Preparation Steps

• Preheat your oven to 325-350°F (162-175°C) and prepare a baking pan by greasing or lining with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the vanilla cake mix, neutral oil, milk, eggs, and softened butter. Stir until smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Once baked, cool the cake for a few minutes in the pan, then crumble the cooled cake into fine crumbs in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and milk, stirring until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.
• Add the buttercream to the crumbled cake and mix until fully incorporated, creating a moldable dough-like texture.
• Roll the mixture into balls about 1¼ inches in diameter and place them on a lined baking sheet. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• While the cake balls chill, melt a small amount of candy melts in the microwave until smooth.
• Dip the tip of each lollipop stick into the melted candy and insert halfway into the chilled cake balls.
• Chill the dipped cake balls again for 15 minutes to set the candy coating slightly.
• Remove the cake pops and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before dipping them in the remaining melted candy melts.
• Dip each cake pop into the melted candy melts, ensuring they are fully coated, then tap to remove excess coating.
• Immediately sprinkle your favorite nonpareils or sprinkles onto the wet candy coating.
• Place the decorated cake pops upright into a styrofoam block or glass to dry completely.