Cake Pops are probably one of my favorite treats! I love how they look like cute little lollipops and can be made into any color or flavor to suit your party. Plus they are the perfect little bite-sized indulgence! We’ve had a few readers ask us to share our tips and tricks for making basic cake pops, so here is our step-by-step tutorial for making the perfect cake pop. Enjoy!
1. Bake a cake. Any flavor you like, I used a box mix Red Velvet cake for these. Pictured is half of the cake recipe, as it made two square pans. 2. Add 2 cups of frosting. Any kind you like is fine, I used a store-bought cream cheese frosting for these. 3. Use your clean hands to mix together the frosting and cake. This step is pretty messy! 4. Form your cake pop batter into small balls, about 3-4 tablespoons each. You don’t want them to be too big, just so they easily fit in the palm of your hand.
1. Once you have formed all your pops (a standard size cake will make around 50 pops) put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or the freezer for half and hour or so. 2. While those are in the refrigerator you can get your candy melts and other supplies ready. I like to use candy melts with 1 tablespoon of oil (canola or vegetable) and melt them in the microwave. You will probably use about twice what is pictured for all the pops. 3. Dip a lollipop stick in the melted chocolate. 4. Push the stick 2/3 through a cold cake pop. 5. Dip the pop in the melted chocolate. 6. Allow any excess chocolate to drip off the pop before inverting it in the craft foam.
You will need to leave the pops in the foam while the chocolate sets. I like to drizzle on a bit more chocolate after I’ve dipped all the pops, just to add some texture. Once the chocolate is set these are ready to serve to guests! Enjoy and have fun customizing with different flavors and color combinations.
Cake pops have become quite popular in the last few years-and boy are we glad! You can find other resources for making these delicious treats here, here and here. And my personal favorite is Bakerella, love her blog and her amazing talent for creating the most perfectly decorated pops!
Happy baking! xo. emma + elsie
169 Comments
Delicious! I’m drooling. 🙂
I’ve made cake pops many times and I LOVE THEM! They turned out so pretty! Don’t you just love love love them!
Natalie
http://www.projectdowhatyoulove.wordpress.com
Cake pops are so adorable! I’ve never tried my hand at making them; I really didn’t realize how easy they were to make! I’ll definitely have to try these 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
xo Heather
http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/
My friend has a machine that helps you make them, a bit like a doughnut/taostie maker. It makes them perfectly round and comes with a recipe book but to be honest, although they look great, the recipes tend to be bland. I much prefer the idea of doing it by a hand, a little bit more rustic and baked with more love I feel. Do you have any recipes for lower fat cakes? I’m trying to be healthy at the moment but would love to give these a try.Rx
http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.com/
These look great. I’m going to try them. Thanks for the instructions. Cx
I’m so in love with this treat <3
these look so good!
Rachael, we don’t really do low fat desserts (unless of course, it happens to be low fat!). There is a lot that goes into making AMAZING lowfat recipes and we just haven’t branched into that yet. We both believe really strongly in enjoying good food in moderation! We never ever ever eat more than one cake pop in a day… although I can’t say the same for our cute little niece. haha! XO! Elsie
I think cake pops are the cutest but they look so hard to make! Thanks for the tutorial<3
I adore cake pops!! They’re so cheerful and versatile. Thanks for the post! Y’all always get me in such a baking/crafting mood.
Oh my gosh, these look DELICIOUS!! I’ve always wondered how to hold the cake pops while waiting for the chocolate to dry and you definitely answered my question!
Tried these at work a couple of times, they are amazing indeed. Perfect lighter version of the good old cupcake!
x L.
http://snakeskinjacket.wordpress.com/
Makes it look so messy and fun! Cant wait to give it a try!
-Miranda
These are so cute! I want to make cake pops now!
So yummy and adorable great! http://fancycuteness.blogspot.com
So great, love that idea. My boys enjoy a cake pop from the coffee shop but we will have to try to bake them ourselves. So easy, thanks for the tips.
