Starbucks cake pops are the little pink birthday cake pops from the coffee shop pastry case: soft, sweet vanilla cake mixed with frosting, rolled into balls, dipped in a pink candy coating and finished with white sprinkles. This copycat makes them at home from a box of vanilla cake mix, a few spoonfuls of frosting and a bag of pink candy melts. One batch makes two dozen or more, for a small part of what they cost at the counter. They are perfect for birthdays, baby showers and bake sales.
How to make Starbucks cake pops at home: Bake a vanilla cake mix and let it cool completely. Trim off the brown outside, crumble the cake and mix in vanilla frosting. Roll into balls. Dip each stick in melted pink candy melts, push it halfway into a ball and freeze for 10 to 15 minutes. Dip the pops in the coating, add white sprinkles and let them set.
Why You’ll Love It
- A coffee shop treat at home. Pink, sweet and just like the ones in the case.
- Four ingredients. Cake mix, frosting, candy melts and sprinkles.
- A big batch. Two dozen or more from one box of cake mix.
- Fun to make with kids. Rolling and sprinkling are good jobs for small hands.
- Party-ready. They can be made ahead and kept cold.
Ingredient Notes
Vanilla cake mix. One box, plus whatever its box calls for, usually eggs, oil and water. Bake it by the box directions.
Vanilla frosting. Three tablespoons of prepared frosting. It is the glue that turns cake crumbs into a dough.
Pink candy melts. Twelve ounces. Candy melts are made for dipping. They melt smoothly and set firm without tempering.
White sprinkles. Small round white ones, for the classic look.
Sticks. You will need 24 to 36 cake pop or lollipop sticks.
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix, plus the ingredients called for on the box
- 3 tablespoons prepared vanilla frosting
- 12 ounces pink candy melts
- White sprinkles
How to Make Starbucks Cake Pops
1. Bake and cool the cake. Prepare and bake the vanilla cake mix with the ingredients called for on its box, following the box directions. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature.
2. Make the cake mixture. Remove the cooled cake from its pan. Trim off and discard the brown outer layer, then crumble the remaining cake finely into a large bowl. Mix in the vanilla frosting until the mixture holds together.
3. Shape the balls. Shape the mixture into 24 to 36 balls, depending on their size, and set them on a lined baking sheet.
4. Melt the coating. Microwave the pink candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds and stir. Continue in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth and fully melted.
5. Attach and chill the sticks. Dip the end of each stick into the melted coating and insert it halfway into a cake ball. Freeze the assembled pops for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up.
6. Coat and decorate. Dip each chilled pop into the melted coating until completely covered, letting the excess drip into the bowl. Stand the sticks upright in a foam block or cardboard box. Add white sprinkles immediately, before the coating dries.
7. Let the coating set. Let the coating dry and harden before serving.
How Do You Keep a Cake Pop From Falling Off Its Stick?
This is the problem that makes people give up on cake pops. You dip a ball into the warm coating, lift it out, and the ball slides down the stick or drops into the bowl. The fix is to glue the stick in place first, and then chill everything before the real dipping begins.
| Step | What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Glue the stick | Dip the tip of the stick in melted coating | The coating hardens inside the ball and holds the stick |
| Insert halfway | Push the stick to the middle of the ball, no farther | Too shallow and it wobbles. Too deep and it pokes through |
| Freeze | Chill the assembled pops for 10 to 15 minutes | The ball firms up and the glue sets |
| Dip once | Lower the pop straight into the coating and lift straight out | Stirring the pop around pulls it off the stick |
| Drip, do not shake | Hold it over the bowl and let the extra run off | A hard shake sends the ball flying |
Use a deep, narrow bowl or mug for the coating, so the pop can be covered in one dunk. If the coating thickens as you work, warm it again for a few seconds and stir.
Heavy balls fall more easily. Keep them small, about the size of a ping pong ball.
Tips for Success
Why trim off the brown outside of the cake?
The browned edges are drier and darker. Leaving them out gives a soft, evenly pale filling.
How much frosting should I add?
Only enough for the crumbs to hold together when squeezed. Too much frosting makes the balls soft, heavy and likely to slide.
When do the sprinkles go on?
Right away. The coating sets fast on a cold pop, and sprinkles will not stick once it is dry.
How do I dry them standing up?
Push the sticks into a block of foam or poke holes in an upturned cardboard box.
Why did my coating crack?
The pops were probably too cold. After freezing, let them sit for a minute or two before dipping.
How Long Does It Take?
About 55 minutes of working time: 10 minutes of prep, about 30 minutes of baking and 15 minutes in the freezer. The cake also has to cool completely before you crumble it, so allow extra time for that.
Why Are Starbucks Cake Pops So Good?
It is the texture. The coffee shop describes its birthday cake pop as vanilla cake mixed with vanilla buttercream, dipped in pink icing and topped with white sprinkles. Mixing cake with frosting makes the inside dense, soft and almost fudgy, and the candy shell gives a thin, crisp snap around it.
Storage
Keep cake pops in a covered container in the refrigerator and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Do not leave them out for more than 2 hours. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, so the centers soften.
What to Serve With It
Cake pops are made for party tables. Add a tray of cake mix cookie bars, a pan of Oreo dirt cake or a plate of carrot cake cookies. For a centerpiece cake, bake Bea’s blueberry sheet cake or the homemade caramel cake. And for a cool, make-ahead dessert, there is the strawberry cream cheese icebox cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep the cake pops from falling off their sticks?
Dip each stick in melted coating before pushing it halfway into the ball, then freeze the pops for 10 to 15 minutes before dipping.
Why are Starbucks cake pops so good?
The inside is vanilla cake mixed with frosting, which makes it soft and dense, under a sweet candy shell.
How many cake pops does one box of cake mix make?
Between 24 and 36, depending on how big you roll them.
What flavor is the pink cake pop?
Vanilla. It is the birthday cake flavor.
Final Notes
I melt the candy in a tall coffee mug, which is deep enough to dunk a whole pop without tilting it. If you make them, leave a comment to tell me how they turned out or ask a question.
Starbucks Cake Pops
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Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix plus the ingredients called for on its box
- 3 tablespoons vanilla frosting prepared
- 12 ounces pink candy melts
- white sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare and bake the vanilla cake mix with the ingredients called for on its box, following the box directions. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature.
- Remove the cooled cake from its pan. Trim off and discard the brown outer layer, then crumble the remaining cake finely into a large bowl. Mix in the vanilla frosting until the mixture holds together.
- Shape the mixture into 24 to 36 balls, depending on their size, and set them on a lined baking sheet.
- Microwave the pink candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds and stir. Continue in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth and fully melted.
- Dip the end of each stick into the melted coating and insert it halfway into a cake ball. Freeze the assembled pops for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up.
- Dip each chilled pop into the melted coating until completely covered, letting the excess drip into the bowl. Stand the sticks upright in a foam block or cardboard box. Add white sprinkles immediately, before the coating dries.
- Let the coating dry and harden before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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