Festive pops with vibrant colors, decorated for graduation and filled with creamy, tender cake for joyful celebrations.
# What You Need:
→ Cake
01 - 1 box (15 oz) vanilla or chocolate cake mix, plus required eggs, oil, and water per package
02 - or 1 homemade 9-inch cake, fully cooled
→ Frosting
03 - 1/2 cup cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting
→ Coating & Decoration
04 - 12 oz candy melts in school colors, or white chocolate with colored food coloring
05 - 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (optional, for thinning coating)
06 - Sprinkles, edible glitter, or colored sugar in coordinating colors
07 - 24 lollipop sticks
08 - 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
09 - Fondant in school colors (optional, for cap decorations)
# Directions:
01 - Prepare cake according to package or homemade recipe instructions, then cool completely.
02 - Break cooled cake into fine crumbs using a large bowl.
03 - Add frosting and mix thoroughly with a spatula or hands until the mixture forms a cohesive dough; adjust quantity as needed.
04 - Portion and roll tablespoon-sized balls to yield 24 uniform pieces.
05 - Arrange cake balls on a lined baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or freeze for 20 minutes.
06 - Melt candy melts or chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring until smooth; add vegetable shortening if needed to thin.
07 - Dip the tip of each lollipop stick in melted coating and insert halfway into each cake ball.
08 - Dip each pop completely into the melted coating, tap gently to remove excess.
09 - Apply sprinkles and colored sugar while coating is wet; for graduation caps, press a fondant square and attach a mini chocolate chip with melted coating.
10 - Stand pops upright in a styrofoam block or cake pop stand and allow coating to harden fully before serving.
