My Halloween cake pops use your favorite cake flavor to make treats in the shape of a jack-o-lantern treat bucket, a witch's bubbling cauldron, a ghost, or Jack Skellington. They are the perfect addition to any Halloween party or festivities; no one will believe you made them yourself!
Try my Halloween brownies, Halloween peanut butter spider cookies, or meringue ghosts for more Halloween treats.
There are so many fun and delicious Halloween-themed desserts and treats to make. These Halloween cake pops are just one sample of my favorite fun, bite-sized snacks you can prepare.
If you more great spooky treats, check out my monster cake pops. Both varieties are perfect for any Halloween festivities.
🥘 Ingredients
Cake Pop Dough
- Cake - You need one standard-sized cake in any flavor. This could be a 9x13 cake or two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds. Bake your cake as directed and let it cool.
- Frosting - You can use homemade or store-bought frosting in any flavor.
- Candy Melts - You can use pre-colored candy melts, almond bark, or white melting wafers with an oil-based food coloring. For my Halloween cake pops, you will need the colors black, orange, white, and pink.
- Treat Sticks - Treat sticks or lollipop sticks can be found in the cake decorating aisle.
Decorations
- Edible Marker - Edible markers or edible paint is used to draw the faces.
- Black Fondant - You only need a small amount of black fondant to make the handle for the treat buckets.
- Halloween Sprinkles - Use your favorite Halloween sprinkles to act as candy in the treat buckets.
- Candy Eyes - Fun candy eyes are floating in the bubbling cauldron.
- Black Pearl Sprinkles - A couple of black pearl sprinkles are used as the legs of the cauldrons.
- Pink Pearl Sprinkles - Pink pearl sprinkles look like bubbles in the cauldron.
- Pink Sugar Sprinkles - These sugar sprinkles fill in all the space around the cauldron bubbles.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
👩🏻🍳 How To Make Halloween Cake Pops
Even if you've never made cake pops, these treats are simple and beginner-friendly. You will need a stand mixer, some bowls for melting chocolate, and a cake pop stand.
Regardless of which design(s) you choose, this recipe will make 28 cake pops.
Make the Cake Pop Dough
Make your cake. Prepare your cake according to the boxed directions (omit the oil for best results, see notes), or make a cake from scratch. Bake like normal and let it cool completely before getting started.
Break up the cake. Once cooled, break up the cake and place the pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer (photo 1). *You can also do this by hand, but it takes longer.
Crumble the cake. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on at a low speed. Let the cake mix until it is crumbled into small pieces.
Add frosting. Add ⅓ cup (75 grams) of frosting (photo 2) and continue mixing on low to medium-low speed until thoroughly combined. The consistency should be similar to Play-Doh putty or modeling clay (photo 3).
If it is too dry and crumbly, add more frosting.
Portion the dough. Use a cookie scoop, meatballer, cake pop maker, or kitchen scale to portion the cake pop dough into equal servings (photo 4 - standard cake pops are 1 ounce each).
Roll into balls. Roll the portion dough around in your hand to form a smooth ball approximately the size and shape of a truffle. Repeat until all of the cake pops are formed (photo 5).
❗ Top Tip: Rolling Perfect Cake Pops
The balls are easier to round out into smooth, better-shaped cake pops if you chill them after combining and portioning. So roll the cake mixture out and pop them all in the fridge after they're shaped.
Chill for at least an hour before rolling them again to smooth out any misshapen edges.
For the Ghost
Shape the dough. Take one of your cake balls and roll it into a taller, rounded cylinder shape (photo 6).
Create the drapes. Pinch together the edges of one side to create a flowy, draped dress shape (photo 7).
Melt the chocolate. Melt your white candy melts (or chocolate or almond bark) in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth (photo 8).
Add the sticks. Dip one end of your 28 treat sticks into the chocolate and poke it into the bottom of the ghost (photo 9). Set aside to harden for a couple of minutes.
Coat in chocolate. Dip the entire cake pop into the white chocolate (photo 10) and tap off any excess. Set aside to harden for 2-3 minutes.
Add the face. Use an edible marker to draw on the eyes and mouth (photo 11).
