I just mixed up my first batch of cake balls, but i think they must be too wet. I used white cake and added canned pumpkin pie mix and a little spiced cream cheese frosting as binders. I guess the pumpkin was too wet...what should the consistency be like? I've never had one so i'm not sure....

Thanks, I love that coconut cake as well-it is one of my faves!

Cindycraig, I think if you go to Bakerella.com she has photos of the inside of her cake balls so you can get a look at what hers look like.

I have done mine quite wet and not had any problems with them.

Arg... I hate when the thread gets away from me. lol Catching up on the reading.

My pumpkin cake balls were much wetter than my other flavors, but everyone seemed to like them just fine. They were actually my 7 year olds favorite. I prefer the less "wet" ones but not enough to skip having a pumpkin flavored batch. I think there is no way around having a moister cake ball when using canned pumpkin in the recipe, though I'm hoping someone on here can prove me wrong .

What would happen if you lightly toasted, or otherwise let the cake crumbs dry a little before you added the pumpkin?

I need to make at least 150 cake balls . . . how many cakes will it take to make these AND how far in advance can I make them. I have a party on 12/19/09 that I need at least 90 and then I want to make up the rest to give out to my salespeople at work on or about 12/21/09. Please let me know, I would like to star this weekend.

I've been watching this thread and finally got the time to try my hand at the cake balls a couple of nights ago. I used scraps left over from a scatch vanilla cake (Rebecca Rather's) and a chocolate scratch cake (Toba Garrett's). I'm not sure if it was because the cakes were so moist to begin with or if my expectations are off, but they seemed mushy to me, not like cake at all, more like raw cookie dough. I only put a few drops of flavoring into the vanilla cake and nothing into the chocolate cake. I've read others having this same experience so I googled images and see many actually look more cakey (is that a word?) than mine. My question is, does the texture change/dry after they sit for a while? (My boys ate all of them in the first hour...teenage boys eat anything/everything!) Should I use a less moist cake? Does anyone let the cake dry a bit before making them? TIA.

kaddikakes, when I use a #60 scoop I get about 6 dozen from 1 box of cake mix. You can go ahead & make as many as you want. I made a bunch last week put them on a cookie sheet & froze them, then took them off & put them into ziploc freezer bags. When your ready you can move them to the fridge or sit on the counter a few min (until the frost disappears) and then dip.

Vicki, this last time I over baked my cake for about 5-7 min to help dry it out. Then I went ahead & let it sit a couple hours (had to go to MIL). I crumbled it in my KA (great tip, whoever mentioned it) and would turn it on low every 30 min or so just to let what was on the bottom get some air. I normally let it sit out over night, but this was probably 6 hrs drying time. i also used less frosting. You won't always use the same amount---it depends on the moistness of the cake.

Try adding a few T of meringue powder or an extra egg when you use pumpkin in your cake recipe. It won't be as dense.

I've had the best results with consistancy when I baked The Whimsical Bakehouse Golden butter cake, then left it out on my counter uncovered for a few hours, then covered for 2 days (not planned, but I wound up not having time to make them right away). I also overbaked it a bit, accidentally b/c I was feeding my baby and couldn't get back to the oven when I should have. I guess the key to having a good texture is having a newborn and toddler to mess with your timeframe . I also have found that processing the crumbs/binder then putting the crumbs in a tupperware in the fridge for a few days improved the texture when the cake was too moist on my pumpkin balls. HTH.

Thanks so much for the info Dandelion. I'll give that a try; I really want to include these in my Christmas baskets.

Fullhouse - since my "Baby" is 13 and taller than me, I guess I'm lucky I tend to screw up my cakes frequently all by myself.

kaddikakes, I use a scoop that is a 2tsp one and I get 90 to a 100 out of one 9x13 cake pan, depending on the cake and the amount of binder used. I always make them ahead as well. Bake the cake one day, crumb it the next (I use a food processor), add binder the next, then make the balls and freeze on cookie sheets and put them in ziplocks just like dandelion, then dip them as I need them.

and Fullhouse, what is the "Whimsical Bakehouse Golden butter cake"? is the recipe on cc or is it a box mix?

