Learn how to make cake pops then decorate them with loads of sprinkles. These Funfetti Cake Pops are simple to create and look great.
Hi, I'm Janine, from the blog sugarkissed.net, where creative sweets are made simple! I have a passion for creating sugary treats that are easy to bake and decorate.
I'm thrilled to be here today at Hungry Happenings to share that passion with you!
Cake pops are one of my favorite sweet treats to decorate and my love of sprinkles has sometimes been described as an obsession. So, it only seems natural to combine the two. I think you'll agree that these Funfetti cake pops are a colorful delight!
If you are new to cake pops or have tried them in the past without success, these simple cake pops are the perfect place to start. With an easy cake pop recipe and step-by-step decorating directions, you can't go wrong.
Ingredients
light-colored cake mix and ingredients to make the cake
light-colored frosting
White candy melts
Rainbow nonpareils
Supplies
lollipop sticks
cake pops stand
Instructions
To create cake pops, you need to start by making cake balls that you will later apply to lollipop sticks.
The easiest way to make cake balls is to follow the directions on a box of cake mix. I suggest using a light-colored cake mix for this tutorial so that the cake balls don't show through the candy coating.
Bake a cake.
Bake your cake according to the package instructions. You can eliminate or reduce the amount of oil to ensure your cake pops do not get greasy.
Crumble the cake and add frosting.
- After you bake your cake, let it cool completely and crumble it into fine crumbs. You can do this one of two ways:
- Use your hands. Put chunks of your cake into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to crumble it into a pile of fine crumbs.
- Use a food processor. Put chunks of your cake into a food processor and pulse it into fine crumbs. Then, move the crumbs into a large mixing bowl.
- Note: If the edges of your cake are crusty, cut off about ¼-inch around the entire cake and discard those pieces.
- Next, add a small amount of frosting to your cake crumbs and thoroughly combine it using your hands. (Again, I recommend a light-colored frosting.) Continue to add small amounts of frosting until your crumb mixture becomes the consistency of clay.
- I wouldn't use much more than ½ cup of frosting or your cake balls will be too soft.
Scoop and roll the cake balls.
- Once you have created your cake ball "dough", you can begin rolling your cake balls.
- Roll the mixture in the palm of your hand to create round cake balls about 1.25" in diameter.
- Set your cake balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate and put them in the refrigerator for a few hours until chilled.
Melt candy melts and insert a stick.
- Microwave your white candy melts in a bowl on low power for 30 seconds at a time.
- Stop and stir after each 30-second interval then repeat until the coating is completely melted.
- Do not overheat the candy melts or your coating will become lumpy.
- If the coating is too thick, add a small sprinkling of paramount crystals, Wilton Candy Melts EZ Thin, or shortening to thin it out.
- Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted coating and then into a cake ball, gently pushing until the stick is about halfway through the cake ball.
- Set your cake pops in the fridge to chill for dipping.
Helpful Hint: Work with just a handful of cake balls at a time. Rotating them in and out of the fridge ensures that you are always working with perfectly chilled cake balls.
Dip the cake balls.
- Dip each chilled cake pop straight down into the melted coating until the cake ball is completely covered and sealed.
- If you need to angle the cake pop, gently tilt it in one direction and then another.
- Resist the temptation to stir the coating with the cake pop.
- Remove the cake pop from the melted coating by pulling it straight up.
- Then, turn the cake pop at an angle and gently tap off any excess coating.
Helpful Hint: A tall narrow bowl works best for dipping cake pops. Keeping the coating warm throughout the entire dipping process is key to having a smooth coating on your cake pops. To avoid having to repeatedly reheat your coating, a chocolate melting pot.
Dip cake balls in sprinkles.
- To create Funfetti cake pops that are completely covered in sprinkles, immediately sprinkle your rainbow nonpareils over the entire surface of your cake pops.
- Use the back of a metal spoon to press the sprinkles into place where needed.
Add a swirl of sprinkles.
- To create Funfetti cake pops with swirls of sprinkles, let the first layer of candy coating completely harden.
- Then, dip a spoon into the melted coating and drizzle it onto your cake pops while twirling your pop back and forth. Immediately sprinkle your rainbow nonpareils over the wet swirls.
- Set your cake pops upright in your cake pop stand until the coating has completely hardened.
Variations
You can use any flavor of cake or frosting to make cake balls. You can also dip your cake balls in colored candy melts and add any color sprinkles. They are great for holidays.
