“WE CAN ONLY BE SAID TO BE ALIVE IN THOSE MOMENTS WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE CONSCIOUS OF OUR TREASURES.” Thornton Wilder
I was recently asked by Karina, a friend and former co-worker, if I had a recipe for red velvet cake balls. While I knew I had a recipe for red velvet cupcakes, I had never attempted to try and form them into cake balls until now. Karina and I share a love for baking. (Especially on Sunday mornings!) And she also told me that she wanted to make these to bring to her family on Thanksgiving. So I was definitely up for the challenge! Karina has so many wonderful qualities about her. But the thing that I’ve always admired the most is that while she considers herself happy and lucky in her life, she has such a sense of gratitude about it and never seems to take it for granted. So Karina….I hope you enjoy these. And I wish you a lifetime of happiness and a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family! I have never been a huge red velvet fan ……until now! And I think what has made all the difference for me is……….
……the ‘inside-out’ frosting situation. Red velvet cakes use cocoa instead of chocolate. And so the flavor has never been deep enough for me. But adding the cream cheese icing to the crumbled cake….most definitely adds a richness. And I really enjoyed red velvet like never before! I experimented with making cake pops. But I thought the balls were easier to decorate.
And I suppose you can do this easily and quickly by using a box mix and some prepared frosting. But honestly, I don’t think it would be as good! So here’s the real deal…..
RED VELVET CAKE:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 TBSP red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
Sift all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl. In the bowl of your electric mixer, blend the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
CREAM CHEESE ICING:
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients using an electric mixer. Beat until smooth.
Crumble completely cooled cake into a large bowl. Add the frosting (you want 2 cups, which is exactly what the icing recipe made.) Mix the icing and cake together until it is well incorporated and you no longer see any white streaks from the icing. Roll into quarter size balls (if you are making cake pops, you might want to make them slightly larger). Place each ball on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer for at least an hour.
ASSEMBLY:
This recipe makes about 4 dozen balls. I used 3 packages (14 oz each) of Wilton candy melts. Melt the chocolate according to directions which is at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Dip the ball into the bowl of melted chocolate, coating completely, and gently remove to a piece of parchment to dry. If you are going to decorate with sprinkles, etc….do that right away. The chocolate melts dry quickly. Transfer to small baking cups. If you are making cake pops, dip the tip of your stick into one of the balls to make a small hole, then dip the tip of the stick into some melted chocolate and insert it back into the hole (edible glue!).
IMPORTANT NOTE:
I found that if dipping cake balls, it was best to let the cake balls rest from the freezer for a bit first. Otherwise, I found the chocolate had a tendency to crack if they came right from the freezer. But conversely, the pops worked best dipping right from the freezer, otherwise the sticks loosened if they sat too long at room temperature.
I also used food coloring in the white melts (though Wilton does offer some colored chocolate melts). If the chocolate becomes hard when you add the food coloring, then just put it in the microwave for another 3o seconds and stir until smooth.
Experiment and ENJOY!!!
I’m so overjoyed that I now am able to give these a trial run next weekend!!! Thank you so so much you’ve made my day and weekend!!!!!!!! They look ah-mazing and i bet they taste even better!
Karina…I hope you enjoy them! (I thought they were pretty awesome and I’m not typically a red velvet fan!). But thanks more than anything for the inspiration…in more ways than just baking! : )
You will be the first to know the outcome:-) and I get to use mi familia as the taste testers!!!!
Oh Anne, my daughter in law would absolutely LOVE these. I HAVE to make something Red Velvet at Christmas or she would disown me. These would be so cool! Buzzed!!
Thanks Janet! You know…these could be decorated any which way. But I really think the color is a natural for Christmas! You will LOVE these! : )
You did an amazing job with your first attempt at cake balls! Marvelously delicious!
Thanks Liz! I like this idea of mushing everything together! Now I just have to perfect my dipping techniques! ;- )
These are precious! I love them. I really like your fall leaf sprinkles too.
Thanks Jenn! I forgot I had those sprinkles and found them at the last minute…but I wish I had more for this project! : )
I love red velvet so these would be so dangerous around me!
For me, too, Stephanie! That’s why I’m bringing them into work with me tomorrow! ;- }
I agree with Janet from above! These will be great at Christmas time!
I agree too, Julie. And I definitely think they will be out on my holiday dessert table! : )
Anne you’re so talented!! These cake balls look fantastic. I was tempted to go buy a little cake-pop machine at Kohls. Now I wonder if I even need one when you made these so beautifully. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. My weekend has been filled with a lot of coughing and doctor’s appointments with me and my kids. Not fun.
I hope we have a better week ahead. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead too. 
Now I’m off to check your other recipes that I’m sure to have missed in the last few days.
Thanks Ramona! I’ve seen those machines too! But honestly…so easy. Everything just gets crumbled and smooshed together! I’m sorry your weekend has not been so great. It’s so worrisome when your kids are sick and when you are not feeling well enough yourself. I hope you guys are on the mend and that you all have a fantastic week. I’ve been in the Foodbuzz weeds for a long time and so am finally trying to play catch up tonight. So I’ll definitely be by to check out your goods! : – )
Love these Ann! The first time I had them was Thanksgiving 2009 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Want to try your recipe.
