Sweet patriotic 4th of July cake balls have rich vanilla flavor, patriotic red, white, and blue sprinkles, and a tasty colorful cake center. These treats are perfect for sharing with family and friends!
Equipment
3 square 8 inch baking pans glass or metal
Ingredients
15.25ounceswhite cake mixI used Pillsbury, see notes
1/2cupoiluse your favorite cooking oil
1cupwater
3largeeggslightly beaten
food coloringred and blue, gel food coloring gives more vibrant colors
8ouncecream cheesesoftened to room temperature
1 3/4cupsvanilla melting wafersI used Ghirardelli, also called candy melts bout 10 ounces total
sprinklesred, white, and blue
Instructions
Baking The Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil 3 8 inch x 8 inch square baking pans or line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl , combine cake mix, oil, water and eggs. Mix with an electric mixer or a whisk until all of the cake mix is fully mixed into the wet ingredients.
Separate the batter into three smaller bowls and set one bowl of batter to the side. Mix red food coloring into one bowl, adding a few drops at a time until the batter is your desired color. Repeat with the next bowl with the blue food coloring until you have one plain, one red and one blue bowl of cake batter.
Pour each batter into its own square baking pan. Bake each cake for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is cooked through. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire cooling rack or clean kitchen towel.
Making The Cake Ball Centers
Once cooled, crumble the cake between your fingers each into their own bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer. Divide the cream cheese evenly between the three bowls of crumbled cake. Mix each bowl of cake and cream cheese well until the cake becomes the texture of playdough with an electric mixer on low or a silicone spatula. Be careful to clean the beaters or spatula when moving from one cake mixture to the next.
Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Combine about a one inch piece from each color of cake, red, blue and white. Roll the colors together with your hands to make a ball with a tie-dye effect. Place each ball onto the baking trays. Place the trays of cake balls in the freezer the truffles for 30 minutes.
Dipping The Cake Balls In Chocolate
Add the white chocolate melting wafers to a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for a minute at half power, then stir. Continue heating the white chocolate in thirty-second increments until it forms a smooth white chocolate sauce.
Remove truffles from the freezer. Place truffle balls into white chocolate one at a time to coat, using a fork so excess chocolate can drip off. Place each white chocolate-coated ball on parchment paper so they are not touching each other.
Drizzle with extra chocolate with a fork (see notes) and immediately sprinkle with sprinkles before the chocolate begins to harden. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to help the chocolate to fully harden, then enjoy!
Notes
If the cake mix you are using calls for a different ratio of ingredients on the box directions, follow the directions to make the cake batter according to the directions. Then split the batter and add food coloring, and continue with the directions above.Make sure the cake is completely cooled before forming the cake balls. If the cake is too warm it can be hard to roll the cake balls and even harder to dip them in chocolate.You can use one 8x8 baking pan three separate times for each cake color. It will take longer to bake the cakes this way, but you can do it. I recommend using parchment paper if you are baking all in one pan so you can easily lift the cake out to make the next cake. Refrigerate the batter while baking the other cakes.When you are melting the white chocolate melting wafers adding 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or vegetable oil can help thin the chocolate and give it an even consistency. You can also use white chocolate chips but may need the extra oil to get an even coating of chocolate on the cake balls.