The Housewife Wannabe Cooks: Cakeballs

As many Americans are doing on this sacred day, Matt and I are going to a Superbowl Party and of course that means food, Food, FOOD! In addition to my infamous salsa which my old roommate Colleen used to practically eat with a spoon, I somehow I got the brilliant idea that I should make cake balls.

I'm hosting a baby shower for my friend Lindsay in April, and of course I want them to look perfect by then, so I need to practice on Matt's friends (read: they're not into details and don't care what food looks like).

Now read what I'm about to say very carefully: these take a while! While they're not difficult, they are not for the patient (I didn't say too many four letter words while making them), and they're not for the individual looking for a "quick" dessert. If you are looking for a quick dessert however, I recommend you start these and stop after step 1.

I've added the recipe and pictures below. In trying to get into the spirit of things, I made white balls with red candy coating and chocolate balls (remember that South Park episode?) with yellow candy coating. In order to darken the chocolate up a little bit, I added some blue food coloring.

Ingredients:

1 boxed cake mix

1 can frosting

1 package almond bark

1. Bake the cake according to the directions. (This is where you stop if you want the quick dessert I mentioned above).

2. After allowing it to cool completely, crumble the cake in a large mixing bowl.

3. Stir in almost an entire can of frosting/icing and mix thoroughly. I found it was best to use my hands.

mmm... chocolate-y!

4. Try not to eat the whole pan with a spoon. You're not quite finished yet and failing to complete step four properly could lead to a day spent in bed or on the toilet. And no one will want to come eat your balls if that happens. Do no ignore the teachings of step 4!

5. I refrigerated the mixtures overnight, but I would recommend refrigerating them at least for 30 minutes. If they're a little cold, step 6 is easier.

6. Roll into 2 inch balls.

7. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

8. Melt the almond bark/candy wafers according to package directions.

9. Roll the cake balls in the melted almond bark/candy wafers.

Ignore the fat forearm - this camera has some really bad angles! Maybe something's wrong with it. Like how our dryer has magically started shrinking all my clothes!

10. This is where the frustrating part comes in if you are type A or obsessive compulsive like myself. Transfer the candy balls to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. BE FOREWARNED - Unless you are a professional or have some sort of crazy dipping tool, the balls will not come out looking perfectly round or smooth (If you are a professional though, what the hell are you doing reading my website?!? You should not be coming to me for advice). I used a fork to lift them out of the candy but tranferring them to the cookie sheet result in all sorts of dents and imperfections in the candy coating. Again, this is why I'm practicing with Matt's friends.

Hmm, the close up shot really shows how imperfect they are. Maybe a shot from above would look better?

Guess not....

Here's the final product.

I melted some plain white and chocolate almond bark and drizzled over the balls for added dramatic effect. And also to hide the imperfections in the balls. Probably should have added some food coloring to the chocolate so that it would have looked more black... but I was exhausted. And I live in Dallas. No one here cares about who wins. Good thing they taste delicious! ENJOY!