Heavenly Cake Balls

I am patiently waiting for Spring to arrive and as rare as the warm and sunny days have been in NJ, is as often as you will see a dessert recipe on this blog. I learned to cook, by baking but since I can't really eat it, I dont like to make it. I have zero self control when it comes to baked goods, so its best to not even go there. BUT I do occasionally make an exception....and these my friends are the ultimate exception. I have made these a few times, but the 1st time was for the launch of my Stella & Dot jewelry business. It truly made the party a smashing success. Once you have a cake ball, you will never be the same. Apparently gourmet cupcakes are the new Cupcake, so I like to say I was way ahead of the trend :)

Cake Balls

check out The Pioneer Women I used her site as my reference and her pictures were helpful

Ingredients

1 box Cake Mix (red Velvet , Chocolate Or Yellow About 18 Ozs))

1 can Frosting (store Bought 12 Ozs)

1 bag Melting Chocolate (12 Ozs. Any Color Or Combination Of Colors)

1 bag Lollipop Sticks

Various Tubes Gel Icing (any Colors)

Sprinkles

Directions:

Just prepare the cake according to the directions on the package, and bake it in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Cover the cake with a dishtowel and allow to cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, begin gently crumbling the cake. Place sections of the cake into a large bowl, 1/4 of the cake at a time. When you’re finished, you should have a bunch of very fine cake crumbs. ***You can also break it up and put it into your kitchen aid mixer for a quick crumble***

Use two forks to work the icing into the cake. Keep working until the icing is no longer visible. Even if you use white icing with devil’s food, the white will eventually blend in entirely.

Next, roll the mixture into balls—make them about walnut size – a small ice cream scoop could help with this.

This is important: pop ‘em in the freezer, uncovered, for at least an hour. The cake balls need to be very firm before coating them.

When the cake balls are nice and firm, go ahead and prepare a double boiler.

Dump the melting chocolate pieces into the bowl of the double boiler. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is totally melted and smooth and set aside. ***I use a glass bowl over a sauce pan of boiling water as my double boiler***

Insert a stick sideways into each ball (paying attention to the flat part on the bottom). Now, you can either roll the ball in the chocolate, or spoon it over the top—whatever’s easier for you.

Be sure to thoroughly coat the bottom of the ball where it meets the stick.

Lay them back down onto waxed or parchment paper, paying attention to the flat part (get it against the parchment again.)

Now decorate and get creative as you want!

YUMMMM!