E
http://www.urbanchiqueness.com
My sister is visiting so this will be our project tonight! thanks !
I have always wanted to try to make cake pops. Didn’t realize they were so easy!
Yum! I have been wanting to make these for my birthday. xo, rv
http://aneclecticheap.blogspot.com/
I’ve always wondered how to do them – looks super easy!
WOW they look extremely delicious!! definitely will love to try them out
xo katrina
theyoungbridgetjones.blogspot.com
I can not tell you how excited I am about this post! My daughter & I were just wondering how it was done! Definitely bookmarking for reference– thank you, thank you, thank you~*
http://aclosetintellectual.blogspot.com/
thanks for sharing. it seems easier than i thought 🙂
oh cute, these look great!
georgia
http://swonderfulgd.blogspot.com/
So amazing! I will try this <3
xo.
birdsandbulletsfly.blogspot.com
MMM! these look delicious, and the color is stunning!
Yum! I’ve always wanted to do this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great tutorial, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Mmmm tasty and cute. I think anything tastes better on a stick!
happiness…
dannelle@nestenterprises
I tried to make cake pops a few weeks ago. But when I dipped them into the chocolate, they fell apart. I don’t know what I did wrong. Do you think I used too much frosting? Did anyone have the same problem?
? so you dont bake?
Very good idea, lovely recipes.
Andreja
Follow me
http://www.stancerfamily.blogspot.com
I can’t wait to try making these!
At the start of every month I make a goal list. February to do: figure out cake pops! Thank you for making my wish come true.
Pretty! I always wondered how the heck people got sphere shaped cake containers… 😉
I am sorry. I mean no offense…but I find cake pops seriously disgusting. Mushed up cake with frosting…mushing up with your hands into a ball and covering with more sugary frosting. YUCK-O-RAMA! I think they are cute to look at. That’s about it. 🙁
DELISH!! Those look perfectly perfect.
I think they’re officially on the menu for my sister’s baby shower! Thanks for sharing <3
I tried them once, didn’t work, ended up too mushy.
I think I’ll save them for a treat when I’m out.
This is great!
these look delicious!!… and you’ve made them look so easy to make!! I want to try this out!
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Awsome! I’ve always wondered how to make these, thanks! I might just make some for my birthday 😉
You guys always have the PERFECT things to post. So many cake pops over the internet, now I know I DEFINITELY want to do this!
Jessica | Vixenelle
I can’t wait to give these recipes a try! xo.
http://liveeclectic.blogspot.com
yummmmmmm
I want to make cake batter flavored ones! :9
I love you.
♥
Talia Christine
http://taliachristine.blogspot.com
Is 2 cups of frosting for half the cake batter (as shown, you have a small square cake) or is 2 cups of frosting for the entire cake mix?
For more inspiration, the queen & creator of cake pops and all of her crazy awesome designs are here: http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/ Enjoy!
These look amazing! I’ve been contemplating wether or not to try making these but you have me convinced! Great post 🙂
cake pops are great and fun to make, I love to use cream cheese instead of frosting, the state is awesome and a bit different.
I love these! the red and white is perfect for Valentines! Super post!!
xxx
-S
http://www.gingerandlace.blogspot.com
My homegirl Bakerella (http://www.bakerella.com/) invented the Cakepop! So nice to see others following her genius.
amazing! these look so yummy!!
http://thelittletexan.blogspot.com/
These look so amazing! I’m definitely going to give them a go!
i was wondering how its done!thank you for sharing!maybe i could make heart shapped ones for valentines?
mmmm this has got me thinking…
I love cake pops! Great tutorial!
Funny cakes. It looks very appetizing.
From http://www.xeanafashion.com/
Love this tutorial Elsie! I’m going to be making cake pops to celebrate the start of a girly holiday!
http://www.eatenjoylive.blogspot.com
Lovely idea for kids party!
http://missbobino.blogspot.com
look great, thanks for the how-to-do-it post, I will use it for my daughters birthday…
Iren
http://www.fairybread.com
Beautiful!!! Very creative. Perfect for tea parties or parties with tonnes of messy kids :)!!!
