1. food and drink

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Cake!Balls!
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Yield:!48!Cake!Balls!
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Ingredients!
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18.259oz.!Boxed!Cake!Mix!
169oz.!Container!Ready9Made!Frosting!(You!only!need!¾!of!the!container.)!
329oz.!Candy!Coating!(I!suggest!Wilton!Candy!Melts;!they!come!in!12!oz.!bags.)!
Sprinkles!or!Other!Decoration!of!Choice!(Optional)!
Cake!Ball!Supplies!
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99by913!Inch!Cake!Pan!
Large!Mixing!Bowl!
Wax!Paper!
2!Baking!Sheets!
Plastic!Wrap!
Deep,!Microwave9Safe!Plastic!Bowl!
Toothpicks!
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Directions:!!
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• Bake!the!cake!as!directed!on!the!box,!using!a!99by913!inch!cake!pan.!!Let!the!cake!cool!
completely.!
• Crumble!the!cooled!cake!into!a!large!mixing!bowl.!!The!easiest!way!to!do!this!is!with!your!hands;!
simply!cut!the!cake!into!four!even!sections!then!remove!one!section,!break!it!in!half!and!rub!the!
two!pieces!together!over!the!mixing!bowl.!!Be!sure!to!crumble!any!large!pieces!that!break!off.!!
You!can!use!a!fork!or!even!a!whisk!to!break!up!the!larger!pieces,!just!be!sure!that!the!cake!
crumbles!are!a!fine!in!texture!when!complete.!!Lumps!are!bad!for!cake!balls.!
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www.domesticdilettante.com!
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Add!¾!of!the!container!of!frosting!to!the!crumbled!cake!–!try!to!not!add!more!or!less,!as!more!
makes!them!too!moist!and!less!makes!it!hard!to!keep!the!balls!intact.!Keep!mixing!until!the!
frosting!is!fully!adsorbed!into!the!cake!and!is!no!longer!visible.!
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Your!cake!mix!should!now!be!moist!enough!to!roll!into!1.5!inch!balls!and!still!hold!the!shape;!
after!rolling!each!ball!by!hand,!place!them!on!a!wax!paper9covered!baking!sheet.!
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Cover!the!baking!sheet!with!plastic!wrap!and!chill!for!several!hours!in!the!refrigerator,!OR!place!
in!the!freezer!for!15920!minutes.!!The!balls!should!be!firm,!but!not!frozen.!!If!using!the!freezer!
method!(which!I!like!because!it!is!faster),!move!the!baking!sheets!over!to!the!refrigerator!after!
the!allotted!time!in!the!freezer!–!obviously!keeping!them!at!room!temperature!for!very!long!will!
negate!what!you!just!did!with!the!freezer.!
Place!the!candy!coating!(aka!candy!melts)!in!a!deep,!microwave9safe!plastic!bowl.!!These!bowls!
make!it!easier!for!dipping!and!they!are!cooler!to!the!touch!after!having!been!microwaved.!!I!
typically!only!melt!one!bag!(12!oz.)!at!a!time!–!it!understandably!begins!to!harden!after!a!period!
of!time!so!you!don’t!want!to!make!too!much.!
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www.domesticdilettante.com!
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Melt!the!candy!coating!according!to!the!instructions!on!the!package!–!i.e.!microwave!on!50%!
power!for!30!seconds!at!a!time,!stirring!well!in!between.!!Keep!doing!this!until!you!have!a!lump9
free!liquid!coating!–!don’t!overheat!the!coating,!as!it!will!begin!to!thicken!and!become!unusable.!
Tip:!Sometimes!your!candy!coating!will!be!too!thick,!making!it!harder!to!dip!your!cake!balls!–!
darker9colored!coating!sometimes!have!this!problem.!!An!easy!way!to!thin!the!coating!is!to!add!
a!teaspoon!of!shortening!or!vegetable!oil!to!the!candy!coating;!keep!stirring!until!fully!melted.!!
Add!more!as!needed!until!the!coating!is!fluid!enough!to!work!with!easily.!!Note!–!I!have!not!
actually!had!to!do!this!yet,!so!I’m!not!sure!how!often!thinning!is!required!(I’m!guessing!not!
very).!
Now!we’re!ready!to!coat!some!cake!balls!!!Take!only!a!few!cake!balls!out!of!the!fridge!at!a!time!
to!work!with.!!Place!one!ball!into!the!coating,!spooning!coating!over!uncovered!areas!when!
necessary,!and!lift!out!the!cake!ball!with!your!spoon.!!Hold!the!spoon!over!the!bowl!and!tap!the!
handle!of!the!spoon!so!extra!coating!will!drip!off!back!into!the!bowl;!this!also!helps!in!creating!a!
smooth!surface!on!the!cake!ball!itself.!!
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Gently!transfer!the!cake!ball!by!on!to!the!second!wax!paper9covered!baking!sheet!by!letting!it!
slide!right!off!the!spoon.!!Some!coating!may!pool!around!the!base!of!the!cake!ball!on!the!wax!
paper!–!to!remove,!simply!use!a!toothpick!and!draw!a!line!around!the!base!of!the!cake!ball!
before!the!coating!sets.!!!You!can!also!break!off!any!unwanted!coating!after!it!sets.!
www.domesticdilettante.com!
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If!adding!sprinkles!or!other!general!decorations,!add!to!the!top!of!the!cake!ball!before!the!
coating!sets.!
Repeat!with!the!remaining!cake!balls!and!let!dry!completely.!
If!you!have!extra!candy!coating!left!over,!pour!it!into!a!resealable!plastic!bag!(cut!a!small!hole!in!
the!corner!to!create!a!piping!bag)!or!plastic!squeeze!bottle!(I!recommend!Wilton!brand!squeeze!
bottles)!and!drizzle!it!over!the!tops!of!each!cake!ball!in!a!zig9zag!motion!to!decorate.!
Cake!balls!can!be!stored!in!an!airtight!container!or!in!the!refrigerator!for!several!days.!
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Tip:!If!you!don’t!need!or!want!to!make!48!cake!balls,!just!divide!the!sheet!cake!in!quarters!and!
use!the!appropriately!reduced!amount!of!frosting!and!candy!coating.!!Each!quarter!of!the!cake!
makes!about!12!cake!balls.!!You!can!freeze!the!remaining!cake!for!later!use.!
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I’ve!only!made!cake!balls!and!cake!pops!a!couple!of!times!now,!but!I!owe!every!iota!of!
knowledge!I!have!to!Bakerella.com,!or!more!specifically!her!book,!“Cake!Pops:!Tips,!Tricks,!and!
Recipes!for!More!Than!40!Irresistible!Mini!Treats”.!!She!has!a!ton!of!amazing!ideas!and!I!
definitely!recommend!checking!it!out.!!!
www.domesticdilettante.com!
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