How To Bake Cake Balls

A recipe for cake balls that uses cake mix, frosting and candy melts to create fun and festive bites. Cake balls are perfect for gift giving and they’re easy to turn into cake pops!

Cake balls are a welcome addition to any gathering, and they make super cute party favors as well. I often make this recipe, chocolate covered Oreos or chocolate covered pretzels for a quick treat. This basic recipe formula can be changed up into tons of fun flavor combinations.

How

Cake balls are such a fun and festive dessert, and they’re almost too pretty to eat! I love making cake balls because they’re a total crowd pleaser, both kids and adults alike adore them.

Easy Cake Pop Recipe

A cake ball is essentially a truffle make of a blend of cake crumbs and frosting that is dipped in candy melts. Cake balls are often topped with sprinkles or decorated in ways to look like flowers, animals, you name it!

The first step to making cake balls is to bake a 9″x13″ cake. I always use a cake mix because there are so many flavor options, they always come out moist and delicious, and it’s just so easy. The cake gets crumbled up before it’s mixed with the frosting, then shaped into balls. You can make your cake balls as big or as small as you like, I typically go for about 1 1/2 inches in size.

Looking to turn your cake balls into cake pops? It’s easy! Simply place your formed cake balls onto lollipop sticks, then chill and dip into candy melts as directed in the recipe below.

How To Make Cake Pops

I find the easiest way to dip cake balls is to place each ball on a fork, then spoon the candy melts over the top. Tap the fork lightly against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. You only want a thin coating of chocolate, otherwise the excess chocolate will pool at the bottom of your cake truffle as it hardens. Gently transfer each dipped cake truffle to a sheet of parchment paper to let it harden. And don’t forget to add your sprinkles while the cake balls are still wet!

I used a classic yellow cake with vanilla frosting here, but there are so many ways to flavor your cake balls such as

Cake balls will last for 5-7 days when stored in an airtight container. If you need to store them for longer than that, you can transfer them to the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 10 days.

Cake Ball Recipe (step By Step Tutorial)

I love that these cake balls are so versatile, and they’re even great for the holidays! I make cake balls for my girls’ birthday parties and they are always a huge hit.

A recipe for cake balls that uses cake mix, frosting and candy melts to create fun and festive bites. Cake balls are perfect for gift giving and they're easy to turn into cake pops!

Calories: 116 kcal | Carbohydrates: 21 g | Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 116 mg | Potassium: 11 mg | Sugar: 15 g | Calcium: 31 mg | Iron: 0.3 mgWant to learn how to make the perfect Cake Pops? These homemade cake balls are so easy to make, and the perfect bite-sized party treat for any occasion! These sweet treats are made with vanilla cake, frosting, and rainbow sprinkles but can be with any flavor combination.

Cake

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

You won’t have to buy overpriced cake pops again with this easy recipe. It only requires a handful of ingredients, and with my step-by-step photos and tips, you’ll be making cafe-worthy cake balls in no time. Decorating these bite-sized desserts is effortless and makes for a great weekend project with kids. For another kid friendly dessert idea, check out my homemade funfetti cake!

Vanilla cake — I use a box cake mix for these cake balls for convenience. However, if you have some leftovercake lying around, you can use that as well because nothing beats homemade cake. If you prefer you can use chocolate cake, red velvet cake, or strawberry cake instead.

Frosting — you can use homemade vanilla frosting (great use for leftovers) or store-bought frosting. I prefer homemade for the flavor, but sometimes convenience wins! Of course feel free to use chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting instead.

Cake Pop Pan Vs. Handmade Cake Pops

Candy melts — once melted and dipped, candy melts will set up with the same look and texture as chocolate. It’s easier to use than chocolate, as you can skip tempering it. Careful not to scorch the melts, or they’ll harden too quickly to work with.

6. Melt candy or chocolate wafers according to the package instructions. Dip the tip of a lollipop stick in the melted chocolate and insert about halfway into a cake ball.

Homemade

7. Dip the cake ball into the chocolate. Remove and gently tap on the side of the cup to let excess coating drip off.

Homemade Chocolate Cake Pops

If you don’t have candy melts, try melting wafers (my favorite is Ghirardelli Vanilla) or melting good white chocolate or dark chocolate bars. If the chocolate is too thick, you can try stirring in 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the melted chocolate.

The main culprit of a cracked cake pop coating is due to significant temperature differences in the cake balls. If the cake balls are too cold and the melted candy melt is too hot, the coating will crack as the hot mixture will cause the cake balls to expand and then contract. To prevent this from happening, make sure the coating isn’t super hot when you dip your cake into it. Allow your coating to cool for a few minutes before dipping.

Don’t skip dipping lollipop sticks in the frosting before inserting into the ball. This helps the sticks stay put in the balls as they harden. Not inserting the lollipop stick deep enough will cause them to fall off as well. Finally, make sure your lollipop sticks aren’t too thin, as you need a thick enough stick to hold the weight of the cake balls. My go-to lollipop sticks are pictured above.

Cake Pops From Leftover Cake: Easy, Fun, Economical

If you’re making cake balls ahead of time, you can keep un-dipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. After dipped and decorated, store them in an airtight sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Best

You can freeze uncoated and coated cake balls for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before eating.

If you’ve tried this Cake Pops recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

Cake Pops Recipe

Calories: 137 kcal | Carbohydrates: 20 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 13 mg | Sodium: 115 mg | Potassium: 15 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 14 g | Vitamin A: 19 IU | Calcium: 32 mg | Iron: 1 mgI have to admit, I had never made cake pops before but I was determined to make them for our gender reveal party. I’ve made Oreo truffles multiple times, which are somewhat similar to cake pops. Somewhat. They’re essentially the cookie version of cake pops. Basically dessert cousins. I figured, how hard could it be?

Now, I know mine aren’t 100% true cake pops– they’re basically cake balls with sticks in them, but people can still carry them around like cake pops. I mean, who wants messy hands? Anyway, I’ll tell you at the end of the post how to make them into legit cake pops with the cake portion at the top and the stick coming out the bottom.

Prepare a boxed cake mix as directed on the box. Let the cake cool completely. Wash your hands. Next, crumble the cake into fine crumbs with your hands in a large bowl. Mix in about 1/3 cup of icing (I used store bought milk chocolate) with your hands. The mixture should be dense but not gooey. Gooey cake balls gross me out. Grab a cookie scoop (I used my 1.5 T scoop, which I LOVE). (Remember, everyone needs a cookie scoop, or 3.) Then, scoop out the mixture, packing the cake mixture into the scoop as you scoop it (I smushed the open side of the cookie scoop against the inside of the bowl). Smush the mixture in your hand to pack it tightly into a ball. Roll it into a nicely shaped ball. Roll the remaining mixture into balls (my cake mix made 18 balls).

Easy

Gusher Confetti Cake Balls Recipe

Grab your Candy Melts (I purchased mine from JoAnn Fabric) and a small microwaveable dish (I used a small oatmeal bowl). Put about 5 morsels into the bowl and melt them in the microwave. Next, grab your cake pop sticks (I purchased mine from JoAnn Fabric). Dip your stick into the melted Candy Melt and quickly stick it into a cake pop at least half way down. Repeat with remaining cake pops. Then, set pops on a cookie