I’m a big fan of the cake pop and these beach themed cake pops are perfect for summer entertaining (for your mouth).

Created by Target’s baking blogger, Bakerella, these pops are a fun summertime project that taste great and are super fun! The recipe below is inspired by Target’s summer advertising campaign,  ‘Have a Big Honkin’ Summer!’.

The full instructions, along with a list of what you’ll need, are at the end of this post, but first, here’s a photo play-by-play on how to make Beach Ball Cake Pops.

To make cake pops, start with crumbled cake and then mix it with frosting. Easy and so tasty.

The texture will be something like this. You can scoop amounts of the cake and frosting mixture for even size balls.

And then just roll them by hand. If your cake crumbs are fine, you’ll get rounder, smoother balls which will make for smoother pops when dipped.

Once rolled, chill them and then dip them in white candy coating.

To decorate you’ll need some colorful sanding sugar.

A helpful way to divide the pops into eight equal sections is to use a toothpick to draw lines right on the surface.

Then, use a small brush to apply a thin layer of corn syrup to one of the sections.

Then dip that section in one of the sanding sugar colors.

Use a toothpick to clean up any edges.

Repeat, with each color of sanding sugar.

Add a blue confetti sprinkle to the top and voila – Beach Balls!

You can even display them in a dish filled with light brown sugar or cookie crumbs for sand. Super cute for a party presentation. Hope you have a ball making them and have a big honkin’ summer, too!

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Beach Ball Cake Pops by Bakerella

What You’ll Need:

1 box cake mix (bake as directed)

1 18 oz can of frosting

Wax paper

Baking sheet

White candy coating

Heatproof plastic bowl

Toothpicks

Corn syrup

Small brush

Yellow, red, green and blue sanding sugar

Blue confetti sprinkles

Styrofoam block

What You’ll Do

1. Bake cake as directed on box for a 9 X 13 cake. Cool completely and crumble into a large bowl.

2. Mix up to 3/4 of a can of frosting into the cake crumbs using a large spoon. You won’t need the rest.

3. Roll mixture into 1.25-inch balls and place on a wax paper covered baking sheet. You can also use an ice cream scoop and then roll the balls.

4. Place cake balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes so they will firm up. Then transfer them to the refrigerator to remain chilled and avoid freezing.

5. Melt white candy coating in a heatproof plastic bowl so that the coating is at least three to four inches deep for easier dipping. Melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals on low, stirring in between. Repeat until melted and smooth.

6. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted white candy coating and insert stick into the cake ball. Dip the entire cake pop into the bowl of melted candy coating. Dip and remove in one motion without stirring. Make sure the entire cake ball is covered. If your coating is too thick, you can add a little vegetable oil to help thin it and make it easier to work with.

7. Remove and allow any excess coating to fall off the pop and back in the bowl and place in a Styrofoam block to dry.

8. When dry, use a toothpick to draw or lightly etch two perpendicular lines starting at the top of the cake pop. Draw the lines straight down the sides. Then draw two more perpendicular lines, so that you have eight equal sections. Brush off any white chocolate shavings.

9. Use a small brush to apply a thin layer of corn syrup to one section of the cake pop and dip in yellow sanding sugar. Repeat so all of the pops have yellow sections. Use a toothpick to clean up any edges and brush off any sanding sugar that gets on the exposed white sections of the pop. Repeat with the red, green and blue sections of the beach ball.

10. Use a toothpick to dot white candy coating on top of the pop and place a blue confetti sprinkle to finish off the Beach Ball look. Let dry completely and enjoy!

Think that these cake pops are great? check out these Bullseye dog pops by Bakerella!