Oh yum! Looks easier than I imagined!
I can’t wait to try this.
yummy
It’s actually pretty easy. Thanks for this. I want to try it now.
OH OH Gosh!!! This is such a cool recipe! So good, so yummy and for us with kids… absolutely fun and inspiring for parties! Thanks so much!!!
I have always wanted to know how to make these, I can’t believe how it easy it looks, red vlevet is an amazing choice! Going to give this a go at these next weekend. Thank you for yet another amazing tutorial! xx
http://LucyLovesPatchwork.blogspot.com
they look gorgeous
ooooooooooh…mmmhhhhh…
didn’t know they were soooo easy to make!!!
Look delicios! I will try to make it!
xoxo M.
I’ve been meaning to make these forever!Thanks for sharing!I love the colour you’ve used!
http://lilylovelock.blogspot.com/
x
I love this DIY.
Where can I find a red velvet cake recipe?
Can I make cup cakes as well of the recipe?
Love Molly from Germany
Wow! So THIS is how it is done? I’ve been under the impression one had to master the dark arts of pastry before one could create sinfully tasty cake pops. Thanks for sharing!
Yammy! I am gonna make some right away!
XoXo
Plami
http://www.fashionthrill.com/
mmm those look delicious!!! I have to try them =D
good thing I just picked up a red velvet cake mix! These are going to be EASY and delicious! Thanks, Elsie!
I’m so glad you put this up, it’s fate! I have said that I will make cake pop’s for my friends wedding in the summer… this has given me plenty of inspiration! Thanks!
Flic x
flicsfancyblog.blogspot.com
looks messy buut fun!
This is perfect! I have been craving for red velvet cake pops and I was thinking of making it this week in preparation for Valentine’s day. 🙂
xoxo
Ida
http://asplashofida.blogspot.com
Love your step by step, especially with the pictures! I have tried making cake pops a few times, I always have an issue when I’m trying to coat them in the chocolate–they want to come off the stick! I have tried dipping the stick in a bit of the melted chocolate first–any other advice? Have you ever experienced this, or am I the only inept one?!! 😉
Love cakepops, my daughter asks for them all the time!
A jewelry blog.
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Helena, YES! Thank you for your kind reminder that I forgot to credit Bakerella! I have been reading her blog for years and love her cake pop creations so much. I’m going to add that in to the body of the post now. Thank you! xo. Emma
These look so yummy! I’ve had a bit of an obsession with cake pops lately so this is just perfect!
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They look delicious!
Hey!
You have a wonderful, exciting blog!
Tati
Looks like fun to make and they good to eat! Maybe I’ll try them…
Thank you for posting! I am going to save so much money as I won’t have to spend all of it at Starbucks (their cake pops are delish! and addicting).
Sincerely ALWAYS,
Maddie
http://www.madalynne.com
I love that you posted these using a red velvet cake…my favorite!!!
Hmm… That looks simple enough:)
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These look great! Do you know how long they’ll stay fresh in the fridge if you make them ahead of time?
Yummy yummy! Can’t wait to try!
Love,
Stephanie May*
http://www.maydae.com
Oh,these are cute!I would love to try them out,but I nearly set fire to the kitchen cooking toast!
i’ve made them before..they were such a pain in the arse but so worth it!
I really really have to give these a try! They look so good!
http://julies-thisandthat.blogspot.com/
I LOVE this blog 🙂 Great recipe xx
http://daretobeunordinary.blogspot.com/
these look and sound delicious!
I got so excited when I saw this post!I can not wait to try this. I love cake pops 🙂 Thanks for the fun post.
ashley
http://pencilleddaydream.wordpress.com
Aha! So that’s how it’s made 😀 I’m going to try making these on a rainy day, lots of them.
wow these seem delicious! They seem like lollipops but instead of licking you bite and then….. the bliss!!!
