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Easy Cake Pops Recipe
How to Make Cake Pops without a Special Pan
Cake pops are fun and easy to make! Just follow this easy cake pops recipe - you don't even need a special baking pan to make adorable, delicious creations.
Kids love these mini desserts, which can be even more fun to make than cupcakes or sugar cookies. My 9-year old son loved helping me get all the decorations organized for our cake pop making afternoon. We were inspired by my 12-year old, who recently made these in his cooking class at middle school.
The best thing about this cake pops recipe is that you don't need to have a special cake pop pan. Nor do you need to bake the cakes from scratch. Just use your favorite cake mix and prepare it in a sheet cake pan.
From there, you can create easy cake pops that you can decorate as desired, using melted chocolate (white, colored, milk or dark chocolate), then add sprinkles, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, cinnamon sugar, or powdered sugar or powdered cocoa. People love these whimsical treats!
Ingredients for Easy Cake Pops Recipe
- 1 box favorite cake recipe
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup prepared frosting, chocolate for chocolate cake, vanilla for all other cake flavors
- 1 cup baking chocolate, white or semi-sweet
- cookie/cake decorations, as desired
- parchment paper
- 12 cake pop sticks
Cook Time
Step by Step Photographic Instructions for Cake Pops
Click thumbnail to view full-size
How to Make Cake Pops
- Select your favorite boxed cake mix (yes, you can make your own cake from scratch, but this is an easy cake pop recipe!)
- Prepare cake batter as directed on the box - we used a Pillsbury "Confetti" cake mix, which requires 3 eggs, 1 cup water and 1/3 cup oil
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or as otherwise directed on the cake mix box); Lightly spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray
- Pour cake batter into pan and bake for time required (our cake mix required 32 minutes at 350 degrees)
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes
- Slice sheet cake in half (if desired, wrap tightly in saran and then foil and freeze for the future); crumble cake into a medium-sized bowl with your hands until crumbs are fine
- Add 1/3 cup frosting to crumbled cake and mix thoroughly with hands, working through and incorporating all crumbs
- Melt 1/3 of the chocolate or white chocolate and stir until smooth, being careful not to burn or scorch
- With your hands, create 2-inch sized balls of cake. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Dip one end of the cake pop sticks into the melted chocolate and gently press into balls of cake
- Place cake pops into the freezer for 20-30 minutes until firm
- With about 5 minutes remaining before removing cake pops from the freezer, melt the remaining 2/3 of the chocolate
- Prepare method for "drying" cake pops, using styrofoam cups or, as we found effective - a silverware insert from our dishwasher. Pops will have to be placed stick-end down after covering in chocolate and decorations
- Remove cake pops from freezer and work quickly to gently swirl in melted chocolate then add sprinkles, nuts, sugar, etc.; Place cake pops upright, separately, to dry, approximately 20 minutes
- Display your cake pops in a stand, a vase, or individually wrap with cellophane and tie with a ribbon. Enjoy!
How to Make Cake Pops: Instructional Video
Tips and Ideas for Making Cake Pops
Making cake pops without a pan can actually yield better results than when cooking individual round cakes. This is because you can adjust the consistency of the cake pop with frosting, which can lead to more firm and less crumbly desserts. Also, the sticks may adhere better to the cake balls mixed with frosting.
My 11-year old helped me and my 9-year old making these cake pops. The results were delicious and very cute. However, for a more professional result, keep the kitchen to yourself!
We found the following tips helpful:
- Add more frosting to the crumbled cake to increase stickiness and moldability
- Do not allow crumbled cake to dry out before molding into balls
- Make sure your hands are clean and dry (not oily) before molding cake pops
- Cool hands work better than warm hands
- Lightly flour your hands before working
- Do not melt chocolate until you are ready to use it immediately - otherwise it will harden
- Hold the cake pop upside down for 15-20 seconds and twirl it, to cover completely without excess running off
- Apply sprinkles, nuts, sugar, etc. immediately after dipping into chocolate
- Keep cake pops separate and standing up to dry
- Allow 20-30 minutes before wrapping in cellophane
Rate these Cake Pops
Nutrition Information for Easy Cake Pops
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 cake pop | |
| Calories | 125 |
| Calories from Fat | 18 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 2 g | 3% |
| Saturated fat 1 g | 5% |
| Carbohydrates 18 g | 6% |
| Sugar 11 g | |
| Protein 1 g | 2% |
| Cholesterol 22 mg | 7% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Cake Pop Ideas and Supplies
Have you Ever Made Cake Pops?
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2012 Stephanie Marshall
