This snowman cake pops recipe combines red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, then coat them both in melted white chocolate candy to create the most adorable snowmen ever!
If you love cake pops, then this is the recipe for you. These super festive and fun cake pops make great gifts or treats this holiday season or anytime.
Snowman Cake Pops Recipe
This was inspired by my other fun cake pop recipe or these donut hole cake pops recipe on this site. They're a great treat on their own and make a fantastic part of a gift set when you combine them with peppermint hot chocolate truffles or my plain hot chocolate truffles.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make these super cute snowmen. I used Betty Crocker’s red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting.
The box ingredients and instructions also call for 1 ¼ cups water, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 3 eggs to make the cake.
I followed the instructions for making the cake in a 9 x 13 baking dish, which takes about 5 minutes to mix and 35 minutes to bake.
Don't forget to allow time for your cake to completely cool before blending with the frosting.
The additional cake mix ingredients may vary depending on which mix is used. You can also make my red velvet cake recipe if you prefer homemade cake and have the time to do it.
- Red velvet cake mix plus ingredients on the box
- Cream cheese frosting
- White chocolate candy melts
- Vegetable oil
- Black icing
- Orange icing
- Red fondant or this brand
See the recipe card at the end of the post for exact quantities.
Instructions
There are a few steps to this recipe, but don't let that overwhelm you. When you break these down, they're all very easy.
Step 1: Bake the Cake
Bake the cake according to the package directions and let it cool completely.
Step 2: Make the Cake Pop Mix
Once the cake is cool, crumble it with your hands into a bowl. You can also crumble the cake with an electric mixer (use beater attachments) and mix in the frosting on a low speed.
I like to use my hands because they’re already going to get dirty rolling the cake balls and you can tell easier if you’ve added enough frosting by the feel of the dough.
If the balls hold together when a stick is inserted inside it, you’ve added enough frosting.
Then, add ½ cup of frosting to the cake and mix it up. Then, continue adding 1 tablespoon of frosting at a time, mixing after each addition, until the mixture can be easily rolled into a smooth ball.
I've never needed more than one extra tablespoon of frosting but feel comfortable using up to 3 extra tablespoons of frosting.
Step 3: Roll Into Balls
Roll half of the cake pop mixture into 1-tablespoon-sized balls and half into 1 ½-tablespoon-sized balls. You should have 18 of each. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them for 15 minutes.
If you find after freezing your cake balls aren't holding together simply recrumble the cake, add more frosting, and refreeze cake balls for another 15 minutes.
Step 4: Melt the Candy Melts
Add vegetable oil and half the white candy melts in to a microwavable 2-cup liquid measuring cup and put melts in the microwave for 1 ½ minutes.
Stir and then microwave another 15 seconds. Stir again until smooth.
Step 5: Make the Snowmen
Dip ½-inch of one end of a stick into the melted candy, Then, push it through the base of a large cake ball until about ¼-inch of the stick is poking through the top. Then, add a small cake ball to the exposed end.
Next, gently submerge the two cake balls into the candy melts to fully coat them. Remove the coated cake balls and gently tap the stick against the measuring cup to remove any excess melted candy.
Place the other end of the cake pop stick into a block of styrofoam, so the cake pops can remain upright while the candy coating dries. Repeat until all of the snowmen are made.
You'll have to repeat the melting process with the other half of the candy melts and oil about halfway through dipping your snowmen.
Step 6: Draw the Face
When the candy has set, use black icing to draw the eyes, mouth, and buttons on the snowmen. Then, use orange icing to draw the noses.
Step 7: Make the Scarf
Roll out the fondant to about ⅛ inch thick and at least 7 inches long. Then, cut it into ½-inch-wide strips. Trim the edges so that you have strips that are ½ inch wide and 7 inches long.
Create the scarf fringe by cutting 3 small lines at both ends of each strip. Then, wrap the fondant strip around the snowman like a scarf. Ball up and reroll the fondant scraps and continue the process until all snowmen have a scarf.
Hint: When melting your second batch of candy and oil, either clean out the original measuring cup or use a new one. If you simply add new candy and oil to the existing pre-melted candy, the remaining will harden.
Substitutions
Don't have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this snowman cake pops recipe.
- Any Cake Mix - I like red velvet, but you can use your favorite cake mix or any flavor that's handy.
- Any Candy Melt Brand - You can use any brand of chocolate candy melts, bark or chips that you prefer.
- No Vegetable Oil - Use coconut oil instead to make your chocolate smooth.
- No Red Fondant - Make the scarf another color using another color fondant.
- No Cream Cheese Frosting - Use buttercream frosting instead or use your favorite kind of frosting or flavor.
- No White Chocolate Candy Melts - Use white chocolate chips instead but don't forget to add a little bit of oil too to smooth the melted chocolate out.
- No Styrofoam - You can also stick the cake pops in a cardboard box if you don’t have a block of styrofoam or order a stand with your treat sticks.
- No Orange Icing - Use orange candy instead to make your noses.
Variations
Want to personalize this snowman cake pops recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.
- Melted Snowmen - To create the look of snowmen melting, place the stick at the top of the snowman's head and sit it on the parchment paper so the melted candy can pool and create a melted look.
- Simple Snowmen - Make all the balls the larger size and simply add one ball to the stick. Then, draw on the face to make simple snowman heads.
