Homemade Cake Pops

🥘 Ingredients

• Cake - You can use any of your favorite flavors of cake. Go ahead and bake it according to your recipe or the boxed instructions and give it some time to cool.
• Frosting - Some frosting is added to help bind the dough together. It can be homemade or store-bought.
• Almond Bark - Almond bark is a great chocolate option for beginners, or you can use melting wafers or candy melts.
• Sprinkles - Some sprinkles for decorating.
• Food Coloring - When coloring chocolate, you need to use an oil-based food coloring. Typically, these are easiest to find on Amazon instead of in-store.
• Treat Sticks - You'll need a stick for your cake pops! You can buy treat sticks (lollipop sticks) or use paper straws.

🔪 How To Make Cake Pops

Cake pops are super simple to make, even if you're a complete beginner. You will need a cake pop stand or box, a stand mixer, and a kitchen scale or meatballer.

One standard-sized cake can make about 28 cakepops that are 1 ounce each.

Make the Cake Pop Dough

Prep the cake. 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.

Transfer the cake. Once cooled, break up your cake and place the pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer. *You can also do this by hand, but it takes longer.

Crumble. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low speed. Let the cake mix until it is crumbled into small pieces.

Mix in the frosting. Add ⅓ cup (75 grams) of 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.

Portion the dough. 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).

Form the balls. 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.

Dip & Decorate

Melt the chocolate. Break up your 1 pound (454 grams) of almond bark and place it into a microwave-safe container. Heat the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring well in between each one, until fully melted.

Color (optional). If coloring your chocolate, you can add your oil-based food coloring and stir it until combined after the chocolate is melted.

Place the sticks. Take one of your 28 treat sticks and dip one end into the melted chocolate. Then, press the chocolate-covered end of the stick into one of the dough balls.

Repeat. Repeat this process until all of the balls have a stick, then let them set for 2-3 minutes so that the chocolate hardens.

Dip. Take one cake pop and dip it into the melted almond bark. Then, tap off any excess chocolate, twirl it around to the other side, and tap it again.

Add sprinkles. If using sprinkles, sprinkle them onto the cake pop while the chocolate is still wet.

Harden. Place your cake pop into a cake pop stand, styrofoam, through the bottom of a box, or upside down on a piece of parchment paper and let it set for about 5 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.

Serve. Add a drizzle of some more chocolate, if desired. Your cake pops should be fully set within an hour at most. Serve immediately or store for later.

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

• Choose your flavors. You can make cake pops using any of your favorite cakes! Have fun experimenting with different flavors (like red velvet, funfetti, vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate). 
• Use a regular cake. 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. 
• Omit the oil. 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.
• A cooled cake is key. 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 store-bought frosting or homemade buttercream. Choose a flavor that pairs well with the cake you are using. 
• Use your hands. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can make your cake pop dough by smashing everything together with your hands.
• Get oil-based food coloring. If you want to color your cake pops, make sure you are using an oil-based food coloring (not liquid or gel). This can be difficult to find in stores. If you can't find it, you may need to order it online.
• Tap off 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, you can either make one by poking holes in an upside-down cardboard box or you can place your cake pops onto parchment paper with the stick pointing upwards.
• Use almond bark. Almond bark melts nicely with no additional ingredients. If using melting wafers or candy melts, you may need to thin out the chocolate with a small amount of coconut oil. 
• Don't let it crack. It's best to dip your cake pops when they are at room temperature, or else the chocolate may crack. Cracks can happen if the chocolate bark or candy melts are overheated too.
• Homemade makes cake pops better. You can literally 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.

🥡 Storing

The undipped cake pop dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 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 Decorated Cake Pops

Fully decorated cake pops can be frozen, you just need to freeze fully set cake pops on a tray individually first. Once frozen, package them into a freezer container with parchment paper layers between the cake pops.

Store for up to 6 weeks in the freezer, then thaw overnight in your fridge before serving.

📖 Recipe Card