These Lemon Cake Pops are covered in gold and glitter to makes the most beautiful treat for parties (or just for fun!). Learn how to make cake pops with cake mix for the easiest recipe ever!
Cake pops are one of the cutest and funnest desserts to make for parties or special occasions (or just to celebrate a hard day at work). Who doesn’t love bite-sized cake? This super easy recipe uses box cake mix and pre-made icing, and then I dipped them in gold to make them party-ready.
Why Make This Lemon Cake Pops Recipe
- Easy – Learn how to make cake pops with cake mix so you can save some time (instead of making them 100% from scratch).
- Treat Yourself – We all need a little treat now and then! These also make a great party food, and kids absolutely LOVE them.
- Versatile – You can use this same basic recipe to make cake pops of any flavor, and decorate any way you want. Replace lemon cake with chocolate (or another flavor), and use different types of decorations to make them fit your party theme.
Ingredients List
Like I said before, we’re making this cake pop recipe as easy as possible by starting with box cake mix and pre-made frosting. This means your ingredient list will be nice and short!
- Cake Mix – grab any brand of lemon-flavored cake mix (and make sure you have the ingredients needed to bake it).
- Frosting – grab a 16 oz. container of lemon frosting.
- Lemon Juice – if you have a fresh lemon, it’s easy to squeeze some fresh juice.
- White Chocolate Wafers – for the chocolate coating.
- Vegetable Oil
- Decorations – I used gold baking dust, plus gold and silver sprinkles (these are optional but are super cute).
I got a little crafty for the cake pop sticks. Use decorative paper straws of your choice and cut them in half. They work great and look cute.
How to Make Cake Pops with Cake Mix (Step by Step)
- Bake the cake – Start by baking the box cake according to the instructions. Let it cool for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
- Make the cake pops – Crumble up the cake into small pieces (have fun with it!) and mix with the frosting and lemon juice. Then form 24 cake pops and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Coat with chocolate – Melt the chocolate in the microwave and mix with oil. Then place a stick in each cake ball and dip in chocolate. Tip: Coat one pop at a time and keep the rest in the fridge.
- Finish them off – Cover them with sprinkles and then let the chocolate dry completely.
Be sure to check the recipe card below for the full details on how to make these Lemon Cake Pops!
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes! This is not really a last-minute kind of recipe, so be sure to plan a bit for this one. You will need to do a lot of chilling/resting between steps. Make sure you have enough time to bake the cake, let it cool, assemble the cake pops, and chill them after coating. All the details for timing is in the recipe card!
Because of all that, you can make these lemon cake pops up to 2 days ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator until you’re reading to serve.
How can I store homemade cake pops?
If you have leftovers or end up making them ahead of time, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
You can also freeze them after the chocolate coating has fully cooled in the fridge. Freeze up to 6 weeks, then let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
These homemade lemon cake pops make a great party treat. They are so much fun for kids birthday parties, and these glitter-covered ones are perfect for some sparkle on New Year’s Eve. So skip the trip to Starbucks for your afternoon cake pops and make them at home yourself instead (although eating one per day might be tough!).
Try these other easy cake recipes too:
- Black Magic Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Loaf Cake
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Lemon Strawberry Shortcake Cups
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cakes
Lemon Cake Pops (Glitter & Gold)
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 15.25 ounces 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 ounces ready-made lemon frosting 340 grams (¾ of a 16-ounce container)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 14 grams, from ½ lemon
- 48 ounces white chocolate melting wafers 1,361 grams (4 12-ounce bags), Wilton or Ghirardelli recommended
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 13 grams
- 1 teaspoon gold pearl baking dust optional
- Gold and silver sprinkles Wilton recommended
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Lollipop Sticks or Straws
Instructions
- Bake the cake as directed in a 9x13-inch baking dish, about 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.15.25 ounces 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 icing (¾ of a ready-made container) and mix it together with the crumbled cake and the lemon juice. This is the most tedious part. At first, it will seem like they won't mix together, but they will! Use a large spoon and continue to work until the icing is fully mixed into the cake. The batter should be dense enough to hold together when you roll the cake into balls.12 ounces ready-made lemon frosting, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Roll the cake ball 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, just to cool them but not freeze them)
- While the cake is cooling, melt your chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in-between. Use a deep, microwave-safe bowl. It's much easier to coat the cake balls with a deep bowl rather than a large, wide bowl (lesson learned!) After the chocolate is melted, add the vegetable oil and stir to combine. It will be easier to coat the cake balls if the chocolate is not quite as thick. Add the gold dust to the chocolate and stir. This is an optional step to make the cake balls shimmer a bit. It's not necessary, but is kinda fun!48 ounces white chocolate melting wafers, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon gold pearl baking dust
- If cake balls are in the freezer, take them out and place them in the refrigerator. Leave the cake balls you're not working on in the refrigerator while you work.
- Take one cake ball out of the refrigerator at a time. First, dip your lollipop stick or straw into the 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. I chose to set them 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 to let them dry.
- While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the cake pop with gold and silver sprinkles however you like. This is the fun part. Go crazy! Allow the chocolate to dry completely (about 5 min) before serving. You can place them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before serving if necessary.Gold and silver sprinkles
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- For this recipe, I have included the ingredients on the Betty Crocker cake mix box. If you use a different brand, use the ingredients and quantities listed on the box!
- You can use homemade lemon frosting if you prefer.
Nutrition Information
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.
That sounds ridiculously cute! What a great mom. So glad to have you visiting the site!
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
The Wilton or Ghiradelli would both taste great! I love both! I haven’t tried it with the added flavors but I think it would be tasty! Let me know how you like them :)
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!) ;)
The first part of your comment scared me so bad and then I laughed outloud!! My husband was so confused :) :) This is such a sweet sweet comment Nicole, thanks SO much for coming back and letting me know how much you loved them. You have totally made my day!
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!!
Oh my gosh Nicole I’m so sorry! I added it in the step when combining the cake and icing. I’ve updated the recipe. Thanks so much for letting me know. Hope you love the recipe!
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 ;)
This seriously makes me so happy :) :)
These look great. When did you incorporate the lemon juice? My apologies if I missed it! I’m assuming in the frosting? Or with the melts?
I love these. Where did you get the gold sprinkles? Thanks!
Thanks Sarah! I think I got them from Wilton. Thanks for stopping by!