Easy Cake Pop Tutorial

Learn how to make homemade cake pops with this fun and easy cake pop tutorial!

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I have always wanted to learn how to make cake pops. They are just so cute, and of course, they're awfully delicious, too.

As much as I've wanted to make cake pops from scratch, I've also been a little intimidated. They look tricky with their perfect shape and pretty colors.

But when my husband needed a dessert for his office's Halloween luncheon, I decided to finally face my fears and conquer cake pops.

And you know what? Homemade cake pops are actually pretty simple to make, so I thought I'd share an easy cake pop tutorial so you can make them, too!

I love learning new things, so I started by going to Craftsy ... have you heard of them?

Craftsy offers online classes taught by expert teachers on all sorts of creative topics: food, drawing, sewing, jewelry making, photography, and more!

Craftsy offers a bunch of classes for purchase, as well as a number of free mini-classes, one of which just happens to be Creative Cake Pops! I'm sharing of the tips I learned in that class in this easy cake pop tutorial!

For a free class, I could not have been more impressed!

The course included four HD videos, a supply list, cake and butter cream frosting recipes, and access to a virtual classroom where I could ask questions and learn from fellow students.

The instructor was amazing, and she walked me through the basics of making cake pops, as well as plenty of decorating techniques. I'd highly recommend it.

Best of all, I learned just how easy cake pops are to create ... why did I wait so long to make them in the first place?

Easy Cake Pops Tutorial

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 (8- or 9-inch) baked cake layers, any flavor (homemade or store bought)
• ¼ to ½ cup frosting (homemade or store bought)
• candy melts in your choice of colors (for my Halloween cake pops, I used orange and black.)
• vegetable shortening
• lollipop sticks

Start by crumbling the cake. Then, mix in just enough frosting to hold the cake crumbs together. The instructor recommended mixing the cake and frosting together with my hands, so I did just that. It was super messy, but efficient.

After you've mixed in the frosting, take 2 tablespoons of the cake mix, and roll it into a ball using your hands. Refrigerate the finished balls for 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour. Do not skip this step which firms up your cake pops and keep them from falling apart!

After the pops have been refrigerated, melt a few of the candy melts in your microwave.

Dip a lollipop stick into the melted candy and insert it into your pop.

Repeat with the remaining pops, then refrigerate the cake pops for about 15 minutes, or until the candy has hardened.

Now for the fun part ... the decorating!

My decorating skills are pretty much nonexistent, so I kept things simple. You'll use candy melts, which come in a million colors, to cover the cake balls. I choose two colors for my Halloween-inspired cake pops, orange for the main color and black for the design.

Melt the candy melts according to the package directions, and then stir in 2 teaspoons shortening for each package of candy melts. (The shortening smooths out the melted candy.) By the way, I used one package of the orange melts, but next time I'll use two  just to make the dipping a little easier.

Once the candy is melted, dip a cake pop in the mixture and rotate to coat completely. Tap the pop on the edge of the candy container to remove any excess coating. Then, carefully drag the pop across the container edge to catch any drips.

Depending on how you want the finished pops to look, place the pops either upright on a flat surface or poke the stick into a piece of styrofoam (I actually used floral foam).

I did some of both ways.

The melted candy hardens pretty quickly, and once it does, you can decorate the pops with other colors.

For my pops, I melted about a quarter of the black candy and then transferred it to a small zip top bag (you can use a pastry bag, too).

I snipped one of the bag's corners off, then drizzled the melted candy over my pops.

It was super easy, and I love how they turned out.

I also made swirls on some of the pops. To do this, start near the stick and rotate the pop as as you drizzle on the candy.

On the remaining cake pops, I simply dipped half of the pop into the black melts, creating pops that were half black and half orange.

To display my pops, I added floral foam to a small pot and then topped it with a layer of shredded tissue paper.

Poke one cake pop into the center of the foam, then position the remaining pops on an angle around the center pop. Super cute and super easy!

For the standing pops, I covered a platter with shredded tissue paper.

The I simply added the cake pops on top.

Not only did the shredded paper look cute, but it also drew attention away from the imperfections ... win-win!

Now that I know how easy cake pops are to make, I can't wait to try some of the other decorating techniques the instructor demonstrated ... everything from marbling to ombre!

I hope you enjoyed this easy cake pop tutorial. Definitely check out the free Creative Cake Pops class, too. I only covered the basics.

I'm looking forward to taking more Craftsy classes soon. Next up for me are the Complete Knife Skills and Creative Ways with Whole Grains classes.

I also want to learn how to make croissants this winter, so Classic Croissants at Home (a paid class) is on my list, too!

I hope you enjoyed this easy cake pop tutorial! Have you ever made cake pops before?