Cake Balls

I found this recipe forever ago on Bakerilla's website. Then Pioneer Woman did them and then a friend of mine and they were so cute I just had to try them.

Let me say, I am not a fan of working with chocolate. I'm ok with a little dipping or drizzle but otherwise not so much. I had the patience of a gnat this week so it wasn't my best time to try something like this. AND, I had several issues while making these. First off, I didn't have enough chocolate because I didn't write down that I needed two bags. I didn't exactly "plan" to make these. Second, everyone made these as cake pops, I didn't want the hassle of the stick. The stick would have made my life easier. And, the recipe has to be made kind of in steps. I don't mind that at Christmas time when I'm doing 18 different things and can come back to it but for a regular recipe, again..not so much.

Having said all of that, these are YUMMY!! My kids LOVED them! I loved them! I'm not sure I will share them, or at least this batch. Yes, you heard me, I will make these again even though I got a little frustrated. I have ideas of what I'll use next time as the cake part. I will try to save you some of the frustration so you will enjoy making them as much as eating them. Keep in mind that due to my lack of preparation, these are not as cute as I would like them. I'll share the next time I make them, they are sure to be cuter.

You need:

1 cake mix prepared according to directions and cooked in a 13x9 pan. I used a white cake mix and colored it Orange with food coloring
1 can of Cream Cheese frosting..yes, I said CAN
2 14 oz bags of Chocolate melts ~ we preferred the colored white chocolate variety over the milk chocolate
Extra frosting or chocolate or sprinkles to decorate but honestly, they are good with just the first dipping

Cut your cake in 1/4s and crumble a 1/4 at a time. Make sure you don't have any big lumps

Add 3/4 of the can of frosting. Pioneer woman suggested that instead of the whole can and I have to agree, 3/4 can made them moist enough.

Doesn't look to appetizing but they are YUMMY. Start making your balls. You'll have to wash your hands off about every 10 because you get sticky. I made these about the size of walnuts. One of those mini cookie scoops would be perfect but I couldn't find mine.<



Makes about 70 balls I would guess..I didn't count. Put them in the freezer for one hour to harden
I used the double boiler method because I wanted to follow directions. I later figured out what I already knew, 1 minute in my microwave does the trick.
Melted and ready for business
Take your cake balls out of the freezer and start dipping. Roll them around like fondue and kind of bang the stick on the side of the pan to get off excess chocolate. Use another skewer to push the ball off, add a bit of chocolate to cover your hole.
The second time I made them I simply used a fork. I put the ball in the chocolate and moved it around with a spoon. I kind of scooped it out with the fork, banging the fork on the side of the bowl. The tines on the fork allow for the excess chocolate to easily come off. Much easier.
The chocolate hardens pretty quick because the balls are frozen
Chocolate version with sprinkles

I ran out of orange, didn't care for the chocolate so I used the rest of the green and made Mini Monster Faces

My ugly but tasty pumpkins