As promised, the cake ball recipe & tutorial...
If you have never had one of these little balls of goodness, you are totally missing out!!! They are addictive, but you can try to make yourself feel better by remembering that it's just like having only a bite or two of a piece of cake...
That is only if you stop at one! ;)
These are SUPER easy to make ( yes, it looks like a lot of steps below, but once you've done it you'll see what I mean! ) and a great project to do with the kids. To start with, you use a cake mix and canned frosting. Anything that uses a cake mix has got to be easy, right?
Now, before you get turned off by the thought of a cake mix and prepared frosting, it really, really, really is the only way to go and it tastes fabulous! I am not generally a cake mix person but it honestly is the best thing to use for these. You could make your own cake from scratch and it would probably taste fantastic, but I truly don't think it would be worth it.
One more note before we begin - In addition to being highly addictive, cake balls are an awesome crowd pleaser. Take these to any party, potluck, family get-together, your kids class parties, showers, etc... and you will be bombarded with requests for the recipe. They will earn you "most popular person at the party" status. People will beg you to bring them again.
I'm not kidding. You're almost embarrassed to admit how easy they are because they look so impressive...
So, without further ado, here we go!
You will need:
- 1 cake mix*
- 1 can prepared frosting
- package of confectioners coating**
- wax or parchment paper
1) Bake cake as directed, either for 9x13 pan, or two round pans
2) After
cake has cooled, crumble into a large bowl. If your cake has crisp,
hard edges (and chocolate tends to), be sure to trim them off first! I
like to use a pastry cutter to break up all the clumps.
3) Mix thoroughly with 1 can of frosting ( I actually use a little less, about 3/4 can )
You should have a nice gooey mess now! :)
4) Scoop quarter sized balls ( I use a cookie dough scoop ), roll them between your hands to get a good, smooth ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.
5) Freeze several hours, or overnight if you want to do this in stages over the course of two days. Let thaw ( just until they are not hard anymore, do NOT let them come to room temperature or get warm!! ) before beginning the dipping process.
6) Melt chocolate in microwave or double-boiler until smooth. I place mine in a heat-proof bowl and melt over a pot of boiling water just because it's easier to me. Also, I only melt a little bit at a time - enough to be able to roll the ball easily, but usually it does not take a whole package and you end up with a lot of waste. It is easier to work with while hot, so stop and reheat if necessary.
7) Roll the balls in the chocolate and place back on the cookie sheet. This to me is the trickiest part. I use a candy dipping fork, but you may have to play around and see what works best for you. I also tried an egg separator and that worked pretty well, too. You want to use something that will allow you to shake off the excess chocolate and yet be able to drop the ball onto the cookie sheet without touching it as this will mess up the coating.
If you are going to add sprinkles or colored sugar to the tops of yours, NOW is the time to do it before the coating completely dries - which is FAST!
All finished!
Unless you want to get more elaborate with your decorating. The possibilities are endless for creativity with these and TONS of fun, but I will save that for another post!
These store easily in an air-proof container at room temperature and will last for several days.
Questions? Feel free to ask - I've made hundreds of 'em!
Ideas or tips? PLEASE share because I'd love to hear them!! :)
ENJOY!!
* you can have a LOT of fun mixing flavors. Here are a few examples:
chocolate cake mix with either choc. or cream cheese frosting
white cake ( fun to tint with color ) with white or cream cheese frosting
red velvet with cream cheese
devils food with chocolate frosting
strawberry with white, strawberry or cream cheese frosting
lemon with white or cream cheese frosting
german chocolate with milk chocolate frosting
dark chocolate with dark chocolate frosting
** With regard to the confectioners coating, you can use the regular chocolate or white chocolate bark found at the grocery store. I tried it once and wasn't too impressed, but it works in a pinch and is cheaper to play around with. I prefer the Guittard confectionary coated wafers ( comes in milk, dark and white chocolate ), but the Wilton brand ( at most craft stores on the candy making aisle ) works, too. Also, when you use white chocolate, you can tint it with food coloring ( use oil based colors ).