- Flat Snowmen - You can also simplify the snowman by rolling out a single 1 ½ tablespoon sized ball per cake pop and drawing on the snowman’s eyes, mouth and nose.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy these chocolate banana pancake pops or our pumpkin pie pops.
Equipment
You'll only need a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment to make this snowmen cake pops recipe.
- Measuring cups
- Large bowl
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or Wax paper
- Cake Pop Sticks (with drying stand) or lollipop sticks
- Cardboard Box or Styrofoam or Cake Pop Stand
Storage
If using cream cheese frosting, these cake pops must be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
However, if you use a vanilla buttercream or a frosting made with room temperature safe ingredients, you can leave the cake pops on the counter for 3 - 5 days.
Tips
These adorable cake pops are fairly straightforward when you break down the steps, but I do have some tips to help you make the entire process easier.
- Use a 2-cup measuring cup for dipping the snowmen so you have adequate depth.
- Immediately remove any cake crumbs that might fall into the melted candy before dipping a new batch.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this snowman cake pops recipe? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about snowman cake pops
Store them in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
If you leave your cake balls in the freezer too long and don't let them warm up a bit, the drastic change in temperature can cause the candy to crack as it melts.
You didn't add enough frosting. Frosting is what binds these cake balls together. If you don't use enough, they'll be crumbly.
More Cake Recipes
Do you like cake? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Snowman Cake Pops
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Snowman Cake Pops
Equipment
- Cake Pop Stand Cardboard Box or Styrofoam will work to hold cake pops while they dry
- 13 x 9 inch cake pan or equivalent to bake cake
- Cake Pop Sticks (with drying stand) or lollipop sticks
- Parchment paper or Wax paper
- Melting pot Small saucepan or microwave safe bowl for melting the chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 oz) red velvet cake mix plus additional ingredients as called for on the box
- ½-3/4 cup cream cheese frosting
- 4 cups white chocolate candy melts Ghiradelli is an ideal brand
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Black icing
- Orange icing
- 6 oz red fondant
Instructions
- Bake the cake according to box instructions and let it cool completely.
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set it aside.
- Once the cake has cooled, use your hands to crumble it. Add ½ cup of frosting and mix into the crumbles using your hands. Add one tablespoon more of frosting at a time until you can easily roll the cake into a smooth ball.
- Then, roll all of the cake mixture into balls: roll half of them into 1 tablespoon-sized balls and half into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls (there should be 18 of each, 36 in total). Place the balls on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once they're all rolled out, place the baking sheet with the cake balls in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Add half the candy melts and vegetable oil to a two-cup measuring cup and microwave for 1 ½ minutes. Stir, and then microwave for an additional 15 seconds. Stir again until smooth. Microwave for an additional 15 seconds if needed.
- Before coating the cake balls with candy melt, gently squeeze the balls to secure them on each cake stick. If the balls come apart when the stick is shoved into them you'll need to recrumble your cake balls and add more frosting, remake balls and refreeze for 15 minutes.
- Dip ½ inch of the end of a stick in the candy melt. Then insert it through the center of one of the larger balls, with ¼ inch of the stick popping through the top. Dip again in the candy melt coating the top of the stick. Top with one of the smaller balls. Submerge the whole cake pop fully into the candy melts.
- To remove the excess candy melt, gently tap the stick of the cake pop against the edge of your measuring cup while slowly twirling it. Don't tap too hard or the cake pops may split or fall apart.
- It’s also important to immediately remove any cake crumbs that may fall into the candy melt as you’re dipping the snowmen.
- After placing a big and small ball on your stick and successfully dipping it, insert the bottom of cake pop stick into a block of styrofoam to keep upright as it dries and hardens. Repeat with the remaining cake pops.
- You’ll need to melt the second half of the candy melts in a clean or new measuring cup about halfway through all of your dipping.
- By the time you've finished assembling the last snowman, the first ones should be dry enough to draw on the eyes, mouth and buttons with black icing and the nose with orange icing.
To make the scarf
- Roll out the fondant to about ⅛ inch thickness and at least seven inches long. Cut into ½ inch wide strips. Trim the edges so that you now have ½ inch wide by 7 inch long strips. Then, create the scarf fringe by cutting three small lines at both ends of the strip. Wrap each strip around a snowman styled as a scarf. Ball and roll out the scraps of fondant, repeating until each snowmen has a scarf.
Notes
- I used Betty Crocker’s red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting. The box ingredients and instructions also call for 1 ¼ cups water, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 3 eggs to make the cake. The additional ingredients may vary depending on which cake mix is used. Or, use my red velvet cake recipe if you prefer homemade cake.
- You can also crumble the cake with an electric mixer (use beater attachments) and mix in the frosting on a low speed. I like to use my hands because 1) they’re already going to get dirty rolling the cake balls and 2) you know if you’ve added enough frosting by the feel of the dough - if it holds together, you’ve added enough.
- I also tried drawing on the snowman’s face with decorating gel and Wilton’s Candy Melt Writing Pen. While I did find the gel easier to apply, it’s appearance was noticeably thinner than icing and didn’t look as good. I can’t recommend the writing pen, it didn’t work well.
- Storage - If using cream cheese frosting, these cake pops must be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. However, if you use a vanilla buttercream or one made with room temperature-safe ingredients, you can leave the cake pops on the counter for 3 - 5 days.
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