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Faking Cake Pops with Donut Holes

February 18, 2011 by Leslie

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. To learn more, please read our disclosure and privacy policy
When planning my nieces Vintage Barnyard Party the other week, I ended up with a scary dilemma. My sister-in-law saw the barnyard cake pops from Bakerella’s Cake Pops cookbook and requested that I make several for the party.
The problem is, however, that I’ve only ever tried to make cake pops once before. And it was an unmitigated disaster. How was I supposed to make such adorable little cake pops when I clearly lack the talent for creating those popular buggers?
Love the look of cake pops, but don't want to spend all that time making them? Try making 'fake cake pops' using donut holes instead, just like these barnyard bites!

I suppose I could have tried to make cake pops a few more times, but I’m still not over that incident last summer. And what if they all melted and fell apart on the trip between Maryland and Petersburg? I just couldn’t take that risk. The one day, it hit me…what if I used donut holes instead?

Using donut holes would eliminate concerns about falling apart during the dipping process, but I wouldn’t say it was without a bit of a learning curve. After a very informative test run, and more than three dozen fake cake pops bites made for the party, I figured out a few tips to help make these donut bites pretty tasty and easy to make.

Love the look of cake pops, but don't want to spend all that time making them? Try making 'fake cake pops' using donut holes instead!

How to Fake Cake Pops with Donut Holes

  • Freeze your donut holes first. Put the donut holes in a bowl and let them sit in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.  Pull them out one-by-one, stick a wooden skewer in one end and then get dipping.  You have to work quickly using this technique, because the really frozen donuts stay best on the skewers, but also cause the chocolate coating to solidify very quickly.
  • Use plain cake donut holes.  I love sweets, but the few glazed or sugared donut holes I tried were way too sweet, even for me! You might have to call your local donut shop in advance to make a special request for donut holes without any toppings, but it’s worth it.
  • Get your candy coat as thin as possible.  Donuts are pretty sweet and tasty already, and the candy coating can quickly get overwhelming.  I found that the bites with the thinnest coats tasted best.  Bonus:  Thin coats & frozen donut holes meant hardly any drips when drying!
  • Melt more chocolate than you need.  I think one of my problems last time was that the chocolate was too shallow.  You really need a deep candy bath for the holes to dip into so the donuts don’t spend too much time hitting the sides of the bowl.

I would absolutely recommend using donut holes to make fake cake pops. It was so much easier, and took a lot less time than trying to bake a cake, mix it up, and make all those individual cake pop ball. The kids loved them, too! And I think those little barnyard donut bites were the perfect little farm friends to bring to my niece’s Vintage Barnyard party. I gues I’m glad my sister-in-law requested those cake bites after all.

(Directions for decorating the donuts to look like barnyard animals can be found in Bakerella’s Cake Pops Cookbook, available here.)

Have you ever had any cake pops?

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Filed Under: Blog, Candy Recipes, Desserts, Food Tagged With: barnyard

About Leslie

Leslie is the passionate party planner in her family. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was determined to find a way to continue making amazing parties for her kids that don't leave you exhausted. To do that Leslie combines the experience she learned working for a professional event planner with the reality of a busy family life to create party inspiration that the average mom can reproduce and be proud of.

Comments

  1. Humble Homemaker says

    February 19, 2011 at 7:54 am

    So cute 🙂 They came out really well! Feel free to hook it up to my new Weekend Review Link Party at Humble Homemaking. I know other people would think they were awesome too! Have a great day.

    https://humblehomemaking.blogspot.com/

  2. Brianna! says

    February 28, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    I just randomly stumbled across your blog
    and I LOVE it.

    Stop by and say hi!
    http://www.itsybitsybrianna.blogspot.com

    xoxo
    bB

  3. Krissy @ B.Inspired says

    February 28, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    OMGosh – I would have never thought to use donut holes. Such a great idea! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  4. Lyssa says

    February 28, 2011 at 9:04 pm

    What a cute theme! It would be hard to eat those, they are so cute!
    I'm your newest follower!
    I'd love for you to stop by and link up to my new recipe party, Scrumtrulescent Saturdays over at born-again crafter!
    Lyssa

    https://bornagaincrafter.blogspot.com/2011/02/scrumtrulescent-saturdays-party-green.html

  5. Denise says

    March 1, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    I love this and have scheduled a feature of it for this afternoon at Extreme Personal Measures.

