Updated
These easy Lemon Cake Pops are such a fun recipe for birthday parties, bridal showers, or just an afternoon treat. My kids love these way more than regular cake, and I can’t blame them because they’re just so cute. Follow my simple instructions and learn how to make cake pops with cake mix for the easiest recipe ever!
5-Star Review
“Absolutely delicious recipe! The added fresh lemon juice is a game changer! So much flavor!” -Loria
Easy Lemon Cake Pops Recipe
I’m making this homemade cake pop recipe as easy as possible by using a boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting. This means your ingredient list will be nice and short!
I love the bright lemon flavor of these cake balls, but I’ve also used this same basic cake pop recipe to make other flavors. Since I start with a boxed cake mix, I just grab whatever flavor is calling my name! You can replace the lemon cake mix with chocolate cake, vanilla cake, or even funfetti cake. Same goes for the frosting–instead of lemon frosting, you can use chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla. Make cake pops for whatever party or occasion you choose!
Tips for Beginners
- I used the ingredients from the Betty Crocker cake mix. If using a different brand, use the ingredients and quantities from that box.
- Many grocery stores and baking websites have cake pop sticks or lollipop sticks. If you can’t find them, use straws and cut them in half. Paper straws work great.
- If you have leftover cake, you can crumble it up and mix it to form cake balls. If it’s already frosted, it might get a little messy, but it’s still doable. If it’s unfrosted, mix in some frosting as needed until you get the right consistency. The number of cake balls will depend on how much cake you have.
- Chill the cake balls before dipping them in the melted chocolate. If you skip this step, the cake pops may start to fall apart. Chilling keeps their shape, plus it helps the chocolate to properly set while cooling.
- It’s best to use a deep, microwave-safe bowl or large glass measuring cup for melting the chocolate, so that it’s easier to dip the cake pops.
Lemon Cake Pops Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- 9×13 Baking Pan
- 2 Baking Sheet
- Lollipop Sticks or Straws
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 15.25 oz. lemon cake mix 432 grams (1 box), such as Betty Crocker
- 1 cup water 227 grams
- ½ cup vegetable oil 100 grams
- 3 large eggs 150 grams
For the Cake Pops
- 12 oz. ready-made lemon frosting 340 grams (¾ of a 16-oz. container)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 14 grams, from ½ lemon
- 48 oz. white chocolate melting wafers 1,361 grams (4 12-oz. bags), Wilton or Ghirardelli recommended
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil 13 grams
Instructions
- Combine cake ingredients and bake the cake as directed in a 9×13-inch baking dish, about 30 minutes at 350℉. Let cool for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.15.25 oz. lemon cake mix, 1 cup water, ½ cup vegetable oil, 3 large eggs
- In a large bowl, crumble the cake using your hands. You want to crumble it to the smallest pieces possible.
- Add the frosting (¾ of a ready-made container) and mix it together with the crumbled cake and lemon juice. Use a large spoon and continue to work until the frosting is fully mixed into the cake. The batter should be dense enough to hold together when you roll the cake into balls.12 oz. ready-made lemon frosting, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Roll the cake pop batter into 24 balls and place on a wax paper or parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours (or the freezer for about 20 minutes–you want to cool them, not freeze them).
- While the cake is cooling, place the chocolate wafers in a deep-set, microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in-between. Once the chocolate is fully melted, add the vegetable oil and stir to combine.48 oz. white chocolate melting wafers, 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Note: Leave the cake balls in the refrigerator while you work on the next step. If cake balls are in the freezer, move them to the refrigerator now.
- Take one cake ball out of the refrigerator at a time. First, dip your lollipop stick or straw into the melted chocolate (about ½ inch) and then insert it directly into the middle of the cake ball. This will help bond the stick to the cake ball. Immediately dip the cake pop into the chocolate and submerge completely. Lift out of the chocolate and allow the excess to drip off. Place the cake pop on another wax paper-lined baking sheet.
- Note: I chose to set the cake ball side down while cooling. If you would like them to be more like lollipops, you can place them right-side up in a Styrofoam block to let them dry.
- While the chocolate is still wet, decorate however you like, or keep them plain. Allow the chocolate to dry completely (about 5 minutes) before serving.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
How to Make Cake Pops with Cake Mix Step by Step
Bake the cake: Combine 15.25 ounces of lemon cake mix, 1 cup of water, ½ cup of vegetable oil, and 3 large eggs in a mixing bowl. (Follow instructions on your box of cake mix to fully bake the cake.) Then bake the cake as directed, in a 9×13-inch baking dish, for about 30 minutes at 350°F. Then let the cake fully cool (at least 2 hours, ideally overnight).
Crumble the cake: Directly in the baking dish, or in a large bowl, use your hands to crumble the cooled cake. You want to crumble it into the smallest pieces possible. I recommend grabbing chunks of it from the pan, and crumbling it into a large mixing bowl. You can use an electric hand mixer to help if needed, but I found it easy enough to do with my hands!
Make the cake pop batter: Add 12 oz. of lemon frosting to the cake crumbs, then add 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Use a spatula to fold and mix everything. This is the most tedious part—at first, it seems like it won’t mix, but it just takes a bit of elbow grease! Continue to work until the frosting is fully mixed into the cake. The batter should be dense enough to hold together when you roll the cake into balls.
