How To Gift Cake Pops
Homemade cake pops make a fantastic food gift for everyone on your list. Of course, anyone would be thrilled to receive a regular ol’ zip-top bag or storage container filled with cake pops. But you can go the extra mile by wrapping them in decorative cellophane tied with a ribbon, arranging them in a cookie tin filled with colorful shredded paper, or presenting them as a bouquet in a flower pot.
Related: 25 Favorite Homemade Food Gifts Allrecipes Allstars Love to Share
How Early Can You Make Cake Pops
One of the best things about cake pops is they can be made ahead of time. If you want to get ahead we recommend making the cake 1 day ahead of time, cover, cool to room temperature and leave overnight. The following day you can make your cake balls and store the undipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze them in a suitable container for up to 6 weeks.
Supplies You Need To Make Cake Pops
For cake balls When making cake balls all you really need is a baked cake made with cake mix, frosting, and candy melts to coat the outside of the balls. You can shape the cake balls with your hands or use a meatballer to get the perfect shape and size each time.
For cake pops you will need the same ingredients here but you need to add cake pop sticks and a styrofoam block to keep the pops upright until they harden.
Read Also: How Much Is A Custom Cake
Tips For Using The Babycakes Cake Pop Maker
When I make cakepops, more often than not I make them using the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. I received this as a gift, and honestly my first thought was gimmick.
Well it turns out, its a great little machine and extremely useful. I LOVE the taste of cake pops made this way, compared to the cake and frosting method, and you can add a filling if you like.
Kohls often has it on sale and if you can catch it with a sale and a coupon, you can usually get a great price.
Decorate And Serve The Cake Pops
Now we get to decorate these little homemade cake pops. I chose to just drizzle different flavors on the top, using a bit of chocolate in a plastic bag with the corner snipped. You can use a professional piping bag with tips as well.
If you want to stick different candies or nuts on it, you will want to do it shortly after dipping before the chocolate sets completely. And there you go, cake pops!
You May Like: Bushel And Berry Baby Cakes Blackberry
Make And Chill The Pops
Dip the ends of the lollipop sticks in the chocolate and then put the stick into the cake ball, making sure to not go more than halfway through. Place all the cake balls in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm them up.
You want to make sure your cake pops are cold before you start decorating. If they arent firm and cool, youll find yourself with a crumbly mess.
While you are waiting for the cake pops to cool, get your toppings ready.
Melt the rest of your chocolate. if you are doing different flavors, make sure to melt them in separate bowls. Be careful as you melt them because you do not want them to get too hot, so melt for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between. You should also add a dash of vegetable oil to help loosen the chocolate up if it feels too thick.
Prep other toppings in different bowls so you can easily dip your cake pops in. Toppings should be small enough to not overwhelm and topple the cake pops.
When it comes to toppings, the skyâs the limit. Sprinkles, sugars and spices can all go on easily and chopped items like nuts, candy, cookies, cereal, fruit and marshmallows also make great additions. You can add color with writing icing or you can add food coloring to white chocolate to customize the hue.
Donât Miss: Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Brownies
Dont Make This Mistake
Smaller wins. If you roll the cake pops too large, theyll wobble off the lollipop stick. Theyre too heavy. You need 1 Tablespoon of the cake pop mixture per ball. No more, no less. Youll end up with 40 of them. Quite a lot but these babies freeze beautifully! And you can gift them to anyone and everyone. Who doesnt love a homemade cake pop? Seriously WHO.
These cake balls need to chill in the refrigerator before we pop em with a lollipop stick. Why? Theyre much too delicate right now theyll completely fall apart. Which reminds me you do NOT have to make these as pops. You can make them truffle style by simply rolling them up and coating in chocolate. Either way you enjoy them, chill the cake balls before coating. I just place them on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate them for a couple hours.
Speaking of chocolate, you can dunk the cake balls into pure chocolate, which is what I prefer for best taste, but thats pretty expensive. You need a good amount for all 40 cake pops! You can use candy melts/candy coating instead. I give both options in the recipe below along with notes for each choice.
Read Also: Recipe To Bake A Chocolate Cake
Roll Out The Cake Pops Balls
Now we need to grab some cake mixture and make it into a ball. I usually use a Tablespoon and measure out two Tablespoons worth, which make a decent-sized cake ball. Knead the cake mix a little bit in your hand, then use your palms to roll it into a ball.
Again make sure your hands are clean or wear gloves. Next place the cake ball on a parchment paper-lined baking tray or plate.
