Use An Egg Carton For Hassle-Free Cake Pop Prep

Cute and scrumptious, cake pops are perfect for birthday parties and make for a super fun recipe where kids can help out in the kitchen. But one stage of the prep is always a little tricky — keeping the pops upright for long enough to allow their chocolatey coating to set evenly.

Placing the cake pops on a lined baking sheet doesn't work if you want them to retain their spherical shape, and putting them in a mug or tall jug can cause them to lean over and drip. Luckily, we have a solution that won't cost you a penny: Use an empty egg carton for hassle-free cake pop prep.

Making a cake pop stand with an egg box takes minutes — it's simply a matter of poking a few holes in the right places. Once you're done with the cartons, you can recycle them, set them aside for an arts and crafts session, use them to light your grill, or keep them for the next time you want to make cake pops at home.

To make your cake pop stand, close an empty egg carton and turn it upside down so it sits flush against your countertop. Then use a small tool — such as a metal straw, wooden skewer, or the end of a screwdriver — to pop a hole through the center of each raised section. Widen each circle ever so slightly by rotating the tool in each hole so your cake pop stick can snugly fit inside, but do this with caution; broaden the holes too much, and your cake pops will slant, causing their chocolatey coating to drip off. You're looking to make a small aperture that keeps the stick firmly in place so it can remain upright.

If you don't have a circular-shaped tool, the tip of a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors works too, with a slight modification. In this case, make a criss-cross cut that looks like a small "x" to create little flaps that the cake pop stick can firmly slide down into without budging. Depending on the dimensions of your carton and the number and size of cake pops you're making, you may need to space them out to prevent them from touching each other.

Once all your cake pops are in your homemade stand, make space in your fridge or freezer to allow them to set. You'll need a nice, tall area with plenty of room to accommodate the height of the egg carton and your orb-shaped treats. After all your hard work baking a cake, making frosting, forming and freezing the pops, and dipping them in melted chocolate, now is not the time to ruin the flawlessness of their delicious coating by knocking them into a refrigerator shelf!

As a bonus, your new egg carton stand makes for an easy way to transport your cake pops to a party. Why not even decorate the cardboard first with paint or felt tip pins (another wholesome activity to keep kids entertained for a while) so they can be used as a pretty serving stand?

If you live in an egg-free home and don't have any egg cartons on hand, try using a colander with wide holes or a wedge of polystyrene to hold your pop sticks. While you may not be able to decorate them the same way you would a carton, these materials will at least give you a similar mess-free way to finish setting your cake pops.