Although this is a Bakerella original, I actually got the idea from a friend who learned about cake pops from me and has never even heard of Bakerella. She was going to make cake balls for her sister’s wedding, discovered that they are a pain to dip (I AGREE!! I WOULD LOVE MAKING CANDY IF IT DIDN’T EVER INVOLVE DIPPING THINGS IN CHOCOLATE! ARRRRG!), and then came up with this idea all on her own. I didn’t discover until after I’d copied her idea that she’s not the first to have it but it just goes to show, great minds think alike. And I’m not just saying that in hopes that Tina will share some of her famous peanut butter blossoms with me soon. Although I certainly wouldn’t object to a few. Ahem.
Anyway, cupcake bites are basically cake balls made to look like little cupcakes. They are easier to make and there is almost no chance of messing them up the way there is with cake balls and cake pops. And they are even cuter than cake balls and cake pops! I’m so in love with them, it’s ridiculous.
What is a cake ball/pop you ask? Why, only the most brilliant dessert invention ever! It’s cake crumbled up and mixed with frosting until it’s a truffle-like consistency, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate with or without sticks on one end. And they are so. good. Please make these in any form–you will be hooked! (If you want the original cake pops/balls/truffles recipe, I have it posted here and have a modified version for using extra cake here.)
OK, so to make these babies, just mix crumbled cake with frosting to make your cake ball centers.
I'm recycling my old photo, which shows more frosting (probably 1/2-2/3 cup) than what I use now. This is OK, but not necessary.
Melt up a whole package of chocolate candy coating (chocolate flavored almond bark). Or melt real chocolate with a tablespoon of oil or shortening. Spoon some into a peanut butter cup candy mold about 1/3 full (I overfilled mine in these pics).
Place the cake balls on top of the chocolate and press down gently until the chocolate comes up to the edge. Place filled mold(s) in freezer until the chocolate is set, about a minute or two, then pop out.
They really shouldn’t be this high, but like I said I overfilled the chocolate. But they’ll still be cute regardless of how much chocolate you use. No worries!
Melt white (or whatever color you please) candy coating and turn the cupcake bites over to dip the tops. Shake off excess and shake on sprinkles, if desired, while the chocolate is still wet.
That’s it! It still does take some time, but when it’s all said and done, there is like 100% less stress-related heart attacks and spontaneous combustion associated with making cupcake bites, versus cake balls and pops. Or so I would imagine, based on my own zen state afterward, versus my usual crazed, eye-twitching state after making cake pops. There is no cracking (the number one complaint of people making cake pops and balls), and there is no tap, tap, tapping foreeeeeeeeeever to get the excess chocolate off while wishing upon a star that the cake ball doesn’t fall off the stick before you finish tapping. It’s made in a mold so it’s got a perfect shape, so you don’t have to bite your lower lip off while trying to get your chocolate to look completely smooth on the cake ball. So. I would highly recommend buying one of these molds and getting your own cupcake bites groove on!
Cupcake Bites
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 baked cake (I used a devil’s food cake mix)
1/3-1/2 cup frosting (I used my cream cheese celebration frosting, because I always have it in the freezer and it’s the diggity)
1 (24 oz) package chocolate candy coating
1 (24 oz) package vanilla candy coating
sprinkles or nonpareils (optional)
peanut butter cup mold
Crumble the cake into a large bowl, preferably using a food processor to get fine, even crumbs. Mix in 1/3 cup of frosting with your hands, mixing well. This will probably be enough–you just need enough so that the crumbs stick together when you pinch off some and roll it into a ball–but if not, add a little more and mix well. Roll into balls a little smaller in diameter than your peanut butter cup mold and place on a rimmed baking sheet. A small cookie scoop works well for this. Refrigerate a few hours (or overnight) or place sheet in the freezer for a few minutes until chilled but not frozen. Melt the chocolate candy coating and spoon into mold until each cup is about 1/3 full. Place a cake ball in each mold, pressing down just until the chocolate comes up to the edge. One the mold is filled, place in freezer for a minute or two, until chocolate is set, then remove and pop the molded cake balls out onto a second baking sheet. Repeat this process and while the second set is chilling, melt the white coating and dip the tops of the cupcake bites with bottoms, shaking to remove excess before placing back on the baking sheet and sprinkle on some sprinkles or nonpareils while the chocolate is still wet. Store finished bites in the refrigerator if you are making more than a day in advance. Will last a week in the fridge.
