Tiny, adorable, and all the rage a few years ago, cake pops are the bite-sized treat we’ll never get tired of here at Delish. If you only have this mini dessert at celebrations or on your Starbucks run, it’s time to try your hand at making them at home. While they can take some practice, our recipe has all the steps, tips, and tricks you need to master these iconic pops. Make them for your next birthday party, graduation, or any celebration you want to take over the top. Here’s how to make them the best they can be:
The secret to making cake pops:
The key to making the best cake pops? Patience, patience, patience. Every step of the way—from the baking of the cake to forming the cake balls—you need to ensure that your ingredients have time to cool before moving on to the next step. If your cake is too hot, your cake balls won’t form correctly, won’t hold together, and won’t stay together when dipped in the icing.
The best chocolate for cake pops:
We chose to use semisweet and white chocolate chips in this recipe, but feel free to use just one or the other. Like always, we recommend melting your chocolate with coconut oil to not only help your chocolate harden, but to give it that gorgeous luster when dried.
How to make the best cake pops:
— Let the cake mixture harden. To prevent your cake pops from falling apart, after forming them into balls, place on a tray, and refrigerate for at least an hour. This will ensure they are firm, and will hold together when you dip them later.
— Prevent smudging the chocolate. After dipping your cake pops, you can place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to dry, or stick your pops into a styrofoam block to prevent smudging the chocolate coating.
— Variations. We chose to make vanilla cake pops with white chocolate frosting and sprinkles, but you can switch it up based on your favorite flavors! Do vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (semisweet would be perfect), white cake, chocolate, or red velvet with any icing you please. Decorate with sprinkles, leave them plain, or dust with edible glitter.
Storage and make ahead:
Fully assembled, these cake pops can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. If you want to make them ahead of time, keep the formed (but not frosted) cake pops in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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- Yields:
- 63
- Prep Time:
- 15 mins
- Total Time:
- 2 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients
Cake
Cooking spray
- 1 c.
(2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 c.
(200 g.) granulated sugar
- 3
large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 2 c.
(240 g.) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp.
baking powder
- 1 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 c.
whole milk
Frosting & Assembly
- 12 tbsp.
unsalted butter, softened
- 3 c.
(345 g.) confectioners' sugar
- 3 tbsp.
heavy cream
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
- 5 c.
white or semisweet chocolate chips
- 5 tbsp.
coconut oil
Sprinkles, for decorating
Equipment Needed
- 63
lollipop sticks
Directions
Cake
- Step 1Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 13" x 9" baking pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer (or in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
- Step 2In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add half of dry ingredients to egg mixture and beat until just combined. Add milk and beat until incorporated. Add remaining dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined.
- Step 3Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.
Frosting & Assembly
- Step 1In a large bowl, using handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, then add cream, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.
- Step 2Crumble cooled cake with your hands into frosting and stir until combined. Form cake mixture into tablespoon-sized balls. Arrange on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Step 3In a medium heatproof bowl, microwave chocolate and oil in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes in total.
- Step 4Dip tip of a lollipop stick into melted chocolate. Insert into chilled cake balls (this keeps the cake pop from falling off). Repeat with remaining cake pops.
- Step 5Dip cake pops into melted chocolate, shaking off excess. Decorate with sprinkles. Arrange pops on a parchment-lined baking sheet to dry or stick into a styrofoam block to prevent smudging. Refrigerate until hardened, about 15 minutes.
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