Donut hole cake pops are a creative and fun alternative to making traditional cake pops from scratch for your next party!
All you need is a tray of donut holes, chocolate melting wafers, decorative sprinkles and cake pop sticks.
Using donut holes for your cake pops instantly reduces the recipe time as there’s no baking involved. Simply shape the donut holes with your hands, insert the sticks, dip them into the melted chocolate and decorate…it’s really as easy as that!
Double the quantity of this recipe if catering to a crowd and get the kids involved in helping you assemble this super easy and super cute donut hole cake pops! These cake pops will be one of the cutest Dessert Recipes you have ever made!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These donut hole cake pops are pretty and will really add such a lovely splash of decoration to any table setting.
- This recipe is very simple and straight-forward with only 3 ingredients! It’s a great sweet treat to make with your kids and get them to flex their creativity with chocolate decoration and sprinkles.
- These donut hole cake pops are great for birthday parties, bridal and baby showers or special high teas with friends.
- You only need a total of 20 minutes to make these donut hole cake pops. Even better is the fact that there’s no baking involved.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is a no-bake sweet treat which immediately makes it more kid-friendly if you intend to involve the kids in whipping up a batch of donut hole cake pops!
- Useful tips and frequently asked questions are added in this recipe post for further clarification, making the recipe a breeze to understand and follow.
- I’ve included a few ways that you could adapt these donut hole cake pops with simple ingredient substitutions and suggestions.
- This is a tried and tested treat, allowing me to guide you through simple and clear recipe instructions with corresponding in-process images so that there’s no guesswork at all!
Ingredients
Below I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions in case you don’t have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Donut holes – This recipe used plain donuts but you could also glazed or chocolate donuts.
- Chocolate – I’ve used white chocolate melting wafers but if you use a substitute like chocolate chips then you may need to add oil to achieve a smooth consistency. Feel free to also add in some food coloring for colored donut hole cake pops.
- Sprinkles – use seasonal or themed sprinkles, edible pearls, or whatever else you like to decorate your donut hole cake pops.
How To Make Donut Hole Cake Pops
Instructions
- Melt the white chocolate wafers according to package directions.
- Carefully dip each cake pop stick into the melted white chocolate and stick into the cake pop. Allow to cool upside down.
- When the chocolate has cooled, carefully dip each cake pop in the chocolate rotating until fully coated.
- For plain cake pops, drizzle on extra chocolate once the first layer is set.
- For drizzled/sprinkled cake pops, drizzle on extra chocolate once the first layer is set and immediately add sprinkles.
- For sprinkle coated cake pops, allow the coating to set for 10 seconds then dip into sprinkles and rotate until fully coated.
Recipe Tips
- Melt the chocolate according to package directions. I prefer to use a double boiler for melting chocolate as melting in the microwave can lead to burning the chocolate and then you’ll have to start over again. When using a double broiler, use a small saucepan with a glass bowl over top.
- If your chocolate is too thick, you can add about ½ teaspoon of oil (either coconut or vegetable oil) at a time to thin the chocolate if needed. It’s a good idea to add oil regardless of consistency if you use chocolate chips instead of wafers or candy melts.
- When adding the second layer of chocolate drizzle, make sure the chocolate is close to room temperature otherwise the chocolate layers could crack or separate.
- Giving the donut hole a quick shaping between your palms before placing it on the stick will help to achieve the rounded look of a traditional cake pop.
- Reserve any lumpy donut holes for coating in sprinkles – it’s a great way to hide the imperfections.
Variations
- While I’ve used plain donut holes, you could also use glazed donuts or even chocolate donuts for a more decadent donut hole cake pop version.
- White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate can be used to coat your donut hole cake pops. You could also alternate the different chocolate layers with different types of chocolate for visual effect.
- Add some food coloring to the melted white chocolate when you want some colorful donut hole cake pops. This is particularly lovely for baby showers or holidays. You could use soft pastels if making these for Easter.
- While standard sprinkles are a great addition, consider using some speciality sprinkles for special occasions or birthday parties.
