How to Stop Cake Pops From Falling Off the Sticks

Cake pops can be frustrating, I know. But, with some simple tips and tricks they can become easy. Let’s review some solutions to common cake pop problems and before you know it, they will be your favorite sweet treat too!Today’s cake pop challenge… taming those unruly cake balls that fall off the stick.

Step 1: Did You Add Too Much Frosting?

Some cake pop recipes call for you to create the cake ball “dough” by adding an entire can of frosting to your cake pop crumbs. Woah! There’s no need to be so frosting happy! Going overboard can cause your cake balls to fall of the sticks. The best rule of thumb is to start out with a small amount of icing and slowly add more until your mix reaches the consistency of clay. In my basic cake pop recipes, I use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of frosting.

Step 2: Did You Make Your Cake Pops Too Big?

The bigger your roll your cake balls the more they weigh. If you roll them too big, they may be too heavy to stay on the sticks. To get consistently sized cake pops, I use a stainless steel coffee scoop to measure out my cake “dough” before rolling. The resulting cake pops are 1.25 inches wide, definitely not too big and not to small either.

Step 3: Did You Stir Your Cake Pops in the Candy Coating?

Sometimes when you dip your cake pops into the candy coating, the cake ball doesn’t get completely covered. To fix this, gently tilt your cake pop in one direction and then in the opposite direction. Do not stir, swirl, or bounce around your cake pop unless you want to risk it falling off the stick into a candy coating abyss. Once the cake pop is sealed in the candy coating, pull your cake pop straight up and out of the coating.

Step 4: Did You Bang Your Cake Pop to Remove the Excess Coating?

After you dip each cake pop, you will need to remove the excess coating. The key to keeping your cake pop on the stick is keeping this process short and gentle. Do not vigorously bang or shake your cake pop. I like to “tap and turn”. Gently tap your cake pop on the side of your bowl and turn it a quarter of a turn to keep the coating smooth. Repeat this until most of the excess coating has dripped off.

Step 5: Did You Dip Your Cake Pop Sticks?

Hardened candy coating acts as glue so it can be very helpful in preventing your cake pops from falling off the sticks. Before inserting your sticks into your chilled cake balls, dip the end of each stick into candy coating. I suggest inserting the stick about half way into the cake ball. Then, set them back in the fridge to chill for dipping.

I was making at least three of these five common cake pop mistakes at one point in time. Now that I’ve learned these simple tricks, I almost never have a cake pop fall off of the stick. Are you making any of these common cake pop mistakes?

Find more recipes and tutorials for creative sweets made simple on the sugarkissed.net blog.