Vanilla cake pops dipped in candy melts

Bake a 9 by 13 cake or two 8-inch layers from a 15-ounce box of cake mix and cool it completely.

Half batch of vanilla frosting: cream half a cup of room-temperature butter with about 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar; add 1 to 2 tablespoons cream and about a teaspoon of vanilla; mix on high about a minute until smooth and fluffy.

Trim the browned crust from the top, sides and bottom of the cake with a serrated knife.

Crumble the cake by hand into tiny pieces in a big bowl, gently, with no big clumps; make a final pass to break any left.

Variation: Mix about half a cup of jimmies into the crumbs for colour inside.

Add about a cup of frosting and mix on the lowest setting about 30 seconds, until it looks like wet sand; do not overmix.

Scoop about a tablespoon at a time and roll into one-inch balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Chill 30 minutes in the freezer or 4 hours in the fridge to firm up.

Melt the candy melts in 30-second microwave bursts, stirring between, or over a double boiler of simmering water; pour into a small glass.

Bring out about five balls at a time; give each a final roll, dip a stick tip in the candy melt and press it halfway into the ball.

Dip to cover, tap off the excess, add sprinkles while wet and stand upright to set.

If balls are too cold or the coating too hot they crack or ooze; chill until cold but not frozen.