“I will never make cake pops again.”
If those words have ever passed through your lips, it was probably due to a discouraging experience dipping your cake pops. Today you will get to take a close look at six popular dipping chocolates that were evaluated based on their consistency, ease of use, and taste. With additional information about their availability and cost, you’ll be able to determine which brand is the best for your cake popping experience.
***As a special bonus, I have a coupon code to share with you for a discount on my favorite dipping chocolate for cake pops. So make sure you scroll through to the end of the blog post to take advantage of the limited time offer before it’s too late!***
What Is Compound Chocolate?
If you think the best kind of chocolate for coating cake pops is real (or couverture) chocolate, it’s time for you to learn about an easier alternative called compound chocolate.
The main ingredients of real chocolate are chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, which require a special melting process called tempering. In compound chocolate, the chocolate liquor is replaced with cocoa powder and the cocoa butter with oil. As a result, the compound chocolate can be melted easily in the microwave. If you choose the right compound chocolate, your coating will be delicious and you will not feel like you are sacrificing taste for convenience.
Chocolate Dipping Comparison
Much like the consistency of your royal icing determines how much trouble you have decorating sugar cookies, the thickness of dipping chocolate is a major contributor to your success when making cake pops.
To ensure that the dipping comparison between our six compound chocolates was fair, each was heated using the same process. A 14 oz. glass
Helpful Hint: It is important not to overheat your chocolate. Doing so will result in chunks forming in your chocolate making it unusable. Keeping the coating warm throughout the entire dipping process is key to having a smooth coating on your cake pops. To avoid having to repeatedly reheat your coating, a chocolate melting pot
Chocolate #1 – Wilton Candy Melts
The Wilton Candy Melts
In addition to the issues I had dipping my cake pops, I ran into some troubles when trying to get the temperature of the Wilton Candy Melts right. They cooled and started to thicken sooner than the other coatings so they required more frequent reheating. I also found them to be a little to easy to overheat. I burnt one batch and had to restart from scratch.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, I give Wilton Candy Melts
Helpful Hint: Since one of the goal’s of this comparison was to find the easiest dipping chocolates to use for coating cake pops, nothing was added to the chocolates to alter their consistency. However, when making your own cake pops, if you find your coating is too thick, you can thin it using paramount crystals
Out of curiosity, I added 3 teaspoons of vegetable oil to the Wilton coating to thin it and found the consistency much improved. More experimenting would likely yield even better results. Little Miss Cake Pops is an amazing cake popper who uses Wilton Candy Melts, proving that the coating can be made to work. However, I highly recommend that beginners (or anyone who has had trouble making cake pops) consider using an alternative.
The below picture shows a cake pop dipped in unaltered Wilton coating (on the left) next to a cake pop dipped in Wilton coating mixed with vegetable oil (on the right).
Chocolate #2 – Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers
The Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, the Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers scored a 7 when unaltered. Adding paramount crystals, vegetable shortening, or vegetable oil would liking yield much improved results.
Chocolate #3 – Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula
The Chocoley Coating took a total of 45 seconds to melt completely. The wafers were smaller in size than the Wilton and Make ‘n Mold wafers, possibly contributing to the quick melting time. Once melted, the coating was perfectly smooth, dripping right of the fork that I stirred it with. The coating was completely trouble-free and a pleasure to work with. It smoothly and completely coated each cake pop. After removing the cake pops from the coating, minimal tapping was required to get the excess off. One of my favorite things about the Chocoley coating was that it stayed thin even as it started to cool so it required less reheating than any of the other brands. The coating dried to a smooth flawless finish.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, the Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula scored a 10.
Chocolate #4 – Guittard A’Peels
The Guittard A’Peels
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, the Guittard A’Peels
Chocolate #5 – CandiQuik Candy Coating
The CandiQuik Candy Coating
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, the CandiQuik Candy Coating
Chocolate #6 – Merckens
The Merckens wafers took a total of 60 seconds to melt completely. The coating was a little thicker than is ideal for dipping. Thinning it with a little bit of paramount crystals, vegetable shortening, or vegetable oil would be beneficial. In the end, the Merckens coating dried perfectly smooth.
