My younger sister is the only person on the planet I love enough to visit the land of hosting a baby shower. Getting pregnant is not something she came by easily, so her sweet baby boy has been much anticipated and celebrated. I communicate love via food so I wanted to make a treat that’s really special for her shower and these cake balls nailed it. 

Cake balls are my new go to dessert for a party. They double as dessert and decoration. By adjusting the color of the sprinkles these would be great at any occasion. I’m going to do some with black coloring for a 40th birthday party I’ll be going to soon. Fall, Christmas, or even St. Paddy’s day would be fun themes for cake balls too. 

cake balls

I have to say, the shower was pretty awesome. I have 2 rules for any type of shower I host to keep things fun and conversational.

Rule no. 1

I HATE shower games. Shower games just seem to get in the way of good conversation. No thank you. Instead we did a cute craft where everyone writes a little something on a onesie with fabric markers.

Rule no. 2

There must be amazing food. I come from a family of cooks so we all just divided up the load. We did a selection of little sandwiches, finger foods, fruit, and (of course) desserts. That’s where I come in (And my sister’s amazing peanut butter bars. I’ll post those soon.).

 Presentation

The way these cake balls are displayed is half the point. It looks great, and it’s super easy. Fill a large, decoratively shaped, vase with sugar. Wrap some ribbon with coordinating colors to your event around the neck of your vase. I used scraps from other decor around the shower to create a theme of color and design. Then simply press the sticks of the cake balls into the sugar at differing heights to create a bouquet effect. This works well because it’s easy for guests to pull out their selected treat and also easy to refill when it starts looking bare. Just be sure to use long sticks for your cake balls so you have some leeway in how deep or shallow they are pressed into the sugar. Get creative and experiment with coloring the sugar. I’m picturing gold sugar with green cake balls for St Paddy’s day. I’ll be sure to post pictures of how that turns out. 

 Cake Balls

One of the kids at the shower told me the cake balls taste just like the ones from Starbucks. I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not. I would submit they taste better, much better, than the ones at Starbucks. The bright blue color of the cake was really cute for a baby boy shower too.

cake balls

Be sure to dip the sticks in the melted candy before dipping. It acts like glue to hold the cake ball on the stick. Keep them chilled before dipping too. If the balls get too soft before being dipped, they totally fall apart. I discovered this the hard way. It’s not pretty.

Gorgeous Cake Balls Made Easy

Cake balls make any party better. They look as great as they taste. They’re easy to make, but do take some time so turn on Grey’s Anatomy while baking and enjoy.

  • 1 box cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Blue Velvet for the great blue color)
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 24 oz candy melts (I used white Wilton Candy Melts to contrast the blue. Have fun and be creative with colors.)
  • 35 6 inch lollipop sticks
  1. Prepare cake according to package directions using a 9×13 pan but add 2 tbsp less liquid than it calls for. A dry cake is better for cake balls.

  2. While the cake is baking and cooling prepare frosting. 

  3. In the bowl of a standing mixer combing butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until soft and fluffy.

  4. After the cake as cooled for 10 min invert onto a cutting board. Cut all the crust from the cake and discard (or feed to your kids).

  5. In a large bowl break up the cake into crumbs until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. 

  6. Add 1/2 of the frosting and lightly stir/toss into the cake crumbs trying not to smash the crumbs. It should resemble the consistency of biscuit dough. Add more frosting as necessary but stir as little as possible. 

  7. Using an ice cream scoop form the cake balls into balls about the size of a large walnut.  

  8. Melt candy melts according to package directions. Dip a stick 1/4 inch into candy melts then insert about 1/2 way into a cake ball. The candy melts act like glue which makes dipping easier. Repeat with remaining cake balls.

  9. Freeze for 20 minutes

  10. Remove cake balls from freezer and dip in melted candy. If balls get too soft refreeze for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with decorations immediately after dipping to they will adhere. I used a combination of sanding sugar and sprinkles for variety. 

  11. For a zigzag effect, add food coloring to white candy or melt another color. While it is very soft drizzle over dipped cake balls in a quick zigzag motion. 

  12. Serve bouquet style in a vase filled with sugar, or laid out on a tray. 

Pretty food just tastes better. What’s your favorite dish for a party?

cake balls