Dip a cake ball in white candy melts then add red sprinkles for Valentine's Day, red and green sprinkles for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, green for St. Patrick's Day, red and blue sprinkles for the 4th of July, etc.
Storage
Store your cake balls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Related Recipes
If you are looking for more cake ball recipes, be sure to check these out.
Recipe
Dip cake balls into white chocolate and add rainbow sprinkles to make these Funfetti Cake Pops.
- 1 baked 9x13-inch white cake
- ¼-1/2 cup frosting
- 24 ounces white candy melts (or melting wafers, almond bark, confectionery coating)
- ½ cup rainbow nonpareils
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Cut off about ¼-inch around the edge of your cake and discard the crusty edge pieces.
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Crumble the remaining cake into crumbs. You can do this by hand or in a food processor.
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Stir ¼ cup of frosting into the cake crumbs.
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Continue to add small amounts of frosting until the cake ball dough comes together.
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Do not add to much frosting or your cake balls will be to soft.
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Scoop and roll balls of cake ball dough to about 1 ¼ inches in diameter.
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Place the cake balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.
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When the cake balls have firmed up, melt the candy melts.
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Pour the candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl and heat them on high power for 30-second increments, stirring after each until melted. Do not overheat the candy melts it may become too thick or even burn.
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Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and then insert the stick into a cake ball, gently pushing until the stick is about half way through the cake ball.
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Set your cake pops in the fridge to chill for dipping.
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Dip each chilled cake pop into the candy melts until the cake ball is completely covered and sealed.
-
If you need to angle the cake pop, gently tilt it in one direction and then another.
-
Remove the cake pop from the candy melts by pulling it straight up.
-
Then, turn the cake pop at an angle and gently tap off any excess coating.
-
Immediately sprinkle your rainbow nonpareils over the entire surface of your cake pops.
-
Or, to create Funfetti cake pops with swirls of sprinkles, let the first layer of candy coating completely harden. Then, dip a spoon into the melted coating and drizzle it onto your cake pops while twirling your pop back and forth. Immediately sprinkle your rainbow nonpareils over the wet swirls.
-
Set your cake pops upright in your cake pop stand until the coating has completely hardened.
If the coating is too thick, add a small sprinkling of paramount crystals or Wilton Candy Melts EZ Thin to thin it out. Stir the fat crystals into the thick candy melts and add more as needed until the candy melts are thin enough to dip a cake ball.
Store your cake pops in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
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Anonymous says
If I were going to use 2 boxes of cake mix to make about 48 cake balls, about how much of the candy coating would I need? And is it available at most stores?
Janine Eshelbrenner says
I usually melt a full bag because it's easier to work with when your dipping container is full. But I always have a lot left over. So, two bags will be plenty. You can find Wilton candy melts at Michaels but my favorite is Candiquik. I can get Candiquik at my grocery store and Target.
Anonymous says
Can I use funfetti cake mix for this?
beth says
Sure, you can really use any type of cake you'd like to make the cake balls.
Janine Eshelbrenner says
Even more sprinkles...
great idea!
Janine Eshelbrenner says
Dawn, you can add the frosting to the cake to make the cake ball "dough". For decorating, you need Candy melts, almond bark, or another kind of Candy coAting.
Dawn Picard says
So how can I decorate my cake pop using regular hot pink cake icing, thats usually for regular funfetti cakes? ?
MissCandiquik says
cute 🙂 everyone loves sprinkles!
Janine Eshelbrenner says
Thank you for the sweet compliments, ladies! I'm glad you enjoyed the tutorial!
Sue says
Your pops are so perfectly round! Thanks for the tutorial, Janine!
The Partiologist says
I love these sprinkly cake pops! Truly Fun Fetti!
Jaeci says
Thank you sooo much for showing me how to make cake balls without having to buy one of those silly little machines. I love being hands on with my cake and this is the perfect way to do that. I can't wait to start creating and what's even better is that I have birthdays anniversaries and a baby shower this month that I can create for. Thanks again for the how to and the inspiration! Jaeci
dreamycakes says
Beautiful tutorial - thanks for sharing!
Janine Eshelbrenner says
So happy to have the chance to share one of my tutorials with your readers, Beth! Thanks for having me!
beth says
Thank you so much for sharing your tutorial with my readers. I'm barely finding time to read my e-mails right now!