Thanks Sandra…you bake a cake….you crumble it up…you mix the icing in. Where have cakeballs been all my life?!? I’m hooked, too! ;- }
These look absolutely stunning! I’ve always wanted to try making cake balls, definitely willing to try it out. Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing, gorgeous photos by the way =]
Kym…thanks so much! I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to try these! Big flavor for such little effort! : -}
These look so yummy. I love the pics. These would be so much fun to make with kids.
Thanks Kim. So easy for the kids and so many possibilities to decorate them. Have fun! : )
I am not sure why I have not taken some time to try making cake balls. It is probably on the long to do list. Anyhow you picked an awesome cake flavor here and they do look delicious. This is an inspiring post with amazing pictures. Well done!
Thanks Tina! It was unexpectedly bumped up from my long list….but I’m so glad I made them. So quick and easy and TASTY! :- }
These little cake balls are so much fun and whenever I hear the word ‘velvet’ in a title, I immediately begin to swoon… it conjures up images of silk, cream and delight. OH MY. The cover shot is so pretty with the richness of the red firing through. Very nice Anne.
Thanks Kelly! Putting the icing in with the cake gave them such a smooth texture. And nice to be able to have just one small bite! I liked the picture, too. But guess what? Rejected! Ha! Back to the drawing board! ;- }
Gah.
Must. Eat. These. Now.
Hi Emily! Yikes! They. Went. Fast. !!! : )
These sound delicious and cake pops are always fun. These would quickly disappear in my house. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Hello Mary….and thanks for visiting and leaving your kind comments! These were delicious and fun and easy! Hope you will give them a try and I would love to have you back anytime! : )
I love them! Cake balls are always a hit around here. I made carrot cake ones a few weeks ago and I don’t think they lasted an entire day. I am a fan of Red Velvet so I can’t wait to give them a try.
Thanks Sheri….I was thinking about what other cakes I could use to make these and carrot cake would be perfect!!! : )
I have a friend who makes these and they are so unbelievably soft and decadent! She hasn’t shared her recipe, so I’m happy to have yours!
I’m so happy to share this recipe! They are so soft and decadent! You almost forget you are just eating cake! ; – }
Oh my, how beautiful these cake balls are!
In our culture, we typically have the glutinous rice balls which we used to cook with sweet soup as a type of dessert which is usually served during the Winter Solstice festival, celebrated according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. Now we can get them anytime and anywhere.
These cake balls just remind me of them; but with a touch of fun!:) Love the way you decorate these cake balls; I wished we have them here too…if only I got these for my candy war at my wedding, I am pretty sure they would be an instant hit!:)
Christy….thanks so much! I’m intrigued by your sweet rice ball dessert soup. But I am really interested in hearing about your candy war at your wedding!!! : )
This is just stunning! I’ve never made any cake pops, but they are so whimsical and a perfect little bite! Your decorations are – as always – stellar!
Thanks Ann! I’ve never made cake balls before either…though I don’t know why…they are so easy….and perfect for when you want just a little bite of cake! : )
These are gorgeous! I love this idea- cake pops/balls are on my to-do list and I think this recipe might be first. Nice work!
Sarah…thanks so much! I hope you try these….they are so good! Now I’m thinking of other combinations for them! : )
Anne, these are beautiful and so festive. They look wonderful!
Thanks Cassie! Red velvet makes them perfect for Christmas or Valentine’s Day! ;- )
OMG these were the best little treats EVER!!!! I cant explain how delicious they were! I brought one home and the hubby also raved!! GREAT JOB ANNE!!! I will definitely be trying to make these at home!! YUM YUM YUM
Oh Franny….you are so sweet!!!! I’m glad you guys enjoyed them! A cinch to make, too! : )
Your cake balls look so pretty. I love that you used autumn leaf sprinkles on top of them. How fun!
Thanks Vicki….I know most people like to make them for Christmas or Valentine’s Day….so I thought I’d sprinkle some autumn leaves to change up the look! : )
Are these shelf stable or do they have to stay in the fridge? Just cause of the cream cheese?
Hi Jennifer….I would let these sit out for the day, but any longer than that, I would recommend putting them in the refrigerator. Just bring them to room temperature before serving and know that the chocolate may ‘sweat’ a bit when you do. : )
hey im 15 and i just wanted to say These were fantastic!!! I had never made cake balls or watched anything on them being made but i so badly wanted to make some. i typed in red velvet cakeballs and found this recipe and made them and they turned out perfectly!!! The notes and tips were awesome! I gave them toall my friends for a little christmas treat and theyloved them!!! THANK YOU!!!