For Jack Skellington
Create the eyes. Take one of your cake balls and use a ball tool or your fingers to create the indents for the eyes (photo 12).
Add the stick. Dip the end of one of the 28 treat sticks into your melted white chocolate and poke it into the bottom of the cake ball (photo 13 - make sure the eyes are facing the right way!). Set it aside to firm up for a couple of minutes.
Coat in chocolate. Dip the cake pop into the white chocolate and tap off any excess (photo 14). Set aside to harden.
Add the face. Once hard (photo 15), use either an edible marker or edible paint to paint on the eyes, draw slits for a nose, and add a stitched mouth (photo 16).
For the Jack-o-Lantern Treat Basket
Melt the chocolate. Melt some orange candy melts in the microwave by stirring every 30 seconds (photo 17).
Add the sticks. Dip the end of one of your 28 treat sticks into the chocolate and poke it into one of your cake balls (photo 18). Let harden for a couple of minutes.
Coat in chocolate. Dip the whole cake pop into the orange chocolate (photo 19) and tap off the excess. Set it upside down with the treat stick upward (photo 20) on parchment paper to harden (this gives you a flat top for the opening of the bucket).
Add more chocolate. Pour some of your orange chocolate into a storage or piping bag with the corner snipped off and pipe some onto the flat part of the cake pop to act as glue (photo 21).
Add the candy. Immediately place some Halloween sprinkles onto the wet chocolate to make it look like the bucket is full of candy (photo 22).
Make the bucket handles. Roll out a small piece of black fondant into a thin rope (photo 23).
Attach the handle. Use a couple of dots of more melted orange chocolate to act as glue and attach the fondant to make it look like the handle of the treat basket (photo 24). Set aside for everything to harden fully.
Add the face. Use an edible marker to draw on the jack-o-lantern face (photo 25).
For the Bubbling Witch's Cauldron
Melt the chocolate. Melt some of your black candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each heating (photo 26).
Add the sticks. Dip the end of one of your 28 treat sticks into the black chocolate and then poke it into one of your cake balls (photo 27). Let it harden for a couple of minutes.
Coat in chocolate. Dip the cake pop into the black chocolate and tap off any excess. Then, place it upside-down onto a piece of parchment paper to harden (photo 28).
Add the legs. Use a couple of dots of melted chocolate to attach two black pearl sprinkles to look like the legs of the cauldron (photo 29).
Melt some pink chocolate. Melt some pink candy melts in the microwave and transfer it to a piping or storage bag with the tip cut off.
Add the witch's brew. Pipe some pink chocolate onto the flat side of the cauldron, adding some drips over the top edge (photo 30).
Add the bubbles. Immediately place a couple of candy eyes into the chocolate and cover it with pink pearl sprinkles to look like bubbles. Once satisfied with your sprinkle placement, pour some pink sugar sprinkles over the top to fill in all the spaces (photo 31).
Let harden. Set aside to harden fully.
>>>See All Of My Tasty Recipes Here!<<<
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Use your favorite cake. You can make cake pops using any of your favorite cakes! Have fun experimenting with different flavors (like red velvet cake, birthday cake funfetti cupcakes, homemade white cake, strawberry, or easy chocolate cake).
- Leave out the oil. If using a boxed cake mix, I recommend leaving the oil out altogether and preparing the cake as directed. Sometimes the added oil can make it hard for the cake pops to stay on the stick or hold their shape.
- Make your cake ahead of time. I recommend baking your cake a day in advance to make the assembly of your cake pops a snap.
- Use your favorite frosting. You can use storebought frosting or one of my homemade buttercream recipes. Choose a flavor that pairs well with the cake flavor you are using.
- Thin the chocolate. Using candy melts is an easy way to get the perfect color without dealing with food coloring. However, they tend to melt into a chocolate that is too thick for dipping. If this is the case, you can add some coconut oil, paramount crystals, or Wilton's EZ Thin to help thin it to a runnier consistency.
- Try coloring chocolate. If you don't want to use candy melts, you can use white almond bark, chopped white chocolate, or white chocolate chips. Make sure you use an oil-based food coloring when coloring chocolate.
