.
- Crumble the cake into fine, even crumbs in a large mixing bowl, breaking up any large pieces so the texture is uniform.
- Add 1/3 cup frosting to the crumbs and mix with a spatula or clean hands until the mixture holds together like soft cookie dough. If it looks dry or crumbly, add frosting a spoonful at a time, up to about 1/2 cup total.
- Use a 1-tablespoon scoop or small spoon to portion the mixture, then roll each portion between your palms into tight, smooth balls. You should get about 40 to 50 cake balls.
- Place the cake balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, just until firm but not icy cold.
- Place the candy melts or chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, until completely smooth and fluid. If the coating seems thick, stir in 1 teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening at a time until it flows like warm honey.
- Dip about 1/4 inch of the tip of each lollipop stick into the melted coating, then immediately insert the coated tip halfway into a chilled cake ball. Repeat with all the cake balls and chill for about 10 minutes so the coating around the base sets and secures the sticks.
- Rewarm the coating gently if needed so it is smooth and fluid. Working with one pop at a time, hold it upside down and dip the cake ball straight into the coating until fully covered. Lift it out and gently tap your wrist while rotating the stick so excess drips off and the surface smooths out.
- While the coating is still wet, add sprinkles, crushed cookies, or drizzle with another color of melted coating if desired. Stand the finished cake pop upright in a foam block or an upside-down colander so it can set without touching other pops.
- Repeat dipping and decorating with the remaining pops. Let them stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the coating is shiny, firm, and fully set. Serve immediately or package for gifting.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Approximate per 1 cake pop (about 1 of 40): 120–140 calories; fat 6–8 g; saturated fat 3–5 g; carbohydrates 16–18 g; fiber 0–1 g; sugars 12–15 g; protein 1–2 g; sodium 80–140 mg. Values will vary based on cake flavor, frosting type, and coating used.
Approximate per 1 cake pop (about 1 of 40): 120–140 calories; fat 6–8 g; saturated fat 3–5 g; carbohydrates 16–18 g; fiber 0–1 g; sugars 12–15 g; protein 1–2 g; sodium 80–140 mg. Values will vary based on cake flavor, frosting type, and coating used.