Cake Balls the next Cupcake?

I am relatively new to the world of cake balls. A local bakery opened near me selling them, and I wanted to love them. I really did. The concept is interesting, they are super cute and have so many possibilities, but the ones I tried just didn't live up to my expectations. I tried a few from other places and still I walked away wishing I hadn't wasted my calories.

Slowly but surely, these little bites were popping up everywhere. Once I saw the cake pop, then I knew that was a challenge I had to take on. They looked pretty simple and something a child would love to make and eat. (And I am still convinced they can be, for 1 or 2 children at a time, just not 14.)

Since my first attempt at cake pops was not as successful as I had hoped (purely from an assembly standpoint) I decided to give it a second try. This time without the stick making just the traditional cake ball. I had tons of icing in the fridge from Anna's party and I had some freshly made banana bread. Rather than heat the house baking a cake, I decided to do a little experimentation. Ella was napping so what did I have to lose?

  • I crumbled up 1/2 loaf of banana bread
  • Added about 1.5-ish cups of buttercream icing
  • I found mixing with my hands was best.
  • This was rather gooey so I put in the the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm it up a bit.
  • Roll into 1 in-ish balls & place on wax paper
  • Chill in the freezer 15-30 minutes
  • Dip in melted chocolate
  • Decorate to your heart's content
I used leftover chocolate that I had so some I dipped in white and some I dipped in semi-sweet. I love white chocolate on pretzels, and on these it was good, but the semi-sweet was to die for. 




I am typically much more humble when it comes to my own cooking concoctions, but I actually considered hiding these for myself. While day-dreaming, I was thinking I could give the cake ball bakery a run for its money. 

Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the semi-sweet ones. If there are any left, I will have to shoot it and update my post. A few other thoughts, I think using a cream cheese icing would be even better with the banana bread (I'll try that next time). Using just the 1/2 loaf made about 35-ish balls. I am thinking this would be great with pumpkin or zucchini bread, or maybe even a cinnamon coffee cake. I am seeing holiday flavors and teacher gift ideas in my future. 

Love to hear if you have made a cake balls. Please share any tips or killer recipes or things to avoid.

Comments

Jennifer C. said…
I made something similiar to this by accident one time. I made a banana bread and it didn't cook completly through in the middle. So I used the ends that were cooked and crumbled them up and mixed in a little frosting. Rolled them into balls and coated with more cream cheese frosting. Sprinkled on top w/ cinnamon. Everyone thought they were the bomb! Mistakes sometimes make the best dishes!!!!
Jennifer said…
That looks amazing!!!!

Question for you.... how did you get your name in fancy font? I would love to sign my blog like that. Thanks!

Jennifer
Sarah said…
Jennifer, I wish I knew. I designed my page, but know absolutely no coding what so ever. I hired Erika the Fairy Blogmother to bring it all to life. Her link is at the bottom of my page if you want to check her out. She was great to work with, fast and inexpensive. My sister used her too.
Elizabeth said…
Im definitely trying these... nobody up north has ever heard of cake balls- I will have to educate them :)

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