I eat cake because its someone’s Birthday somewhere!
-Unkown
Helloooo Lovlies!
So there is one thing that I have made in the past that gets requested more than anything else…and trust me, I get a lot of requests. Out of all the cakes I’ve made, food I’ve made, desserts I’ve made… surprising enough, the cake pops are the most popular! little does everyone know…as long as the candy is behaving that day, they are SUPER easy to make!
So, with that being said, I’m going to share my secret with you! I’m sharing this, because as much as I love to make my friends and family smile with cakes and cake pops, I could NEVER do this as a job, so you are by no means taking any business away from me! HAVE. AT. IT!!
the baking of the actual cake “balls” is probably the easiest of them all. In this “simple” cake pop recipe, I don’t do anything fancy like…make my own cake from scratch…haha. I know!!! I know…but hey, I said it was simple. Maybe I’ll make a better more home made version later…
but trust me, no one will be thinking or tasting “Box and Bag” NOTHING from these babies. And, they won’t cost you $6 a pop like some bakeries charge. Now, mind you, I’m not knocking bakeries. Its worth every dollar of the time it takes to do these. which is why I would never want to be in the cake business.
Anywho…
Start out by picking your favorite cake recipe. I’ve done every cake from Vanilla, fudge, to spice cake (these are a top request,) Carrot cake, strawberry cake, lemon, you name it. Now, you will want to keep in mind what types of icings to add in each of those. Typically with Strawberry, spice, carrot, or lemon cake, I use a cream cheese icing. For chocolate cakes, I use fudge, etc. you get the picture.
You can use any cake pan you have available, because at the end the cake is getting smooshed up, just make sure its nice and greased. Do not do what I did before, thinking that the more icing the more moist…NOPE. The more icing, the more the balls fall of the sticks because they are too goopy.
I have linked all of my favorite baking items here in my Liketoknow.it CLICK HERE FOR CANDY MELT SUPPLIES—– CLICK HERE FOR BAKING SUPPLIES
The hardest part of the recipe below, is the melting and dipping of the candy. I have a Love hate relationship with candy melts. I’m going to share my secret with you if you have a warmer, and if you don’t. If you don’t have a warmer, you will at last need a silicon bowl. Pour the candy melts into the bowl and microwave at first for a minute at a time, then 30 seconds at a time. I will say, if you like making these, invest in a candy melter. It was very inexpensive and worth the hassle! Once you melted your icing, pour it into a tall glass to to top and dip the ball into the glass show here. 
This can get a bit messy and you have to watch you don’t loose your ball! You will however want to start by dipping each lollipop stick into the melt and setting those inside the cake balls first. This acts sort of like a glue for the stick. It allows it to secure the entry point.
With the candy melting pot, my suggestion is to load it up, turn it on high, stir it until it visibly starts to melt all of the disks, then turn it on medium to melt the rest. This keeps it at the perfect temp for dipping. When you use this pot, you can move the insert and manipulate the candy to the corners by tilting it, to allow for a perfect dip all the way to the end! DO NOT twist the stick while in the melted candy. Lay the cake pop into it, pick it up out, twist it, and put the uncovered side down next, pick up, twist and repeat. Once you have the coating, hold the cake pop at an angle and gently tap on the edge of the pot (only if you feel the pop is still secure) if you feel it slipping a bit, turn it the other way and act fast. Quickly put it on the tray to dry once you allow the excess to fall off. You can also use the twisting motion to manipulate the candy to “run” off onto uncovered spots. You don’t want the candy too thick on the cake pop, you only want a nice covering! If it’s thicker, when you bite into it, all the candy falls off as it is hard and cracks hard. If it is on the thinner side, it stays pretty nice to the last bite!
Decorate asap, the candy melt hardens fast!! so put down the cake pop and sprinkle away! Place them in the fridge to store, you are going to love these! Even if they aren’t pretty, you will love the way they taste!
ENJOY!
Easy Cake Pop Recipe
Equipment
- Mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- 9 inch cake pan
- candy warmer
- Baking pan
- Wax paper
- Candy sticks
Ingredients
- 1 Box Any store bought box cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 container Icing Cream cheese icing for cake mixes such as spice cake, strawberry, carrot cake etc. Regular Icing to match cake (vanilla for vanilla cake, Chocolate or fudge for any chocolate cake)
- 3 bags Candy melts
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients to make the cake
- Ingredients to dip the cake pops
- Preheat oven per directions provided on box of cake mixed used (typical 325)
- combine cake mix, eggs, water, vegetable oil into mixer or mixing bowl and mix until smooth
- scrape mixture into lightly greased cake pan with spatula
- Bake for 28 minutes or per box recommendation
- When cake is finished, let cake cool for 1 hour
- Once cake is cooled, crumble cake into a large mixing bowl
- add half container of chosen icing into the bowl and begin to combine using a spatula or your hands. knead as if your are kneading pay-dough
- Once the mixture is fully combined, form dense ping pong ball sized cake balls. Do not be afraid to smoosh the mixture together. You can use a smaller ice cream scoop to keep them all similar size. lightly roll with your hands around and around until they form a ball. once finished, place on a pan lined with wax paper and place in the refrigerator and let cool for about an hour
- Using a candy warmer or silicon bowl, begin to melt a small handful of the candy melts (maybe 4-5) As the candy melts, begin to dip each stick into the chocolate/candy and sticking them into the cake balls.
- Dipping the sticks almost all the way through the cake. This will allow the candy to act as an adhesive to the stick to keep it in place when dipping the pops. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes to allow candy to harden
- Begin melting a bag of the candy melts in your warmer. If you do not have a candy warmer, you can place the candy into a bowl into the microwave for 30-60 seconds at a time, stirring in between. This step can be very tedious and can go wrong easily if the candy melt or chocolate is over cooked. once its overcooked, the candy/chocolate is impossible to work with. You want it to be runny enough to be able to dip the ball into it. Using the warmer, I have found that if you start on "high" setting until you see some of the candy being melted about 40% then switch to warm and continue to stir. This keeps the candy at the perfect temperature for dipping. You can also use chocolate chips in place of the Candy, it usually dips easier, as the chocolate is softer, but does not dry as hard.
- Once the candy is at the right consistency, begin to dip the cake pops with the sticks. do not attempt to keep the pops in the candy for very long, act quickly and at an angle or the cake pop will more than likely fall off. You will feel if the cake is getting loose, so be mindful of twisting it and not holding it straight up and down for the cake pop to slide off.
- quickly place the dipped cake pop on the wax paper baking pan and decorate to your liking. The candy hardens fast so you will only be able to decorate right after it is dipped. Once all are dipped, you may place in the refrigerator to harden the candy melt
- Set them on your favorite serving platter and Enjoy!
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