Cake Balls (Step by Step Tutorial)

Cake Balls are a lot like us humans.

 

Some of them are smaller. And some of them are bigger. Like us.

Some of them stand out from the crowd. Just like some of us.

Eventually, they die. Like us. Except that they go to our stomachs, and we go to heaven.

Some of them make a lasting impact though. Again, like us.

See, they are like us!

I was first introduced to cake balls through Bakerella's website. After looking through her blog, I got two impressions: they are pretty, and they're hard to make. I mean, usually, pretty things are hard to make. But, boy, was I wrong! These are extremely easy to throw together. Almost too good to be true!

I brought some to school, and people loved them. I got numerous compliments on them. However, as a lover of lights desserts, I'm not a big fan of them. Personally, I think that they're extremely rich with all that cake, frosting, and chocolate. I can't eat more than one at a time. I feel like throwing up after eating three in a row. But if you can tolerate that level of richness, you'll probably like these.

You'll need a few things:

Cake, already baked and in whatever flavor you like

Frosting, whatever flavor you like

Chocolate

Sprinkles and other decorations, optional

I know there are ratios out there for however much cake you have, you need however much frosting. For me, I just eyeball it. There's no need to get out the measuring cups and the kitchen scale for these. Let's not complicate things up. Okay?

Start with some cake. However much you like.

Using your hands, crumble the cake up. I threw some green velvet cake in the mix, hence the green crumbs. But no worries though, the chocolate frosting will cover it right up.

Add a generous spoonful of frosting into the crumbs. Work the frosting into the cake. Make sure that there are no pockets of frosting.

 

Now, let's see if the ratio of cake to frosting is right. The way I test this is using the "pinch test" (term made up by me). Take some of the mixture and pinch it, if it falls apart, you need more frosting to stick it together. If it stays together too well, you'll need to add more cake crumbs. It's perfect when it holds the shape, but is almost going to fall apart.

I needed to add some more cake to my mixture.

Okay, now it's ready!

Form them into balls. Take about a tablespoon worth of the mixture and roll them between your palms until little spheres form. The secret to light cake balls is to not put too much pressure into forming them. If you press too hard, you'll have dense cake balls.

Now, melt some chocolate.

Dip each cake ball into the chocolate.

My dad is a huge stickler for wiping all the chocolate, frosting, cake mix, bread dough, and other sticky evils off the plate/utensils before washing them. According to him, it will prevent the sink from getting clogged up. So, when he's at home, I'll dutifully wipe them up. When he's not at home, I just dump that stuff down the sink. Sometimes, when I'm feeling compromising, but particularly lazy and un-environmental, I'll just use plastic take-out boxes that my grandma washes and reuses. After I'm done, I'll just chuck them into the trash can. It's not exactly what I'd call going-green. But, I won't be doing the extra dreaded step of wiping up the solidified chocolate or contributing to the growing plaque of the sink's pipes.

While the chocolate is still melted, add sprinkles and other decorations to the cake ball, if desired. Be careful to not get sprinkles on cake balls that you don't want to have sprinkles.

Whoops!

Place the cake balls in the fridge for a short while (about 15 min.) or until the chocolate has firmed up. Enjoy!