Recipe source: too convoluted to be fully ascertained. Bakerella posted them first. Tina thought of the idea without help. I stole her idea and made up my own recipe and instructions without help from her or Bakerella. So you figure it out.
Veronica's Cornucopia 
These look amazing! Looks like you did a terrific job and I bet they were delicious!
LikeLike
Wow, V! “A kick it up another notch” cake pops!!! they look so cute and i know they’re delish;)
LikeLike
OMG…brilliant! I agree, dipping is the worst! The chocolate coating has to be at just the right consistency. I have never made cake pops, but the oreo truffles are popular with my kids..and this would certainly work for them too! thanks for the idea! Yours turned out tooooo cute for words!
LikeLike
Wow! That mold is pretty cool, and the cupcake bites look so tasty. Though after seeing how they’re made, I think the process might make me a little twitchy. Maybe even very twitchy . . . maybe I could convince a friend or relative to make these and share. =)
LikeLike
I’m with Jenna, I don’t think I have the patience for these. Though they are adorable! I need to convince someone also to make these for me! ;)
LikeLike
Yumm!! They look awesome! I just made cake pops and they were an instant crowd pleaser. :)
Oooh! Maybe I can steal this idea and use real peanut butter cups to make the bottom, since I don’t have molds like yours! :D
LikeLike
Must get peanut butter molds – STAT! Those look amazing Veronica!
Happy Friday!
LikeLike
Oh wow, these are the sweetest little things ever! Great minds definitely do think alike. ;)
LikeLike
Given my utter love of Reese’s how do I not have a peanut butter cup candy mold sitting in my apartment? For that matter, how do I not have SIX of them?!?!? These are adorable. I need to get on this bandwagon.
LikeLike
Good god these look absolutely fabulous! I love bakerella, but also this post is fab. I am an inspired lady right now!
Oh i wish i could get lessons from the best to improve my skills.
Fabulous blog, much love x
LikeLike
I feel the same way about dipping stuff in chocolate. I have no patience for it. I always get crumbs in the chocolate, I hate tapping the fork to get the chocolate off, I always seem to accidentally drop whatever it is back in the bowl of chocolate and have to start all over.
This is genius! Even cuter that the chocolate from the mold looks just like cupcake wrappers.
I have never had a cupcake ball or pop, so I have no idea what I’m missing out on, but if I ever muster the energy to try one I am going with this recipe/preparation.
LikeLike
I hate it! I can never get them right the first time and always have to go back and redip the bottoms and yes, the crumbs get in the chocolate. Arg! hate. I can’t believe you’ve never had a cake ball. They are so popular right now, I even saw Quiznos selling the pops for a while. But please don’t buy one there–ew. Gagworthy in comparison to homemade.
LikeLike
Hah, well perhaps it speaks to the lack of a social life that I’ve never had a cake pop. :)
I just never make them cause it isn’t something my spouse would eat, and they make so many in one batch that the effort compared to payoff isn’t justified in my mind.
If presented one tho I would be excited to see what all the fuss is about. :)
LikeLike
Veronica can you freeze your cupcakes? How long will they hold in airtight container if not frozen. Want to make one weekend and serve the next weekend. What is a good way to keep them fresh.? Thank you Felice Harris har1051@verizon.net
LikeLike
Just like cake pops, they will keep at room temperature for 3 days, refrigerated a week, and months if frozen. If you’re just doing them a week in advance, I’d just keep them in the fridge.
LikeLike
Pingback: Cake Pops, Balls, & Truffles: Troubleshooting & FAQ « Recipe Rhapsody
Pingback: Cake Pops « Recipe Rhapsody
What I did on mine was to add hersheys chocolate syrup on top to give it a much more chocolate taste
LikeLike
Oh. my. goodness. I was scared to try making cake balls because I knew I would mess them up, but I think I could make these and they look fantastic! Can’t wait to try them!
LikeLike
OH…I LOVE YOU! i made these today!
LikeLike
Pingback: Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake Pops « Veronica's Cornucopia
Pingback: Cake Pops « Veronica's Cornucopia
Pingback: Cake Pops, Balls, & Truffles: Troubleshooting & FAQ « Veronica's Cornucopia
when you dipped the cupcake balls into the chocolate, did your fingers make an imprint on the base? bc i made them and it did, i know bakerella suggests a glove of some sort but did you use something different?
