The Great Cake Ball Fiasco

Ok, I admit it. The cake balls were a disaster. I naively thought I could just whip them up for my daughter’s birthday party, but I was wrong.

The cake balls were actually blobs. Somehow I managed to obliterate a three ingredient recipe and produce an unidentifiable slurry of cake and icing. Even worse, I tried to mask my blobs with a thick coating of chocolate bark—huge mistake! Incredibly, the microwave burned the chocolate bark, leaving charred bark bits swimming in a thick sludge. The final product was a repulsive leach inspired bonbon. Even my kids didn’t want to eat them.

In desperation I called my neighbor Ashley, resident gourmet baker, for help. Thankfully, she had mercy on me and effortlessly delivered a batch of gorgeous cake balls as her gift to the birthday girl. The party was saved!

Cake balls haven’t defeated me yet. With Thanksgiving fast approaching I still want to master these rich concoctions, but I can’t do it alone. I called the experts at Cakeball Heaven (www.cakeballheaven.mynetworksolutions.com) in Frisco, owned by baker extraordinaire April Willingham. Not wanting to leave out my loyal cake master, Ashley, I sought her advice too. With the combined baking wisdom of these two kitchen geniuses I’ve put together a cheat-sheet for novice bakers.

Blob Proof Tips for Perfect Cake Balls

#1 Bake: Start with your favorite homemade cake and icing recipe or store bought mix. Bake the cake according to directions and allow to cool completely. Trim off the top, bottom, and sides of the cake so that you’re left with the inner part. This keeps the balls from being too lumpy or crunchy.

#2 Crumble: With your hands, crumble the cake in a bowl and mix with ¼ cup of icing, so that it’s cookie dough consistency. Add a small amount of icing if needed, but be careful. Too much icing prevents the balls from holding their shape.

#3 Shape: Roll bits of dough between your hands to form pretty round balls. Lay them out on wax paper while you’re working. Try to get them as smooth as possible because the chocolate coating won’t disguise every flaw. Do not refrigerate the dough balls at this stage. Cold dough will harden the chocolate coating and cause it to be lumpy or excessively thick.

#4 Dip: Use chocolate candy coating (not almond bark) found in cake decorating stores and some craft stores. Heat the candy coating according to directions. Use two forks to dip the cake ball into the coating. Transfer the cake ball to one fork and, using the other fork, gently tap it to allow extra chocolate to drip into the bowl. Carefully transfer the cake ball onto wax paper and allow it to harden, approximately five minutes. At this point, cake balls can be refrigerated to speed up the hardening process.

Now as I plan my Thanksgiving dessert tray I no longer have to fear the elusive cake ball. Most importantly, I can say goodbye to blobs forever.

—Carrie Cooper

Carrie is the host of U2HaveHope Radio, which airs each Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on KDKR 91.3 FM. Discover more at www.U2HaveHope.com.