Vanilla cake pops with buttercream, sprinkles and candy melt coating

Bake a batch of cake (or use boxed mix or pre-made cake) and let it cool.

Cream room temperature unsalted butter with the whisk attachment until fluffy, three or four minutes.

Add about three cups of powdered sugar and mix on low; add a teaspoon of vanilla and a little pinch of salt, then a tablespoon of cream to make it silky smooth.

Gently trim the over-caramelized outside and the firmer edges off the cake layers.

Crumble the cake into small uniform pieces in a big bowl with no large clumps.

Add buttercream and toss with a spatula (not overmixing) to a homogenous wet-sand consistency that still holds some cake texture and has no dry spots.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and scoop with a one and a half inch scoop, about 35 grams each; roll into balls.

Mix a couple tablespoons of sprinkles into the mixture so they are evenly distributed.

Chill the balls in the fridge four hours or the freezer half an hour.

Re-roll the firmed balls until round and return them to the freezer.

Melt the candy melts in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally.

Thin with a teaspoon or so of shortening, mixed in well so no streak remains, until it falls off the spatula.

Working in batches from the freezer, make a hole, dip the end of each treat stick in the coating and insert it partway as glue.

Transfer the melted coating to a cup; dip each pop, work it around and spin, tap off the excess and remove drips with a spoon or spatula.

Add a few sprinkles, or swipe melted lavender candy melt over the top; stand in a cake pop stand to set.