Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe Easy Copycat: Make Pink Vanilla Bites for 50 Cents Each

Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe (Easy Copycat, 50 Cents Each)

Two cake pops at the Starbucks counter cost about seven dollars. The same two, made in your own kitchen, come out to roughly a dollar. I do that math every single time I stand in that line, and the homemade version wins by a mile.

This copycat recipe makes 24 pink, sprinkle covered cake pops for about 50 cents each. Same look, same sweet vanilla flavor, none of the sticker shock. Do the math. Make the pops.

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The formula is short: a box of vanilla cake mix, a little French vanilla frosting, a bag of light pink candy melts, and white sprinkles. That is the exact combination the coffee chain uses, and it is why the finished pops taste so close to the ones sitting behind the glass case.

I tested two coatings before settling on this one. Pink candy melts worked beautifully. White chocolate tinted pink with food coloring was fussier, thicker, and streaky. Candy melts win every time, especially if you are new to dipping.

Timing is friendly. Prep runs about 1 hour, the cake bakes for 40 minutes, and the whole project takes about 1 hour 40 minutes from box to finished pop. That window includes chilling time for the cake balls, which you should not skip.

This is a dessert recipe, American in style, and it makes 24 servings at 1 cake pop each. I made a batch for a neighbor’s baby shower last spring and watched a table full of adults negotiate over the last pink one like it was a car.

If you have ever paid for a cake pop and felt a little robbed, this is your fix.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The shopping list is short and cheap. Nothing here requires a specialty store run, and most of it lives in the same baking aisle you already walk past every week.

• Vanilla cake mix. Any standard box works, including a gluten free version. I keep Betty Crocker Vanilla in the pantry for this exact recipe.
• French vanilla frosting. You need 1/3 cup, not the whole can. Extra frosting makes the cake balls too soft to stay on the stick.
• Light pink candy melts. One 12 ounce bag coats all 24 pops. Walmart, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby all carry them in the baking aisle.
• White sprinkles. White nonpareils are the closest match to the finish on the real thing, and they should go on the second the coating is applied.
• Lollipop sticks. Sold at the same craft stores, and easy to grab online if you are already ordering something else.

One note on the coating. Candy melts are not the same product as white chocolate, and they behave far better in the microwave. Save the white chocolate for a different project.

How to Make Starbucks Cake Pops

Here is the whole process, start to finish. Read it once before you begin, because the freezing steps matter more than anything else on this list.

1. Bake the cake. Beat the cake mix with water, oil, and eggs according to the package directions. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan or two 8×8 inch round pans and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
2. Cool it completely. Warm cake steams, and steamed cake turns gummy. Let it sit until it is fully at room temperature before you touch it.
3. Crumble and trim. Break the cooled cake into fine crumbs with a fork, your hands, or a stand mixer paddle. Remove and discard the brown outer crust, because it makes the finished texture gritty.
4. Add the frosting. Spoon in the frosting one tablespoon at a time, starting with 2 or 3 tablespoons, until the mixture holds together like soft cookie dough. If it feels too wet, work in more crumbled cake.
5. Roll the balls. Scoop with a cookie scoop or tablespoon and roll into golf ball sized spheres. Set them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Cold balls hold their shape and keep the sticks from sliding. This step is non negotiable, and skipping it is the number one reason cake pops slide off the stick.
7. Melt the coating. Microwave the candy melts in 30 second bursts, stirring between each one, until smooth. Pour the melted candy into a tall narrow cup so the pops can be dunked deep.
8. Glue the sticks. Dip the tip of each lollipop stick about 1/2 inch into the melted candy, then push it halfway into a frozen cake ball. The candy acts as glue and holds everything in place.
9. Dip and decorate. Fully dip each pop, tap off the excess against the side of the cup, and add white sprinkles right away, before the coating sets. Stand the pops upright in a styrofoam block, a box with poked holes, or an upside down colander.
10. Work in small batches. Dip 5 or 6 pops at a time and put the rest of the balls back in the freezer while you finish.

If the coating turns thick and drags as you dip, thin it with coconut oil, one teaspoon at a time. Vegetable oil or shortening work too.

One small extra trick I picked up along the way: once the balls are frozen hard, give each one a quick roll between your palms to smooth the sides. It takes ten seconds per ball and makes the finished coating look much cleaner.

