Candy Cane Cake Pops (Box Cake Mix, 4 Ingredients)
These candy cane cake pops are vanilla cake mixed with frosting, dipped in white candy melts, and covered in crushed candy canes. Four ingredients plus whatever your box of cake mix calls for.
I’ve made a LOT of cake pops. Funfetti, red velvet, pumpkin, two different Starbucks copycats, and this is the candy cane Christmas version. They’re bite-sized, they look charming on any dessert table, and the whole family can help shape, dip, and decorate.
Candy cane cake pops are balls of crumbled vanilla cake mixed with frosting, set on lollipop sticks, dipped in melted white candy melts, and coated in crushed candy canes. This version uses a box of vanilla cake mix and store-bought vanilla icing, and makes 18 cake pops.
Ingredients for Candy Cane Cake Pops
- Vanilla cake mix: I use Betty Crocker, plus the eggs, oil, and water the box calls for. You can bake a homemade cake, but the box is the whole reason these come together so fast.
- Vanilla icing: also Betty Crocker. It’s the glue that turns cake crumbs into a dough you can roll. Chocolate icing works too.
- White candy melts: one 12 oz bag for dipping. White chocolate works, and so do red or milk chocolate melts.
- Crushed candy canes: for the crunchy, festive coating.
- Lollipop or cake pop sticks: cake pops without sticks are like a Christmas tree without ornaments.
How to Make Candy Cane Cake Pops
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease your pan.
- Mix the cake batter following the box directions.
- Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, then let the cake cool completely.
- Crumble the cake into a large bowl and mix in the icing until it holds together.
- Cover and freeze until the mixture is thoroughly chilled.
- Scoop and roll it into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball.
- Freeze the balls until they’re hard.
- Re-roll each ball to smooth out the sides.
- Melt the candy melts, dip the tip of each stick in, and push it into a cake ball.
- Freeze again until solid.
- Dip each cake pop into the melted candy melts and let the extra drip off.
- Sprinkle with crushed candy canes while the coating is still wet.
- Stand them upright in a styrofoam block or a cardboard box to harden.
Tips for Cake Pops That Stay on the Stick
- Work cold. A chilled mixture rolls smoother, and a frozen ball holds onto the stick. If they’re sliding off, they weren’t cold enough.
- The stick dip is glue. That little bit of melted candy melt on the tip of the stick sets hard inside the cake ball and anchors it.
- Skip the styrofoam. Poke holes in the top of a cardboard box and stand them up in that.
Candy Cane Cake Pop Variations
- Different cake flavor: chocolate or red velvet cake mix both work.
- Peppermint brownie pops: use chocolate cake mix and add a little peppermint extract to the batter.
- Chocolate coating: dark or milk chocolate with candy cane stripes.
- Red and white: red candy melt coating with a white chocolate drizzle.
- Gingerbread: add gingerbread spices to the batter and dip in white chocolate.
Candy Cane Cake Pops
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix I used Betty Crocker
- ⅓ cup vanilla icing I used Betty Crocker
- 1 bag white candy melts 12 oz
- Crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Start by preparing your cake batter by package directions. Beat cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish or two 8×8-inch round cake dishes and bake in a 350 degree F oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely, then crumble it with a fork in a large bowl or in the baking dish. Stir the frosting into the crumbled cake, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until chilled.
- Use a cookie scoop and your hands to roll the mixture into evenly sized small balls and place on large baking sheet. You want to try make them all a consistent size – aim for the size of a ping pong ball.
- Freeze again until balls are hard.
- It’s easier to roll the cake & frosting mixture into perfectly round balls if it’s cold. The cake & frosting mixture is super moist, and at room temperature it makes it extremely difficult to shape them perfectly.
- Once they have been frozen, I give them another little roll to smooth out the sides. Then place on a cookie sheet.
- Melt candy melts in the microwave or in a double boiler. Dip lollipop sticks into the melted chocolate, then stick into one of the frozen cake balls.
- Do this with all of them and put back in freezer till they are solidified.
- Gently dip balls into the melted chocolate or spoon the chocolate onto balls and twirl to coat, letting the excess chocolate drizzle off onto parchment paper. Decorate with the crushed candy cane pieces.
- Place them upright in a styrofoam block, or a cardboard box to harden. There you have it, you have easy bite-sized treats!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is calculated based on industry-standard software and should be used as a general guide only. The information may vary depending on ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and individual serving sizes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the nutritional information provided. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized medical or nutritional advice.
More Cake Pop Recipes
- Red Velvet Cake Pops
- 3 Ingredient Funfetti Cake Pops
- Starbucks Copycat Chocolate Cake Pops
- Starbucks Birthday Cake Pops
- Christmas Cake Pops
- Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
If these end up on your holiday dessert table, leave a star rating and a comment below, it helps other people find the recipe. Tag @basicswithbails on Instagram so I can see your cake pops.
About Bailey
I love to bake, cook, exercise, and document all of the above. Nutrition is not low fat. It is not low calorie. It’s not feeling deprived or being hungry all the time. It’s nourishing your body with real, whole foods so that you are consistently satisfied and energized to live your life to the fullest! Read more…
