Cake Balls

I made cake balls for the very first time a couple weeks ago. Oh. My. Not only are they fairly simple to make, but they taste amazing! At my wedding, we had a dessert reception, and one of the ladies at church made these. But, seeing as I was too busy talking to people and walking around, I never actually got to try one. 5 years later, I finally made them and tried them! I had some college girls over to help roll them and dip them. It was a fun, learning experience for all of us.

I don't have step by step pictures, but the instructions are fairly easy!

1. Bake your favorite cake according to the box directions.
2. Let cake cool completely.
3. Crumble cake up and place in mixer bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this, it reduces the amount of frosting you have to add, and does all the work for you!).
4. For white cakes, you'll use about 1/2 container of frosting. For chocolate cakes, it's a more like 2/3-1 whole container of frosting. Add frosting to mixing bowl, and, using your paddle attachment, start the mixer on low, and then bump it up to the 2nd or 3rd speed. Continue mixing until frosting is evenly distributed.
5. Place in bowl and cover. Let sit in refrigerator for an hour at least. Longer won't hurt it, if you happen to forget about it. Not that that would ever happen with little ones running around the house...
6. I have this Baker's Secret Cookie Dough Scoop and I use it for everything!! It's the perfect size for cake balls, cookies, to fill up a mini muffin pan, meatballs... The uses are endless! Anyways, scoop your cake mixture into balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Melt your chocolate. Now, you can use melting wafers or real chocolate chips. If using melting wafers (this kind), just follow the directions on the back of the package. If using chocolate chips, place 1 cup in microwavable bowl, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening, and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove, stir until bowl is no longer hot, then microwave again if needed for 10 seconds at a time, stirring completely each time.
8. Place one cake ball in the melted chocolate at a time, and using two plastic forks broken like this:

Roll the cake ball around until completely covered. Let extra chocolate drip off for a few seconds and then place on wax paper. If you want to put sprinkles on top, now is the time before the chocolate hardens back up.
9. Finish remainder of cake balls. You will probably have to put the chocolate back in the microwave once or twice for 10 seconds to warm it back up.
10. Put in cool place to harden completely. You can also place some melted chocolate of a contrasting color in a sandwich baggie, snip the end off, and drizzle it on top of some already hardened cake balls.

These are great for cookie exchanges, neighbors, friends, hiding-in-the-pantry snacks so your little ones don't see. And the combinations are endless! Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting dipped in dark chocolate. White cake with vanilla frosting dipped in milk chocolate. You could even do a spice cake mixed with cream cheese frosting dipped in white chocolate. Yummmmmmy.

Enjoy!!