Cakeballs

Ever since I posted I was baking cakeballs on Twitter I have gotten a number of comments and emails for the recipe. Now, please be advised that this recipe was taken from the famous Bakerella and just tweaked to my liking- I did not come up with the concept!

The first time I attempted to make cakeballs was for the 4th of July. I had NO idea how time consuming they would end up being, I thought it was a fairly straight forward process judging from the simple instructions I printed off. However, when all is said and done there are really not too many steps involved just quite a bit of time.

Follow the instructions for your favorite boxed cake mix (while I like the Red Velvet cakeballs, Funfetti have by far been my favorite). I would suggest substituting milk for water and melted butter for oil- this makes the cake taste much more like a homemade cake, it is by far SO MUCH better! I have also found that baking the cake in two round tins works much better than one large tin; just another detail you can play around with. Once the cakes have 100% cooled (be patient and let them cool COMPLETELY) crumble them up in to a bowl. The smaller the crumbs the better I say! Then- here is where things get messy- add in a tub of frosting. I use Vanilla Funfetti (without the sprinkles, so just vanilla I suppose) with the Funfetti and Creamy Vanilla with the Red Velvet (I am just not a fan of canned cream cheese frosting). I actually do not use quite the entire tub, but most of it.
I start by missing the frosting in with a wooden spoon and then finally resort to using my hands. Mix/stir/knead until the frosting and the cake crumbs become one. Now, form balls out of your batter (this was a bit messy so I forgot to photograph). It works well to use your hands or a sorbet scoop. I use the scoop to measure the amount and get the base shape and then perfect my balls from there. Be your own judge of size, but be warned that these are rich treats that you want to be able to bite in to! Once you have used all your batter up put the balls in the fridge for an hour or two to let them cool.
Once your balls have chilled melt your chocolate. I have found that while chocolate almond bark coats well, white chocolate almond bark is a bit of a bust and ends up being somewhat transparent and too thin. I suggest using white chocolate chips instead of the white almond bark. Dip your balls into your chocolate of choice and then transfer them to a wax paper covered baking sheet.
Now comes the fun part: decorating! While I adore sprinkles, I have found I prefer stripes on my cakeballs. Place your left over chocolate or almond bark in a pastry bag (or a Ziploc with a small hole cut on one corner) and quickly go to town! If your heart desires add some food coloring or colored melting chips to your white chocolate for bursts of color! Once you are done decorating place the cakeballs in the fridge overnight.

You can either serve them on a platter or package them up to gift. I suggest keeping cakeballs in the fridge (packed or un-packaged) until you are ready to serve them.

Phew, cakeballs do seem somewhat time consuming now, don't they? However, the end result is well worth it! Take these to work or school or make them as birthday party favors. They are cute as can be and not to mention, simply delicious! Happy baking all!