LikeLike
No, they didn’t. Perhaps some of those that sat out longer before dipping got a little imprinted, but not too bad. I’d guess latex gloves would help.
LikeLike
Sammy, I think the gloves Bakerella refers to are the special cotton gloves Wilton used to make especially for handling chocolate by hand–the fabric was supposed to keep the heat from your hand from melting the chocolate pieces when dipping. It’s been years, though, since Wilton sold them, but I’m sure you can find them elsewhere.
I used to have that problem, too–the fingerprints on the chocolate–but if it bothers you that much, you can try dipping the cupcake bites in small batches: only bring out what you can dip in a few minutes, leave the rest in the fridge for the meantime.
Hope this helps!
LikeLike
Hi Veronica
I just love these – I made a batch today and they are the cutest little things.
Thanks for posting this up and I love your straight forward instructions.
Leanne
xx
LikeLike
Thank you for the feedback, Leanne! So glad to hear they turned out well for you.
LikeLike
they were a hit at my little girls birthday party and so easy as I made them in advance and froze them. Love it
LikeLike
Yay!
LikeLike
Hi Veronica,
I’ve seen these but on lollipop sticks. By any chance would you know how they got the sticks in?
Thank you =)
Sheila
LikeLike
http://www.bakerella.com/make-your-cupcakes-pop/
LikeLike
I saw these today and went out and got the supplies I needed. I can’t wait to bring them into work. I have made cake pops before, but I dislike having to try and get them to stand up to dry or else end up with a flat bottom. This will be great!
LikeLike
These turned out great. I can’t wait to try them again- with orange chocolate for Halloween! Yum! Thanks for a great recipe
LikeLike
How many cupcake bites do you typically get from one box of cake mix?
LikeLike
About 45, the same as cake pops (at least for me–some make them bigger).
LikeLike
Pingback: Cranberry Chicken « Veronica's Cornucopia
OMG this is the BEST IDEA EVER! And when I say ever I mean it as in ever-for-all-of-time! Been looking for something different to make for my kids preschool (selling baking to make money for the preschool) and this is PERFECT. Easy, super cute, and looks complicated but ISN’T! Thank you thank you thank you!
LikeLike
Pingback: Veronica’s Cornucopia Turns 2! « Veronica's Cornucopia
I have been making these for a few months now and I have not perfected the art of dipping the tops. Do you have to double dip yours to get them to cover completely? A lot of times I have trouble getting the chocolate on top to “adhere” to the chocolate base and I end up needed to use a knife or paintbrush to connect the two colors. Do you have any tips to help? Thanks for great tips and a beautiful website!
LikeLike
This sounds like a decorating question, which I don’t have a lot of experience with, but whenever I use another color on top of the chocolate, I’ve never had trouble with it sticking so I’m not sure why that would happen. I do not have to dip my pops twice, either.
LikeLike
Bend down as you’re dipping and watch to make sure you are submersing the pop enough to touch the bottom chocolate to the new ‘dipped’ part. :)
I have to wiggle my pops around a bit to make sure all edges adhere properly. So dunk the pop in, and keeping it dipped in the chocolate kind of swirl it around a bit (lowering one side or the other) down a little further into the chocolate.
LikeLike
Love this idea! Found you via Pinterest. My daughter and I made these the other day and although they were not nearly as cute as yours, they were yummy! Quick question for anyone who has made these-when I dipped the cupcake bite into the white candy coating it started to melt the chocolate bottom and then I had chocolate in the white frosting. Did anyone else have this issue? Or have any tips on what to do differently to avoid this? Thanks!
LikeLike
I’m glad you enjoyed them! My only idea is maybe you overheated your chocolate. This never happened to me, but I’m very careful that the temperature of the chocolate is just warm enough to be liquid. Does your chocolate get thick? That would be a sign of overheating.
LikeLike
My chocolate was a little thick so maybe that was it! The chocolate I used in the bottom was perfect but the white chocolate seemed a little thick. I will certainly try them again! Thanks for the advice!
LikeLike
Pingback: Operaton Postcard for Beverly, and Dark Chocolate-Raspberry Cupcake Bites « Veronica's Cornucopia
You are absolutely so funny explaining how much of a pain it is to do the cakepops. I’ve even gone to the point where so the chocolate doesn’t drip down the stick, I’ve taken a blow dryer on the cold shot setting to dry these little devils so the chocolate doesn’t drip down the stick, then had to stand them up in styrofoam.