The Ultimate Guide To Cake Pops
The Ultimate Guide to Cake Pops will teach you everything you need to know to make cake pops like a pro! From the cake to the frosting and chocolate coating, weve got you covered with the only recipe youll need!
The Ultimate Guide to Cake Pops will teach you everything you need to know to make cake pops like a pro! From the cake to the frosting and chocolate coating, weve got you covered with the only recipe youll need!
We love handheld desserts. One cake pop is super satisfying for that sweet tooth, and doesnt even require a plate to eat over like a piece of cake. Of course, no one ever sticks to only one cake pop in a sitting. While the intention might be there, a cake pop is really just two bites worth of cake, so whats the harm in having two, or three, or even four?! We dont subscribe to anyone elses rules, and have been known to consume much much more than a serving size. These are perfect for parties, birthdays, or any day of the week that you need to treat yourself!
Recommended Reading: Devotion Nutrition Angel Food Cake Protein Powder
Other Problems That May Arise
Your cake ball falls off the stick in your candy coating> either your cake ball is too large OR you are spending too much time in your warm melts. Get in and get out!
Oil is leaching out of the cake pop onto the stick> this is completely fine, and really only aesthetically displeasing. If it bothers you, use a cake that is less oily, and be sure not to use too much frosting. There is a lot of butter involved in frosting .
Your candy coating is hardening too quickly> youve probably overheated your coating. Youre well on your way to scorching it, so be incredibly careful if you need to reheat it.
I hope you feel well-versed in cake pops now and will try making my easy cake pops recipe yourself! And if youre looking for how to make vanilla cake pops, its as simple as swapping the chocolate cake pictured here for vanilla cake. Seriously simple!
Ingredients And Equipment For Homemade Cake Pops
Although you can bake a cake from scratch for this recipe, I find a box cake mix such a time saver. Especially so, considering the amount of time it takes to make homemade cake pops from start to finish. But as a bonus, a box cake mix always gives me the perfect consistency I need to form and shape these little cake bites.
Heres what youll need:
- Bright white candy melts, 500g
- 60 lollipop sticks, 4 or 6 inches long I used the 4 inch sticks
- styrofoam block I purchased at Micheals but you may also find it at the dollar store
- 9Ã13 in cake pan greased and lightly floured
- Sprinkles or sugar crystals I used sugar crystals
- Vegetable oil, for thinning the candy melts
- Candy melt squeeze bottle , a small teaspoon will also do
- Styrofoam block mugs or glasses to hold the cake pops will also do
You May Like: How Many Nothing Bundt Cakes Locations Are There
Perfect Bite Sized Dessert
Theres just something about eating a decorative, bite-sized dessert on a stick that is so fun. My kids love these! These homemade cake pops are the perfect treat for birthdays, baby showers, wedding showers, holidays or when hosting a dinner party. You can even wrap them up individually and give them to guests as party favors!
This recipe is perfect for beginners, with an easy step by step tutorial included. Its a great way to use up any leftover cake and frosting. I love the classic white cake + buttercream combo, but there are so many other yummy variations you can make too. They are so fun to decorate and can be served at literally any occasion!
How To Keep The Cake Balls On The Stick
The best way to prevent the cake balls from falling off the stick is by makingsure you added enough frosting to the cake balls and thinning out the candy coating. If the chocolate coating is too thick it will be heavy and way down on the cake balls.
TIP: If you want to avoid using the stick, just make cake balls instead! I have an easy recipe for red velvet cake balls and no-bake oreo cake balls right here in my blog.
You May Like: Best Crab Cakes In Baltimore Maryland
How To Make Cake Pops
1. Crumble cooled cake into a large bowl.
2. Add frosting and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles wet sand but is not smooth.
3. Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cake mixture.
4. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.
5. Place the rolled balls on a lined plate. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
6. Melt candy or chocolate wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted chocolate and insert about halfway into a cake ball.
7. Dip the cake ball into the chocolate. Remove and gently tap on the side of the cup to let excess coating drip off.
8. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Place upright and let stand until the coating is set.
Homemade Chocolate Cake Pops
Chocolate cake is crumbled up and mixed with frosting before being rolled into balls and dunked into melted chocolate. Chocolate cake pops require some assembly, but theyre more than worth the extra effort!
Homemade cake pops require some assembly, but theyre incredibly easy to make and taste so much better than the ones you might find at your local coffee shop.
For this recipe, I baked my favorite chocolate cake and then crumbled it up into small pieces. The cake crumbles are then mixed with a decadent chocolate buttercream and shaped into balls.
After the balls of cake have firmed up in the freezer, they get dunked in melted chocolate and topped with sprinkles.
