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Pumpkin Cake Pops [+ Video]

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Save yourself a trip to the pumpkin patch! These adorable pumpkin cake pops look like they were just plucked from the vine.  Crumbled cake mixed with frosting, dipped, and served on a stick make the cutest and festive fall treats.
Pumpkin Cake Pops

There is something so fun and whimsical about food on a stick. And there is something about these pumpkin cake pops all dressed up for the season that just makes me smile.

Never mind how delicious they are and that they’re practically guilt-free.

I mean, every diet has room for just a bite or two of dessert, right?

I love to make these pumpkin cake pops with pumpkin cake. I know, master of the obvious. But I while I am a huuuge pumpkin fan, I realize that everyone is not (50% of my family to be exact).

So, the great thing about these is they can be made with any flavor you choose and still look like adorable little pumpkins.

Obsessed with chocolate and mint? Go for it, I won’t judge. Basic vanilla or chocolate work well too.

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Cake pops can seem intimidating, and YES, there is a learning curve. But once you master the basic techniques, you can try out different designs and shapes for every occasion and season.

Apple Cake Pops for Teacher Appreciation

Mini Birthday Cakes for Birthdays

Christmas Berries for Christmas

Chocolate Peppermint Cake Pops for Christmas

Tips for success

  • Start off with less frosting than you think you need to add to the crumbled cake, as you can add more as you mix it. The crumbled cake and frosting should mix together to form a play-doh-like consistency, not too wet or too dry, but enough that it holds together in a ball.
  • After forming the balls and chilling, let them warm up just a bit before dipping. The coating has a tendency to crack if the balls are too cold or the coating too warm. This takes a little trial and error to get it right if you’re new to cake pops.
  • Don’t overheat the candy coating. My rule of thumb is to heat it in 30 second increments in the microwave and stir well each time. I also heat mine at 50-60% power….trust me…low and slow prevents a gloppy mess!
  • If your melted coating is too thick, add a few drops of canola oil and mix well. You want it to be the consistency where it drips off easily when you tap off the excess coating after dipping.
  • Allow the candy coating to sit at room temperature for a minute or two before dipping. You don’t want too great a temperature swing between the cake balls and coating which can lead to cracking.
  • The biggest tip…don’t sweat it if they’re not perfect the first time you make them! It takes a little practice but soon you’ll find a rhythm.
Pumpkin Cake Pops
4.23 from 22 votes
A close up of pumpkin cake pops with sticks up and green vines on the orange cake pops.
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Pumpkin Cake Pops
Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
40 mins
Chilling Time
20 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 10 mins
 

Save yourself a trip to the pumpkin patch! These adorable pumpkin cake pops look like they were just plucked from the vine.  Crumbled cake, mixed with frosting, dipped, and served on a stick make the cutest and festive fall treats.

Course: Dessert, Specialty Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake pops, pumpkin cake
Servings: 48 cake pops
Calories: 171 kcal
Author: Cathy Roma | What Should I Make For…
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1½ tsps ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Icing
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 pound confectioners sugar (1 box)
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract
To Decorate
  • 24 oz orange melting wafers (2 pkgs)
  • 1 cup green melting wafers
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate melting wafers
Special Equipment
  • 48 lollipop sticks
  • small ice cream scoop
  • small paint brush
  • piping bag
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

  2. Sift together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

  3. Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

  4. Add the buttermilk and pumpkin puree, blending well and scraping down the sides as needed.

  5. Stir in the flour mixture, then the vanilla, mixing until just incorporated.

  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  7. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Icing

  1. Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes on med/high speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add in confectioners sugar, mixing well to combine.

  2. Stir in vanilla extract until incorporated.
Make the Cake Pops

  1. Crumble cooled cake by hand or in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.

  2. In a mixing bowl, pour in crumbs and add 1 – 1½ cups frosting (the rest can be refrigerated and stored for another use). Start with a small amount and add more to reach desired consistency. (Pumpkin cake is very moist, so you may not need as much icing as used with other types of cake.)

  3. Mix with the paddle attachment of a mixer on low speed until mixture holds together and has the consistency of play-doh or wet sand. Alternatively, mix by hand with a spatula.
  4. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment and using the small ice cream scoop, measure out level scoops.
  5. Roll each scoop into a ball (alternatively you can use a cake pop baller or the easy roller to roll out the balls) and place on lined baking sheet.
  6. Chill the balls for 2 hours in the refrigerator or freeze 20 minutes.

