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Melting Candy Wafers Test

Confused about which candy melt to use for your cake pops? I did a Melting Candy Wafers Test to see which brand would melt the smoothest.

Confused about which candy melt to use for your cake pops? I did a Melting Candy Wafers Test to see which brand would melt the smoothest.

Melting Candy Wafers Test

So… a while back I was going to do this big test of 5 different candy melts and a bunch of cake pops and see if it was the candy itself that led to cracking pops. It was an ambitious goal that I failed at… It was just too much to do. Too many supplies, too many pops, too many variables. Sorry.

What I did instead is melted 3 popular candy melts and judged the melting consistency and temperatures. This is not rocket science, but there were some parameters.

I tested Merckens White Chocolate, Wilton’s White Candy Melts, and Make N’ Mold Melting Wafers.

Using my scale, I weighed 6 ounces of each candy.

Using a 1000 watt microwave, I started off with 45 seconds at 70% power for each bowl of candy.


The Merckens and Make N’ Mold only needed one time in the microwave. The Wilton’s needed a bit more to fully melt. I should have taken my own advice and been a bit more patient, because I did get the Wilton’s too hot.

Here’s my pros and cons of the different confection candy wafers –

Merckens

Pros:  

  • Smallest wafers which may have led to quicker melting and a smoother consistency.
  • Melted smooth without being too runny. 
  • The coating stays put and does not drip down stick or make funny “tails” on the pops.
  • Overall the best tasting coating of the three.

Cons: Difficult to source. Look at specialty Cake Supply store or order online.

Price: $3.80 -$4 per pound. Discount in bulk purchasing.

Wilton’s Candy Melts

Pros: Cheapest and most easily found in craft stores (Micheal’s, Wal-Mart).

Cons:

  •  Thickest coating.
  • Too thick in my opinion. 
  • The thicker the coating the more likelihood of it pulling the cake pop off the stick.
  • Largest wafer size takes longer to melt.

Price: $3 for 14 oz bag. Can be found on sale for $2

 

 

Make N’ Mold Melting Wafers

Pros: Of these three, I thought this had the best dipping consistency and was the easiest to work with.

 

Cons: Somewhat difficult to find (A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby)

Price: $3.30 for 14 oz. bag online. Discount in bulk purchasing.

All in all, the pops looked the same. I could see no difference in the final product. I think it comes down to your preference and your budget. For me, Wilton’s is fine when it’s on sale 🙂 and I am lucky to have Merckens and Make N’ Mold within an hour drive of my house.

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Lynn

Monday 27th of June 2022

I love making cake pops, and also have tried different chocolates! My best choice is good old almond bark, it melts and coats beautifly. I won't use anything else!!

Jean F.

Tuesday 25th of August 2020

Hi Karyn, love your site with all your yummy recipes and great tips. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on using Ghirardelli wafers for cake pops and chocolate molds? I have used Wiltons but didn't care for the taste. I have used the Ghirardelli and like it, but I haven't tried Merckens or Make-n-Mold yet. Thank you for any input you have.

Karyn Granrud

Wednesday 26th of August 2020

Ghiradelli are great, but also $$ and harder to find. Like anything in life, you get what you pay for. Lots of cake pop artists use Merckens and buy in bulk. Depending on how much you use that might be worth it. If you are just making cake pops for family birthdays and stuff, splurge a little and stick with the best tasting one. Hope that helps.

KD4407

Monday 12th of February 2018

I purchased the Wilton chocolate melts and they already had bloom on them. Can they be tempered if they are not real chocolate? I don't have another bag without bloom so I have nothing to correctly seed them with. Are these just trash?

Karyn Granrud

Monday 19th of February 2018

Since there is ZERO chocolate in Wilton Candy Melts, the bloom isn't a factor. Depending on much the candy has bloomed can make a difference in streaks left behind when the candy dries. I'd mix the two bags and go forward. It's not totally lost.

Elisa

Monday 11th of December 2017

Thanks for this! I'm planning on doing candy making with a large group of kids and had seen some bad reviews on candy melts. Nice to know the other options! Also very well conducted experiment ;P

Karyn Granrud

Wednesday 13th of December 2017

Thanks. Candy melts aren't real chocolate and some can taste a bit off. I also like CandiQuik but it wasn't as popular when I was did this test. And a lot of times I'll buy the white candy from Wal-Mart, I think it's called Log House?? It's not a wafer, but a big pound of bark candy.

Judy

Saturday 8th of April 2017

Need help. Been dipping eggs for 30 years. Having trouble with Merckens White Chocolate getting lumpy. Am I overheating it.

Karyn Granrud

Wednesday 12th of April 2017

It's hard to know what could have happened. The candy coating may have been old, you could have gotten water into it, or overheating it could cause it to burn. Low temps and a slow melt work best.