Red, White, and Blue Cake Balls

I’m sure you have all heard of Cake Pops, but have you heard of Cake Balls? Cake Balls are pretty much like Cake Pops, except tastier (at least Zach and I think so, anyway). They’re also slightly more annoying to make, but all good things come with a price.

Zach and I are going to his godfather’s house for a Fourth of July party, so I decided to make a dessert. I wanted something festive that would suit the occasion, so I opted for red, white, and blue Cake Balls. Here’s how they turned out:

Not as cute as I hoped,  but I was using a coating that I’m not very used to and I had some issues. The taste is what really matters, though, right? They’re pretty tasty.

Here’s how I made them!

What you’ll need:

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 can of frosting
• eggs
• milk
• butter
• candy coating OR chocolate
• candy dye

Step 01: I made the cake a little differently. Look at the box directions and whatever it tells you, do this instead: Add 1-2 extra eggs, use milk instead of water, use butter instead of oil and double the amount (of butter only). It makes the cake taste like it came from a bakery. Yum. So I did that.

This is what I used. You can find it in pretty much any grocery store in the U.S.

Step 02: Pour the batter into a 13×9 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Note: The batter consistency will be different than it is when you use the ingredients listed on the box. It’ll be a little like mousse, actually.

Step 03: Let the cake cool for a while and then take a fork and completely destroy it. Yes, you read correctly. 😛

Step 04: Put your cake crumbs into a mixing bowl and add an entire can of frosting to it. Mix thoroughly.

(I added the sprinkles that came with the frosting. This picture makes them look neon. o_O

Step 05: Roll into balls. You can make the balls as large as you would like, but keep this in mind: the smaller the balls, the larger the total surface area will be, meaning you will need more chocolate/candy. They don’t have to be perfect right now (and they won’t be right now). Place the balls on parchment paper and put them in the freezer for at least two hours. I kept mine in there overnight. Once they’ve hardened, you can shape them better.

Step 06: After you’ve pulled them from the freezer and shaped them, begin melting your candy. You can do this anyway you want. I did it by simmering water in a large pot, putting the candy in a smaller pot, and putting the smaller pot in the simmering water. Stir it constantly until it is completely melted and then remove from the heat. Do not get water in the candy. If you need to make your melted candy thinner, use vegetable shortening.

To make the blue a little darker (though it’s still not the correct shade–I think it’s pretty, though) I used some candy dye. Don’t use regular food dye, because candy is not water soluble. Regular food dye, or even gel food dye, won’t work. Powdered will, if you can find any of that. If you can’t, find one that’s oil-based.

Step 07: Using a spoon as your aid, dip and roll the balls in the candy and lay them back on the parchment paper. They can harden at room temperature, but if you want to speed up the process, stick them in the fridge. They’ll be completely hard within minutes.

Step 07: Once all of the colors have been dipped, I arranged them in my portable cake holder and stuck them back in the fridge. Voila!

Hopefully they go over well. I think some of my relatives aren’t as big on sweets as I am. But that just means more for me 😛

What are you doing for the 4th?

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