What in the heck is a Cake Ball??
That was my initial thought upon hearing about these cute little cake "bites". I needed to know the name of the genius who invented them because they are nothing short of BRILLIANT! I had to know. So I went on an extensive internet search and came up with .......absolutely nothing. Can you believe it?? No names, no secret recipe, no cake ball archives, no culinary history. Nothing. Not one person claims to be the first to come up with these mouthwatering little beauties.
Amazing.
The internet baking world is inundated with these sweet little treats in all flavors and colors. In fact, there are a couple of websites solely dedicated to them......so where did they originate??? Apparently we are supposed to believe that these sweet little round confections have been in existence since the beginning of time. Do you think cavemen invented them right after they invented the wheel?? That would sort of make sense......okay, I'm being ridiculous. Who cares who invented them?? The important thing here is that I'm making them, and they are fantastic!!
Cake Balls are a snap to make. Like I've always said, if you can read you can cook. Just follow the directions and you will totally "Wow" your friends and family. The recipe is a simple one. I used a Duncan Hines Strawberry Cake mix, Devils Food Cake mix, two containers of instant frosting and a couple of bags of candy wafers. Following the directions on the box, I baked each of the cakes in a 9 x 13 pan for about 40-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven and let them cool completely.
When the cakes were cool, I turned them out of the pans. After placing all the cake pieces into a large bowl, I used my little Kitchen Aid hand mixer to break it up into tiny pieces.
I added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the frosting and continued blending it together. For the Strawberry Cake I used Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting and the Devil's Food Cake I used Milk Chocolate Frosting.
Using a small melon ball scooper, I shaped the mixture into 1"balls. Each cake mix should yield between 40-50 of them. (That's a lot of Cake Balls!) After they were all formed, I placed them on a cookie sheet and popped them into the freezer for at least 4 hours. The Cake Balls are easier to dip and work with when they are frozen.
While the Cake Balls were "chillin" in the freezer, I melted the candy wafers (or bark candy) in a double boiler. If you don't have one......improvise, because I wouldn't advise melting the candy directly over heat. Either put the candy in a bowl over boiling water or use the microwave.
I feel it necessary to caution you here. Based on my past experiences, don't get any water or condensation into the candy. Any trace of moisture will cause the candy to "seize" up. It has the same effect as adding water to flour. It becomes an unworkable and gooey MESS!
I've used several techniques for dipping these Cake Balls but have found one that works best for me. I worked in small batches, taking only about a dozen out of the freezer at a time. For this batch I decided to convert my Cake Balls into Cake Pops, so I used lollipop sticks to skew them. I placed the stick about halfway into a Cake Ball and held it over the melted candy in the pan. With the other hand I used a tablespoon to evenly coat each one, I constantly turned the Cake Ball to keep the drips drying evenly. As soon as the candy stopped dripping, I placed the stick into a styrofoam pad to keep it upright while they finished drying. And then because they were so pretty to look at.......I just had to take some pictures....
and a teeny bite.....
Wait!!!! I almost forgot to mention that you can roll the Cake Balls in different toppings too. I found that it was best to do this in the 2.5 seconds between coating the Cake Ball and standing it up to dry. You will find that if you roll it too soon, the mixture will clump up in the candy coating and slide off. If you wait too long to roll, nothing will stick to the Cake Ball.
But if you are lucky, you will hit it just right!
You can use so many different toppings too....chopped nuts, chocolate jimmies, non-pareils, white coconut and toasted coconut just to name a few. How many different ones can you come up with?
I love the fact that you can use any cake/frosting combination with these. There are no rules. Lemon cake, lemon frosting and chocolate coating....Carrot cake, cream cheese frosting and vanilla coating...Pumpkin cake, cream cheese frosting and cinnamon vanilla coating. I even read about using crushed up Nutter Butter cookies, cream cheese frosting and chocolate coating to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls.
Gulp.
You can store your Cake Ball Pops in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind if you store them in the fridge, you may have condensation issues when you remove them. Trust me....they will stay fresh for up to about 7 days if you hide them in a nice cool corner of your kitchen (yeah, good luck with that). Maybe I should add "under the watchful eye of a sentry".....
Although I am a die-hard fan of chocolate cake, I have to say that the strawberry cake I used for this batch of Cake Balls is such a beautiful rosy-pink color, isn't it? Oh...........and they tasted great too!
You're still sitting there reading this??
Why haven't you started your Cake Balls yet?
