Need an easy, foolproof, and incredibly delicious carrot cake pops recipe? Something that gets the job done with minimal hassle? This post will have you covered with 10 effective tips for the easiest carrot cake pops ever!
We all know that cake pops are of course delicious, beautiful, and an absolute party favorite! However, these delicious little treats can be a PAIN to make!
This easy carrot cake pops recipe will be your secret weapon for all your cake pop endeavors! Combined with a wonderful brown sugar cream cheese frosting, say hello to a decadent dessert ball full of amazing flavor! Seriously delish!
Perfect for any beginner, this post will list our top 10 TIPS to make sure you’re successful making this easy carrot cake pops for any occasion!
This post will go over everything you need to know to create this carrot cake pops recipe.
Recipe difficulty: Not going lie, this will be one of my more challenging beginner level recipes bordering on the cusp of Intermediate. Don’t be discouraged! Read my 10 HELPFUL TIPS below and you’ll be prepared for your cake pop experience.
Note: Like any baking recipe, there may be challenges working with the batter or dipping the cake pop in the candy melts. Nevertheless, I have listed below my top hacks and easy cop-outs to make these carrot cake pops with cream cheese icing hassle free!
Sam’s Pro Tips for this Carrot Cake Pops Recipe
Below are my top tips and tricks depending on each stage of the process:
Baking the Easiest Carrot Cake Recipe Ever
Tip 1
Don’t overmix the flour with the wet ingredients! I listed this tip first as this is important when baking! When the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg) are sifted into the wet ingredients, stir delicately until just combined. Like seriously fold the flour into the wet mixture only a couple times, until you no longer see the flour. If you overmix, the cake will bake dry and be hard.
This is similar to our baking tip in our Easy Rosette Ube Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream That is So Moist, where we achieved a moist, ube cupcake!
Tip 2
Sift the flour into the wet batter. I know this sounds extra, but this tip is important. By sifting the flour, it will prevent clumps of flour and make incorporating into the wet ingredients a lot easier. As such, this means less mixing of the flour which means you have lessened your chances of overmixing!
Tip 3
Have the right texture of carrots. Ok, so what does this mean? You’ll usually find that in most carrot cake recipes, it will ask for freshly grated carrots as this keeps the cake moist and will give the right texture to the cake. As such, using a food processor to grate the carrots is not typically recommended as it will give long, denser strands compared to grating the carrots yourself.
I don’t know about you, but the idea of standing around to grate 4 cups of carrots is not appealing!
Therefore, I DO USE the food processor to grate my carrots in LESS than 10 seconds! After the carrot cake is combined with the frosting and dipped in the candy melts, I personally love having the thicker strands of carrot as it gives variety to the cake pop. It also lets me pump this cake pop recipe out in no time at all!
Tip 4
THE FOOLPROOF ULTIMATE TRICK: Here is my #1 SECRET AND NO-FAIL TRICK in case all things go south with my carrot cake! We all know this happens even if you did everything right, followed the steps, and mixed perfectly.
For example, you forgot the timer, forgot to line the cake pans with parchment paper, overbaked the cake, got distracted and didn’t flip the cakes soon enough and now the outside looks too browned! (We all been there…) Don’t worry!
Your foolproof trick is in the icing! Now I’m not saying all carrot cakes can be saved, let’s face it, some may be too far gone. However, your icing will totally mask any mistake you may have made.
Here’s what I mean…After the carrot cake is cooled and mixed with the icing, the icing in this carrot cake pops recipe is delightfully super sweet, that it will overpower the slight mishap you may have had. What’s more, is that the sweetness in this carrot cake recipe has also been toned down to account for the brown sugar cream cheese icing. As a result, the combination of these two recipes is perfect! See I got you covered!
Making the Delicious Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
Tip 5
Sift the powdered sugar into the butter and incorporate gradually. This tip was borrowed from my Easy Rosette Ube Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream! First, if the powdered sugar is not sifted, it will become grainy in the frosting. Second, if you don’t add the powdered sugar gradually, you’re just asking to make a mess in your kitchen. When it’s added to the mixer, do this in stages so that it can whisk without poofing in your face (and the kitchen!).
Tip 6
Make sure the cream cheese and unsalted butter are at room temperature. So, this is really important! The cream cheese and unsalted butter need to be brought to room temperature to get the CREAMIEST frosting for this carrot cake pops recipe.
Depending on where you live, have the butter and cream cheese sit on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s still slightly soft when you put your finger to it, but not too soft that you can push all the way through!