Hey Alexandra! Thanks so much for coming back and telling me how much you enjoyed these! That really means a lot to me! Aren’t they crazy good?!? And really so easy to make. I think they make the perfect little treat to give to our friends around the holidays! Or for no reason at all. And I think I will probably be making them again on Valentine’s Day! It’s so easy to make any cake into a cake ball….just mix your frosting into the cake and then dip them. If you make any other type of cake ball….come back and let me know how they turned out for you! Enjoy!!! : )
This recipe is so awesome! i tried them and they’re AMAZING! (my name is Karina too) :p
Hi Karina! And thank you so much for stopping by to tell me how these turned out for you! For such a small little ball of cake….these are really addictive! I find myself wanting to make all kinds of cake balls. Let me know if you try any other variations! Because of the color….these will be great for valentine’s day, too! Enjoy!
: )
these are also very good with nuts in them
Elyssa…that’s a great idea! The next cake ball I make I think will be a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and nuts! : )
LOVE These! Nice tutorial!
What kind of chocolate did you use?
and about how many packs did you end up using?
The dipping is the only part I can’t get right, because the chocolate gets clumpy!!
Hi Sara! Aren’t these cake balls kind of addictive?! For the purpose of dipping these….I melted a 14 oz bag of Wilton Candy Melts. I buy them at Michael’s Craft store…any craft store that has a baking/candy section will usually carry them. I melted 3 packages, one in white chocolate, dark chocolate, and a ‘light’ chocolate (which to me was like milk chocolate). They also come in various colors. I used the 3 bags because I was experimenting on what would look best with the cake balls and I definitely think the white chocolate was the best. I colored some of the white chocolate pink. But I might just buy the pink candy melts next time. I definitely had some chocolate leftover. But I find with frosting and coatings, I do best to make more then less. I also found that I had to rewarm some of the chocolate from time to time to keep it from getting clumpy. Though if you look at my pics….you can see that some aren’t perfectly smooth….but that’s okay….they were so good….I could forgive the imperfections! I hope this helps! : )
I’m not very good at cooking things “from scratch” but I just made this recipe and it came out so pretty and delicious. For cake, I’d usually use the premade box versions but I decided to try and make this from scratch for a friend’s birthday. Felt good to know I can bake something myself (other than cookies). You’re amazing!
Jessica….YOU are amazing!!! How awesome that you made these for your friend’s birthday! What a great treat! You know, I’ve only been making things totally from scratch for a couple of years now. And I can’t tell you how many things I’ve attempted that never made it to this blog! (Yikes!). And every time something finally turns out well…..it gives me the confidence to try more! So kudos to you! I hope you were able to keep a small batch of these for yourself! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a kind comment! You really made my day! Happy baking! : )
I’ve never made cake balls before but once I’d heard of them I was really excited to try. Anything that allows me to blend cake and icing must be delicious. Unfortunately, I accidentally put too much vinegar (1 tbsp instead 1tsp) in. The cakes cooked fine but aren’t as sweet as I’d like. I went ahead and mixed it with the icing and it still tastes great. They’ll definitely be delicious with the chocolate coating, I plan on coating them tomorrow before the event I’m hosting. Thanks so much for the recipe, I’ve always wanted to make red velvet cake from scratch.
Hi Carissa! I’m glad you tried these! Sorry you added too much vinegar! Usually I would suggest adding a bit more sugar to counteract that…but I think adding the sweet creamy frosting to the cake probably helped! You know…I usually abbreviate TBSP for tablespoon, and tsp for teaspoon in my recipes. But you have me rethinking that maybe I should type out the whole word instead. Hopefully they will taste even sweeter when you dip them in chocolate! Thank you so much for stopping by to give me your feedback! I hope you enjoy them! : )
Love this recipe
Any suggestions on how to travel with the cake pops?
Hi Tara! I’m so glad you like these! Aren’t they really good? A couple of tips about traveling and such. If you are making the pops on a stick, I would get a piece of styrofoam almost as thick as the length of the stick. The coating really hardens. But I would just wrap them in cellophane or little bags that you can find at crafting store, close with a twist tie and line them up in styrofoam. I brought a large batch of the cake balls to work. I set them in little mini cupcake papers and stored them in tupperware. The coating really hardens, so unlike frosting you don’t have to worry about the coating rubbing off. I even had two layers separated by wax or tissue paper. Just note that the cake pops could probably survive the day unrefrigerated. But more than that, I would keep them cool since they do contain cream cheese. Hope this helps but just toss me a note or email if you need anything else! Good luck! : )
I just made these for a friend’s birthday and he loved them! It was his 21 first, so I put a little rum in both the batter and frosting for flavour. Thanks so much for the recipe. I would have never thought of these on my own. So, so good!
Shaleen! I LOVE the idea of spiking these with a little rum! How fabulous they must have been! I’m so glad you both enjoyed them. These can be so versatile in the type of cake, frosting and other ingredients ( like RUM!!!)….that you’ve got me thinking. I need to make them again with some rum and coconut somehow! How special you are to make these for your friend! And how nice of you to come back and tell me how much you enjoyed them. That means so much to me! Thank you so much Shaleen! : )