- Remove excess chocolate. After dipping your cake pops, tap the stick against the side of the container to shake off any excess chocolate. Turn the cake pop around and tap it a couple more times to smooth everything out.
- Make your own stand. If you don't have a cake pop stand or styrofoam, you can either make one by poking holes in an upside-down cardboard box.
- Dip room temperature cake. It's best to dip your cake pops when they are at room temperature, or else the chocolate may crack. If your dough is in the fridge, let it sit out for about 30 minutes before dipping it. Cracks can happen if the chocolate bark or candy melts are overheated, too.
- Make these pops from scratch. You can, 100%, taste the difference when every part of these tasty cake pops is homemade. There are plenty of cake and frosting recipes on BIWL to take your cake pops to the next level.
📍🍡🎂 Top Tips to Master Cake Pops
See my top tips for the best cake pops to master cake pops in no time. There are 13+ great tips and tricks to help you skip my early mistakes 🤪.
With these handy tips, your first attempt at cake pops will look better-than-store-bought!
🥡 Storing
The undipped cake pop dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for 3-6 months.
Once dipped, your cake pops can be kept at room temperature for 4 days or in the fridge for 7-10 days.
Freezing
Fully decorated cake pops can be frozen. I recommend freezing the cake pops on a tray individually first. Once frozen, package them into a freezer container with parchment paper layers between the cake pops.
Store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks, then thaw them overnight in your fridge before serving.
❓ Halloween Cake Pops Recipe FAQs
You can easily store combined cake pop dough for up to 4-5 days before shaping and assembling them. Or store decorated cake pops in the fridge for up to 7-10 days. This is plenty of time to have them ready in advance of any parties or get-togethers.
Yes and no. Refrigerating cake pops is an easy way to set them so you can smooth any bumps, rough spots, or irregularities. However, I recommend that cake pops be at room temperature before dipping them into your melted candy coating.
Cake pops can be made with practically any cake as the base. However, using cake mix and omitting the oil in the ingredients is the best and easiest way to make a great cake pop dough.
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📖 Recipe Card
Halloween Cake Pops
Ingredients
Cake Pop Dough
- 1 baked cake (baked and cooled, any flavor - standard sized (9x13))
- ⅓ cup frosting (or more, if needed)
- 1 lb candy melts (in black, orange, white, and pink, or use almond bark or white chocolate with food coloring)
- 28 treat sticks
Decorations
- edible marker (or edible paint)
- black fondant
- Halloween sprinkles
- candy eyes
- black pearl sprinkles
- pink pearl sprinkles
- pink sugar sprinkles
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Make the Cake Pop Dough
- Prepare your cake according to the boxed directions or make a cake from scratch. Bake like normal and let it cool completely before getting started.
- Once cooled, break up your 1 baked cake and place the pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer. *You can also do this by hand, but it takes longer.
- Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low speed. Let the cake mix until it is crumbled into small pieces.
- Add ⅓ cup frosting and continue mixing on low to medium-low speed until thoroughly combined. The consistency should be similar to play-doh. If it is too dry and crumbly, add more frosting.
- Use a cookie scoop, meatball maker, or kitchen scale to portion the cake pop dough into equal servings (a standard cake pop is 1 ounce each).
- Roll the portion dough around in your hand to form a smooth ball that's approximately the size and shape of a truffle. Repeat with all of the cake pop dough.
- Note: The balls are easier to round out into smooth, better-shaped cake pops if you chill them after combining and portioning. So, roll the cake mixture out and pop them all in the fridge. Chill for at least an hour before rolling them again to smooth out any misshapen edges.
For the Ghost
- Take one of your cake balls and roll it into a rounded cylinder shape.
- Pinch together the edges of one side to create a flowing, draped dress shape.
- Melt your white candy melts (or chocolate or almond bark) in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
- Dip one end of your 28 treat sticks into the chocolate and poke it into the bottom of the ghost. Set aside to harden for a couple of minutes.
- Dip the entire cake pop into the white chocolate and tap off any excess. Set aside to harden for 2-3 minutes.
- Use edible marker to draw on the eyes and mouth.
