Cake Pops

Article by Emily Saladino

This cake pop recipe has the perfect texture, thanks to the testing by Food Network Kitchen’s recipe developers. It’s foolproof and easy to customize with all sorts of flavors and frostings for different holidays, events or the next bake sale.

How to Make Cake Pops Like a Pro

Start with boxed cake mix. Our recipe developers like the ease and consistency of boxed cake mix. Of course, you can also feel free to make a cake from scratch.

Cool the cake completely. After the cake comes out of the oven, cool it completely on a wire rack. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this can take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. Don’t rush it: If the cake is too warm when it goes into the food processor, it won’t adhere to the frosting and properly form cake balls.

Thoroughly blitz the cake and frosting mixture. Small, evenly sized crumbs create the most uniform texture in the cake balls and help them stick together.

Use the right sticks. We find the best sticks for cake pops are six-inch lollipop sticks, which can be purchased online or at kitchenware stores.

Dip the sticks into the candy first. Dipping the top ½-inch of each stick into melted candy keeps the cake balls secured; otherwise, the balls might topple off the sticks.

After the second dip, let the excess candy run off. Take your time with dipping the cake balls in their exterior coating. Hold the dipped ball over the glass of candy until excess candy has run off to ensure a smooth coating.

Sit the cake pops upright while the candy hardens. Poke the sticks into a block of Styrofoam or cut holes into a cardboard box, just be sure the latter is shorter than your sticks, so the candy coating doesn’t smudge.

Customize Your Cake Pops

Use this easy cake pop recipe as a jumping-off point for different flavor variations and decorations.

Chocolate cake pops. Swap the yellow cake mix and vanilla frosting for chocolate or use dark or milk chocolate instead of white candy melting wafers—or try all the above.

Oreo cake pops. Use chocolate cake mix and cream cheese frosting in the cake balls, then coat with white candy melting wafers. Add chocolate sprinkles or dust with cocoa powder after you put them in the Styrofoam cake pop stand.

Christmas cake pops. Combine chocolate or yellow cake mix with whichever frosting you prefer. Add a few dashes of red or green gel food coloring to the white candy melting wafers right before you microwave them. Or, decorate white-coated cake pops with red and green sprinkles.

Red velvet cake pops. Substitute red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting, then coat with white candy melting wafers. Add red sprinkles after you put them in the Styrofoam cake pop stand.

How to Store Cake Pops

Store cake pops in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the cake balls before you add the sticks or candy coating. Tightly wrap the cake balls in plastic wrap, then wrap in aluminum foil and store in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature. When fully defrosted, restart the recipe at step 4.