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Love these. I followed Emma’s recipe after she blogged about them. So easy and so fun. Thanks!
I’ve checked out Bakerella’s website a few times but never actually read through a recipe. Now I’ve seen how easy (well, relatively) they are to make, I shall have to have a go some day.
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oh, I am so going to make these!!!
Thanks for the idea!!!
I gotta say, I’ve seen dozens of cake pop tutorials on the Web, but this was by far THE BEST ONE–hands down!
Well done! Thanks, ladies. You rock. Like truly truly rock!
Thank you so much for blogging this sweet how to. I love red velvet its one of my favorite sugar treats.
Great post, make it all look so easy. When I tried I ended up with a horrible lumpy mess, but I am inspired to give it another shot 🙂 xx
annieshomemadeheaven.blogspot.com
Awesome, I just did a post about Cake Pops too as I recently made some for my friends – their sons had their first birthday parties. They were a huge hit 🙂
http://www.bakingmakesthingsbetter.com/
That looks amazing !!!
Very cute! I love the surprise pop of red in the middle!
I made some back in December that were Starbucks themed: peppermint mocha and gingerbread latte. See them here: http://fashionisevolution.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-recipe-cake-pops-peppermint.html
Learning how to be beautiful is not always about doing some drastic changes with your face or you body but the natural way is always the best way to go.
Hello, i just found your blog. it is so inspirational. anywhere i look here there are new ideas, colors and flavours and photos.:) i love it 🙂 also cake pops are so cute, thank you for posting this tutorial.
Check out also my recipe (without baking :-)) ).
http://sztukastudiowania.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-make-cake-pops-without-baking.html
I’ve always wanted to try making cake pops. I’m so excited to try this!
I had meant to do a cake pop post later in the week, but now I don’t know what more I could add. Very helpful- Thanks 😉
http://thelittlebluebicycle.blogspot.com.au/
this is perfect now i know what i’m making for my daughter’s class for valentine’s day… i was getting tired of making (although they are incredibly good) brownies and cupcakes.
That looks so delicious! xoxo
Will definitely be making these! I have made apple pie pops (totally delicious), but not cake pops!
Do you have a vegan alternative for candy melts?
I made these using a day old store bought cake. It was an Oreo cake already iced. I used my stand mixer to mix it up and it turned out just like these. Then I finished them with the candy coating like you did. It’s much faster since you don’t have to bake and cool a cake first. They were great!
These were perfect! So perfect that I had to post onto my Pinterest account. Thanks so much for sharing!
These look so amazingly delish! I didn’t know they were so easy to make! Mind if i try making them? ~
Thanks for this post Elsie – I tried them today and was very pleased with the results.
http://melgetsscrappy.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentine-cake-pops-mystery-unravelled.html
I have to make a TON for a baby shower… wonders if I can make the balls ahead of time and freeze them and then coat them when it is time???
I am going to have to make these with my daughter. She loves cake pops! It is so sweet of you to share your recipes. We have made your resee peanut butter cupcake recipe a few times and we absolutely love it!
So do u use 2 cups of frosting for a WHOLE cake or for just half the cake?? I’m kinda confused. I tried these (using a different recipe off a different blog) for my sister in laws bday and when I went to dip them in the candy melts, they fell apart!! It was an epic fail!!
I love cake pops! I had my own cakepop adventure and they turned out awesome! So then I tried mini cupcake shaped cake balls too…AMAZING!
Check out my blog post about them:
http://daintygirl.ca/cake-pops-are-dainty-too/
Nicole aka Dainty Girl
i made this for one homework project that i have in my school, totally a success 🙂
These look so good. I can’t wait to try some out at home!
This are so good! I made them with yellow cake and chocolate icing… For making them into balls, try putting flour on your hands so they don’t stick!
