Our thirteen-year-old granddaughter is staying with us for a couple of weeks and she wanted to make cake balls. Since everything was already in the pantry, I couldn't very well say no. Besides, cooking together is a great way for grammys and grands to bond.
First, we had to bake the cake. Duncan Hines is my box mix of choice. Girly wanted white cake, which we were going to tint, but then forgot. Make the cake according to directions on box and bake in an oblong pan.
Once cake is cool, crumble into a large bowl.
Allow to cool in pan on wire rack for ten minutes. Then remove cake from pan and allow to cool completely. 
Now it's time for the frosting. If you want to make your own, feel free, but we're trying to keep things simple. If I hadn't been so lazy I would have used homemade buttercream. Yum!
Spoon frosting into bowl with cake.
Fold frosting into cake crumbles.
Roll cake frosting mixture into balls. I use a small scoop so they're uniform in size, though there's still some rolling involved.
Freeze for about an hour before dipping. We used white chocolate melting wafers for this batch, but you can also use chocolate.
Melt chocolate in microwave or double-boiler. I put boiling water into a large measuring cup that my bowl nestles into neatly. Then I add the wafers and stir until melted. The hot water also prevents the chocolate from cooling and hardening while I'm working.
Instead of actually dipping the balls into the chocolate, I prefer to spoon the chocolate over the frozen balls until coated.
I use a fork so it's easy to tamp off the excess chocolate.
Then I use a toothpick to help slide the coated ball from the fork onto either parchment paper, wax paper or a silicone mat. Either of those makes it easier to remove the balls once set without leaving a hunk of coating behind.
Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com
If using sprinkles for decoration, add those now so they'll adhere to the coating. You can also drizzle on colored melting wafer, but you can do that after the chocolate has set.
Once balls are coated, refrigerate until set.
Kids love these and they're perfect for parties. If you prefer to do the cake-pop version, add the stick to the uncoated balls and do not coat until frozen.
They're delicious, fun, different. Like cake and candy all in one yummy bite. The girl was happy, grammy was happy, even Big Daddy was happy. You can also make these ahead and freeze them. Having a party (once we start having parties again)? Place a few in a cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon for guests to take home. Cake balls are a win-win all around.
So what do you think? Cake balls, yay or nay?
Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com
