Starbucks Birthday Cake Pop Recipe
Soft vanilla cake, rolled into pops, dipped in light pink candy coating and finished with white nonpareils—easy to make, fun to share, and feels like a home‑made celebration.
Equipment
- 9‑inch round or 8×8 pan for cake
- Stand mixer (or large mixing bowl and paddle attachment)
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix (plus ingredients on the back) for base vanilla cake
- ¼ cup powdered sugar helps bind the cake crumbs into dough
- ½ tsp vanilla extract deepens the birthday‑cake flavour
- 12 oz light pink candy melts for the outer coating
- white nonpareils sprinkles for that celebratory, classic look
- 24 lollipop sticks so you can hold and display the pops
Instructions
- Preheat and bake the cake mix according to box directions. Once baked, let it cool slightly but keep it warm for the next step.
- Immediately after baking, crumble the warm cake into a stand mixer bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on low until the mixture forms a soft ball you can roll.
- Scoop out portions and roll into approx 1‑inch balls. Place them on a lined cookie sheet and freeze until firm (about 15–20 minutes).
- Melt the pink candy melts until smooth and glossy. Dip the end of each lollipop stick into the melted candy, then insert halfway into a cake ball. Return to freezer briefly.
- Dip each cake‑pop into the candy melt, tapping off excess. Add sprinkles immediately before coating sets. Stand upright in a foam block or clean jar to dry.
- Once set, serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
This cake pop method is a popular «copycat» of the Starbucks Birthday Cake Pop. One version notes you can make 24 pops for ~US $8 (~US $0.35 each) compared to the café price of around US $3.75 each. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}