Cake Balls

Cake balls!  Those gorgeous little treats that make bite-size cake irresistibly good and beautiful.

Here you can see 3 color variation of decorated cake balls in a gift box I made for our church bazaar.  These are the very fancy options, but cake balls are pretty simple to make and yummy to enjoy.

Supplies:
Cake Mix (including required ingredients to make the mix)
Candy Melts
Crisco
Wax Paper
Candy Dipping Tool

Variations:
Candy Decorating Squeeze Bottles
Colored Sugars
Lollipop Sticks (for cake pops)

Originally inspired by Bakerella, after three years of making this treat I have made many hacks and modifications to get to where I am today.

First: Bake a cake.  Sounds simple.  The "moist" versions of the store bought cake mix are what I prefer.  You can choose any flavor cake mix.  I tend to choose yellow or devil's food.

Variations:
Pumpkin cake - mix box cake mix with 1-15oz pumpkin, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice.  Bake according to 9x13 directions.  This batter will be very THICK and you will need to spread it out before baking.  It is also incredibly moist and will require much less frosting (next step).

Apple cake - mix box moist cake mix with 1c. applesauce, 1tsp cinnamon.  Bake according to 9x13 directions.

Cool completely out of pan.

 Crumble cake into dust.  You want incredibly small particles of cake.  Be thorough.

(Pumpkin cake variation is incredibly moist and won't crumble like pictured - break it up as best you can).

Next add 1/4 can of store-bought frosting.  Mix together thoroughly.  Dough will come together to be about cookie-dough or pie crust consistency.  Too much frosting will only make your cake balls sicky-sweet.  To little frosting will keep them from holding together.

To know if you've hit the correct amount of frosting, test by making a small ball of dough.

I make cake balls small - see picture to left.  Bite-size and easy to box.  Cake pops are another variation to this recipe and I make those double the size of the ball pictured left.

If your dough rolls easily into a ball and doesn't crumble apart - you've hit the perfect amount of frosting.

 Roll out all the dough into small balls.  Stack in an air-tight container.  Be sure to place wax paper between the layers and leave room between each ball.

Refrigerate for 3 hrs - overnight.

Refrigerating the balls helps to "stiffen" the frosting in the dough.  This makes the balls much firmer and keeps them together for the next step - candy coating.

Wilton Candy Melts are the outer coating on these great little treats.

You'll also need:
 a candy dipping tool
Ceramic microwave proof bowl
Wax paper
Microwave
Crisco

#1 important thing about candy melts - they HATE water.  Everything you use must be dry.  Water ruins the candy melts and there is no way to fix them.

To thin the consistency of the candy melts and make coating smoother and easier I add a small spoon of Crisco to 1/2 a bag of candy melts.

Add the Crisco at the very beginning.  If you try to add it later in the melting process the Crisco doesn't blend in as well and you wind up with little lumps of Crisco in the coating (yuck).

Melt in the microwave according to the package directions.

Be patient.  Don't increase the time or power.  Candy melts can burn and it's disgusting.  The smell is awful and there is no way to rescue the product if you burn it.  Burnt candy melts will get thick and chunky/gritty like a strange cottage cheese.



I've tried a double boiler - it doesn't work.  You can overheat the product and the water/steam can also cause problems - remember the rule - AVOID ALL WATER.  So really the microwave is the best way to do it.
Once melted the candy coating will be "yogurt" consistency.  Take a single cake ball and place into the bowl of candy melts.

 Roll around with the dipping tool and coat fully.  Remove from the candy melts and tap the tool on the side of the bowl to remove excess coating.

 Place onto wax paper to cool/set.

Using the tool smooth out any blemishes on the coating.

 I usually make a small swirl on the top of the candy melt with the tool before the candy sets.














As you work your tool will get coated with the candy.  After a while it will stick to the cake balls and make it hard to take them off onto the wax paper.

Clean the tool with a dry paper towel - remember water is your enemy on this project.

Let the coating cool/set completely.  You can add additional decorations or box for storage.

When boxing for storage be sure to place wax paper between the layers of cake balls.  They can occasionally "weep" oil and will destroy one another if left touching in storage.  Keep in a cool dry place.  It's not necessary to keep them refrigerated after coating but it doesn't hurt.  You should eat/serve within a few days for the freshest results.


Extra decorating options are melting alternate colors and drizzling the tops.  To make a drizzle you will need a candy decorating squeeze bottle and will need a little bit more Crisco to make the candy melts flow easily from the tip of the bottle.

Here I sprinkled colored sugar on the drizzle topping.

Here you can see cake balls as ghosts (I used a candy decorating pen for the eyes) and monster pops - green candy coating and candy eyeballs.

To make cake pops you need lollipop sticks and a holder.  Here I uses some space Styrofoam from a shipping box/appliance purchase.

You can also buy cake-pop decorating holders.  I found this one helpful and space friendly for storage.

Dip the lollipop stick into the candy melts first - then insert into cake pop dough (double the size of a regular cake ball).  Dip the cake pop into the candy coating.

To smooth and take off extra I gently twirl the cake pop in the bowl of a small spoon.  This takes a bit of practice.




For my daughter's birthday I made "Will o'the Wisps" cake pops for her Brave birthday party.


 












It's a process.  It takes forever the first time you do it.  Honestly the first time I made them it took so long to do that I swore I would NEVER make them again (laughing).  Once the kids got a hold of them and the rave reviews poured in, I made them again for a block party.  Then again for my other child's birthday.  Now they are required treats for all birthday parties.  Each time I have to find a way to incorporate cake balls into their party theme.  Now I make them for any party.  The process has gotten easier and faster each time I make them.  I've even gotten braver and started making them fancier.

You can do it.  And these are one of those treats that even the "ugly" ones are loved and eaten.