Cake Pops are all the rage right now. Being sold at school bake sales, taking the place of cake at birthdays, and even finding their way into Starbucks. I mean, how could you resist these cute little balls of goodness? They are the perfect bite-sized dessert, especially for small hands. And totally addicting. Even more addicting to make.

If you’ve seen these and thought to yourself: oh my, these are adorable, but I am not that great of a cook. It is way too time consuming for me. Well, you’d be half right. I won’t lie, they do take a good deal of time to make, especially if you don’t know the tips and tricks. However, once you get it down you’ll be popping these cuties out like you’re Martha Stewart. OK, I can’t turn you into Martha Stewart, but I can help you be the envy of all the moms at school when you show up at the next bake sale with your homemade cake pops.

Ingredients:

Step 1: After the cake has been baked and cooled completely (Tip: you can make the cake the night before and let it cool overnight), crumble into a large bowl.

Step 2: Mix together the crumbled cake thoroughly with 1 can of cream cheese frosting. (Tip: after a while it might be easier to mix with your fingers, but I warn you it will get messy.)  The consistency should be moist, but not sticky.

Step 3: Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. You’ll be able to get about 45-50 depending on how big/small you make them. (Tip: using a mini ice cream or cookie scooper works as well and it will help you make them uniform in size.)

Step 4: The recipe I used said to chill them for several hours. This has never really worked for me, so I tend to put them in the freezer for about 20-30min. The point is to make them firm and easier to handle (not sticky) so be careful that they don’t freeze. (Tip: you may get better results by placing the whole mixture, covered, into the fridge for a few hours or even a day or two, and then shaping the balls.)

Step 5: While the cake balls are chilling, melt the candy in a bowl in the microwave per the directions on the package. (Tip: I always had a problem with the melted candy being so thick that the cake balls wouldn’t stay on the sticks. I found that if you add some Crisco shortening to the candy melts, when melting them in the microwave, it will thin out and give it a smoother consistency.)

Step 6: Once the candy is melted, take the lollipop sticks and dip them in the coating and stick into the balls. Then place them back in the fridge or freezer for a little bit (10min.) just to help the stick adhere to the cake pop.

Step 7: Dip and roll the balls in the candy coating. Tap the stick very gently to get the excess coating off and stick into a piece of styrofoam to dry. Or place them back onto the wax paper to dry if you don’t care about your cake pops having flat bottoms.

Step 8:  If you are going to decorate with sprinkles it is best to do so at this time, before the candy coating dries.

To give them a finished look, wrap them in lollipop wrappers and tie with ribbon for decoration. That’s it! I know it is a lengthy process, but it is totally worth it. Cake Pops are so incredibly good. I’ve made them for my daughter’s birthday and 4th of July celebrations. Each time they were met with, these are so good! I found myself being asked when I would make them again. I even started looking for excuses to make them. And don’t worry about them looking perfect. No one is going to care, especially not after their first bite.

Happy Cake Pop making!