This article will teach you know everything you could ever want to know about making cake pops, from which ingredients to use to how to make your own cake pop drying stand!
Skip right to what you need with this table of contents, or read on to learn it all!
Let’s take an in-depth look at the parts of a cake pop, the equipment you’re going to need, plus the best way to get a gorgeous cake pop! I have answers for every question!
Cake Pop Filling
What’s in it: The filling is very simply made from cake and frosting that are combined into the most delicious, gooey orb of goodness.
Filling Shortcuts: You can cheat on cake and use a cake mix. Any regular-sized cake mix will do just fine.
If you cheat on the frosting and use store-bought, you’ll end up with a gooey mess that doesn’t harden in the fridge. Make it easy in the long run and make homemade frosting.
Ratio of Cake to Frosting
The ratio of cake to frosting is what’s important. Too much cake and you’ll have a dry center that won’t stay together. Too much frosting and you’ll have a soft mess that won’t stay on the stick.
While there is room for error, you don’t want to add extra frosting just because it’s your favorite part of the cake.
Flavors
You can combine any flavor cake and frosting. I like to keep it simple and use usual cake combinations: Chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. Vanilla cake and vanilla frosting (recipe below). Red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting.
Once you get rolling with these flavors, you may be tempted to make new flavor combinations. Go wild!
Size
Using a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop will get you the right size. For reference: a standard cake pop weighs about 30 grams (1 ounce) and is about 1 1/2″ in diameter.
Cake Pop Coating: Chocolate vs. Candy Melts (Almond Bark)
When covering a cake pop, there are 2 basic choices. Let’s talk about what they are and the pros and cons of each.
(Spoiler alert: I like to use thinned-out candy melts to coat my cake pops. But thinned-out chocolate is another valid option. See the recipe below for how to “thin out” your coating with shortening.)
- Chocolate: Comes in many forms: chocolate bar, chocolate chips, baking chocolate, etc.
- Candy Melts: Called by many names: Almond Bark, Candy Coating, Candy Melts, Melting Wafers.
Chocolate Pros and Cons
Pro: Flavor: If you want a chocolate flavor, you would do well to use actual chocolate. I’ve used Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips for chocolate cake pops and the flavor is outstanding! It really elevates a standard cake pop to gourmet-level!
If you want to use chocolate, I recommend milk chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate is easy to keep on-hand for chocolate chip cookie emergencies, but milk chocolate tastes better on a cake pop.
Con: Soft at Room Temperature: Chocolate-covered cake pops will have to be refrigerated to keep the coating hard (if you don’t temper the chocolate). That’s trouble if the cake pops are for a party where they’ll be out on a table.
Candy Melts Pros and Cons
Pros: Firm at Room Temperature: No tempering needed! It dries quickly and doesn’t need refrigeration.
Pros: Flavor Variety: You can find all kinds of flavors from Vanilla and Chocolate to Strawberry and Pumpkin Spice!
Pros: Color Variety: Having a baby shower? They have light blue and pale pink! Christmas dessert? Red and green! There’s a variety of colors, all premade for your convenience!
Cons: Artificial Flavoring: Every candy coating product that I have seen has artificial flavoring in it. You’ll have to decide how important that is to you.
In my book, candy melts is the winner. It’s easy to work with and produces a good looking cake pop that is shelf-stable.
Special Equipment
Cake Pop Stick
A standard cake pop stick is about 6″ long. You’ll find them called “Lollipop Sticks”, “Treat Sticks”, or “Cake Pop Sticks”. I found some really cute silver treat sticks that make the cake pops stand out!
Read below for tips on keeping your cake ball on the stick.
Dipping Cup
I recommend using a coffee mug to hold your melted candy coating. It’s the perfect shape and depth for dipping. Plus, having a handle on your container of hot, melted coating is nice!!
Cake Pop Stand
You’ll need somewhere for the cake pops to stand upright while the coating is hardening. You can buy a cake pop stand online, or go for the homemade option
I like to keep costs low, so I went with a homemade cake pop drying stand. If you want to use it for displaying cake pops at a party, you could wrap it in a pretty fabric, yarn or ribbon.
How to Make a Cake Pop Stand
Each Cake Pop Stand holds 10 cake pops. You’ll probably want to make at least 2. The foam block is cheap, about $3 each, so it’s not a huge investment.
Equipment:
- Floral Foam Block, about 4″ by 12″ (smaller or larger if you prefer)
- Electric Drill
- Ruler
You’ll want to space your holes at least 2 1/2″ apart. I made 2 rows with 5 spaces each, for a total of 10 holes.
Actually, you can see in the picture below that I was very ambition and marked out 20 holes, which were WAY too close together.
Tips for Making a Homemade Cake Pop Stand
- Make at least 2 stands so you don’t have to wait for cake pops to dry every time you dip 10.
- Keep the plastic wrap on the styrofoam block. It will be much easier to wipe melted candy coating off plastic than styrofoam.
- Check that your cake pop stand fits in your fridge. (Refrigeration speeds drying time.)
- Mark your holes with a permanent maker so they’re easy to see.
Tips for Keeping Your Cake Pop on the Stick
- Use a real, from-scratch frosting made with butter. Store bought frostings are soft and sticky, making your final cake pop greasy and soft. They won’t keep their shape, and they’re more likely to slip off the stick.
- Keep your cake pops in the fridge until ready to dip. A cold cake pop is firm and easier to work with (because of the butter in the frosting!).
- Pro Tip: Dip 1/2″ of the stick in melted almond bark before inserting into the bottom of your cold cake pop. This will act as a glue when you dip your cake pop fully.