These chocolate cake pops are perfect for birthdays and holidays, and they can be made and frozen weeks in advance. Make a batch of cake pops to keep in your freezer for a rainy day, or enjoy them all right away!
Also Check: How To Make Cake In A Cup
What Cake To Use To Make Cake Pops
The best thing about making cake pops is using leftover dry cake. If you have leftover cake from a birthday party or another event, this is a great way to turn that cake into something new! If you had a cake fail and your cake turned out too dry, then that would also be perfect to turn into cake pops. You can also bake a cake from a cake mix or from scratch to make your cake pops. Whatever cake you use, you can use a food processor to crumble the cake. If you dont have a food processor you can also use your hands.
Why Did My Cake Balls Fall Off Their Stick
Dont skip dipping lollipop sticks in the frosting before inserting into the ball. This helps the sticks stay put in the balls as they harden. Not inserting the lollipop stick deep enough will cause them to fall off as well. Finally, make sure your lollipop sticks arent too thin, as you need a thick enough stick to hold the weight of the cake balls. My go-to lollipop sticks are pictured above.
Also Check: Ben And Jerry’s Camp Crystal Cake
Sweet And Simple Homemade Cake Pops
Cake pops are a versatile treat, and in recent years theyve taken the world by storm! Little lollipops of ultra-rich, ultra-buttery cake are dipped in soft melted candy, and then sprinkled with all kinds of pretty toppings. Who could resist such a fun dessert?
Usually, these are found at surprisingly high prices at bakeries Starbucks has all my money because my kids loooove their Birthday Cake Pops . Then, theres the cake pops at our local grocery store that are out of this world, so they take more of my money!
But really, homemade cake pops are simply the best. They are less expensive this way, and as a bonus, you can create any flavors and designs that you want!
Can You Freeze Cake Pops
Yes! You can freeze cake pops. However, it’s best to freeze them uncoated. You can dip the cake balls in the candy melts before you plan to serve them: Arrange the balls on a baking sheet, cover, and freeze for at least three hours or up to overnight. Transfer the now-frozen cake balls to zip-top freezer bags labeled with the date, then lay flat. For added protection, wrap the flattened bags in one layer of foil. Freeze for up to six months.
Thaw in the fridge before coating.
Don’t Miss: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Baskin Robbins
Homemade Frosting For Cake Pops
If youre looking for the homemade frosting to use with your cake pops, these are my two favorites!
The Real Cream Cheese Frosting and this Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting. These frostings are so creamy with that homemade taste.
No one will ever know you use a box cake with these from-scratch frostings!
To make these quick and easy cake pops, youll need:
- 1/2 prepare 9 x13 cake
- chocolate frosting , youll only need a few spoonfuls, seriously!
- Chocolate or Candy Coating I use to only use chocolate now I swear by candy melts! All those fun colors just speak to me!
- Sprinkles
Quality Candy Melts Temperature & Consistency Are Key
Buying quality candy melts will help immensely. We use Wiltons candy melts. Melt and only if needed, add coconut oil until candy is a thinner consistency.
Dip the end of each cake pop stick into the melted candy and insert it into the cake pop. Let the pops sit for a few minutes before dipping.
Make sure the melted candy isnt too hot when you dip. If you have problems with the cake falling off into the candy make sure the melts are thin, not too hot, and you might have to put your cake balls back in the freezer for a while. Set the cake pops into a cake pop stand to dry.
Also Check: Knife And Cake Server Set Wedding
Make An Emergency Cake Pop Stash
All of these recipes make plenty of cake pops to feed a crowdâ¦or future you! Make a big batch and freeze the naked cake pops flat on a plate or sheet panbefore adding sticks or dipping. Once theyâre frozen solid, for a few hours or overnight, transfer to a freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag with as much air squeezed out of it as possible and store for up to four months!
Donât Miss: Samâs Wedding Cakes
Why Do My Cake Pops Fall Off The Stick
If your cake balls are falling off your treat stick, they could be too heavy due to size or adding too much frosting.
To help ensure your cake balls stay, be sure to dip the stick in melted candy before inserting it into the cake ball. This hardened candy coating acts as a glue to hold the stick in place.
If you think youve added too much frosting, add a little more cake to help even out the texture.
Don’t Miss: Dairy Free Ice Cream Cake Whole Foods
Shelf Life Storage And Making Ahead
- Storing: Keep cake pops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: Finished cake pops can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Making Ahead: I like to make the cake and frosting the night before I plan to assemble cake pops to save on time. Alternatively, you can make your cake pops up to 2 months in advance and simply store in the freezer.