Ok, don't laugh, but I just had to have this toy to try it out as I do not like making cake pops by hand! Anyone use box cake mixes with this? I used a lemon DH cake mix. The pops were nice and round on the bottom, but rather misshaped pointy looking on the top. I tried another batch, leaving them in to cook a minute or two longer and still did not get a nice round top. Does this work any better with the scratch recipes provided in their book or your own scratch recipe? Did anyone ever use the "official' cake pop mix they sell? This may become another item for the garage sale - I had such high hopes.

Bought it ... love it ... never going to part with it again

I have tried it with both scratch and box mixes and it worked well with both. You need to fill the holes upto the rim (making sure it is completely filled), close the top and wait for 4 or 5 minutes (depending on the batter), and I take a peek around the 3 minute mark to see if they have risen well. I turn the cake pops just before the end (and when the cake is "dry" inside) and bake them another 30 to 40 seconds. My queue in knowing the pops have risen well is when it starts hissing and steam comes out between the plates and the plate lifts up a bit. It tells me that the top of the pop has reached the upper plate of the cake pop maker and I have to press it down (use oven mits as the cake pop maker gets very hot - that is the only negative thing I have about the cake pop maker)

They tend to collapse a little bit sometimes, but so far, all my pops came out well risen and round.

Have fun!

Thanks for the reply. I will give it a second try this weekend with a longer cooking time. I thought about flipping them over, but I wasn't sure about that. Good idea!

I really like mine too. I agree with the above poster and her tips. I just used mine the other day while I was baking a new cake recipe so I could try out a few my self, The cake was for a friend and I didn't think she'd want to receive it missing a slice !!!
Some batters work better than others so I only fill a few holes and give it a test run so I can adjust how much batter or how well they rise then bake the rest accordingly.

I tried them again today using my leftover lemon DH batter from the first time that I froze. They are better, but still not really round on one side. I think I will need to try a different recipe. Thanks for your help.