After you make your cake pops how should u store them, I am trying to make them ahead of time(today is wed and party is fri), should I refrigerate, freeze or cover and leave out? Looking forward to trying them!
I tried these yesterday- they came out AMAZING!
Here’s where I blogged about them:
http://howboutsomecake.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/cake-pops/
Thanks for the great tutorial!
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I have always wanted to try to make cake pops. Didn’t realize they were so easy!
Thank your for these photos. I made my first cake pops with pink (white!) chocolate coating and they are lovely!
I’ve found that if you spray your hands with cooking spray before you mix the cake and the frosting it won’t stick to your fingers as much. I spray my hands as needed while mixing and also when I’m making the cake balls. A lot easier that way!
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These look great but adding canola oil? I made them and used coverture chocolate (the only fat in coverture is cocoa butter, not vegetable gum or vegetable oil) so they don’t have that ‘waxy’ taste that comes with compound chocolates. They taste so silky and delicious and are just as easy to make.
I’ll try this on my little princess birtday
Does anyone know how long you can store these? Store in freezer or fridge?
Thanks,
Donna
I followed all the directions step by step and mine came out AMAZING! this was seriously so useful
Thanks so much for sharing, can’t wait to make them myself 🙂
I tried these and LOVED them! cant wait to try lots of different flavor/colour combos!
Thank you!
Yeah! Really nice delicious )) All my sons like it so mach! )) I collect cake balls recipes and make it every week )))
could you just use normal icing instead of candy melts? like melt the icing then dip the cake pops in it?
can you post amounts? like how much frosting per how much cake. thnx!! xo, mr
I really wanted to try to make cake pops! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
i’ve never known how to make them but after reading your super easy instructions i went straight out got some supplies and tried making them, it is very messy but also very fun!!! so simple and thy taste great, easy to follow pics too! thanks a ton!
There is a cute place where you can buy cake pops and get some decorating ideas. It is called, Trendy Treats!
So “unmessy” Looking for kids. The taste is out of this world.
I just got a chocolate/candy melter because last time I made cake pops it was a disaster due to the chocolate I used. I tried it out last night and it seemed like the pops were too soft and the chocolate wasn’t dippable. Needless to say it was another disaster. Can anyone help me out? /:
How many cake pops does this recipy make?
I’m making these tonight with one of my girlfriend
‘s
I’m super stoked.
i love cake pop it’s very interesting cake for my baby
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Can you freeze the cake pops after they are frosted?
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those look yummy!!!! can’t wait to try them:)
It looks delicious, perfect for dessert!
thanks! these look delicious. I’m thinking about getting some white cake with red and blue food coloring and making patriotic cake pops tomorrow. =)
Do you use 2 cups of frosting for half of the cake mixture shown, or 2 cups for entire cake mixture?
better yet…replace the oil in the cake mix with butter…replace the water with milk and add a box of instant pudding mix..makes the cake denser and more brownie like….bake..cool, crumble….now, to mix it easier, melt your can of frosting..pour it in..then shape…also, to make your sticks stay in place better…put a little bit of the melted candy chocolate on the tip if the stick when you put it in.
NEVER freeze your cake pops before dipping in chocolate..as, later on it will thaw, and crack your decorated pop…
I just tried making these and the cake pop has a horrible consistency, it almost tastes like its raw. The chocolate never melted to enough of a consistency where you could actually dip them. This recipe definitely needs some tweaking!
I am going to make these cake pops for my sons 3 year old bday party and I am going to attempt to make the characters of the show yo gabba gabba. I do have a question, what kind of sticks are you using? I really like yours cause they have a base to them.
My 9 year old daughter is starting a neighborhood bake club, and this is the first recipe they’re making today! They are having a blast. Didn’t realize how easy these were to make!
Tried these at work a couple of times, they are amazing indeed. Perfect lighter version of the good old cupcake!
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AMAZING! mouth-watering recipe. I will definitely try this recipe for my sister. I’m sure she would like it.