4th of July Cake Balls {tutorial}

I wanted to make an easy July 4th dessert, since we are spending the long weekend with Eric’s parents at the beach.  And, since I haven’t made cake balls in quite some time, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have a quick tutorial on cake balls.

They have certainly been quite the rage, and while there are many ways to decorate them (balls, pops, etc.), there is really only one way to make them, and that’s what I ‘m going to show you.

All you really need are these:

Any cake and frosting will do, whatever suits your fancy.  Bake the cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan, following the box directions.  Then, WAIT for it to cool.  I usually bake the cake the day before I want to make the balls. (Just cover it with Syran wrap after it cools.)

Break up the cake, with a spatula, in a large bowl.  You want finer crumbs, so it’s easier to create the balls.

Then add about 1/2 of a can of frosting to start out.  (If you add too much, you’ll have really wet cake balls and that doesn’t taste very good.)  Work the frosting into the cake, so there are no traces of frosting.  If you squeeze the cake crumbs and frosting together and it doesn’t stick, add a little more frosting.  You won’t need more than 3/4 of a can.  And a little tip: the whipped frosting doesn’t work as well.  I don’t know why, but I haven’t had a lot of luck with it.

Form balls and place them on a cookie sheet covered with either foil or wax paper.  I like to make my cake balls a little larger, but you can make them however big or small you want.

Place them in the fridge until they harden, about 2 hours.  (Or in the freezer for no more than 30 minutes.)

Melt some candy melts (according to manufacturer’s instructions) in whatever color you like.  I originally wanted to use white with red and blue stripes, but the craft store didn’t have blue, and red and white just didn’t look right.  So, I ended up using white to coat the balls and sprinkling jimmies (sprinkles) on top.

Work with a few balls at a time.  If you get out the whole cookie sheet, by the time you are close to finishing, you will have really soft balls and some of the cake will fall off into the candy melts, creating a very lumpy coating.

Repeat this process until all your balls are coated.

Then just leave them on the wax paper until they are completely dry.  I like my cake balls cold, so I put them in the fridge when the candy melts cool.

Well, that’s it.  Super easy, super enjoyable, super delicious dessert.  Happy 4th of July! xoxo

4th of July Cake Balls

1 cake mix

1 can of frosting

1 package candy melts, white

red, white, and blue jimmies (sprinkles)

Bake the cake and let cool completely.  In a large bowl, break up the cake into fine crumbs using a spatula.  Using 1/2 a can of frosting to start, incorporate the frosting into the cake crumbs, making sure no traces of frosting are left.  To see if you need to add more frosting, form a ball.  If the balls form easily, you have used enough frosting.  If it has a harder time sticking together, add  more frosting, a little at a time.  You will not need the rest of the  1/4 – 1/2 can of frosting.

Place balls onto a cookies sheet covered with either wax paper or foil.  Once you have made all the balls, (anywhere from 30-45, depending on how large or small you make the balls), place the cookie sheet in the fridge to harden, a couple of hours.  (Or in the freezer no more than 30 minutes.)

Melt the candy melts and then dip a few balls at a time into the coating, placing back on the wax paper.  Sprinkle with jimmies.  Let cool and then enjoy.