Tips for Perfect Cake Pops Every Time

Most cake pop failures come down to two things: too much frosting and warm cake balls. Fix those and everything else falls into place.

• Go easy on the frosting. The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but start with 2 or 3 tablespoons and check the texture before adding more. If the mixture gets soft or sticky, mix in extra crumbled cake to dry it out.
• Freeze before you dip. At least 30 minutes, every single time. Cold balls hold their shape, and the coating sets without cracking or sliding off.
• Thin thick coating carefully. Coconut oil, one teaspoon at a time. Vegetable oil and shortening also work when you are out of coconut oil.
• Dip in batches. Five or six pops, then back to the freezer with the rest. Warm cake balls crack the coating every time.
• Sprinkle fast. Add the white sprinkles within a few seconds of dipping, while the candy is still tacky enough to hold them.

Never add water to melted candy melts. Water seizes the chocolate and turns it into a grainy mess you cannot rescue.

Flavor Variations

The base recipe is a template. Swap the cake mix, the frosting, and the coating color and you have a completely different pop without learning anything new.

• Chocolate. Chocolate cake mix with chocolate candy melts.
• Red velvet. Red velvet cake mix with cream cheese frosting, coated in pink or white candy melts.
• Lemon. Lemon cake mix with vanilla frosting, yellow candy melts, and yellow sprinkles.
• Strawberry. Strawberry cake mix with vanilla frosting and pink candy melts.
• Holiday colors. Keep the vanilla cake and swap the coating and sprinkles. Red and green at Christmas, pastels at Easter, orange and black at Halloween.

My kids ask for the chocolate version every single time, and I make the pink ones for anything that needs to look like the coffee shop original.

Storage and Make Ahead

Cake pops keep better than most people expect, and the make ahead options are genuinely useful when you are hosting.

• Room temperature. Airtight container, up to 3 days.
• Refrigerator. Airtight container, up to 1 week. Let them sit out for about 10 minutes before eating so the coating softens again.
• Freezer. Undipped cake balls freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, then dip and decorate the day you plan to serve them.
• Best make ahead plan. Roll the balls up to 3 days ahead, refrigerate them, and dip the morning of the event.

I usually freeze the undipped balls and dip a tray the morning of a party. Fresh coating, zero stress, and the pops still taste like they came from the counter.

Other Delicious Sweets Treats You May Want To Try!

If you liked these, the same kitchen has more sweets worth a look: Biscoff Cheesecake, Keto Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies, Lemon Cake Pops, Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins, Chocolate Sea Salt Protein Balls, and Carrot Cake Pops.

About Bailey

Bailey writes about baking, cooking, and staying active, and she documents all of it. Her take on nutrition is simple and refreshing. Skip the low fat, low calorie, restrictive approach. Feed your body real, whole foods that keep you satisfied and energized instead.

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Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe (Easy Copycat)

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Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe (Easy Copycat, 50 Cents Each) Two cake pops at the Starbucks counter cost about seven dollars. The same two, made in your own kitchen, come out to roughly a dollar.

• Total Time: 100 min
• Yield: 24 cake pops 1x

Ingredients

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1 box vanilla cake mix
1/3 cup french vanilla frosting
1 bag light pink candy melts, 12oz
white sprinkles

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Instructions

1-Start by preparing your cake by packaged: Start by preparing your cake by packaged directions. Beat cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a 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.
2-Let the cake cool completely, then crumble: 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, and freeze until chilled.
3-Use your hands to roll the mixture: Use your hands to roll the mixture into evenly sized balls. 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 baking sheet.
4-Melt candy melts in the microwave or: Melt candy melts in the microwave or in a double boiler. Dip each lollipop stick into the pink chocolate, then stick into one of the cake pop balls. Do this with all of them and put back in freezer till they are solidified.
5-Gently dip the balls into the melted: Gently dip the balls into the melted candy melts or spoon it onto balls and twirl to coat. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Place them upright in a styrofoam block, or a box to harden. There you have it, you have easy cake pops!

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• Prep Time: 60 min
• Cook Time: 40 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cake pop
• Calories: 93kcal
• Sugar: 11g
• Sodium: 155mg
• Fat: 1g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 20g
• Fiber: 0.2g
• Protein: 1g