Bakerella has pretty much made these little cake balls famous by creating characters and turning them into lollipops and doing pretty much any other creative thing that you could ever think to do with a call of cake. I have always been intrigued from a distance but have never worked up the courage to make them. I mean the whole idea of it seems contradictory: you use boxed cake mix and store-bought frosting so it should be easy, but then all of the different steps like rolling the cake into little balls and dipping each one into chocolate is pretty labor intensive. I use the term "labor intensive" as someone who sits at a desk for 7 hours a day and then goes home to eat bon bons. I realize that dipping candies into chocolate doesn't make a normal person work up a sweat.
So anyway, I finally broke down and tried it. It was certainly a lot harder than making a cake, but gets more of a reaction, too. It is easy to say no to a piece of cake (well, it is easy for some people) but there is no denying one of these harmless little calorie-free treats. You can't say no!
The cake balls that I made we funfetti themed because it was for my birthday, and they were good, but super sweet. Which worked out fine because it kept me from eating 12 of them. Everyone else at dinner who tried the cake balls seemed to like them, so that's a good sign. The white chocolate was more of a hit than the dark chocolate. I'm not sure why, but it is something to keep in mind.
I was surprised that when combined with the icing the cake balls taste more like cake batter than real cake. Like little truffles. And doesn't the name "cake batter truffles" just sound more elegant? Ok, it's decided then. They will now officially be called cake batter truffles. Spread the word.
Cake Balls (adaped from Bakerella's Red Velvet Cake Balls):
1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake) 1 can frosting (16 oz.) 1 package semi-sweet or milk chocolate bark 1 package white chocolate bark wax paper
After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 can of frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.) Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper). Chill for several hours. You can speed this up by putting in the freezer. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.) I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.
