Ingredients for Lemon Cake Pops
Like I said before, we’re making this homemade cake pop recipe as easy as possible by starting with a boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting. This means your ingredient list will be nice and short!
Cake Mix: Grab a standard box of lemon-flavored cake mix–you can use any brand you like. You’ll need to bake the cake as instructed, so make sure you have the necessary ingredients (ex. eggs & vegetable oil). Frosting: Use a 16 ounce container of lemon frosting. Lemon Juice: I always recommend using fresh lemon juice straight from a whole lemon, but in a pinch, the bottled stuff will do. White Chocolate Wafers: Use bags of melting chocolate wafers. This will be the chocolate coating for your cake balls. Vegetable Oil: You’ll need this for the cake and the chocolate. Stirring vegetable oil into melted chocolate helps create a really dippable consistency that holds well. Cake Pop Sticks: Many grocery stores and most baking websites will have cake pop sticks or lollipop sticks available. If you can’t find them, use straws and cut them in half. Paper straws work great!
Easy Cake Pop Flavor Variations
I love the bright lemon flavor of these cake balls, but I’ve also used this same basic cake pop recipe to make lots of different flavors. Since I start with a boxed cake mix, I just grab whatever flavor is calling my name! You can simply replace the lemon cake mix with chocolate cake, vanilla cake, or even funfetti cake. Same goes for the frosting–instead of lemon frosting, you can use chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla. Make the best cake pops for whatever party or occasion you choose!
How to Make Ahead and Store
Since you’ll need to bake a cake, let it cool for at least 2 hours, and chill the cake balls during the assembling process, be sure to plan ahead for this recipe. I recommend baking and cooling the cake the day before making your cake pops. Fully prepared lemon cake pops can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. So you can make them ahead of time, and/or store leftovers after the party.
How to Freeze
To freeze homemade cake pops, first let the chocolate coating fully cool (place them in the fridge overnight if necessary). Then freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 weeks. Use parchment or wax paper to wrap them individually, or separate stacked layers. Let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
Notes from the Test Kitchen
Be sure to chill the cake balls before dipping them in the melted chocolate. If you skip this step, the cake pops may start fall apart. Chilling helps them keep their shape while working with them, plus it helps the chocolate to properly set while cooling. I recommend keeping your tray of lemon cake pops in the fridge, and working one at a time while dipping.
How to Make Cake Pops with Cake Mix Step by Step
Bake the Cake: [Follow instructions on your box of cake mix to fully bake the cake.] Combine 15.25 ounces lemon cake mix, 1 cup of water, ½ cup of vegetable oil, and 3 large eggs in a mixing bowl. Then bake the cake as directed, in a 9×13-inch baking dish, for about 30 minutes at 350°F. Then let the cake fully cool (at least 2 hours, ideally overnight). Crumble the Cake: Directly in the baking dish, or in a large bowl, use your hands to crumble the cooled cake. You want to crumble it into the smallest pieces possible. I recommend grabbing chunks of it from the pan, and crumbling it into a large mixing bowl. You can use an electric hand mixer to help if needed, but I found it easy enough to do with my hands! Make the Cake Pop Batter: Add 12 ounces of lemon frosting to the cake crumbs, then add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Use a spatula to fold and mix everything together. This is the most tedious part–at first, it seems like it won’t mix together, but it just takes a bit of elbow grease! Continue to work until the frosting is fully mixed into the cake. The batter should be dense enough to hold together when you roll the cake into balls. Form and Chill the Cake Balls: Roll the cake-and-frosting batter into 24 evenly-sized balls, and place them on a baking sheet line with wax paper or parchment paper. Set the sheet tray in the refrigerator, and let the cake balls fully cool, for about 2 hours. Or set them in the freezer for about 20 minutes, then transfer them to the fridge for the next step. Melt the Chocolate: While the cake balls are chilling, melt 48 ounces of white chocolate melting wafers in the microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring in-between. [Tip: I’ve found that it’s best to use a deep, microwave-safe bowl for the chocolate, so that it’s easier to dip the cake pops.] Once the chocolate is fully melted, stir in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil–this creates the perfect dipping consistency! Dip the Cake Balls in Chocolate: Take one cake ball out of the refrigerator at a time. First, dip the end of 1 lollipop stick (or straw) into the melted chocolate (about ½ inch)–this will help bond the stick to the cake. Then insert it directly into the middle of the cake ball, but don’t push too far through. Immediately dip the cake pop into the chocolate, submerge it completely, then slowly lift it out of the chocolate and allow the excess to drip off. Place the coated cake pop on another wax paper-lined baking sheet. [Note: I chose to set them cake ball side down. If you would like them to be more like lollipops, you can place them right-side up in a Styrofoam block while they dry.] Decorate and Cool: While the chocolate is still wet, decorate the lemon cake pops however you like (with sprinkles, edible pearls, etc). Allow the chocolate to dry completely (about 5 minutes) before serving.
More Cake Mix Recipes To Try
Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies Cake Mix Coffee Cake Strawberry Cake Mix Donuts Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Cake Mix Cookie Recipes
