Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Strawberry Cake Balls AND Pops!





After seeing these little beauties over at Bakerella's fabulous site (and also at a local bakery) I decided I had to give these a shot. I didn't try them at the bakery so I wasn't sure if I was going to like them. They seemed to be all the rage in cyberland, however, for every 10 praises that I saw for them there was atleast 1 gripe or complaint. The main complaint was in regards to the texture of the cake inside of the ball having a gooey consistency. I will admit, that was some what of a turn off. Just the thought of gooey cake makes my stomach turn, lol. But after looking at the recipe, I couldn't really see how it would turn out gooey so I decided to ignore the naysayer's and give them a shot. I ended up making these on the fly so by the time I thought to snap pics, they were already covered in chocolate, lol. Since this was my 1st try, I kept it simple and decided to make strawberry cake balls (box mix). I'm not a big fan of box cake BUT I didn't have the time to whip up something from scratch. In this instance, Betty was my best friend.





My thoughts after my cake ball experience:


I loved them! The cake wasn't gooey at all but very moist. It seems that maybe those who felt the cake was "gooey" were more than likely expecting a more dry consistency of cake and weren't too fond of the extreme moistness of the cake. I definitely wouldn't describe it as gooey. I passed them around the workplace (a.k.a human test lab) and it was hit. The DH loved them and so did the family. I hope you love them, too!



Cake Balls (recipe courtesy of Bakerella)


1 box strawberry cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (or whip some up from scratch as I did).

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

wax paper


1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl (or pulse it a few times in a food processor).

2. Mix thoroughly with cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package or use a double boiler (the chocolate stays melted longer).

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It's easier to work with when it's hot.

*any addendum's made by myself were highlighted in red.









My suggestions:


-Give them a try 'as is' and see if you like it (unless you are not a fan of cream cheese icing). If you don't like the consistency then try it with a buttercream frosting since it isn't nearly as creamy as cream cheese frosting.

-Get creative! There are soo many things you can do with cake balls so don't limit yourself (Cake Ball Gallery) . I can't wait to for my next go 'round with them.

- If you plan to put them on sticks. Place them in the freezer for about 2 hours and allow them to harden. If they are somewhat soft then you risk having them slide up and down the stick during the chocolate coating phase.


-After coating them in chocolate, continue turning them for a minute or so to avoid having chocolate running down the stick (I stuck my hand in the freezer while doing this and it hardened within 30 seconds).


Thanks for reading!!

*You can see these along with other beautiful food related photo's over at Tastespotting, one of my favorite sites!

 
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