The cake pop jumped the shark ages ago. Bakerella pretty much killled it.

Just a word of warning, I've made a few varieties of cream cheese flavored cake pops and they were all disgusting. It's too tangy and sour for that texture, it's not cake enough, nor cheesey enough, it's all wrong and gross.

I just found out about cake pops and they are amazing. My friend made a yellow cake with peanut butter baked in and dipped in white chocolate. So tasty!

Agreed with canadiancook. Totally.

I think what wasn't killed by bakerella, Starbucks easily finished off. My husband worked at a Starbucks in college and has told me horror stories about how nasty, prepackaged and gross all the baked goods from there are and the tips they had to follow to make them look appealing. No thanks!

Actually, this is totally true for me. I was fine with it being a cutesy little trend that I had no interest in until I saw them at Starbucks. That was the first time I saw them in real life and I just kind of stared at them and realized cake pops are stupid and gross looking. I think the price didn't help much either.

I also don't get/like cake pops. They seem totally small, unsatisfying and geared toward helping you shove cake in your mouth in the quickest manner possible. I'd much rather get out a fork and actually enjoy a small piece of cake than eat a cake pop. I don't believe I've ever had such a strong reaction towards a baked good so it's kind of weird but they really bother me for some reason! :) I will admit that they look pretty cute sitting in the bakery cases though.

I'm a sweets fiend and yet I find cake pops ( home made or starbucks) pretty disgusting personally. The mashing together of all that interior stuff just makes it look like something my toddlers would make after playing with their food.

I love looking at well decorated cake pops cause they can be so cute and well done, but the idea of actually eating one grosses me out

They can be super cute but I agree with others, I don't want to eat mushed up cake insides.

i've had the tiramisu cake pop and it was pretty gross. way, way too sweet and the texture was unappealing.

@jmorri26: that makes sense. all of their pastries look like they come out of vending machines.

I'm not a fan of cake pops/balls. They taste like pre-chewed cake. Ew.

I've found them silly from day one.

Crumbly cake just doesn't seem like a sensible food to put on a stick.

I never heard of these before.

I have never had one so I was pretty excited when I saw them at SBUX a month or so ago. Granted, I still haven't had one but it is something I'd like to try. But when I want cake, I usally want an entire piece.

I adore cake but was always slightly repelled by the idea of cake pops. Some are so pretty but none of them ever seem actually appetizing. (Cake and frosting smushed together and compressed into a ball? I did that with white bread and butter when I was a kid but I never once thought other people might want to eat my bread marble.)

I must say, I'm rather surprised by so many other people hating on cake pops too. So who are the consumers that are driving this trend then?

Like akay, I just wonder the point of putting crumbly food on a stick. Seems like a cute way to make a mess.

good. it's not hard to make little snack-sized cakes, (in fact, I made some today). isn't a big part of the appeal of cake the lovely texture? why would you ever want to eat mashed up crumbs?

I'm so f@#$% tired of hearing about cake pops!

Although they are great to look at, I have never understood nor cared for cake pops. They are very popular in social events industry (weddings, showers, etc.) though. They pop up in pictures all the freaking time!

I've tried the cake pops at starbucks mostly out of curiosity of why they've become so popular and the texture was exactly what I was worried it would be like (kind of like if you'd gummed at a piece of cake and then kept it in your mouth for a little while). Personally I'd rather have a small square of cake with a glaze poured over (on or off of a stick) than something that has been manipulated that much.

Can food jump the shark? I know that there can be food trends, but since it's all based on what people think looks and tastes good...This is silly.

to each their own. i agree with elizabeth.
and although i'm not sure 100% about starbucks food, i know they have taken steps recently to eliminate trans fats, artificial flavors/dyes and corn syrup from all of it. which is pretty good for a big time chain.

I don't know about the starbucks cake pops, but the bleeding heart bakery here in Chicago makes cake balls which are the same thing, sans stick, and they are fan-freaking-tactic. Dense, rich and moist. More like eating a truffle than cake. Starbucks baked goods in general are over priced and under tasty, so it wouldn't surprise me if their cake pops are not very good.

I think they are the trashy cousin of the cupcake.

it weirds me out that theres so much hate in this thread after seeing so much love for cake pops..
"srry but cake pops are mainstream now I'M MOVING ON"
but hey i dont know, I've never had a cake pop. (thats another thing, most of these comments condemning cake pops are from people who never HAD a cake pop..)
oh well. People have different tastes, I'd probably like cake pops, depending on how its made. Dark chocolate with a sweeter chocolate icing sounds good to me..

I use to make them until Starbucks started selling them. They seemed a lot more special before. Not to mention the fact that everyone asks if I bought them at Starbucks even though the ones I make look nothing like the ones at Starbucks.

The Starbucks ones aren't very good either. You do have to try out different flavors to get a good combination though. White cake + white frosting + white candy melts = Too sweet and sugary tasting. Gross! Usually trading out with chocolate or peanut butter seems to help.