What To Serve With Donut Hole Cake Pops
These cake pops are delicious bite-size treats and placing a stick into each cake pop means that they can be enjoyed as a hand-held dessert.
Consider adding these cake pops to a glass jar or a decorated styrofoam base together with an assortment of hand-held sweet treats or charcuterie dessert board.
FAQs
WHAT ARE DONUT HOLE CAKE POPS?
Donut hole cake pops offer a delicious twist to the traditional cake pop. Instead of cake balls placed onto sticks, you get to use store-bought donut holes instead, coating them with melted chocolate and decorative sprinkles just as you would do with classic cake pops.
HOW SHOULD I STORE DONUT HOLE CAKE POPS?
These cake pops are always going to taste the best the same day that they’re made but you could make them a day in advance and store them at room temperature in an airtight container or when covered with plastic wrap.
Leftovers will last for up to 3 days although you will be able to tell that they aren’t as fresh. With that said, that hasn’t stopped anyone from continuing to enjoy them as the days passed!
CAN I REFRIGERATE OR FREEZE LEFTOVER DONUT HOLE CAKE POPS?
No, I don’t recommend storing these cake pops in the refrigerator or in the freezer as the chocolate will sweat when brought back to room temperature which will make the sprinkles bleed.
CAN I MAKE THESE DONUT HOLE CAKE POPS GLUTEN-FREE?
Yes! To make your cake pops gluten-free, simply purchase gluten-free donut holes from your local store. Walmart and many other grocery store chains offer gluten-free donut holes.
If you are planning on making your own donut holes from scratch then be sure to use a gluten-free flour for the dough such as Bob’s Red Mill.
More Sweet Recipes
- Strawberry Mini Pavlova
- Strawberry Pretzel Mini Parfaits
- White Chocolate and Cranberry Creme Brûlée
- Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
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Recipe
Donut Hole Cake Pops Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 plain donut holes
- 2 cups white chocolate melting wafers
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare donut holes for dipping by giving a quick roll between your palms and determining where you will place your stick. I like to make sure the smoothest rounded side is at the top of the cake pop.
- Melt the wafers according to package directions.
- Carefully dip each cake pop stick into the melted chocolate and stick into the cake pop. Allow to cool upside down.
- When the chocolate has cooled, carefully dip each cake pop in the chocolate rotating until fully coated.
- For plain cake pops, drizzle on extra chocolate once the first layer is set.
- For drizzled/sprinkled cake pops, drizzle on extra chocolate once the first layer is set and immediately add sprinkles.
- For sprinkle coated cake pops, allow the coating to set for 10 seconds then dip into sprinkles and rotate until fully coated.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Melt the chocolate according to package directions. I prefer to use a double boiler for melting chocolate as melting in the microwave can lead to burning the chocolate and then you’ll have to start over again. When using a double broiler, use a small saucepan with a glass bowl over top.
- If your chocolate is too thick, you can add about ½ teaspoon of oil (either coconut or vegetable oil) at a time to thin the chocolate if needed. It’s a good idea to add oil regardless of consistency if you use chocolate chips instead of wafers or candy melts.
- When adding the second layer of chocolate drizzle, make sure the chocolate is close to room temperature otherwise the chocolate layers could crack or separate.
- Giving the donut hole a quick shaping between your palms before placing it on the stick will help to achieve the rounded look of a traditional cake pop.
- Reserve any lumpy donut holes for coating in sprinkles – it’s a great way to hide the imperfections.
Variations
- While I’ve used plain donut holes, you could also use glazed donuts or even chocolate donuts for a more decadent donut hole cake pop version.
- White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate can be used to coat your donut hole cake pops. You could also alternate the different chocolate layers with different types of chocolate for visual effect.
- Add some food coloring to the melted white chocolate when you want some colorful donut hole cake pops. This is particularly lovely for baby showers or holidays. You could use soft pastels if making these for Easter.
- While standard sprinkles are a great addition, consider using some speciality sprinkles for special occasions or birthday parties.
