The Best Cake Pops Ever!

Cake pops are my specialty. . . moist and delicious. Dense and decadent, like a truffle but better. I promise, if you follow my tips and tricks, you can make beautiful and delicious cake pops too! Some people have told me that they are not crazy about cake pops because they can be mushy and soggy, like “that” other coffee company cake pop….well, you have my word, this is NOT that! These cake pops have raving fans!

For years I made cake pops for my business, from scratch of course. This was fine but sometimes I got an “off” batch that just was not perfect. Once I stopped selling cake pops and only made them for family and friends, I realized that a simple box cake works just as perfectly to make the perfect cake pop. . . it makes the process so much easier and give you more predictable results!

Friends have told me that they have tried making cake pops, only for them to fall off the stick while dipping, turning into a pile of mush while trying to roll, or just plain tasted bad.

Please, follow these tips and you will avoid all of those shenanigans.

Cake pops are a great dessert but they also can be made ahead of time and used for a party favor or gift. They are so versatile! They can be made into different shapes, decorated with simple sprinkles or turned into a masterpiece. It is totally up to you! I like making shaped cake pops, but my all time favorite cake pops are my round cake pops with swirls and a flower molded chocolate topper. Super easy and pack a punch on the “wow” factor. Well….easy if you follow these tips. Like with anything, practice makes perfect. Just keep trying and make sure to look at my other tutorials for how to mold toppers, shape cake pops, and dip/swirl cake pops.

1. Do NOT Use Frosting ! ! ! Lots of people giving tutorials will say to add frosting to your cake pop “batter”. This will give you a mushy cake pop that will fall off the stick. Most cakes are already moist enough. My trick is to cover the cake pan in Saran Wrap RIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN! Pull the cake out of the oven when it’s done and put that Saran right over it while it’s cooling. This will hold in all the moisture and keep it from evaporating. You will end up with a perfectly moist cake that won’t require any mushy frosting

2. Use Half the Oil This is another trick to making cake pops that are not mushy. If your cake box calls for 1/2 cup of oil, only use 1/4.

3. Use Your Hands! After you put the cooled cake in the food processor to make crumbs, mix it up with your hands to make a dense “batter”. Squish it up with your hands.

4.Use a small ice cream scooper: I use this one and it is the perfect size. Click Here for the Ice Cream Scooper that I use!

5. Use the scoop to scoop out the “dough” so all the cake pops are the same size.

6. Use A Deep, Narrow Cup For Dipping: The melted chocolate coating should be deep enough to submerse the cake pop completely while dipping.

7. Box Cake Is Just Fine: There are so many great box boxes on the market (organic, gluten free, etc), there is no reason to mess around with a scratch cake recipe if you don’t need to. Betty Crocker Super Moist works great. For my daughter Violet, who is gluten free, I use Simple Mills Brand Chocolate Muffin and Cake Mix.

8. Styrofoam Stand: I use a stand with holes drilled… but that’s not necessary. A block of Styrofoam makes a really great holder to stick the cake pops in while they are drying and it’s cheap.

9. Cookie sticks: most people who make cake pops use regular sized cake pop sticks. I find that cookie sticks help hold the cake pop better. It’s just my preference. Take it or leave it! These are the ones I use Click here for Cookie Sticks!

10. Chocolate Coloring: You can NOT add regular food coloring or get any water into the melted chocolate. The chocolate melts will seize up… the last thing you want when you’re in the middle of making cake pops. Buy colored chocolate melts or add oil based food coloring that is made specifically to color chocolate melts.

I like using Clasen or Merkens brand of melts since they melt smoothly and usually don’t require any additive such as Paramount Crystals to get a smoothly melted, usable chocolate coating. I’ve had trouble with melting Wilton melts, but in a pinch I’ll use them since they are so easy to find at any local Michael’s store. I just make sure to have paramount crystals handy in case the melts are too thick after heating and need something to thin.

If your melted chocolate melts seem thick (this can happen with colored or white colored melts), just add a small amount of Paramount Crystals and you’ll be back in action in no time. From what I’ve read, Paramount crystals have the same type of fat that is in the melts, so it won’t decrease the stability of the chocolate. I’ve heard if people adding melted Crisco to melted chocolate to thin out, but I haven’t had good experience with this. Sometimes it unevenly thins the chocolate and when you dip the cake pops, parts of the chocolate coating will be uneven. Yuck! All that work to get to the point of dipping the cake pops and now your melts are ruined?!! Who wants that!? Not me!

11. Melt your melts slooooowly : 1 minute at first, then 30 seconds at a time until your melts are smooth. Mix carefully (don’t whip or you’ll get bubbles, which you don’t want), add paramount crystals as needed. It might sound complicated at first, but if you follow these tips, you’ll get the hang of it in no time and will be on your way to making yummy and beautiful cake pops.

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