For Jack Skellington
- Take one of your cake balls and use a ball tool or your fingers to create the indents for the eyes.
- Dip the end of one of the 28 treat sticks into your melted white chocolate and poke it into the bottom of the cake ball (make sure the eyes are facing the right way!). Set it aside to firm up for a couple of minutes.
- Dip the cake pop into the white chocolate and tap off any excess. Set aside to harden.
- Once hard, use either an edible marker or edible paint to paint on the eyes, nose, and mouth.
For the Jack-O-Lantern Trick-or-Treat Basket
- Melt some orange 1 lb candy melts in the microwave by stirring every 30 seconds.
- Dip the end of one of your 28 treat sticks into the chocolate and poke it into one of your cake balls. Let harden for a couple of minutes.
- Dip the whole cake pop into the orange chocolate and tap off the excess. Set it upside down on some parchment paper to harden (this gives you a flat top for the opening of the bucket).
- Pour some of your orange chocolate into a storage or piping bag with the corner snipped off and then pipe some of it onto the flat part of the cake pop to act as glue.
- Immediately place some Halloween sprinkles onto the wet chocolate to look like the bucket is full of candy.
- Roll out a small piece of black fondant into a thin rope.
- Use a couple of dots of more melted orange chocolate to act as glue and attach the fondant to make it look like the handle of the trick-or-treat basket. Set aside for everything to fully harden.
- Use edible marker to draw on the jack-o-lantern face.
For the Bubbling Witch's Cauldron
- Melt some of your black 1 lb candy melts in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between each one.
- Dip the end of one of your 28 treat sticks into the black chocolate and then poke it into one of your cake balls. Let it harden for a couple of minutes.
- Dip the cake pop into the black chocolate and tap off any excess. Then, place it upside-down onto a piece of parchment paper to harden.
- Use a couple of dots of melted chocolate to attach two black pearl sprinkles to look like the legs of the cauldron.
- Melt some pink candy melts in the microwave and transfer it to a piping or storage bag with the tip cut off.
- Pipe some pink chocolate onto the flat side of the cauldron, adding some drips over the top edge.
- Immediately place a couple of candy eyes into the chocolate and cover it with pink pearl sprinkles to look like bubbles. Once satisfied with your sprinkle placement, pour some pink sugar sprinkles over the top to fill in all of the spaces.
- Set aside to fully harden.
Notes
- You can make cake pops using any of your favorite cakes! Have fun experimenting with different flavors (like red velvet cake, birthday cake funfetti cupcakes, vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate).
- You only need a standard-sized cake. This is the amount that you would get from a box of cake mix or a regular cake recipe. It can be a 9x13, two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds, or even a bundt cake.
- If using a boxed cake mix, I recommend leaving the oil out altogether and then preparing the cake as directed. Sometimes the added oil can make it hard for the cake pops to stay on the stick.
- I recommend baking your cake a day in advance to make the assembly of your cake pops a snap.
- You can use store-bought frosting or one of my homemade buttercream recipes. Choose a flavor that pairs well with the flavor of cake you are using.
- Using candy melts is an easy way to get the perfect color without dealing with food coloring. However, they tend to melt into a chocolate that is too thick for dipping. If this is the case, you can add some coconut oil, paramount crystals, or Wilton's EZ Thin to help thin it to a runner consistency.
- If you don't want to use candy melts, you can use white almond bark, chopped white chocolate, or white chocolate chips. Make sure you use an oil-based food coloring when coloring chocolate.
- After dipping your cake pops, tap the stick against the side of the container to shake off any excess chocolate.
- Its best to dip your cake pops when they are at room temperature, or else the chocolate may crack. If your dough was in the fridge, let it sit out for about 30 minutes before dipping it. Cracks can happen if the chocolate bark or candy melts are overheated, too.
- The undipped cake pop dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- Once dipped, your cake pops can be kept at room temperature for 4 days or in the fridge for 7-10 days.
Angela Latimer says
These Halloween treats are so much fun to make and people are really so surprised that thay're not store bought. They're as cute as can be and super tasty, truly a party hit! ~ Angela