Cake Balls (or Cake Pops)
It's always a happy day when I get to make something for a party or special occasion. Some friends recently hosted a baby shower for a friend and I got to bring a treat to share.
I decided to try to make cake balls. What are cake balls? They are balls of cake and frosting dipped in chocolate. They've probably been around for years--but the first time I came across them is when I read Bakerella's blog. Four years ago she took a cake ball and put it on a stick and invented the Cake Pop. Have you seen Bakerella's amazing Cake Pops? She takes the simple cake ball to an amazing level. She published a book and has built a mini-Cake Pop empire.
Bakerella's movie demonstration on YouTube "Cake Pops by Bakerella" gives you a good place to start to learn how to make them. I also watched "How to Make Cake Balls" by another poster--she showed how to dip them with toothpicks. Aha--here is a lovely tutorial by The Pioneer Woman. It is quite comprehensive.
All my advance research led me to think that making cake balls would be a breeze. Well, they weren't really that easy to make! When you dip chocolates the center is quite firm and you can easily dip them in chocolate. Cake balls are tender and tend to want to fall apart (it is important to chill them).
But, in the long run the ones I made worked and they looked okay and they tasted good. Even if they don't come out looking nice they will taste good. :) Now, I want to try to make them with possibly another cake recipe and a homemade frosting. (However, the ready made frosting does work well and is easy to use!)
I'm not going to write yet another tutorial--others have already done a great job. Feel free to follow the links to the other tutorials!
Cake Balls
1 box of cake mix made according to directions, baked, and cooled (any flavor you want)
1 container of ready made frosting (cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla...)
1-2 bags of candy melts (or other dipping chocolate or almond bark)
Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 to 1 container of frosting. Mix until thoroughly combined. Roll into balls and place on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator (don't freeze).
Prepare your melting chocolate--it helps to have a narrow, deep bowl for this project. (Just follow the directions on the dipping chocolate package for how to melt it.) Use a spoon, fork, or toothpick to dip each cake ball into the melted dipping chocolate. Gently tap off extra chocolate and place the cake ball on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill until set. Enjoy.
I decided to try to make cake balls. What are cake balls? They are balls of cake and frosting dipped in chocolate. They've probably been around for years--but the first time I came across them is when I read Bakerella's blog. Four years ago she took a cake ball and put it on a stick and invented the Cake Pop. Have you seen Bakerella's amazing Cake Pops? She takes the simple cake ball to an amazing level. She published a book and has built a mini-Cake Pop empire.
Bakerella's movie demonstration on YouTube "Cake Pops by Bakerella" gives you a good place to start to learn how to make them. I also watched "How to Make Cake Balls" by another poster--she showed how to dip them with toothpicks. Aha--here is a lovely tutorial by The Pioneer Woman. It is quite comprehensive.
All my advance research led me to think that making cake balls would be a breeze. Well, they weren't really that easy to make! When you dip chocolates the center is quite firm and you can easily dip them in chocolate. Cake balls are tender and tend to want to fall apart (it is important to chill them).
But, in the long run the ones I made worked and they looked okay and they tasted good. Even if they don't come out looking nice they will taste good. :) Now, I want to try to make them with possibly another cake recipe and a homemade frosting. (However, the ready made frosting does work well and is easy to use!)
I'm not going to write yet another tutorial--others have already done a great job. Feel free to follow the links to the other tutorials!
Cake Balls
1 box of cake mix made according to directions, baked, and cooled (any flavor you want)
1 container of ready made frosting (cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla...)
1-2 bags of candy melts (or other dipping chocolate or almond bark)
Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 to 1 container of frosting. Mix until thoroughly combined. Roll into balls and place on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator (don't freeze).
Prepare your melting chocolate--it helps to have a narrow, deep bowl for this project. (Just follow the directions on the dipping chocolate package for how to melt it.) Use a spoon, fork, or toothpick to dip each cake ball into the melted dipping chocolate. Gently tap off extra chocolate and place the cake ball on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill until set. Enjoy.
I totally agree Tiffany. Bakerella and EVERYONE make cake pops looks so easy peasy and after about five hours one night last year and three batches of chocolate and many tears I vowed to not make cake balls again... well at least for a very long time!
ReplyDeleteI think they look so pretty and fun! I have only eaten them twice (at two different wedding receptions). They were nasty! I was so surprised because everyone raves about them all the time. I need to make some myself to see if they are any better and the reception ones were a fluke!
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't want to scare anyone away from making them, but they were certainly interesting to make. They weren't a no-sweat baking experience. :) The chocolate dipping was the trickiest. I found that carefully pushing the chilled cake ball into the melted chocolate (the thinner the better), spooning some chocolate on the top, pulling it up, and gently tapping off excess chocolate worked fairly well. I stuck a toothpick in the cake ball and then dipped it. After I placed it on the waxed paper I removed the toothpick and covered the hole with a little dab of melted chocolate.
ReplyDeleteBecky--how funny! I thought they tasted fine--surprisingly enough they tasted exactly like what they were made of! ;) Other friends really liked them--I didn't know if they were just being polite or if they really liked them. :) The leftovers lasted a few days (I mostly kept them in the fridge and brought them to room temperature to serve). They actually tasted better the next day!
It would be interesting to try them with different cake/frosting/dipping chocolate. I'm sure you'd get an entirely different experience!
Here's another take: you make the cake (a dense, homemade is preferable), trim them into squares or rectangles, dip them into a liquid frosting, let set up, possibly freeze them, then dip in the final dipping coat. This way you have cake with some sort of sealing agent, but you don't have the cake/frosting mix as the centers. I have had one made this way and it was fabulous!
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