Lemon Cake Pops Recipe: How to Make Lemon Cake Pops

For the cake:

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (for a finer crumb, use cake flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup sour cream, Greek yogurt, or buttermilk
• 2 large eggs

For the lemon buttercream:

• ¼ cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• ½ teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

For assembly:

• Styrofoam block
• 20 lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks
• 14 ounces white chocolate candy melt
• 2 tablespoons white or yellow sprinkles

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. 2

   Lightly grease a 9–inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper, allowing it to hang over the sides.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. 4

   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add your dairy of choice, and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.

5. 5

   Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, fold them together with a spatula. Avoid overmixing.

6. 6

   Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about 60 minutes, until the cake is puffed and golden brown. Insert a toothpick or skewer into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, remove it from the oven.

7. 7

   Allow the cake to cool in the pan before transferring it onto a cooling rack.

8. 8

   Meanwhile, combine all of the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer at high speed, beat the frosting until creamy and fluffy. Using one of the lollipop sticks, poke 20 holes into one side of the styrofoam block, 2 inches apart.

9. 9

   Using your hands, crumble the cake into fine crumbs (discard any hard or crunchy bits) into a large bowl.

10. 10

    Add 3 tablespoons of frosting to the crumbled cake and mix until evenly combined. Add more frosting a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is smooth and sticks together.

11. 11

    Line a rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Roll the cake mixture into 20 1-inch balls (about the size of a walnut) and set on the prepared sheet pan. Pierce each of the cake balls with a lollipop stick. Chill in the refrigerator until very firm, about 1 hour.

12. 12

    In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the candy melt in the microwave until melted. Working 1 at a time, dip the cake balls into the candy melt and set the cake pop sticks in one of the holes of the styrofoam block. Sprinkle with sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining cake pops. Wait for candy melt to set before serving.

Note: Total time does not include 1 hour of inactive time.

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