L, one half of this duo, ran the numbers, and we believe she has made over 70 batches of cake pops as of this writing: that is over 1500 cake pops! Back in 2015, she made her first batch for the college students she supervised and never looked back (nor would they let her. They are/were cake pop fiends, and she is simply unable to say no to their sweet faces). More than half of these batches were for her college students and the rest have been for friends’ weddings, bridal and baby showers, birthdays, and any occasion worth celebrating! L will give a beginner-friendly overview and share some of her favorite tricks for making the perfect pop.

In my 10 years making cake pops, I’ve grown to prefer splitting the process over two days so I can take my sweet time, but you can space the steps out throughout one day or use these hacks (mostly utilizing your freezer!) to make a delicious batch of cake pops. Here and there I’ve been asked why I don’t make cake pops a nice little side hustle to which I have two answers: 1) I am not one for decorating – calling my pops “rustic” would be generous and 2) The connection to the people I make them for is what makes baking/creating anything enjoyable for me. Seeing someone enjoy something you’ve made is priceless! Hopefully these tips help you recreate that joy for the people in your life.

1. Bake your cake according to the box directions.
2. Crumble the cake and add in frosting (usually about half of a 16oz container): flavor of your choice
   • Tip: I cut a very thin edge around the perimeter of the cake and discard the crusty edges. These affect the texture and create lumps in the pop that sometimes make them fall apart.
3. Form the cake/icing mixture into a ball shape. I use my cookie scoop for this part and put the cake balls into my a mini-muffin pan to keep them from rolling around, but you can use any large tupperware or pan/plate with edges so they don’t roll around.
4. Let the cake balls harden in the fridge for at least an hour.
   • Hack: If you’re in a rush, you can put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes!
5. Melt a small amount of chocolate (I usually do about half a bag of Ghirardelli melting wafers – my favorite! – for this step).
   • Tip: Microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, to ensure you don’t burn the chocolate. 
   • Tip: Use a deeper bowl/vessel with a small surface area: you need something deep enough to dip your cake pops into later on!
   • Tip: If you are using generic melting wafers, you can add a small amount of coconut oil/vegetable oil to the wafers to thin the chocolate out. Ghirardelli wafers are a perfect texture with no added oil, but I’ve found most other brands are far too thick on their own for dipping so oil is necessary.
6. Dip the sticks in the chocolate and insert them into the cake balls. This secures the stick to the cake ball so it won’t fall off when you dip the whole pop later on!
7. Put the cake balls back into the fridge until the chocolate has hardened, at least an hour (sometimes two depending on the moisture in your pops). *You can also use the freezer (for about 20 minutes) for this step if you’d like to speed up the process.
8. When the sticks are firmly glued to the cake ball, melt more chocolate (I add a whole bag of Ghirardelli melting wafers to the half bag I had used for step 5).
9. Dip the cake pops into the melted chocolate.
   • Hack: Twirl the cake pop a few times within your bowl so the outer coating isn’t too thick. B’s pet peeve is when the shell is too thick, so this is a must in our house!
10. Sprinkle any topping immediately after you are done with the chocolate. If you wait, it will harden and your topping won’t stick!
11. Put your finished cake pops directly in a stand or something that will hold them in place and not allow them to touch while they are still wet.
    • Tip: Once they are fully hardened in the fridge, you can transfer them to another vessel (link big tuppy) to save space in the fridge/for ease of travel and then put them back on your stand when you arrive at your destination.
12. Put your pops in the fridge until you are ready to serve them! I have kept cake pops in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and they taste just as good as the day I made them, but I would recommend doing them within 1-2 days of an event so they are fresh.

Let us know if these tips are helpful OR if you’re a cake pop pro & have any other tips I didn’t mention! The collage above includes some of my favorite batches of all time; stay tuned for step-by-step recipes for my top 2 personal and crowd favorites from the last decade: rainbow and oreo/cookies & cream!