    Denise
    Extreme Personal Measures

  6. [email protected] says

    March 1, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    This is the best, I had quite a time with cake pops and I didn't even think to use donut holes! We awarded you a Stylish Blog award. Heres the link https://coffeeatthree.blogspot.com/2011/03/and-winners-arestylish-blog-awards.html

  7. Kim says

    March 2, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    Donut holes is a great idea!! It cuts out one step and tastes better. You are genius!

  8. Nadia says

    March 2, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Wow – how cute are these!!!! So much fun!

  9. Krafty Kat says

    March 3, 2011 at 2:45 am

    OK, these are the cutest ever!!! Sharing these on FB & Twitter! Thanks so much for linking up!

  10. Lisa says

    March 3, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    Too cute! These are adorable!

  11. Stephanie Smith says

    March 4, 2011 at 8:40 pm

    These are too cute. I love trying new things like cake pops and cake decorating.

  12. Shauna says

    March 6, 2011 at 6:51 am

    These barnyard donut bits are absolutely darling! They look delicous and are too cute!

    Shauna
    https://myshaenoel.blogspot.com/

  13. Elsie says

    March 8, 2011 at 3:56 am

    I love the donuthole idea, so easy. <3

  14. BuyFF14Account says

    March 8, 2011 at 7:48 am

    I love the idea of making that one! They're so cute. Being featured on another blog is worth it.

    Buy FF14 Account

  15. Cassie says

    March 9, 2011 at 1:00 am

    Seriously…this is so fantastic! I just pinned it to my pinterest board! I LOVE these li'l guys!! I have made cake balls and this would have been SO much easier!!!! GENIUS!! =)

  16. jamie says

    June 28, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    Too cute!!!! You did a great job with all the animals' features 🙂

  17. Jody Cowan says

    July 2, 2016 at 7:29 pm

    This is a brilliant idea! I love to find quicker and easier ways to bake. Thanks so much! Glad I found you on the Share The Wealth Linky!

  18. Laurie says

    July 3, 2016 at 12:51 am

    What an awesome idea and I have to say these really caught my eye because they are so cute! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday! Pinning to share.

  19. creativejewishmom/sara says

    July 3, 2016 at 9:44 am

    really inventive love it! And by the way, with a cake pop baking machine making them is totally simple! all the best and thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!

  20. Sondra says

    July 3, 2016 at 11:23 pm

    These are so adorable cute! Thanks for sharing!

  21. Leanna says

    July 4, 2016 at 12:41 am

    These are a terrific idea. All the cuteness and none of the hassle. Thanks for sharing.

    Leanna.

  22. Marie says

    July 4, 2016 at 11:05 am

    This is such a cute idea! What an easy way to create some festive treats for a party! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday this week.

  23. Hannah | Eat, drink, and save money says

    July 9, 2016 at 7:49 am

    This is such a smart idea! I love it. Thanks for sharing on Share the Wealth Sunday!

  24. Jess says

    July 20, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    Boom! GENIUS! 🙂 Love this idea! 🙂

    I’d love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, and tips: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

  25. Jessy @ The Life Jolie says

    July 25, 2016 at 4:01 pm

    This is brilliant, especially for those of us who aren’t the best bakers (me!)!

  26. Mary Beth says

    July 27, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Oh my goodness these are so cute! Thanks so much for sharing at Project Inspire{d}.

  27. Mi says

    July 27, 2016 at 10:10 pm

    I will be doing this genius cake pop!
    Love it!
    Michelle

  28. Angelina @ Peonies & Orange Blossoms says

    July 30, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    such a clever idea. I tried to make cake pops once and its as a fail too. Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things!

  29. Roseann Hampton says

    August 1, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing – I saw your post on Wicked Awesome Wednesday!

I love helping busy moms create DIY parties that aren’t overwhelming. Here you'll find crafts, recipes, and fun printables you can use to create a celebration you’re proud of that you get to enjoy too! Read More
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Looking for a little more creativity in your life? From Play Dates to Parties is the place for you!

Hi there! I’m Leslie! I love helping busy moms create DIY parties that aren’t overwhelming. At Playdates to Parties, you'll find crafts, ready-to-use cut files, recipes, and fun printables you can use to create a celebration you’re proud of that you get to enjoy too!  {Read More}

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