10 Beloved Starbucks Cake Pops We Wish Would Return

Ever wondered what happened to that old Starbucks cake pop flavor you haven’t seen on menus in years (but dearly miss)? From the very first cake pops Starbucks ever launched to recent favorites that were sadly discontinued, there are so many cake pop flavors we wish we could taste again … and not just from a copycat recipe, either. Sure, making cake pops on your own can be fun — but there’s nothing quite like some of Starbucks’ most classic seasonal flavors.

We searched social media far and wide to round up as many of Starbucks’ discontinued cake pop flavors as we could, choosing unique menu items with varied flavors. Though Starbucks’ animal-themed cake pops are certainly cute (hello, Starbucks raccoon cake pop), much of these flavors aren’t very different from Starbucks’ main Birthday cake pop, which is simply vanilla cake with chocolate icing. For that reason, we stuck to including cake pops that were distinctly different from the ones you’ll find on Starbucks’ menus year-round.

If there’s one cake pop that Starbucks fans seem to miss most, it’s probably the cookie dough cake pop. Social media seems to be slightly mixed on when exactly stores across the U.S. officially discontinued this flavor of Starbucks cake pop — there were also reportedly shortages of it around the country near the time it was removed from menus for good, which we track to happening around 2021.

The cookie dough flavor was exactly what the name implies. The center of the cake pop tasted like moist, unbaked (but not raw) cookie dough, and was filled with mini chocolate chips. The icing on the outside was even sprinkled with more mini chocolate chips for a crunchy, chocolatey topping. Rather than being super cake-y like the other flavors, however, this cake pop was a little more reminiscent of cookie dough — it could even be baked into a mini cookie in the oven.

Starbucks’ cookie dough cake pop was so influential, it even gained its own Change.org petition for returning the flavor to stores. Sadly, Starbucks wasn’t swayed, and the beloved cookie dough version of the cake pop has never been seen since.

Starbucks’ lemon flavored cake pops were a go-to for those who liked fruity desserts. Some customers said that it tasted exactly like a burst of lemon pound cake; the cake inside was tart and citrusy, while the white chocolate icing (which was colored bright yellow, of course) added a hint of classic cake pop sweetness.

The secret to the lemon cake pop’s fame was all in the topping, however. The entire exterior of the cake pop was rolled in sweet-and-sour sugar for a burst of tartness that surged forth as soon as you first bit into the pop. Besides its cheerful exterior (perfect for springtime), the fresh flavor of this cake pop brought fans back again and again.

Like so many good things, however, the lemon cake pop couldn’t last forever. In fact, it was a seasonal springtime flavor from its release in 2019. Despite it reappearing in 2020, according to Delish, it permanently disappeared after that season. Now, it’s dearly missed by fans who hope that Starbucks will reintroduce more exciting fruity flavors in the future.

The Starbucks tiramisu cake pop is a relic of the days when Starbucks first introduced cake pops to its menu. The only other flavor that’s stood the test of time since 2011 is the pink birthday cake flavor. While tiramisu was certainly a fan favorite, it didn’t last forever as a year-round flavor, much to the disappointment of cake pop cravers.

The inside of the cake pop used Starbucks’ vanilla cake — same as many of the other flavors around today, such as birthday cake. The big difference was that the cake was also made with Starbucks’ espresso, bringing a sweet, coffee-roasted flavor to the entire pop. The exterior of the cake pop had vanilla icing that was then coated in mocha-flavored chocolate. To top it all off (literally), the tiramisu cake pop boasted a crunchy chocolate-covered espresso bean on the top of each cake pop. This flavor is incredibly unique, and Starbucks hasn’t offered any cake pop like it since.

The Rocky Road cake pop is a relic from 2011, and it was certainly a hit when it first launched. This cake pop was pretty elaborate, and incorporated all of the classic elements of rocky road. It offered rich chocolate frosting, loads of crunchy almond pieces, and even mini marshmallows. The almond pieces and marshmallows were both stuck onto the chocolate icing as well as incorporated into the cake itself, which was chocolate. 

Rocky Road was one of Starbucks’ more exciting cake pop flavors, offering a wide variety of flavors and textures — crunchy nuts, chewy marshmallows, and moist cake — within a single cake pop. It’s probably the cake pop with the most elaborate toppings, too. 

While it debuted on Starbucks’ menus as one of the very first cake pop flavors to ever make an appearance at the chain, it is nowhere to be seen today. It’s unlikely that the Rocky Road flavor will ever return, but it would be fun to see a cake pop that has so much variation in texture and toppings hit menus sometime soon. 

In the summer of 2024, a new cake pop contender appeared: the orange cream cake pop. This orange-colored cake pop had a flat side that was decorated with white icing to look like slices of citrus. The icing itself was fairly straightforward, being made of white chocolate, but the cake itself was orange creamsicle flavored. Some some customers couldn’t get enough of the orange flavoring, while others said that they weren’t able to taste the citrus as much as they had hoped.