On a scale of 1 to 10 for dipping consistency, the Merckens wafers scored an 8.5.
Chocolate Taste Test
Since taste preferences vary from person to person, please keep in mind that the below taste ratings are simply a matter of opinion. For each chocolate, an average was taken of the scores given by two sweets enthusiasts doing a blind taste test. All of the brands offer at least two different flavors of coating; the chocolate option was used for this taste test.
Chocolate #1 – Wilton Candy Melts
The Wilton wafers had a flavor that I would not describe as chocolate. Words used during the taste test, such as “strange” and “unpleasant”, are a strong indicator that this is not my top choice for coating cake pops. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, Wilton Candy Melts
Chocolate #2 – Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers
The Make ‘n Mold wafers had an enjoyable chocolate flavor. There were several mutterings of “Mmmmmm…” while enjoying the wafers during the taste test. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers scored a 9.
Chocolate #3 – Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula
The Chocoley wafers stood out as having a true chocolate flavor. They dissolved quickly, literally melting in your mouth. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula scored an 8.
Chocolate #4 – Guittard A’Peels
The Guittard wafers had an enjoyable chocolate flavor that was described as “light”. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, Guittard A’Peels
Chocolate #5 – CandiQuik Candy Coating
The CandiQuik coating had a sweet enjoyable flavor that unfortunately didn’t taste too much like chocolate. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, CandiQuik Candy Coating
Chocolate #6 – Merckens
The Merckens wafers had a chocolate flavor that was also described as “light” when compared to others. On a scale of 1 to 10 for taste, Merckens scored a 7.
Chocolate Pricing Comparison
The retail prices listed below were collected from my local area and will vary slightly from location to location. Since online purchases include the additional cost of shipping, all website pricing listed below includes estimated shipping charges. Also, please note that not all chocolates are packaged by the same weight. For comparison purposes, the below prices are all calculated at a per pound rate, not a per package rate.
Chocolate #1 – Wilton Candy Melts
Wilton Candy Melts are probably the most readily available option for cake pop coating. You can find them at Michael’s in a wide variety of colors. They are packaged in 12 oz. bags, which are 3/4 of a pound. The pricing per pound for Wilton Melts is approximately $3.30 to 4.00.
Chocolate #2 – Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers
Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers are available at Hobby Lobby locations in a variety of colors. They are sold in 14 oz. bags, which are 7/8 of a pound. The price for Make ‘n Mold is approximately $3.40 per pound.
Chocolate #3 – Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula
Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula is available at chocoley.com for approximately $5.70 to $9.75 per pound (including shipping, depending on how much you purchase at once). It comes in white, milk, dark, and extra dark varieties.
***For the next ten days only, you can try Chocoley at 15% off. Simply use the coupon code SUGARKISSED at checkout.***
Chocolate #4 – Guittard A’Peels
Guittard A’Peels
Chocolate #5 – CandiQuik Candy Coating
CandiQuik Candy Coating
Chocolate #6 – Merckens
Merckens is available for purchase online in a handful of colors in addition to chocolate. The best pricing I have found is at gygi.com for $3.40 to $5.40 per pound (including shipping, depending on how much you purchase at once). The website has it available in quantities of 2.5 and 50 pounds. Your can also order it online at Busy Bakers Supplies and Global Sugar Art.
