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.