Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add cake mix, milk, and melted butter to a large bowl and mix on low speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, You don’t want to bake this like a conventional cake (you don’t want it to brown). Let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack and then chill in the fridge for an additional 15 minutes, while you make the cream cheese mixture.
In a medium-sized bowl, using a hand blender, beat cream cheese and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed on the blender to low, and slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Increase the speed to high and continue beating for an additional 1 minute (or until the mixture is nice and fluffy).
Divide the cake in half and crumble one half of it into a large bowl, (the remaining half can be frozen for another use).
Fold in the cream cheese mixture.
Using a 1 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, make 33 even-sized rounded balls about 1 inch in size. Place them on a parchment-lined on baking tray and allow to chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
In a microwave-safe bowl melt 18 ounces of the candy melts according to package directions. Place ¼-inch of the stick into the melted candy and then insert it into the end of the cake ball. Repeat with all cake balls.
Quickly dunk the cake pop into the melted candy and lift out, shaking any excess candy from the cake pop, place on parchment line baking tray and repeat the process with the remaining ones.
Once the candy coating has hardened, melt the remaining amount of candy melts and place in a piping bag. Snip the end off and drizzle swirls around the cake pop. While the drizzle is still warm, dust with sanding sugar.
Place cake pops on a baking tray and add the candy heart.
Notes
- Allow your cake balls to properly set once the stick is inserted, otherwise, your cake ball could fall off and end up in your melted candy.
- If you find your melted candy is too thick for dipping, you can stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to achieve perfect dipping consistency