Name: Starbucks Birthday Cake Pops Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 1 baked cake; 2 tablespoons frosting; 40 ounces candy melts; nonpareils sprinkles

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 1 45

Servings 24 pops

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Make Starbucks Birthday Cake Pops from scratch for a fraction of the price! My cake pop recipe is easy and tastes like Starbucks! My entire family loves this recipe, and I make it in bulk so my grandkids can have a birthday cake pop anytime!

Pink Starbucks Birthday Cake pops up close. One in the back with a bite taken out of it.

Starbucks birthday cake pops always make me smile, and probably you do, too. It might be the pink coating or the perfect-sized treat. For me, it’s the whole package.

What I don’t love is the price. On average, they are $3! Yikes! For the grandkids and me, that is an easy $20! Add an apple crisp oat milk macchiato or strawberry acai, and I might need a second mortgage!

But with this Starbucks Birthday Cake Pop copycat recipe, I make 24 at home for less than $10, saving $62. Yes, you read that right. I prefer to make them in bulk and freeze the extras. When I want to eat them, I take them out of the freezer, and they’re thawed in only 30 minutes!

Ingredients

Cake

To make a copycat of the Starbucks Birthday Cake Pop, start with the cake. Starbucks uses vanilla cake for the birthday cake pop. You can make the cake from scratch or buy a boxed vanilla cake. I usually make cake pops using my vegan strawberry cake.

Frosting

After baking, crumble the cake and bind it with frosting. You can use homemade frosting or store-bought frosting. Try to use frosting that matches the color of your cake.

Coating

The best coating option is candy melts. They are easy to find and work with. You can also buy pink ones online or at hobby stores. The pictured cake pops were made with Ghirardelli white chocolate melts and a touch of pink food coloring. The Ghiradedili is available at most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

Sprinkles

Starbucks uses tiny white sugar balls called nonpareils for its sprinkles. You can buy nonpareils at large grocery stores, hobby stores, and Walmart. To match Starbucks birthday cake pops perfectly, I bought mine on Amazon. It was the only place I could find an exact match

Vegan Modifications

All the ingredients can easily be modified to vegan. Start with a vegan cake; you can use a vanilla cake or my vegan strawberry cake. Next, use a simple vegan vanilla frosting. You will need white vegan melts and pink gel food coloring. Finally, add the white nonpareil sprinkles. This ingredient comes down to your sensitivity to sugar and possible bone char. 365 Whole Foods Market lists its white nonpareils as vegan, although it doesn’t list the cane sugar as organic. Let’s Do Organic is certified vegan, gluten-free, and does not use palm oil. However, their sprinkles only come in confetti.

Gluten-Free Modifications

Modify using a gluten-free vanilla cake and homemade gluten-free frosting. Wilton pink candy melts are gluten-free but made using equipment that also processes wheat. Depending on your gluten tolerance, these might be okay for you. For white nonpareils, you can use the 365 Whole Foods Market brand.

Seven pink birthday cake pops in a jelly jar on a plate.

Instructions

Poking holes in a round styrofoam block.

Step One: Prep

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Create a drying station. You can make a stand by poking small holes in a styrofoam block or cardboard box. You can purchase a stand on Amazon. You can also dry the cake pops on the baking sheet.

Step Two: Prepare the Crumbs

Start with a baked cake. Break the cake into scraps using your hands or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Add two tablespoons of frosting to the crumbs and mix until it comes together.

Step Three: Shape the Cake Balls

Take a tablespoon of cake scraps and roll into a golf-sized ball. Use your hands or a cake pop press. Repeat until you’ve formed all the balls.
Place the baking sheet with the cake balls in the freezer for 30.

Inserting a stick with chocolate on the end into the cake ball.

Step Four: Inserting the Stick

Melt two tablespoons of candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power, melting in 20-second bursts. Stir between bursts. Microwave until the candy is 80% melted. The candy can go from melted to burned in seconds!

Note: If creating a custom color, melt the entire batch now to ensure color consistency.
Dip the stick into the melted coating and insert it into the center of the ball.
Place the cake pop on the prepared baking sheet, with the stick straight up.
Repeat for all the cake pops. Refrigerate for one hour.

Dipping a cake ball into pink candy coating.

Step Five: Set the Exterior Coating

Melt the remaining coating in a large bowl or container large enough to submerge the cake pop.
Remove 2-3 cake pops from the refrigerator at a time. Dip each one into the melted candy coating. Move the cake pop from front to back and side to side to create an even coat.
Lift the cake pop out of the coating at a 45-degree angle and let the excess drip off.
Gently tap on the edge of the measuring cup or container to remove any excess coating.

Step Six: Add Sprinkles

While the coating is still wet, scatter the sprinkles on top. I do this over a teacup to keep it less messy.
Place the cake pops upright in the drying station. If you do not have a drying station, lay them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Let the coating harden entirely before eating.

Pro Tips

Less is More with Frosting: Use just two tablespoons of frosting per cake. Any more and your cake pops will turn greasy.
Freeze the Cake Balls: Freezing the cake balls helps them hold their shape and stay on the stick while dipping.
Microwave Candy Melts Carefully: Microwave candy melts in 20-second bursts at 50% power, stirring in between, until 80% melted. The heat will finish melting the rest.
Set Up Three Stations: Set up three stations on your counter: dipping, sprinkling, and drying. Work on one cake pop at a time, or the sprinkles won’t stick.
High Altitude Adjustments: Modify for high altitude if you live above 3,000 feet. I recommend Colorado State University or King Aurther as resources.

Pink, blue and yellow cake pops in a glass.

Frequently Asked Questions

Starbucks birthday cake pop is made with a vanilla cake and white candy melts. The white candy melts have had pink coloring added.

Refrigerator – Store in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Freezer – Place cake pops on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until solid, about an hour. Then, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze them for up to four weeks. To thaw, let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

If you tried this Starbucks Cake Pop Copycat Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below.