Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl—set it aside. In another bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes until it's light and fluffy. This step matters because it adds air to your cake.

Add eggs one at a time to your butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour in the vanilla extract and mix until everything's combined. Alternate adding your flour mixture and milk to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with flour. Stir until you don't see any white streaks—don't overmix or your cake gets tough.

Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. I always let mine cool completely before crumbling because warm cake falls apart in all the wrong ways.

Once cooled, crumble your entire cake into a large mixing bowl—you want fine crumbs, almost like breadcrumbs. Beat the softened cream cheese until it's smooth, then fold it gently into your crumbs until everything's combined and holds together when squeezed. You're basically making edible dough at this point, which is honestly so satisfying.

Roll your mixture into 24 balls about the size of walnuts and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pop them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes—this is non-negotiable because cold cake pops won't fall off your stick. While they're freezing, insert your lollipop sticks halfway into each ball so they're ready to dip.

Melt your white chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in a microwave-safe bowl, heating in 30-second bursts and stirring between each one. Keep an eye on it after the second burst because white chocolate burns faster than you'd think. Once melted, let it cool for about 2 minutes so it's warm but not scorching hot.

Dip each cold cake pop into the melted chocolate, then immediately roll it in either red or blue sprinkles to create your patriotic pattern. Stand them upright in a foam block or small vase to set, then swap some with the other color sprinkles for that classic red, white, and blue look. They'll firm up in about 10 minutes at room temperature.