Phạm Trường HàLearn how to make homemade cake pops completely from scratch, with no box cake mix or canned frosting. Combine homemade vanilla cake and vanilla buttercream and dip in white chocolate for a sweet treat kids (and adults, too!) always go crazy for. Watch the video tutorial for all my best shaping tips.
See my chocolate cake pops recipe, too.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and a video.
Have you ever seen a child peering into the food display case at Starbucks? I’m not an expert, but I’m willing to bet that 9 times out of 10, the child will ask for a cake pop. This is definitely the case with my own kids, anyway! There’s just something so irresistible about those Starbucks cake pops—a perfectly portioned treat on a stick in eye-catching colors and shapes, topped with sprinkles. It’s hard to say no to something this tempting!
I first began making homemade cake pops when I wrote Sally’s Candy Addiction. In fact, this recipe is published in that book. I wanted to share it on my website as well because I’ve received lots of questions about making from-scratch cake pops.
One reader, Debby, commented: “Made 160 vanilla and chocolate cake pops for my daughter’s graduation party! They turned out great! Many asked where we had purchased them. They looked amazing and tasted awesome, too! Thanks, Sally, for your rolling advice, tips, and techniques. It was nice that you could prepare them ahead of time and freeze them. ★★★★★”
One reader, Luisa, commented: “My first time making cake pops and they were perfect! My kids and their friends loved them. This recipe is going to be a staple in our house for special occasions. ★★★★★”
Taste the Homemade
The difference between these cake pops and others you may have tried is that these are 100% homemade. There’s no box cake mix or canned frosting, which results in a totally unique cake pop experience. You can actually TASTE the homemade.
Today I’ll go over all my tips, tricks, and secrets to crafting the perfect pop as well as the homemade vanilla cake and vanilla buttercream used inside. There’s lots of ground to cover so let’s pop right to it. (Couldn’t help myself!)
How to Make Homemade Cake Pops
Since we’re leaving the box cake mix and canned frosting on the store shelves, we’ll need to take extra time to prep both from scratch. Here’s an overview of the process:
- Make a 1-layer vanilla cake and let cool.
- Make vanilla buttercream frosting.
- Crumble cake into frosting and mix.
- Roll the mixture into balls.
- Dip in melted chocolate.
- Top with sprinkles and let dry.
- EAT!
Make-Ahead Tip: You can make the cake in advance, because it needs to cool completely before you crumble it into the frosting. I always make the cake the night before, then finish the cake pops the next day.
My recipe for vanilla cake is very straightforward. It’s basically a scaled-down version of my favorite vanilla layer cake. I encourage you to use the correct size pan for the cake. This cake is too large for a typical 9-inch cake pan. You’ll need to use a 9-inch springform pan because it rises quite high. Or you can use an 11×7-inch pan instead. A 10-inch springform pan would work as well.
Besides lollipop sticks, a mixer, and the correct size pan, you don’t really need much else to get started!
Then make the vanilla frosting. The difference between this and frosting out of a container is the TASTE; you can tell these cake pops are special and it’s because you started with from-scratch components. This frosting recipe yields *just enough* to barely moisten the cake crumbs. Any more than that and the cake pops would be greasy.
Now it’s time to crumble the cake and mix with your frosting.
(Crumbling the cake into the frosting sounds super weird when you think about it and that’s exactly what cake pops are—super weird when you think about it. It’s cake and frosting mixed together to form a truffle-like ball. Pop a stick in it and dunk into coating. Yep, it’s weirdly delicious and awesome and you need to embrace it.)
Once the two are mixed together, it’s time to roll the mixture into balls.
3 Success Tips for Shaping & Dipping Cake Pops
Success Tip #1: It’s easier to roll the cake + frosting mixture into perfectly round balls if it’s cold. So what I do is roll the balls right after the two are mixed together. They’re pretty misshapen because the cake + frosting mixture is super moist—and at room temperature. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. After that, give them another quick roll to smooth out the sides. When they’re cold, they’re easier to smooth out and form perfectly round shapes.
Now let’s dunk! You can dip the cake balls in melted white chocolate, which is what I prefer for the best taste, but that stuff is pretty expensive. And you need a good amount for all 40 cake pops! If desired, you can use candy melts/candy coating instead.
- A 2-cup glass liquid measuring cup is the perfect depth for dipping the cake pops.
- You can used colored candy melts or tint the white chocolate with gel food coloring.
Success Tip #2: To ensure the cake ball stays secure on the lollipop stick, dip one end of the stick into the coating first (just about 1/2 inch down). Then insert the coated end into the center of the cake ball. This helps the cake ball adhere to the lollipop stick.
Success Tip #3: The best way to allow the coating to dry and set—without ruining the perfectly round cake pop—is to place them right-side-up in a large styrofoam block or even a box. I used a box, as pictured below, for this batch. I just poked little holes into it.
Easy and cheap:
If you’re topping with sprinkles (always recommended!), add them now before the chocolate sets. I used rainbow sprinkles on the white chocolate and white sprinkles on the light pink-tinted white chocolate (like Starbucks!).
Cake pops dry/set within an hour or so.
