Halloween Cake Pops

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Halloween Cake Pops are fun to decorate and even more fun to devour! These cute and creepy treats bring mummies, Jack Skellingtons, and ghosts to life with cake mix, frosting, and candy melts

5 black and white Halloween Cake Pops on sticks.

the Perfect Halloween Treat!

Making Halloween cake pops may sound scary, but if you follow my simple tips, there is nothing “spooky” about it! Let me tell you my secret for crafting the perfect pop–I use a box of red velvet cake mix combined with store-bought frosting, roll the mixture into balls, and coat them with candy melts.

There is no shame in baking from a box because my mix produces a moist cake crumb that is perfect for dipping and decorating and makes a delicious hand-held dessert that’s a party-pleaser every time.

My step-by-step instructions make it easy to turn a boring cake ball into a more-festive-than-frightful cake pop. Better than a brownie and more portable than pie, these Halloween-themed desserts are cute bites of cake-on-a-stick that will always be more captivating than their cousin, the cupcake (especially for kids)!

What is a cake pop?

A cake pop has the same flavor as a regular cake, but the frosting has been added to the cake crumbs to give it flavor and help the cake hold its shape in a ball. It’s a cross between cake and a lollipop!

Why We Love This Halloween Cake Pops Recipe

Easy to make and fun to decorate.
Portable and perfectly portioned bites of cake.
Festive holiday-themed desert and so adorable.
Kid-friendly treat that won’t leave messy hands.
Versatile recipe that lets you get creative with customized fun colors and character creations.
Perfect handheld, bite-sized party treat, edible gift, or party favor.

Halloween Cake Pops Ingredients

Red Velvet cake mix – You can use any cake mix you like to make cake pops. You can even use your own cake recipe if you prefer. Just adjust the oil/eggs/water per the box instructions.
Eggs
Oil
Water
Cream Cheese Frosting
White Chocolate/Candy Melting Wafers
Black Gel Food Color
Vegetable Shortening
Candy Eyeballs (for decorating)
50” Black/white ribbon (for decorating)
Cake Pop Sticks

Substitutions and Additions

Fall Flavor: To stay with the Halloween theme, try pumpkin-flavored cake combined with warming spices for the perfect taste of the fall season.
Flavor Combinations: Some other delicious flavor combinations can include white cake, chocolate cake, or birthday cake with classic buttercream frosting; lemon cake with lemon frosting; carrot cake with cream cheese frosting; angel food cake with chocolate frosting.
Customize Your Cake: Because this recipe can be a blank canvas for creating your own custom-themed-cake pop, test your decorating skills with crushed cookie crumbs, sprinkles, nuts, candy, multi-colored chocolate melts, or colorful icing. Get creative and have fun!
Skip the Stick: Serve these treats as cake balls or truffles.
Create Holiday Happiness: You can use a variety of colored sprinkles to make festive cake pops for any holiday. Add rainbow confetti sprinkles for a birthday-themed party, red and green sprinkles for Christmas, pink and red sprinkles for Valentine’s Day, and pretty pale colors for Easter.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

A cake pop with an eyeball and a bite out of the corner showing red velvet cake.

How to Make Halloween Cake Pops

Beat together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Pour cake mixture into your baking dish, bake, and cool. (Image 1)
Break cooled cake into pieces and chop them into small crumbs using a food processor. Combine cake crumbs and cream cheese frosting in a mixing bowl. (Image 2)
Roll cake mixture into 2″ balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. (Image 3)
Insert one end of a cake pop stick into melted candy wafer discs. (Image 4)
Pro Tip: Your stick should submerge about 1″ into the melted chocolate.
Press the wet chocolate end of the stick into each cake ball, about 2/3 of the way in and place tray in the fridge.
Pro Tip: You can use your finger to wipe the excess candy around the stick.
In a narrow jar/cup, melt half the melting wafers and ½ the shortening, stirring every 30 seconds.
One at a time, dip each cake pop into the chocolate coating. (Image 5)
Pro Tip: Do not move the cake pop around as it may cause the stick to come loose. If you need to, move the jar/cup around to completely coat the cake ball.
Remove cake pop from the coating and continue to hold it upside down so any excess coating can drip off. (Image 6)
Place coated cake pop into your cake pop holder and continue to dip each pop. Allow candy melt to set before decorating.

red velvet cake mix mixture. crumbled cake mixed with cream cheese. roll cake pop into a ball. poke a stick into the cake pop. dip into frosting.