Form and chill the cake balls: Roll the cake-and-frosting batter into 24 evenly-sized balls, and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Set the sheet tray in the refrigerator, and let the cake balls fully cool for about 2 hours. Or set them in the freezer for about 20 minutes, then transfer them to the fridge for the next step.
Melt the chocolate: While the cake balls are chilling, melt 48 oz. of white chocolate melting wafers in the microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stir in between. Once the chocolate is fully melted, stir in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil—this creates the perfect dipping consistency!
Dip the cake balls: Take one cake ball out of the refrigerator at a time. First, dip the end of 1 lollipop stick (or straw) into the melted chocolate (about ½ inch)–this will help bond the stick to the cake. Then insert it directly into the middle of the cake ball, but don’t push too far through.
Immediately dip the cake pop into the chocolate, submerge it completely, then slowly lift it out of the chocolate and allow the excess to drip off. Place the coated cake pop on another wax paper-lined baking sheet. (Note: I chose to set the cake ball side down. If you would like them to be more like lollipops, you can place them right-side up in a styrofoam block while they dry.)
Decorate and cool: While the chocolate is still wet, decorate the lemon cake pops however you like (with sprinkles, edible pearls, etc). Allow the chocolate to dry completely (about 5 minutes) before serving.
How to Store
Since you’ll need to bake a cake, let it cool for at least 2 hours, and chill the cake balls during the assembling process, be sure to plan ahead for this recipe. I recommend baking and cooling the cake the day before making your cake pops.
Fully prepared lemon cake pops can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. So you can make them ahead of time, and/or store leftovers after the party.
To freeze homemade cake pops, first let the chocolate coating fully cool (place them in the fridge overnight if necessary). Then freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 weeks. Use parchment or wax paper to wrap them individually, or separate stacked layers. Let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving these cake pops at kid’s parties as they are super fun and the kids love them. I’ll prepare a batch of everything bagel pigs in a blanket as an appetizer, with baked chicken nuggets or pizza sticks as the main meal.
more cake mix recipes to try
I have been making many cake pops for a graduation party, the chocolate, strawberry and vanilla were all from scratch. Then she wanted to add lemon, so I saw this and thought with the premade everything it would be quicker. It was quicker, but it is definitely not better. I just refrigerated the others and they were solid enough to dip in chocolate. The lemon ones would not stay on the stick and immediately fell back into chocolate. So I froze them and then they stayed on the stick well enough but chocolate hardened too fast. Thought that that would be ok until I ate one. It is way to moist, actually almost tastes and has the texture of raw cookie dough. I’m gonna try and make another cake and add it to it to sort of dry it out🤷♀️I even weighed the frosting instead of guessing. Very disappointing considering I now have very limited time to get it done. So start from scratch instead of boxed mix and premade frosting. On a good note they taste good, just not a good texture
Absolutely delicious recipe! The added fresh lemon juice is a game changer! So much flavor!
Hey, Becky do you know what the prep time and cook time is for this recipe?
Can I use my own g&t lemon and lime drizzle cake recipe to make these or will that be too moist??
Can you make your own frosting?
This looks like a great recipe, but is the amount of white chocolate correct? 48 ounces is 3 pounds.
This weekend is my sons birthday. He asked for a Sponge Bob theme. I always have to make his cakes because he is allergic to nuts, so I don’t trust the bakery when it comes to making his cakes. Anyhow, I thought it would be cute to make lemon cake pops with a milk chocolate outside and green sticks so they could be pineapples. Glad I found this recipe because I experimented with them last night. These are great.
Hi! I’m making these for my son’s golden birthday! What kind of white chocolate or melting wafer taste/work the best? I’ve seen wilton’s artificial candy coating, but wondering if ghirardelli or some other bark would taste better?? It may all be the same. Also, I’ve thought about adding vanilla or almond extract…have you ever tried this or should I leave it out? These look so cute!! Thanks for sharing
I made a comment earlier because I had a question about the recipe, but I had not actually made them yet. Now I have made them: These are HORRIBLE! HORRIBLY ADDICTING that is!
I made these for a baby shower as well as two other cake-pop flavors (Recipes from a different site). I never even tasted the other two flavors because these Lemon ones were PERFECTION!!
I made about a trillion for the shower and after it was over my husband and I took all the extras around to the neighbors because I would have eaten EVERY. LAST. ONE. It completely killed any self control with food that I had.
They were honestly that flavorful & moist – but I am a sucker for lemon.
its’ just a little ball of heaven (that is going to make my butt a big ball!) ;)
I am going to make these and have high hopes. My only questions is that I can not find anywhere in the recipe that uses the lemon juice mentioned in the ingredients section…. am I blind? I feel like someone will point it out to me and then I will feel dumb – but I LOVE lemon flavor and don’t want to miss out on adding this lemon juice somewhere!!
I thought that might be where is was supposed to be – but I just made it without the lemon juice. It’s a good thing I did too! they would have probably been even better, and that would have spelled disaster for me. I ate waaayyyyy too many as it was.
I made them for a baby shower and it was a “She’s going to POP” theme. I had a cakePOP’s, a POPcorn bar, lolliPOP’s, sodaPOP, veggie tray (a POPular treat for healthy eaters)… and you get the idea. These lemon bars were the hit of the whole thing! The Red Velvet and Cookie dough ones were not as good… not that I would know – I just kept snarfing down the Lemon ones – but that is what everyone else told me ;)