Let’s talk cake pops, and how to make cake pops with the Babycakes Cake Pop maker!
Tips For Using The Babycakes Cake Pop Maker
When I make cakepops, more often than not I make them using the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. I received this as a gift, and honestly my first thought was “gimmick”.
Well it turns out, it’s a great little machine and extremely useful. I LOVE the taste of cake pops made this way, compared to the cake and frosting method, and you can add a filling if you like.
Kohls often has it on sale and if you can catch it with a sale and a coupon, you can usually get a great price.
Getting Round Cake Pops
The question I get the most about the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker is how I get my cake pops round, with many people telling me that theirs come out flat or and odd shape. My immediate question is if they used a regular cake mix or a recipe from Babycakes.
They almost always reply that they used a regular cake mix.
Cake Pop Maker Recipes
Given that a regular mix still requires adding ingredients, measuring and mixing, it only takes a few more quick steps to make them from scratch using one of the Babycakes recipes. Making a recipe from scratch with the cake pop maker is still quicker than the original method of baking a cake, and then chopping it up and mixing it with frosting and shaping the balls by hand.
EDITED TO ADD: As of 2017, it looks like the recipes are no longer available on the website unfortunately. Never fear, I have a chocolate cake pop recipe at the end of this post, and you can find the VANILLA CAKE POP MAKER RECIPE here.
Babycakes has their instruction manual, with recipes (previously available on their website). I absolutely LOVE the vanilla cake pop recipe that is in the manual, and it’s my go to recipe for cake pops, it reminds me of pound cake. I’ve found each one that I’ve tried to be delicious and they work great with the machine. I am very excited that they have a brand new cookbook of cake pop recipes with 175 cake pop recipes. I can not wait to try them.
Cake Pop Mix Vs From Scratch Recipe
My take is that if you are going to use the machine, use one of their recipes. 
They’ve been developed for and tested in the Babycakes machine. The included instruction manual includes some great recipes.
I’m not saying cake mixes won’t work, I just think that it makes sense that you will get the best results following a recipe that was made specifically for this purpose. The Babycakes recipes seem to produce a much thicker batter, which certainly makes it easier to fill the wells of the machine.
The batter is so thick that put my batter into a Ziploc freezer bag and “pipe” it into the wells. I tried this with a cake mix and it was not fun, the cake mix was just too runny. I also saw a suggestion to use a Pancake Pen for the batter. This sounds like an excellent idea that I might have to try.
As of 2019, it appears that Babycakes no longer sells cake pop mixes. I’ve seen this cake pop mix on Amazon, but can’t speak to the results it produces.
Using A Cake Mix To Make Cake Pops
If you want to use a store bought mix, I recommend cutting back on the amount of liquid in the recipe. This is something that is likely going to be different with each brand and flavor, meaning there is no blanket “cut back x amount”. I would also recommend adding a bit more baking powder to the mix, even if just half a teaspoon.
Another fun thing about making your cake pops with the Babycakes machine is that you can easily add/inject a filling into the cake pops! We’ve only used frosting (because we love frosting) but I’m sure you could put lots of other yummy fillings in.
Also, check out this fantastic video from Ahh’s Cakes where she uses the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker and goes through every step – it’s about ten minutes long and very helpful. She appears to be using one of the Pancake Pens to dispense her batter.
The Babycakes Cakepop Maker might take a bit of practice (though I have to say my very first batch turned out quite nicely), but I really think it’s worth figuring it out, especially if you need to make large batches of cake pops. It also makes some delicious donut holes. There are other cake pop makers and pans, such as cake pop pans. I haven’t tried it, so can’t speak for how it works.
Make sure to check out this post for tips, advice, idea and resources for dipping and decorating your cake pops and thoughts on some common cake pop challenges such as getting the chocolate smooth, preventing the chocolate from cracking and getting the cake pops to stay on their sticks.
CHOCOLATE CAKE POP MAKER RECIPE
Babycakes Chocolate Cake Pops
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup freshly brewed hot coffee
- Glaze or coating of choice
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Using a mixer, blend until smooth.
- Add coffee and continue mixing until coffee is evenly incorporated into mixture.
- Fill each cooking reservoir with about 1 tablespoon of batter.
- Bake 4 to 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cake pop comes out clean.
- Allow to cool and glaze or coat, as desired.
- Makes about 3½ dozen cake pops
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Want a vanilla cake pop recipe for the
Babycakes cake pop maker? I’ve got one here!
Carmelites says
The recipe for Red Velvet cake pops that comes with the manual is a bit fussy for this non-baker. But they came out great and the 10 and 8 year olds loved it! They could pour easily from a pitcher with a spout, being extra careful not to touch the scalding hot BabyCakes appliance.
I did buy a cake pop stand, but it is a bit difficult to get the cake pops to stand up straight. Better to use a styrofoam block, if you can find one, since styrofoam is not considered planet-friendly. I have an old block which I keep washing off the icing after use. And for icing, the chocolate wafers that come in a carton for dipping strawberries works great!
Anonymous says
The fresh brewed coffee must be hot to melt the chocolate!
Anonymous says
Hi! When I tried making your recipe and putting it in the baby cakes, it did not turn into cake pops. The batter just spread out on the pan. It also tasted funny and not very chocolate. How do I fix this?
Christi Johnstone says
Most likely something was measured incorrectly. This is the recipe that is in the Babycakes manual that comes with the cake pop maker, and I’ve had great feedback since I first shared it 11 years ago, so it’s a well tested recipe. I would just really double check every measurement. I once had a friend have a recipe fail three times and on the fourth time she realized she was consistently getting one of her measurements wrong – so it can happen to all of us. Good luck!
Anonymous says
Love this recipe! Keep baking forever! Thank you for inspiring me!
Donna says
Your tips are extremely helpful. I made my first batch with the white chocolate pop recipe in the enclosed babycakes package. They were good! I used your tips for filling with a ziplock bag, less water and added baking powder for a mix and they turned out perfect. To be exact I used a milk chocolate cake mix and used 1/2 cup less water then instructions called for and added 1 tsp baking powder. They are perfect! I’m kind of late in getting to the cake pop craze but glad I’m here! Thank you!
Anonymous says
I used orange juice and they were prefect.
Sandy says
Do you have a banana bread recipe for cake pops? I’ve used mine, but it’s challenging getting round balls. I’ll try the extra baking powder.
Christi Johnstone says
I don’t, sorry!
Linda Stewart says
I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’ve followed the recipes in my Baby Cakes maker book to a “T” and my cake pops are not round on top at all. They are shaped like little alien heads. How do I get perfectly round cake pops like the picture on the box?
Christi Johnstone says
Are you filling the wells enough?
Lauren says
I need a sub for the coffee.
Christi Johnstone says
Water would be an incredibly easy replacement.
Also no need to leave the same comment over and over. Given that I am person, and not a machine, it sometimes takes me a few minutes to answer comments. 😉