Copycat Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe: Easy Homemade Treat for Parties

Copycat Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe

If you have ever paid more than $4.00 for a single cake pop at a coffee shop, this copycat Starbucks cake pop recipe is going to make you smile.

It makes 24 cake pops at home for a fraction of that price, and each one is a small bite of cake and frosting on a stick.

I make them for birthday parties, holiday dessert tables, and school celebrations, and they always disappear before anything else on the table.

The idea behind the recipe is simple. You bake a cake, crumble it once it cools, mix it with a quick homemade frosting, roll the mixture into balls, chill them until firm, and dip them in white chocolate. Sprinkles go on right after the dip, while the chocolate is still tacky, so they actually stay put.

Swap the sprinkles and the same base recipe turns into Valentine’s Day cake pops, Easter cake pops, or Halloween cake pops. Swap the cake flavor and it becomes something else entirely. That flexibility is exactly why I keep coming back to it.

Cake pops are one of those treats that look fussy but are actually forgiving. If a ball cracks, press it back together. If the chocolate looks a little dull, drizzle more over the top. Nobody at the party will know, and nobody will care, because they will be too busy eating.

One more thing before we start. This is a copycat recipe, which means it is my homemade take on the cake pops sold at coffee shops. The flavor is familiar, the inside stays soft, and the outside has a thin chocolate shell. You get all of that while controlling exactly what goes in.

Why You’ll Love This Copycat Recipe

There are three reasons this recipe earned a permanent spot in my rotation.

1. It is fun and customizable. Change the cake flavor, change the sprinkles, or do both. Vanilla cake with red and pink sprinkles for Valentine’s Day, pastel sprinkles for Easter, red and blue for the 4th of July, and green and red for Christmas.
2. It costs less than buying them. A single cake pop from a coffee shop can run over $4.00. Making 24 at home is a budget friendly way to feed a whole crowd.
3. It is made for parties. They travel well, they need no plates or forks, and kids can grab one with one hand. I have brought them to kids’ school parties, birthdays, and holiday gatherings.

They also hold up beautifully on a dessert table. Make them a day ahead and pull the tray out of the fridge when the guests arrive.

Ingredients

You need a baked cake, a small batch of frosting, and a few decorating supplies. Substitutions are covered in the next section, so if you are missing something, keep reading before you run to the store.

For the cake, I used a 15.25 ounce box of Duncan Hines vanilla cake mix and baked it according to the package directions. Any prepared cake works here as long as it is fully cooled before you crumble it.

• 1 box (15.25 ounces) vanilla cake mix, baked according to the package directions

For the Frosting

This is a small batch of buttercream, and it does two jobs. Part of it goes into the cake crumbs to make the dough, and the rest is yours to use however you like. The vanilla extract is what gives the frosting its flavor.

• 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted or unsalted butter both work here. I keep salted butter on hand, so that is what I use.

Supplies for Decorating

For the coating, choose white chocolate chips or melting wafers that melt smoothly. Cake pop sticks are the standard, but lollipop sticks work just as well. Sprinkles are the finishing touch.

• 24 cake pop sticks
• 12 ounces white chocolate, divided into a 4 ounce portion and an 8 ounce portion
• Sprinkles

Substitutions and Recipe Variations

This recipe bends easily, so use what you already have in the pantry.

• Cake: Any flavor or brand of cake mix works. You can also use an unfrosted store bought cake or a homemade white cake.
• White chocolate: Ghirardelli white chocolate chips melt well and are my first choice. Almond bark or melting wafers are good alternatives.
• Butter: A dairy free butter substitute works fine in the frosting.
• Heavy cream: Half and half, whole milk, or a dairy free milk alternative all work.
• Vanilla extract: Skip it or swap in another flavor of extract, such as almond or coconut.
• Store bought frosting: To save time, use any store bought frosting instead of making your own. Grab 2 tubs so you have plenty on hand, which is the safe move if your cake mixture turns out dry.

Flavor combos I come back to again and again: chocolate cake with chocolate coating, strawberry cake with white chocolate and crushed freeze dried strawberries, lemon cake with white chocolate and yellow sprinkles, and red velvet for Valentine’s Day.

One note on the coating. Melted white chocolate is the classic coffee shop style, but you can also tint it with gel food coloring to match any party theme.

How to Make the Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe

Here is the full method, step by step. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes of prep, 30 minutes of baking, and 2 hours of chilling, so plan for roughly 3 hours from start to finish.

