Basic Cake Balls

By dette

Cakd balls are bite-size balls made of crumbled cake mixed with frosting and covered in candy coating. They are super-easy to make and form the basis of endless variations of decorated cake pops, cupcake pops and cake bites.

Ingredients

• 18.25 oz box cake mix
• 16 oz ready-made frosting
• 32 oz candy coating

Preparation

Step 1

Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9x13 cake pan. Let cool completely.
Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside plenty of time (at least an hour) to crumbe, roll and dip 4 dozen cake balls.
Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. You should not see any large pieces of cake.
Add 3/4 of the container of frosting. (You will not need the remaining frosting). Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back of a large metal spoon, until thoroughly combine. If you use he entier container, the cake balls will be too moist.
Teh mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1 1/2" balls and still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls ny hand, place them on a wax paper-covered baking sheet.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the refrigerator, or place in the freeze for about 15 mintues. You want the balls to be firm but not frozen.
I you're making a project that calls for uncoated cake balls, stop here and proceed to decorate the cake balls, following the project instructions.
Place the candy coating ina deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl. These bowls make it easier to cover the cake balls completely with candy coating while holding the bowl without burning your fingers. (I usually work with aobut 16 oz. of coating at a time.
Melt the candy coating, following the instructions on the package. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make sure you do not overheat the coating.
Now you're ready to coat. Take a few cake balls at a time out of the refrigerator or freezer to work with, If they're in the freezer, transfer the rest of the balls to the refrigerator at this point, so they stay firm but no not freeze.
Place on ball at a time into the bowl of candy coating. Spoon extra coating over any uncoated areas of the cake ball to make sure it is completely covered in candy coating. The lift out the cake ball with yor spooon, Avoid stirring it in the coating, because cake crujbs can fall off into the coating.
Holding the spoon over the bowl, tap the handle of the spoon several times on edge of the bowl until the excess coating falls off and back into the bowl. This technique also creates a smooth surface on the outside of the cake ball.
Transfer the coated cake ball to the second wax paper-covered baking sheet to dry,. Let the coated cake ball slide right off the spoon. Some coating may pool around the ase of the ball onto the wax paper. If so, simply tke a toothpick and use it to draw a line around the base of the cake all before the coating sets. Once the coating sets, you can break off any unwanted coating.
Repeat with the remaining cake balls and let dry completely,
If you have extra candy coating left over, pour it into a resealable plastic bag (and then snip off the corner) or into a squeeze bottle and drizzle it over the tops in a zigzag motion to decorate.
You can nake the cake balls ahead of time and store them in an airtight container on the counter or int he refrigerator for several days.