Tip 7
Have that brown sugar free of clumps! To avoid grittiness in the frosting, make sure the brown sugar doesn’t have any clumps when mixing with the cream cheese and butter. After mixing, let it sit for a little bit (like 5 minutes) before adding the rest of the ingredients. This gives it time to incorporate with the rest of the icing!
Assembling the Carrot Cake Pops
Tip 8
USE SHORTENING IN THE CANDY MELTS! This is another no-fail trick you should absolutely know! I have definitely suffered from using good-quality candy melts to have the mixture be slightly too thick for my cake pops that it pulls it off the stick! Isn’t this frustrating?
Yes, I did stick the lollipop stick in the candy melt before inserting in the cake pop. I also made sure to use a good quality type of candy melt that melts evenly! Understandably, it is just the nature of candy melts to give that thick coating.
Therefore, use a couple teaspoons of shortening to thin the texture of the candy melts making the cake pops easy to dip! (This will depend on the brand and type of candy melts you use).
Tip 9
Put the carrot cake pops in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to 2 hours. Another common problem to cake pops is cracking. (Definitely no fun!) This is most likely due to the extreme temperature change between the cold cake pops and the heated candy melts.
As such, depending on time, I will usually have my carrot cake pops in the refrigerator for no more than 2 hours, or at the very minimum 30 minutes. Don’t put your cake pops in the freezer or keep reheating the chocolate as this may cause cracks.
Tip 10
How to fix if my carrot cake pops are leaking oil? Sometimes this happens! If you had air bubbles on your cake pop or didn’t evenly coat the cake pops with the candy melts, oil can seep out as the candy melt hardens. This can especially happen if it was a dense cake (AKA was there oil used in the cake…). No big deal!
Either plug the hole with a little bit of additional candy melt or wipe it off with a paper towel before serving. I totally have done the paper towel option!
Key Ingredients – Carrot Cake Pops Recipe
Below are some key and optional ingredients for this recipe:
Carrot Cake Pops
- Shredded carrots: Ready for this? You will need 4 CUPS of shredded carrots. Totally fine to whip out that food processor, put the right blade on it, and shred the carrots. You’ll get a nice variety of texture in this carrot cake pops recipe.
- Vegetable oil: A lot of bakers use vegetable oil when baking as the oil keeps cakes moist longer. In combination with the other liquid ingredients, it helps give the right texture to the batter.
- Brown and white sugar: I use a combination of brown and white sugar for a deeper flavor and sweetness. Now there is only 1 CUP of total sugar in this recipe as I said in the Baking the Easiest Carrot Cake Recipe Ever section. This is accounting for the deliciously sweet brown sugar cream cheese frosting that will be mixed with the cake.
- Toasted pecans: No joke, toasting the pecans makes a difference! Before mixing the finely chopped pecans in the cake, I like to put the chopped pecans in the toaster oven for 3-4 minutes just to deepen the flavor of the nuts. Yum!
- Shredded coconut or raisins (optional): For added texture to these tasty carrot cake balls, I like to toss ½ cup of shredded coconut into the batter. You also use raisins instead!
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- Unsalted butter: The base of the frosting with the cream cheese! Unsalted is usually preferred as the salt level can then be adjusted to preference.
- Full-fat cream cheese block: For the best flavor, get the real deal! The full on full-fat block! When whipped with butter will be oh so creamy!
- Powdered sugar: Keeps this frosting smooth and fluffy. If you have done my 5-Minute Mock Devonshire Cream with Honey, you know I have this sifted in to prevent clumps.
- Brown sugar: When the brown sugar is added you’ll see the color go from a light cream to a beautiful nutty brown. Totally enrichens the flavor of the frosting!
- Molasses (optional): Just a dash is added for a beautiful finish to this frosting and takes the brown sugar up a notch!
Candy Melts
- Candy melts: Definitely get a good quality type of candy melt! I used the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers.
More Variations to this Recipe
There are a few ways you can variate this carrot cake pops recipe. Here’s how:
- Variate the spices or nuts! Make this carrot cake pops recipe work for you! If you don’t have pecans, try chopped walnuts! Or add a dash of ground cloves to the batter!
- What can I pair with this dish? Wow your guests with some other great dessert options on your dessert table. Try our Easy Rosette Ube Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream That is So Moist or our Classy Chocolate Mousse with Grand Marnier to Indulge In for some great options!
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- Creamy Filipino Leche Flan for Your Next Party
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can butter sit out to soften?
Depending on the temperature, butter will usually soften in 45 minutes to an hour.
How do you bring baking ingredients to room temperature?
Leave your ingredients used for baking on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the climate you leave in. Room temperature ingredients will incorporate better in the batter and help bake evenly.
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