To Make a Mummy Cake Pop

Pour remaining coating into a piping bag with a #3 tip.
Pro Tip: You can add a little more shortening to the coating if you need to warm it up.
Place 4 cake pops on a plate and pipe straight lines across each, back and forth, to create the mummy bandages. (Image 7)
Lift the cake pop from the plate and hold it while you pipe the back side of the cake pop. Place each completed pop back into the holder.
With the remaining icing, place 2 dots where the eyes will be and quickly place a candy eyeball on top of each. (Image 8)

pictorial showing how to make mummy cake pops.

To Make a Jack Skellington Cake Pop

Melt the remaining candy wafers and shortening, then add the black food color, mix well, and pour into another piping bag. (Image 9)
Tie ribbon bows on 5 of the undecorated cake pops.
Decorate the face of Jack Skellington using the black icing and place into the cake pop holder. (Image 10)

pictorial on how to decorate jake skellington cake pop.

To Make a Ghost Cake Pop

Roll 4 of the cake balls into a cylindrical shape and then fan out one end to make a ghost shape. (Image 11)
Place 2 dots of the black icing where the eyes will be and quickly place a candy eyeball on top of each.
Use black icing to make a big round mouth. (Image 12)

shape the cake pop into a ghost. coat and decorate the ghost cake pop.

Display cake pops in the cake pop holder at your Halloween party. Enjoy!

Tips for Making the Best Cake Pops

Use a 2″ cookie scoop to scoop out the dough to have equal portions of cake balls.
For making well-rounded balls, I find using my hands and gently rolling the dough between my palms works the best.
Use a soft styrofoam block to place the cake pops into after dipping in the coating while drying.
Use a deep, narrow cup or tall drinking glass to submerge the cake ball into the coating. It is the perfect depth for dipping the cake pops.
Don’t add too much frosting, or cake pops will not hold together. Add a bit at a time until the cake holds together.
Rolled cake pops must be well chilled before coating. I like to work in small batches so cake pops stay chilled.
Don’t wait until all of your cake pops have been dipped to begin decorating! Melting wafers harden fast, so dip, decorate, and repeat.

cakepops on top of black net with fake spiders.

Storage Tips

To Store: Once the cake pops have been constructed, they can be stored in a sealed airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. If stored in the refrigerator, they will keep a little longer, for 5-7 days.
To Freeze: Place cake pops in a freezer-safe container large enough to house them without crowding, and separate each layer with a sheet of wax paper. Seal them and freeze for 6-8 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t have a cake pop stand. What can I use instead?

If you do not have a cake pop stand, there are other options for you to try! You could use a piece of foam. Even a small box would work – make sure to pre-insert the sticks so you don’t have to push hard when you have cake on the other end. I have also filled a vase with beans or rice.

Is dipping the cake pops difficult?

It is not difficult to dip cake pops. The critical thing to remember is not to move the cake pop around in the dip by wiggling the stick, or the cake pop may come loose from the stick. It’s best to move the
entire jar to get the coating around the entire cake pop straight in with the cake pop and straight back out.

Why did my cake pops fall apart?

If your cake pops fall apart, it’s probably because the cake balls are either too small or too big for the stick. Measure the cake balls so they are uniform. You ideally want them to be 2 measured tablespoons of the dough mixture. Otherwise, if they are too big, they will be heavy and are likely to fall apart. And if they are too small, then the stick will cause them to crack.

Why are my cake pops mushy?

Cake pops end up mushy when they have too much frosting mixed with the baked cake mixture. Always make sure to follow the directions and ingredient recommendations precisely.

Can I use melted chocolate chips for my coating?

I do not recommend using chocolate chips for coating. If you use chocolate chips, they won’t set up correctly, and you will have a disaster. Always use candy melts or chocolate coating for coating your cake pops.

How far in advance can I make my cake pops?

Your cake mixture can be prepared a couple of days in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to use. You can even form the cake balls a day ahead and let them chill in the fridge for easier dipping. If you want to prep your cake balls and freeze them, store them in a large freezer bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Let your cake balls come to room temperature before dipping and decorating.