Have any leftover birthday cake? Or did you bake a cake and it turned out a little dry? This how to make cake pops step by step tutorial has really easy steps to turn any cake into cake pops. Kids will love helping to make these but the best part is enjoying them as a fun treat!
RELATED: How to Make Gummy Bears
How to Make Cake Pops: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
Your cake pops don’t have to be bakery-perfection. Just have fun making them and enjoy eating their soft gooey centers. They are actually really easy to do. Kids will really enjoy making them with you – especially the dipping and decorating parts.
How to Get Round Cake Pops
If you want your cake pops to be round you’ll need to use some foam board to stand them up on or use a cake pop mold. We don’t mind having them a little flat on the bottom as they are easier to store that way and they get eaten pretty quickly in our house! But if you want to give these as a gift, we would recommend using the cake pop mold.
What Cake Should I Use?
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 don’t have a food processor you can also use your hands.
How to Melt the Candy Chocolate
Your candy chocolate will have directions for melting. This is the step you really want to be careful with. If you over-heat, then add some shortening to it. Turn your microwave setting down as low as possible and stir often in between heating. Let the heat of the candy melts continue to melt on their own before putting in the microwave again so you prevent overheating them.
Tip: Microwave for half of the recommended time on your packaging. Stir and see if the heat from the candy melts will melt the remaining chocolate. All microwaves vary in heat settings so be careful not to over-heat your candy melts or you won’t be able to dip your cake pops in them.
How to Make Cake Pops: Step-by-Step
Video
Equipment
- Food Proccessor – I like this one!
- Foam board – for placing finished cake pops in to dry
Ingredients
- 1 Leftover dry cake – or 1 cake mix box
- 1 Can of icing
- 1 Package of candy melts
- 1 Package of Candy sticks
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- If you do not have leftover dry cake, bake a cake according to package instructions and let cool. Use a food processor to turn the cake into a breadcrumb consistency. If you don't have a food processor you can also crumble the cake by hand.
- Mix the cake crumbs with your icing (We used about 3/4 of the jar but you may need to add it slowly to get the right mix). You want it to be almost like dough but not too sticky from the icing. If you find it too sticky, add a little more cake in and if you find it too dry, add more icing.
- Then roll the dough and form into balls. Place on wax or parchment paper.
- Chill the cake balls in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Melt your candy melts in the microwave according to the package directions. This is the step you really want to be careful with. If you over-heat, then add some shortening to it. Turn your microwave setting down as low as possible and stir often in between heating. Let the heat of the candy melts continue to melt on their own before putting in the microwave again so you prevent overheating them.
- Then dip the candy sticks in the candy melt mixture and place halfway through the balls. Allow the candy mixture to harden on the cake balls.
- Dip in your melted chocolate coating and then let the excess coating drip off to one side. You can also add sprinkles at this point before the chocolate coating dries completely. Place in a foam board to dry if you would like your cake pops to be round.
Notes
Here’s a fun summary you can pin to your Pinterest board so you’ll have this easy step-by-step reminder ready to go when you’re ready to make the cake pops!
More Recipes
For another really easy treat idea for kids – try making this easy gummy bear recipe.
This ice cream in a bag is one of our favorite treats to make with kids!
These are so good!!! You should literally make a recipe book for KIDS!
Can you use homemade buttercream frosting or do you have to use store bought frosting?
Homemade would work fine also!
What size scoop did you use and how many did this recipe make?
Just a small ice cream scoop or you can even just use a spoon. Make them about 1 inch across in size. We also link to a cake pop mold above if you want them to all be the exact same size. This should make at least 12 cake pops. The larger the cake you make, the more cake pops you can make.
How would these need to be stored? Are they ok to be left out for any amount of time?
Just like regular cake, you can leave them at room temperature for a few hours for a party. But if storing longer you should place them in the fridge.
They look soooo goooooooooooood im gonna make some, also can you make edible gummy cups?
That would be AWESOME!
Thank you for the super easy directions! The pops turned out great and my kids love them!
I love the recipe. What is the color of the candy melts? Just
Thanks Jessica! They are just the regular Wilton blue. 🙂