• Preheat your oven to 350°F, then grease your springform pan so nothing sticks.

Cake

• Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set that aside for a second.
• In a bigger bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar with your mixer until light and fluffy (1.5 to 2 minutes). Then, toss the large egg and vanilla into the mixture and beat everything together at high speed until nicely blended. Scrape the bowl's sides to catch any sneaky bits.
• Add our dry ingredients (from Step 2) into the big bowl of wet stuff (Step 3), and mix it all up at low speed 'til combined. Give the batter a simple stir so no big lumps lurk at the bowl's bottom.
• Pour the entire cake batter into your prepared pan, evenly spreading it out. Bake for 32 to 36 minutes until a small toothpick poked in the middle comes out mostly clean. If it starts over-browning, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
• Move the pan to a wire rack and let the hot cake cool completely.

Frosting

• Bring out your mixer again. Toss in the butter and beat it at medium speed 'til it's nice and creamy (around 2 minutes). Then, with your mixer still going but at low speed, add the heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract. Crank up the speed to high and mix for 3 minutes.
• Crumble the cake into that bowl (over the frosting), making sure there aren't any big lumps. Then, with your mixer at low, give it a good mix until well combined.
• Scoop up a tablespoon of the cake-frosting mix and ball it up, then pop those balls onto the baking sheet. Stick them in the fridge for a couple of hours (or an hour in the freezer if you're in a hurry).
• (Optional) Give them another quick roll to smooth them out if necessary. Work with 2 to 3 at a time and keep the rest in the fridge until ready.
• Pop the candy melts or chocolate in the microwave in 19-second bursts, stirring after every burst until melty and smooth. (Another option: double boiler).

Coating

• Grab a stick and dip about half an inch into your coating, then gently push it into the ball's center (halfway through).
• Dunk the whole ball into our coating until completely covered; the coating layer must cover the bottom part where the cake ball meets the stick! Tap that lollipop stick against something to let any extra coating drip off. Add some sprinkles on top as decoration, then stand it upright in a Styrofoam box or block.
• Repeat Step 13 with the rest of your cake balls. Work with only 2 to 3 balls at a time, and keep the rest in the fridge while you're at it.
• Let them sit for about an hour at room temperature so the coating settles. Enjoy your perfect cake.