I can’t wait to try the cupcake bites, looks alot less of a pain. I hate the tap,tap, tap and praying they don’t brake either. HeHe!!!!
Kathy
knassa@cox.net
LikeLike
Hello Veronica(i guess i can call you by this name)…i have to come in and leave a coment about how much i like your blog.Love the recipes and the way you explain,the pictures.I was searching for cake pops and cupcakes ideas and the google bought me here.I am so glad,because i really love this cupcakes bites.I am going to do a Farmers Market this summer and i think this will be a good thing to bring there.Thanks for sharing.
Sharon
http://viramexeefaz.blogspot.com/
http://sweetstop-shapalmas.blogspot.com/
LikeLike
I hated dipping, too messy for me. So I put the melted candies into one of my piping bags with a small star hole and kinda iced each one like it was a real cupcake! They turned out awesome and looked even more do like cupcakes.
LikeLike
Cute idea!
LikeLike
I made the cupcakes today and they turned out fabulous!!! My only problem was when I dipped the cupcake into the top frosting my fingers got dipped too. I had a hard time trying to dip them and get the tops covered — any suggestions???
LikeLike
Make sure your fingers are only holding onto the bottom part. I’ve notice that I use my fingernails a little bit to make sure I’ve got a good hold, but I don’t leave marks.
LikeLike
Pingback: Cupcake Cake Truffles (cake pops without the sticks) | cupcaketrado
I made these today, super easy and love them but I used milk chocolate for the bottom and white chocolate for the top. They were WAY to sweet. Is the candy coating less sweet?
LikeLike
Sorry for the late reply, Lindsay! No, he candy coating is sweeter than regular chocolate, about like milk chocolate. You could use melted semi-sweet or bittersweet chocoalte instead, but the white is always going to be sweet.
LikeLike
can you use the mini paper molds instead of the pb cup tray?
LikeLike
They are not firm enough to hold the shape–the wrappers will spread out.
LikeLike
I actually tried the foil molds and it worked fine! The papers peel off easily when your done. Still trying to find the regular molds.
LikeLike
Thanks for letting me know! I’m so glad it worked and you didn’t see my comment until you already tried and succeeded. :)
LikeLike
Michaels and Walmart both carry Wilton candy-making supplies–you should check them out! If you don’t want to bother, you can always go to the Wilton website and pick one up there. They’re only about $2.00/mold. I, myself, have about five of them!! I’d recommend them over the individual foil wrappers because:
1) They’re less fuss–you don’t have to worry about bits of foil in your chocolate
2) They’re quicker–you won’t need to sit and peel each case off of each bite after molding
3) They’re cheaper–you can use them way longer than you’ll be able to use the wrappers–hehe!
LikeLike
Pingback: Celebrating 3 Years « Veronica's Cornucopia
Sorry if someone already asked this question (I tried to read as many comments as possible!) I’d like to make cupcake pops using this method with the candy mold, but I’m pretty sure jabbing a stick through hardened chocolate will probably break it. Do you have any tips for making this into a pop?
LikeLike
Google “cupcake pops” I know there are tutorials out there. In fact, I think Bakerella has one. My method here will not work for putting them on sticks, sorry!
LikeLike
Thanks Veronica! For anyone looking to make these into pops people have suggested dipping the tip of the pop stick into hot melted chocolate first then trying to insert it in the bottom. I’ll give it a try.
LikeLike
Yikes, OK let me know if that works! Maybe the warm chocolate helps it slide through.
LikeLike
Please help. I love this idea and tried today but I just cannot get them out of the mold!! I ordered a wilton peanut butter cup mold. I added oil to chocolate and put in fridge to set. I had several attempts and used cooking chocolate too but still cannot get them out of the mold. Have I ordered the wrong thing? I can’t work it out :/ Any help would be appreciated, thanks
LikeLike
First off, do NOT add oil to the chocolate. That is probably the problem. That makes it softer and won’t set hard like it needs to, to be able to pop out of the mold. Just follow the package directions for melting the almond bark candy coating.
LikeLike
Hi I think the problem maybe the mold I am using is way smaller than it should be. Struggling to find one in UK so will give foil muffin cases a try instead :) fingers crossed
LikeLike
Pingback: Cake Batter Lovins | Veronica's Cornucopia