I told you I love pink!
My fingers have been dyed pink all week to prove it. Contrary to what Mr. How Sweet says, I do shower. Sometimes. This post features two variations of cake balls I made for Valentine’s Day: strawberry cake balls dipped in milk chocolate, and vanilla cake balls with a hint of pink for Mr. How Sweet.
I don’t recommend straying from boxed cake mix unless you’re an experienced baker. Using a boxed mix gives consistent results every time and makes it simple to know how much frosting you’ll need—about 1 1/2 cups or one can of prepared frosting. Making cake balls is easy but involves a fair amount of steps: prepare and bake the cake, crumble it, chill, roll the balls, chill again, dip in chocolate, decorate, and chill once more.
I don’t have time to mess with proportions and risk starting over. I’d rather spend time on less stressful activities, like watching classic TV reruns and frying bacon to top off my jar of grease. And really, who doesn’t love cake balls?
The pink velvet version isn’t true pink velvet, but I added vanilla and a drop of chocolate extract for a subtle cocoa note. I’ve been making red velvet-style cake balls for Mr. How Sweet for years—they’re one of his favorite treats, right up there with chocolate chip cookies and Diet Coke.
There are so many fun ways to decorate cake balls. For these I used a pink sugar sparkle glaze, assorted sprinkles, and extra drizzled chocolate.
I’m thankful for having a spouse—left to my own devices I’d probably choose hot pink carpet and hot pink paint, which would be over the top. I did keep a few decorated with lots of sprinkles for myself because I’m obsessed.
These cake balls are almost as good as chocolate-covered strawberries, one of my favorite treats. I’d gladly invest in a company that made perfect chocolate strawberries—they’re hard to beat.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls
Makes about 40 1-inch balls
Ingredients:
- 1 box strawberry cake mix, prepared and baked
- 1 1/2 cups cream cheese frosting (homemade or 1 can prepared)
- 6 ounces high-quality white, dark, or milk chocolate
- Additional pink food coloring if desired
- Sprinkles and other decorations
Instructions: Prepare and bake the cake according to package directions, using a 9 x 13 pan if preferred. Once cooled, crumble the cake into a mixer bowl, add the frosting, and mix on low to medium until a uniform pink dough forms. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on parchment on a sheet pan, and freeze at least 1 hour. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (30-second intervals). Dip each chilled ball using a fork, letting excess chocolate drip off, then decorate and refrigerate for a few minutes. These are best chilled but can be kept at room temperature for a short time.
Pink Velvet Cake Truffles
Makes about 40 1-inch balls
Ingredients:
- 1 box white cake mix, prepared and baked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or chocolate extract (or both) added to the batter
- 1 1/2 cups buttercream or cream cheese frosting
- 6 ounces white, dark, or milk chocolate
- A few drops of pink food coloring
- Sprinkles and decorations
Instructions: Follow the same method as the chocolate covered strawberry cake balls. Add a few drops of pink food coloring to the batter or the mixed dough to achieve the desired shade before chilling and rolling.
In other news, I won’t spoil what I had for lunch yesterday—you’ll find out tomorrow, and it’s not what you expect.