Perfect Cake Pops
Print Pin VideoCake pops are the most delightful little treats, and are so so delicious! They're basically cake mixed with frosting, which is then rolled into little balls and coated with chocolate - YUM! Cake pops can seem intimidating at first, but I promise you they are one of the easiest things to make once you get a hang of it! In this recipe I'll be sharing all my tips and tricks to get perfect cake pops.
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box vanilla or white cake mix that makes one 8 inch/20cm cake OR your favourite vanilla/white cake recipe. - + ingredients required to make the boxed cake (usually butter or oil, eggs and milk)
- ¼ cup (52g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola. Do not use if not using a boxed cake mix.
Frosting (see note 1)
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) icing sugar - also known as confectioners/powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp milk
Additional Ingredients/Supplies
- 3½ cups chocolate/candy melts - either dark, milk or white chocolate, or a combination (I like to use half dark and half white) - see note 2
- 40 cake pop sticks
- 1 pack sprinkles - or any other decoration of your choice
Instructions
Cake
- Make the boxed cake mix as directed on the back of the packet. Before mixing all the ingredients together, also add in the additional vegetable oil.
- Once baked, allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before running a thin knife around the edge of your tin to release the cake from the cake tin, and turn it out into a big bowl.
- Once it's cooled enough to be able to touch it, break the cake apart with your hands and crumble it up until is resembles fine crumbs. Allow to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a medium sized bowl add in the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and milk.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on a medium speed for 4 minutes until it's light and fluffy. If using a stand mixer then do this with the paddle attachment.
Assembly
- Once the cake is cooled, add 3/4s of the frosting into the crumbled cake, and using a hand or stand mixer, mix until just combined.
- At this stage, if you feel the cake is moist enough to roll into balls then don't add anymore frosting in. Otherwise, add in the remaining frosting and mix. I usually add all of my frosting in but each cake recipe/box cake mix is slightly different. You don't want to add too much frosting in if you don't need too as you don't want the cake pops to be mushy.
- Roll tablespoons full of the cake mixture into round balls and place on a lined tray. Place the tray into the freezer for 10 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes, and then do a second roll. This will help the cake balls become really nice and smooth/round.
- Once rolled for the second time, place the cake balls back into the freezer for a further 30 minutes, or into the fridge for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- When your cake balls are almost ready, melt your chocolate. Place 1/2 of the chocolate into a microwave safe mug and melt in the microwave for 20 second bursts at a time, mixing in between each burst until fully melted. You can also do this over a double boiler if you prefer, and then pour the melted chocolate into a cup. Only melt more of the chocolate as you need it.
- Dip the tip of a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and then poke into a cake ball about half way through the cake ball. Repeat with the remaining cake pop sticks.
- Next grab a cake ball (by the stick), and place it into the melted chocolate. Swirl it around so it's completely covered, and then tap it on the edge of the cup to remove excess chocolate. Once done, twirl the cake pop to wrap the remaining dripping chocolate around the cake ball and then quickly decorate with sprinkles before the chocolate sets :)
- Place the cake pop upright to allow it to completely set, either into a cup with some rice in it, or a cardboard box with little holes poked into it. Styrofoam works great too!
- Simply repeat the same steps with the remaining cake pops. While making them, keep an eye on the chocolate (it should still be thin). If you feel it's thickening up, simply reheat it. Also keep an eye on the temperature of the cake balls. If they're getting too soft, pop them back into the freezer for an additional 10 minutes or so (or into the fridge for another 30 minutes).
- Allow cake pops to completely set before serving.
Video
Notes
Note 1. If using a box cake mix, I recommend not using the frosting from the box. It's just not as nice as homemade :)
Note 2. It's really important to use chocolate/candy melts for cake pops as they set quickly and are thinner when melted. If you really want/need to use regular eating chocolate, then I would recommend thinning the chocolate out with some vegetable oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
Tried this recipe?I love hearing from you! Tag me @cakesbymk.nz on instagram so I can see your amazing creations :)