Tips for Dipping Your Cake Pops
- Keep the cake pops in the fridge before dipping. They’ll stay firm and keep their shape. Plus, a cold cake pop helps the hot and runny almond bark to set quickly.
- Use a coffee mug to hold the melted candy coating. Most mugs are deep but not wide, making it easier to completely submerge your cake pop to cover the top (bottom?) of the cake. The mug gets bonus points for having a handle, so you don’t have to touch a hot cup!
- After dipping, let the coating drizzle off the top until it becomes a thin stream. Then slowly rotate and flip the cake pop upright. You’ll avoid a point at the top of the pop.
- If you’re adding sprinkles, do it now! Use a half teaspoon measuring spoon to pour them on the top and sides of the cake pop as you turn it.
Setting the Candy Coating
Once your cake pop is dipped and sprinkled, place it in the cake pop stand. Carefully transfer it to the fridge to speed the hardening process. Once the candy coating loses its wet sheen, it’s set and ready to wrap.
Storing Cake Pops
I like to wrap my cake pops individually in a treat bag and then tie the bottom with a ribbon. This step is optional, but makes for a nice presentation.
If you don’t wrap each one, store them in a Tupperware or baggie.
Store dipped cake pops in the fridge up to 7 days.
Can I Freeze Cake Pops?
I do NOT recommend freezing dipped cake pops. When they defrost, the coating will sweat and turn a little sticky.
If you want to make cake pops in advance (more than 7 days): bake the cake; prepare the frosting; form the balls and freeze before dipping. Allow cake balls to defrost in the fridge overnight before dipping.
Why defrost first? A frozen cake pop likely has ice crystals on the outside. If you dip one into melted chocolate or candy coating, you could cause it to seize up, becoming a clumpy, unusable mess. Don’t risk it! Let the cake pops defrost.
Is there anything I left out? If you have any questions, please comment below!
Happy Baking!
Vanilla Cake Pops
Equipment
- electric mixer
- small saucepan
- large, shallow mixing bowl
- coffee mug
- 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized cookie scoop recommended
- 48 6" treat sticks
- 48 treat bags and ties optional
- foam block for cake pop stand optional, but highly recommended
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar (397 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup milk (227 grams)
- 4 Tablespoons butter cut into pats
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (67 grams)
Frosting
- ½ cup butter, softened (1 stick)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon milk (adjust as needed for consistency)
- sprinkles optional
Coating
- 20 ounces almond bark, divided
- 2 ½ Tablespoons shortening, divided (30 grams)
- sprinkles
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom of 9"x13" pan with magic cake release. Alternatively, grease and flour bottom of pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder.
- In bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and light gold, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour mixture a bit at a time and mix on low speed.
- In small saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add butter and oil. Stir until melted. Add vanilla and almond extract. Stir.
- With mixer running on lowest speed, drizzle hot milk mixture into batter until all is incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 325°F for 45-48 minutes or until top is golden and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool at least 1 hour before cutting cake into large pieces and removing to a large, shallow mixing bowl.
- Allow cake to cool completely before mixing with frosting.
Frosting:
- In electric mixer, beat butter until pale golden and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and stir in on low speed. Add vanilla and milk. Mix.
- Beat frosting on medium-high speed for at least 2-3 minutes. If needed, add a bit more milk.
Cake Pop Filling
- Once cake has cooled completely, break up pieces using 2 knives or your hands to the texture of coarse crumbs. Remove any hard pieces.
- Add frosting, half at a time, mixing with electric mixer after each addition. Filling should be about the texture of play-doh.
- Using a 1 1/2-Tablespoon sized cookie scoop, portion out filling. (Each portion should weight about 30 grams.) Using your hands, roll into a ball. Place on wax-paper-lined baking sheet or container.
- Place cake balls in fridge until cool and firm, about 1 hour. Or rest overnight.
Coating
- Place small amount of almond bark (about ½ an ounce to 1 ounce) in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10 second intervals until melted.
- Dip about ¼-½" of end of pop stick in melted almond bark. Insert stick into flat end (bottom) of cake ball, being careful not to pierce through the top.
- Place pop-side up in cake-pop stand. Repeat until all sticks and cake balls are paired.
- Place 10 ounces almond bark and heaping Tablespoon shortening (15 grams) in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave according to package directions, stopping frequently to stir when almond bark starts to melt. The heat from the melted portions will continue to warm and melt the solid portions. Do NOT overheat! Stir thoroughly to mix melted shortening and almond bark.
- Pour almond bark into coffee mug.
- Dip each cake pop into melted almond bark, submerging fully. Hold cake pop upside down over coffee mug until stream of almond bark thins out. Slowly rotate cake pop and turn right-side up.
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon sprinkles over each pop while coating is still warm. Rotate pop to keep coating from dripping until the coating is close to hardening and losing its sheen.
- Place cake pop back in cake-pop stand. Repeat with remaining cake pops.
- If cake pops become too warm, place them back in the fridge to chill. If almond bark cools, reheat in microwave until warm and runny.
Packaging
- Once almond bark has hardened, cover each cake pop with treat bag and tie bottom to close.
- Store in fridge for up to 7 days. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- To get your eggs to room temperature: submerge in hot tap water for 5 minutes.
- Almond bark may also be sold under the name vanilla-flavored candy coating, candy melts, melting wafers.
- Don’t have almond flavoring? You can leave it out for a vanilla only cake.
- To bake half recipe: Pour batter into prepared 9″ round cake pan. Bake 325°F for 26-30 minutes.
- For an easy swap, use a cake mix instead of this from scratch recipe. I do not recommend swapping for store-bough frosting, however.
- See above for how to make a Homemade Cake Pop Stand (in body of article).
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