Bumble Bee Cake Pops

Cake pops are easily one of the best treats to make with kids. They are hands-on and versatile. The steps are broken up so the kids can take a break but each step is full of hands-on learning and different techniques. These bumble bee cake pops are so fun to make with your kids. Let us walk you through how to make them.

• Cake
• Cake Pan
• Frosting
• Bowl
• Melting Chocolate (or Candy Melts)
• Chocolate Food Coloring (optional)
• Chocolate Warmer (or Microwave-Safe Cup/Bowl)
• Treat Sticks
• Sliced Almonds

Gather your supplies. We made a boxed cake for our cake pops. If you want to make a cake from scratch, way to go! We made our own frosting but you could use store-bought to skip a step! Another supply you have a decision about is the chocolate melts. There are so many options. We had a bunch of white chocolate wafers in our pantry, so we used those and bought this chocolate food coloring. Using normal food coloring will ruin your chocolate, so make sure you get the right stuff.

Alternatively, you can buy pre-colored candy melts. These are easy to use and cut out the step of having to dye your own chocolate. However, dying chocolate allows you to get a variety of colors not available in candy melts.

Make your cake ahead of time. This is a crucial first step because to create your cake pops, you need a fully baked, cooled cake. However you choose to make your cake, follow the directions on the box (or recipe) and bake your cake. Then let it cool all the way.

Baking a cake is a great lesson for your kids on measuring and mixing. It’s also the perfect time to teach your kids to crack eggs. Just make sure they do it in a separate bowl. That way you can get the shells if some fall in.

Make the frosting. If you are making your own frosting, now is when you will do that. If you are using store-bought frosting, you can skip this step.

My kids love making frosting! It’s so fun. Frosting is also a great measuring recipe for kids to do. Because with frosting, there is almost always a way to correct it. We just quickly threw together some buttercream frosting. If you need a recipe you can find one here.

Let your kids get their hands dirty! Have them crumble the cake all the way! Don’t leave any big pieces. This will ensure you have smooth delicious cake pops.

Add 1 cup of frosting to the cake. Add the frosting a little at a time stirring it into the crumbled cake. Using your hands works well because you can feel the texture. You want your cake pops to feel almost like wet sand.

Roll into balls, then place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want your cake pops to all be the same size, use a cookie scoop to make the balls. Chill cake balls for 30 minutes in the freezer. 

You can use this time to clean up from the cake and frosting making. Or you can use this time to take a break. Later in this blog post, we share a fun idea for making bumble bee cake pops into an educational experience! You could use this time to do a short activity.

This is also a perfect time to prep your chocolate. If you are using a warmer, pour in your chocolate and turn it on. If you are melting your candy melts in the microwave, pour them into a cup or bowl. Then, when the 30 minutes is up, melt your chocolate before you pull your cake balls out of the freezer.

Now is the time to add the treat sticks to your cake balls. First, you are going to dip your sticks into the melted chocolate. Then, stick one into each cake ball. You will want it to go almost all the way to the bottom of the ball. Once you have all of the sticks in, we recommend putting your tray back into the freezer for a few more minutes.

You are going to dip your cake pops in chocolate. The colder your cake balls are, the easier they are to dip (and the less they fall off). For the bumble bee cake pops, you are going to want to dip them into yellow chocolate or candy melts. Sometimes, we use a spoon to help lift the cake pops out of the bowl, cup, or melting pot. This will help the cake pop from falling off of the stick.

Pro-Tip: Spin your dipped cake pop a few times after you pull it out of the chocolate. This helps the excess chocolate come off and prevents dripping.

Once each cake pop is dipped, place them in a cake pop stand or a styrofoam block. We got this round cake pop stand that is really fun and good for displaying them. It came in a bundle of other cake pop supplies. We also have a second style too. It is easy to store but doesn’t display quite as nicely.

The chocolate should set as you are dipping the other cake pops. It shouldn’t take too long for the last cake pops to set. We used this time to gather our decorating supplies.

Turn your cake pops into bumble bees. These bumble bee cake pops were too easy to decorate. Also, there are so many options!

First, we melted our black chocolate. Then, using a toothpick, we drew stripes onto our bees. We also add dots on one end for eyes. You could also add a black circle for the bee head on one end.

Then, we dipped the edges of two almond slices into the chocolate. Place the almond slices on the top of the bee. You will have to hold them on for a bit until the chocolate sets. This step is worth it because that simple detail is the perfect final touch! We let our kids do all of the decorating. They loved it!

Now your bumble bee cake pops are ready! Enjoy the buzz about how cute they are! If you are looking for some ways to use these cute bumble bee cake pops, we have some ideas for you below.

Do you want a creative teacher appreciation gift that is handmade? These cake pops would be perfect! We have these free printable tags. You can use the tag that says, “A little treat for a teacher so sweet! Thank you!”

Simple. Sweet. Thoughtful. All you need for a perfect gift!

Why not add to this activity and learn about bees? You could pair making bumble bee cake pops with a book or two. 

Or you could watch a documentary about bumble bees as a family. They would make the perfect treat to share as you learn about bees as a family! We watched the one below on YouTube and were fascinated by all we learned.

BUMBLEBEES - The Secret World of Bees

We threw a “bee”-day party for a couple of our kiddos' 1st birthdays. We even made these bumble bee cake pops! They were the perfect addition to the treat table!

You can get all of the details for that party here (link coming soon). It turned out so, so cute!

Making bumble bee cake pops was a great time spent as a family. Hopefully, your family will love it too! If you make these as a family, be sure to tag us @DIYFamilyTime.

Looking for other yummy treats to make with your kids? You can check out these delicious and easy apple dumplings or our favorite tart recipes inspired by Grandma!