  7. Using a bamboo skewer or toothpick, make six indentations on the sides of each ball to create a pumpkin shape. Place back in the refrigerator if the balls become too soft and chill until firm.

  8. Remove about 10 balls at a time and allow to to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before dipping. The balls should be firm, but not too hard. 

  9. While the balls are sitting at room temperature, melt the orange coating according to package instructions. If necessary, thin with a few drops of canola oil and stir well.

  10. Dip the end of each lollipop stick into the coating, then stick in each ball and allow to harden before dipping. This ensures the stick will stay in the cake pop.

  11. Dip each ball and tap off extra coating, tapping on your hand holding the stick, not the stick directly (to prevent the cake ball from falling off the stick). Place the cake pops back on the lined baking sheet (sticks up!) to harden and dry.

  12. Melt the dark chocolate wafers and using your paintbrush, paint about 1/4 inch of the stick just above the pumpkin to resemble a stem.
  13. Heat the green wafers according to package directions and fill a pastry bag. Make a very tiny snip at the tip of the bag and pipe four curled lines for vines and four little leaves at the stem.
Recipe Notes

Special equipment needed: 

 

Tips for Success

  • Start off with less frosting than you think you need to add to the crumbled cake, as you can add more as you mix it. The crumbled cake and frosting should mix together to form a play-doh-like consistency, not too wet or too dry, but enough that it holds together in a ball.
  • After forming the balls and chilling, let them warm up just a bit before dipping. The coating has a tendency to crack if the balls are too cold or the coating too warm. This takes a little trial and error to get it right if you’re new to cake pops.
  • Don’t overheat the candy coating. My rule of thumb is to heat it in 30 second increments in the microwave and stir well each time. I also heat mine at 50-60% power….trust me…low and slow prevents a gloppy mess!
  • If your melted coating is too thick, add a few drops of canola oil and mix well. You want it to be the consistency where it drips off easily when you tap off the excess coating after dipping.
  • Allow the candy coating to sit at room temperature for a minute or two before dipping. You don’t want too great a temperature swing between the cake balls and coating which can lead to cracking.
  • The biggest tip…don’t sweat it if they’re not perfect the first time you make them! It takes a little practice but soon you’ll find a rhythm.
Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Cake Pops
Amount Per Serving
Calories 171 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 22mg7%
Sodium 121mg5%
Potassium 57mg2%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 995IU20%
Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
Calcium 30mg3%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Update Notes: This post was originally published in September 2016 but was republished with tips in October 2018.

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About Cathy Roma

My food philosophy is simple: everything in moderation. Sweet, savory, healthy, decadent…food, like life, is all about balance. I rely on my background as a trained chef/mom to create family-friendly recipes that will inspire you to cook, not complicate your life.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Cathy says

      Thank you so much Karen! It helps that I used to make tons of these when I had a baking business. It’s far more fun to make a dozen and take pics than to make dozens and dozens to sell!

  6. Dawn - Girl Heart Food says

    These are just adorable!! And food on a stick is pretty awesome 😉 I like your thinking, too, that these are practically guilt free….after all they are only little, right? Great video, too, by the way! Bring on pumpkin everything 🙂

    Reply

  9. Lita Watson says

    5 stars
    What a great dish of Halloween eve! I see that sometimes cake pop falling out of the stick so do you think that do a “tap and turn” can solve this problem?

    Reply

    • Cathy says

      Thanks Lita. I’m not quite sure what you mean. Sometimes a cake pop can fall off the stick as you eat it, but that’s usually because too much frosting was used in mixing and it becomes too soft. In that case, just aim for a little less. Hope that helps.

  10. Erika Pierce says

    5 stars
    I made these last fall, and they were so cute and delicious! Looking forward to trying your apple cake pops for teacher appreciation soon. Your tips are helping me get better at this cake pop thing. They can be tricky!

    Reply

    • Cathy says

      I’m so glad the tips are helping Erika! They really can be tricky and honestly, it truly is practice makes perfect. Let me know how it goes when you make the apple cake pops!

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