The Final Results
Chocolate #1 – Wilton Candy Melts
Dipping Grade: F (much improved when thinned) | Taste Grade: D | Price Range: $ – $$
Chocolate #2 – Make ‘n Mold Candy Wafers
Dipping Grade: C | Taste Grade: A | Price Range: $
Chocolate #3 – Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom, Dipping and Coating Formula
Dipping Grade: A | Taste Grade: B | Price Range: $$$$
Chocolate #4 – Guittard A’Peels
Dipping Grade: A | Taste Grade: C | Price Range: $ – $$$
Chocolate #5 – CandiQuik Candy Coating
Dipping Grade: B | Taste Grade: C | Price Range: $
Chocolate #6 – Merckens
Dipping Grade: B | Taste Grade: C | Price Range: $ – $$$
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For the next ten days only, you can try Chocoley at 15% off.
Simply use the coupon code SUGARKISSED at checkout.*
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*Savings is taken off the full retail prices. Excludes insulated cold pack shippers, gift certificates, Swissmar fondue sets, and sale/clearance items. Cannot be combined with any other discounts or special offers. Offer expires 11/19/15.
All opinions contained in this blog post are my own. Chocoley supplied free products to use in recipes shared on sugarkissed.net but no monetary compensation was provided for my review of those products.
I’m so happy you posted this.. I find cake pops are hit or miss. With these tips I will go back to the kitchen. . I have struggled with Merkens and Wilton ..
I’m so glad you found the info helpful, Cammie. And I’m thrilled to hear that you’re giving cake pops another shot!
WOW! what a fantastic post Janine! that was A LOT Of research and time to put together and i SOOO appreciate it! i usually use almond bark mixed with the melts because candy melts alone are a real pain for dipping but bark easily melts and is thin enough for dipping. i like the candy melt colors and unique flavors like s’more or mint which is why i mix the 2 together. but i was always curious about the other chocolate. i gotta try those bada bing ones so i can say BADA BING BADA BOOM when i make some more instead of UGH when the chocolate doesn’t cooperate! LOL :>D thanks SO much for all your hard work in putting this together and for the discount too!
lisa@hooplapalooza recently posted..candy-filled corn favors
I’m so glad you found all the chocolate info helpful, Lisa. I do hope you get the chance to try the Chocoley chocolate because I’m sure you will love it as much as I do!
Good post Janine.
Thanks, Andrea!
Thank you thank you thank you! I will be saving this post on my phone to come back to in the future.
I absolutely HATE Wilton chocolate. I don’t understand how it’s so popular! I always use the white chocolate almond bark for my cake pops, but have been looking for a milk chocolate option. I think the milk chocolate almond bark at an artificial taste to it. Can’t wait to try these other options. Thanks again!
I’m so glad you found all the chocolate information helpful, Jess. I hope you give some other brands a try so you can find one that you love!
Please give Ghirardelli dipping chocolate a try. A one taste. Comes in white and dark chocolate only, so you will have to color it. I think you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you for the suggestion, Kara. I’ll give it a try!
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Great job! I am a Chocoley devotee, and one strategy to vastly improve the flavor – from its already passable level – is to mix in “real” (their is V125) chocolate as no more than 30% or so of the total amount. This seems to prevent the blooming you’d see with more “real” chocolate but lends a truly authentic chocolate flavor.
Great tip, Deb! I’ll have to give that a try. I loooooove Chocoley!!
This is by far the best thing I’ve read in ages.
Thank you so much for posting this.
So much great information!
This is very informative. Personally I tried merkens for a wedding I was making pops for and I was sorely disappointed. I had read great reviews for them and went 20 miles from home to find locally. I paid 2x as much as make and mold only to have 90% crack. I tried everything and they all cracked. It was horrible. I had to remake them all and went back to my thinned make and mold and I only had 5-10% crackage. I have also used candyquik which is ok too. Wilton are my last resort. I also occasionally use the chocomaker that they sell at Walmart which I find between make n mold and Wilton for ease of use. I always thin with Cisco.
Great post. Thanks so much. We used apeels for a long time but our supplier quit selling it to us in #25 boxes and found it too expensive by the pound. We don’t have too much trouble with Wilton but I am concerned about the taste. Although our customers haven’t complained. Will try these others. Thanks again.