1. Bake the cake according to the package directions. Let it cool completely.
2. In a large bowl, crumble the cooled cake with your hands or two forks until you have fine crumbs.
3. Make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Add the milk and vanilla, then beat for another minute. The frosting should be the consistency of peanut butter.
4. Adjust if needed. If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk a teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar a teaspoon at a time.
5. Make the cake pop dough. With a hand mixer, mix 3 tablespoons of the frosting into the crumbled cake until you have a uniform mixture that holds together when you squeeze it. If it is still too crumbly, add another tablespoon or two of frosting.
6. Roll the balls. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, roll 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a ball, or press it with a cake pop press. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
7. Add the sticks. Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Dip a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate, then push the stick about halfway into a cake ball. Repeat with the rest, then place the balls in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge for 2 hours to harden.
8. Melt the coating. Once the cake pops have chilled for at least 1 hour, melt the remaining 8 ounces of white chocolate in a small bowl or mug in the microwave. Heat in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring after each round and stopping as soon as the chocolate is just melted.
9. Dip and decorate. Dip each cake pop into the chocolate and let the excess drip off. Immediately roll or sprinkle with sprinkles. Let the chocolate harden slightly, then set the pops on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, in a box with holes punched into it, or in a piece of styrofoam. Keep them in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Nutrition, per serving: 223 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0.03 grams of fiber, 21 grams of sugar, 182 milligrams of sodium, and 9 milligrams of cholesterol.

Helpful Tips from Liz

These are the small things that make the biggest difference in how your cake pops turn out.

• Drizzle for extra flair. Once the pops are set, put melted chocolate in a plastic bag, snip off the corner, and drizzle it over the tops.
• Use gel food coloring. Add it a little at a time. Liquid food coloring can make melted chocolate seize up and turn grainy.
• Start with good chocolate. Good quality chocolate is less likely to seize when it is melted gently. If it does seize anyway, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil to smooth it back out.
• Work in batches. Melt part of the chocolate, dip, then melt more as you need it. Melt enough at one time that you can submerge the whole cake pop. If you have to move the pop around to coat it, the odds go up that it slides off the stick into the chocolate.
• Dry mixture? Add frosting. If the cake pop mixture feels dry and crumbly, mix in more frosting a spoonful at a time until it holds together.
• Balls falling apart? If the first cake ball crumbles when you push the stick in, the mixture is too dry. Put it back in the bowl and work in a bit more frosting before you continue.

Storage notes. Keep finished cake pops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, or at room temperature for about two days. You can freeze undipped cake balls, but I do not recommend freezing chocolate coated cake pops, because the texture suffers once they thaw.

Chilling is not optional. Cold cake balls hold their shape on the stick, and warm ones slide right off into the chocolate.

Make ahead tip: I bake the cake and roll the balls the night before, then dip them the next morning. It splits the work into two easy pieces and keeps the day of the party calm.

Other Fun Birthday Party Treats

If you are planning a party spread and want a few more easy sweets to serve alongside your cake pops, these are my favorites.

• Funfetti Cookies With Cake Mix
• Tie Dye Colorful Cupcakes
• Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
• Edible Sugar Cookie Dough

They all come together quickly, they all use simple ingredients, and they all look festive on a dessert table next to a tray of white chocolate cake pops.

FAQs

Copycat Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Copycat Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe If you have ever paid more than ?. 00 for a single cake pop at a coffee shop, this copycat Starbucks cake pop recipe is going to make you smile.

• Total Time: 180 min
• Yield: 24 cake pops 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cake Pop
1 15.25 box vanilla cake mix, baked according to directions

Frosting
4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream, or milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For decorating
24 cake pop sticks
12 ounces white chocolate, divided in 4 and 8 oz portions
Sprinkles

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1-Bake cake per the package directions: Bake cake per the package directions.
2-In a large bowl, crumble your cooked: In a large bowl, crumble your cooked and cooled cake with your hands or two forks.
3-Make the Frosting: Make the Frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Add in the milk and vanilla and beat for another 1 minute. The frosting should be the consistency of peanut butter.
4-Note: Note: If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk a teaspoon at a time, if it is too thin, add in more powdered sugar a teaspoon at a time.
5-Make the cake pop dough: Make the cake pop dough: With a hand mixer, mix in 3 tablespoons of the frosting into the crumbled cake and mix until it is a uniform mixture that is easy to roll into balls when squeezed. If it’s still too crumbly add another tablespoon or two.
6-Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoons,: Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoons, roll 2 tablespoons of mixture into a ball, or press with a cake pop press, and repeat with all remaining mix.
7-Melt 4oz of white chocolate in a: Melt 4oz of white chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Dip a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and then place the stick into each cake ball, about halfway into the cake ball. Place balls in the freezer for 1 hour or the fridge for 2 hours to harden.
8-Once the cake pops have chilled for: Once the cake pops have chilled for at least 1 hour, dip in chocolate. Melt 8 oz of the remaining white chocolate in a small bowl or mug in the microwave, heat in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring after each heating and stopping when the chocolate is just melted.
9-Dip cake pops into chocolate and let: Dip cake pops into chocolate and let the excess drip off, immediately roll or sprinkle with sprinkles. Let the chocolate harden slightly, place on a sheet tray lined with parchment, or you can use a box with holes punched into it, or a piece of styrofoam to stick the pops in. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cake pop
• Calories: 223
• Sugar: 21g
• Sodium: 182mg
• Fat: 12g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrates: 18g
• Fiber: 0.03g
• Protein: 2g
• Cholesterol: 9mg