When we ranked all of Starbucks’ cake pops back in 2024, the orange cream flavor didn’t come out on top — we thought it ended up tasting more like lemon than orange. Still, it was pretty darn good, especially for customers who were looking for something a bite that was a bit more summer seasonal. We also have to admit that the design of this cake pop is a big draw; this buttercream cake pop looked positively adorable in the pastry case. 

The cookies and cream cake pop was the winner of our cake pop ranking, but that didn’t stop it from being discontinued in 2025. The base of the cake itself is chocolate, but this rich and complex cake pop doesn’t end at just a single cake flavor. Starbucks combined its classic chocolate cake pop base with buttercream from sandwich cookies (think Oreos, except without the brand name), added cookie bits to the inside of the cake pop, and dipped the entire drool-worthy concoction into white chocolate coating. The cookies and cream cake pop was also topped with shaved cookie crumbles, the finishing touch on an ultra-extravagant dessert.

Some Starbucks employees reported on social media that they were surprised to see this cake pop flavor leave stores, as it was supposedly very popular. Others, however, argued that their stores weren’t seeing much traction when it came to the cookies and cream flavor, a potential reason behind its discontinuation. Regardless, as exciting as the new seasonal cake pop flavors may be, many customers were still left heartbroken once the cookies and cream flavor was removed from Starbucks menus.

The chocolate raspberry cake pop, debuted over a decade ago in 2012, may not be remembered by every customer, but there’s a dedicated fanbase to it somewhere within the hallows of the Internet. If you’re wondering what the chocolate raspberry cake pop even was, well, it’s another outstanding fruit-flavored dessert that berry-loving customers were sad to see go, albeit on the darker side. Rather than bright citrus flavors, this treat was a truffle chocolate cake pop on the inside, paired with sweet raspberry jam. 

The cake pop was covered in rich chocolate frosting — and don’t forget about the extra chocolate drizzle on top, too. But, the best part about it was the tart raspberry dusting on top of each chocolate raspberry cake pop. It wasn’t just about making the cake look good with a sprinkle of bright red dust; it also added a fresh, tangy fruit flavor that both contrasted and accentuated the fudgey chocolate cake. The only thing we might miss more than that is the $1.50 price tag that came with it.

Ah, peppermint brownie cake pop; nowadays, the holiday season at Starbucks is rung in by seasonal items like the turkey sage Danish or a snowman cake pop. But the peppermint brownie cake pop used to be a hallmark of the winter months at Starbucks; it would appear with the rest of the seasonal menu around the beginning of November, and stick around until the new year began. 

This cake pop had a rich and moist chocolate cake, all coated in thick white chocolate icing and topped with crunchy candy cane pieces. The brownie cake on the inside also contained bits of candy cane throughout. This cake pop looked just as delicious as it tasted, covered in sparkly sugar sprinkles that made the icing look like snow.

Unfortunately, the days of the peppermint brownie cake pop are over (at least for now). Since it is a seasonal item, customers are still holding out hope that a little holiday magic will bring back this cake pop in the future. It’s a little more likely that this flavor could return than most others on this list, because it was an on-and-off seasonal item in the past. 

Often, holiday-related Starbucks flavors are more about adding a cute design to the outside of each cake pop than they are about changing the flavor, the Earth Day cake pop was a little different. It was admittedly a pretty cute design, with blue icing covered in green and white sprinkles to look like a globe-inspired dessert. 

The Earth Day cake pop was made with chocolate cake, but it wasn’t the same as Starbucks’ classic chocolate cake pop (even though it uses the same sprinkles on the outside). Instead, this cake pop had chocolate chips on the inside for a little extra decadence.

Rather than use dark chocolate frosting on the outside, the Earth Day cake pop used white chocolate, offering a slightly sweeter, creamier bite. It’s come back every now and again as an Earth Day exclusive, but it’s not been spotted in a couple of years, making it seem unlikely to return to Starbucks menus — especially as the chain is refocusing its menu items to be a little more limited.

The year of 2013 was when the salted caramel cake pop made its very first appearance at Starbucks. The cake pop was inspired by the chain’s former salted caramel mocha latte, another discontinued favorite drink that we’d love to see back on Starbucks’ menus. 

This cake pop uses a moist chocolate cake base mixed with caramel sauce and buttercream frosting. Then, the cake pop is drenched in milk chocolate icing. Though this already makes it rich, sweet, and salty, it gets better — an extra drizzle of caramel sauce is added to the frosting before the cake pop is topped with sea salt. The top of this cake pop is made to look like the top of a Starbucks latte with caramel drizzle (which is always dispensed in a grid pattern).

We’re definitely missing caramel when it comes to Starbucks’ current pastry case, as there hasn’t been a caramel-related cake pop since the salted caramel flavor left stores. We can only hope to see a return to sweet and salty flavors after Starbucks’ summer menu leaves stores.