I found the WBH recipe through a google search, I think it is posted on Whimsical Bakehoue's blog. It was recommended on many cc posts, may be listed somewhere here as well. I love it and it is very versatile, I've turned it into a spice cake and an eggnog cake so far.

Another good combo would be to use hummingbird cake (use pecan chips instead of chopped), cream cheese icing or caramel, and dip in chocolate.

Some of my popular cake flavors are almond cake with caramel filling and almond cake with black raspberry filling. I think both of those would be yummy as cake balls I'm thinking maybe a semi-sweet or dark chocolate for the caramel and white chocolate with the black raspberry.

I'm making cake truffles this year to put into my gift baskets for Christmas- I'm definately going to have to try out some of these combos!

Is there a difference between cake balls and cake truffles?

They are the same thing. People just call them different things. Balls, truffles, cruffles, etc.

I think over baking the cake to dry it out (do not burn!) is a big time saver. I also had problems with bits of the cake ball coming off into the melted choc-a real problem with white!
That happened when I made the balls w/ a small ice cream scoop-and the ball had little ridges on it (from the scoop release bar) and those flaked off into the choc. When I took those same ball and rolled them smooth between my hands...no more bits in the choc!! Yipee!!
A business uptown is having a Christmas Open House and I will take some up and see how they go....

Wow! This thread is fantastic! Okay ... so I'm a cake ball newbie, but really want to try this now. Except that I have cake scraps from four different cakes: strawberry daiquiri, pink champagne, caramel, and yellow cake with Princess Cake and Cookie flavoring. I wanted to just throw them all in together, but was trying to figure out the best combination, and since I haven't done this before, was hoping someone could help inspire . I have buttercream already flavored with the same Princess emulsion ... should I use that as my binder? I was also thinking of using a little praline flavoring in my buttercream instead, and covering in chocolate ... what do you think? Sorry ... elemental questions. I can't wait to do this right with planned-ahead flavors!

If you 're wanting to combine the cake flavors I would do the liquor ones then the caramel & vanilla. don't know what caramel would taste like w/ Princess Emulsion though since it is a little citrusy. I think it would work well w/ the liquor based though. You really don't use that much binder & it'll have to be really overwhelming w/ flavor to be able to taste it. I think praline w/ the caramel would be yummy. So would apple or cinnamon or creamcheese. Just think of what you would fill the cakes w/ & use that (flavor) as your binder.

Thanks dandelion5662! One more question: I'm currently trying to crumble all my cakes up, and the crumb is a little more moist than I thought it would be, so small balls are forming - think of the size that little clumps of butter are when you cut butter into flour for a recipe and the butter "granules" start forming. I know you were just taling about drying out the cake in the oven a bit, but I'm not sure how dry they should be ... is this crumb small and dry enough, or will it clump up too much? Should I try drying it out a little more?

Mine always have that cookie dough texture, but I've never had anything but rave reviews.

I just delivered my first order!

You all were talking about #60 scoops.. where can I get one of those? Mine aren't coming out as uniform as I would like

Thanks Superwawa. Your Turkey Truffles are adorable!!! I just love Bakerella's site, it's great for me being creatively challenged, lol. I wish I was more creative and could come up with cute ideas own my own.

I think a few moist clumps are ok. If you want you can spread th crumbs on a cookie sheet to dry a little. I would just use a little less binder. I test by rolling a ball to see if I like the consistancy.

For the scoop try walmart or kitchen store. Restaurant supplies will have them too

I think a few moist clumps are ok. If you want you can spread th crumbs on a cookie sheet to dry a little. I would just use a little less binder. I test by rolling a ball to see if I like the consistancy.

For the scoop try walmart or kitchen store. Restaurant supplies will have them too

Got it! I;ve got to say, several of the themes discussed in this thread over the last day or two have been PERFECT timing for me! I only added the amount of icing you guys talked about right now, and "cookie dough" is exactly how I would describe the texture of what I have. Do I absolutely have to freeze before coating with the chocolate? I'm about to go melt some chocolate now ... can't wait to see how this turns out!

you have to atleast refridgerate it, or else they will not keep thier shape